Eine Schnellübersicht in Tabellenform über die Götter, darunter folgen die Beschreibungen:
| ADAD | Gott der Stürme |
| AN / ANUM | „Göttervater“, Himmelsgottheit, Erteilt Königsrechte |
| AYYA | Gerechtigkeit, Licht |
| DAGĀN | Gott des Getreide |
| DUMUZU | Gott der Hirten und des Ackerbau |
| EA / ENKI | Intelligenz, Magie, Exorzismus, männliche Potenz/Fruchtbarkeit |
| ENLIL / ELLIL | Schicksal, Macht, Herrschaft |
| EREŠKIGAL | Niedere Göttin des Todes u. der Erde |
| ERRA | Zerstörerischer Kriegsgott |
| ISHTAR / INANNA | Krieg, sexuelle Liebe, weibliche Fruchtbarkeit |
| GEŠTINANNA | „Schreiberin der Erde“ |
| GIRRA | Feuer, Licht, Metallurgie |
| MARDUK | Autorität über Menschen, erscheint im Zeitalter Babylons |
| NABU | Gott der Schreiber und des Schreibens |
| NERGAL | Tod, Pestilenz, Zerstörung |
| NINḪURSAG | Fruchtbarkeit, Geburt |
| NUSKA | Licht, Feuer |
| ŠAMAŠ / UTU | Sonnengott, Gerechtigkeit, Rechtsprechung |
| SÎN / NANNA | Mondgott |
| ZABABA | Kriegsgott |
ADAD
(written d.IŠKUR ??, also d.10 ??)
Tutelary Affiliation: Karkar,
where his temple is Eugalgalla.
In Babylon, his main temple is E-namḫe.
Indicia: Lightning bolts
and the number 10. During the
Old Babylonian period, a bull, although
in earlier epochs it was the
mušḫuššum-dragon.
Description: A storm god,
Adad is both a bellacose, destructive
character and the bringer of sporadic,
life-giving rain. Alternatively
described as a son of Anum or Ellil,
his wife is the minor deity Šala.
He is considered one of the greater
gods, and is venerated in various local
forms across the Middle East.
ANUM
(wr. d.AN ?? or AN-num ??,
also d.60 ??)
Tutelary Affiliation: None.
His primary cult-center is at Eanna
in Uruk, a sanctuary he shares with
Eštar. He has a seat in Babylon’s Esagil.
Indicia: The bull, the throne
and the number sixty.
Description: Frequently
called the “Father of the Gods,”
Adad, Ea, Ellil, Eštar, Nergal and
Sîn are variously described as his
children. A Mesopotamian sky deity,
Anum could be considered the
head of the Babylonian pantheon in
some respects, however, by the time
of the First Dynasty many traditions
hold that he has delegated his authority
(OB. anûtum) to one or several of
his children. His function is generally
to mediate among the gods, and
to confer kingship upon those rulers
whom he deems fit. He is one of a
triad of greater Mesopotamian deities,
along with Ellil and Ea/Enki.
AYYA
(wr. d.A-A ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: None.
She is worshiped primarily at Ebabbar
in Sippar with her husband, as
well as in Larsa. Likewise in Babylon,
at Edikukalamma.
Description: Like her husband
Šamaš, Ayya is a justice-minded
deity. During the First Dynasty,
she is second among those deities
invoked in the oaths binding parties
to contracts and real estate agreements.
She is a goddess of light and
sometimes functions as an intercessor
between a petitioner and her husband.
DAGĀN
(wr. d.Da-gan ??? or d.Da-ga-an
????)
Tutelary Affiliation: Tuttul,
but his worship is popular across the
Middle East, including at Mari.
Description: Dagān is an
Amorite grain god, one whose cult
rose to prominence during the Ur III
period. By the end the First Dynasty
of Babylon, his worship will be
firmly entrenched along the Levantine
coast, where he will eventually
be assigned the role of father to the
Western Semitic deity Ba’al.
DUMUZI
(wr. d.DUMU.ZI, ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: Worshiped
across Sumer and Akkad,
typically with Inanna / Eštar, as in
Uruk.
Indicia: None.
Description: Originally a
god of shepherds and farming, Dumuzi
is a frequent personality in the
myths surrounding his wife, Eštar.
Typically portrayed as the younger,
junior partner in the marriage, he
takes her place in the underworld.
As such, the rituals involving their
marriage and his death form two
important cultic observations in Old
Babylonian Era Mesopotamia.
EA / ENKI
(wr. d.É.A ??? or d.EN.KI ???,
also d.40 ?? and d.60 ??)
Tutelary Affiliation: Eridu,
where his main temple is Eabzu. In
Babylon, Eešmaḫ is his main sanctuary.
Indicia: A horned helm, as
well as flowing fresh water and the
turtle (i.e., the creature who facilitated
the final return of the Tablet of
Destinies).
Description: Chief god of
the Apsû, Ea (syncretized with the
Sumerian Enki) is one of a trinity
of greater Akkadian deities. He is
a masculine god of intelligence and
magic, one whose cultic aspects focus
on exorcism and sexual potency.
In the epics, Ea is often portrayed as
the creator and chief patron of mankind.
ELLIL
(wr. d.EN.LÍL ???, also d.50 ??)
Tutelary Affiliation: Nippur
at the temple Ekur. In Babylon, his
main temple is Enamtila.
Indicia: Like Ea, Ellil is
often depicted as wearing a horned
helm.
Description: Along with
Anum and Ea/Enki, Ellil finishes the
triad of greater gods. Often treated
as a son of Anum, he is a god of
destiny, power, and rulership. At a
fundamental level, his dictates determine
the course of the world.
Various sources describe his decrees
as unalterable. In literary sources,
Ellil is often indifferent, if not nominally
hostile to mankind. By the Old
Babylonian Period, his preeminence
among Babylonians is already waining,
superseded in favor of the city’s chief deity,
Marduk.
EREŠKIGAL
(wr. d.Ereš-ki-gal(.la) ?????
(?))
Tutelary Affiliation: Small
shrines exist in several cities in the
Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia.
However, Ereškigal has no organized
cult or priests.
Indicia: The owl. Represented
in art with taloned feet,
Ereškigal is also shown with the
horned cap common to Mesopotamian
deities.
Description: Often treated
in theogenic literature as a sister of
Eštar, most sources agree that she is
the consort of Nergal, a god who is
more widely worshiped in Babylon
during the period of the First Dynasty.
As such, she is a goddess of death
and of the earth, but also mentioned
in invocations related to child-birth.
Her vizier is Namtar.
ERRA
(wr. d.ÈR.RA ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: Primarily
Kutha, where his temple is
Emeslam.
Description: A destructive
warrior god, Erra is the divine
plague-bringer in Babylonian mythology.
He is popular among physicians
and exorcists-priests, those
who seek to forestall his effects. In
later periods he is syncretized with
Nergal.
EŠTAR
(in later periods, IŠTAR, sumerian NANNA)
(wr. d.IŠTÁR ??, also d.15 ???;
Note the spelling d.EŠ4.TÁR ???
in personal names)
Tutelary Affiliation: Primarily
Uruk. In Babylon, she is
worshiped in the warlike-aspect of
Bēlet-Akkade at Emašdari, and as
Bēlet-Bāb-ilim “The Lady of Babylon”
at Eturkalamma.
Indicia: The lion and
eight-pointed star. Depicted in art
as a nude female, often wearing a
horned cap.
Description: Originally
Eštar was two goddesses, the Sumerian
Inanna and the Akkadian deity
of the same name. Sometime during
the Old Akkadian period these two
deities became syncretized and by
the time of Ḫammu-rapi, Eštar’s aspects
are myriad. She is both Babylon’s
principal war-goddess and
a goddess of love. She is invoked
in matters related to sexual love, as
well as the patron goddess of virtue
through female virginity. In the era
of the First Dynasty of Babylon,
Eštar features heavily in celebrations
related to the New Year festival,
where her high-priestess is ritually
wed to the king.
The Sumerian story of her
descent into the underworld, her
death and return, forecasts similar
tales. She is often a lover of the god
Dumuzi, whom she ultimately condemns
to death.
GEŠTINANNA
(wr. d.GESTIN.AN.NA ????,
also as Bēlet-ṣēri, d.Be-lí-et-EDIN
?????)
Tutelary Affiliations: Primarily
worshiped in southern Mesopotamia,
she has cult places in
Bad-tibira, Nippur, Isin and Uruk.
Indicia: None.
Description: Identified as
the sister of Dumuzi in the myths
surrounding Eštar’s descent into the
underworld, Geštinanna attempts to
save her brother from his fate, but
fails. By the Old Babylonian Era,
she has become syncretized to Bēlet-
ṣēri, “The Scribe of the Earth,” a
member of Eriškigal’s court.
GIRRA
(wr. d.BIL.GI ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: Nippur,
where his main temple is
E-melamḫuš.
Indicia: The torch.
Description: Girra is primarily
a god of fire, along with light
and metallurgy. As such, he is regularly
invoked in rituals of exorcism
and purification.
MARDUK
(wr. d.AMAR.UTU ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: Babylon.
His main temple there is Esagil
and its ziqqurrat, Etemenanki.
Indicia: The mušḫuššumdragon.
Description: As patron god
of Babylon, the cult of Marduk is
ascendant throughout the era of the
First Dynasty. Usually considered a
son of Ea, Marduk is the hero of the
Old Babylonian creation epic, Enūma
Eliš, where he confronts and defeats
the primordial ocean-goddess,
Tiamat. In the prologue to Ḫammu-
rapi’s Code, the king notes that
both Anum and Ellil ceded their authority
over the gods and the human
race to Marduk. His spouse is Ṣarpanītum,
with whom his cult shares
a suite of chambers in Esagil.
NABU
(wr. d.Na-bi-um ????)
Tutelary Affiliation: Borsippa
is Nabu’s cult-city and his temple
there is Ezida. As a son of Marduk,
he also has a shrine in Esagil.
Indicia: A cuneiform stylus.
Description: Like their cities
Borsippa and Babylon, Nabu and
Marduk are gods closely linked. A
patron of scribes and writing, Nabu’s
cult-statute plays an important
role in the Babylonian New Year
Festival. In later periods his faith
grows to rival that of Marduk.
NERGAL
(wr. d.KIŠ.UNU ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: Kutha, where his
main sanctuary is Eḫuškia.
Indicia: A lion-headed mace.
Description: The Mesopotamian
god of death, pestilence, and
destruction, Nergal commands a
legion of plague demons and violent,
malefic spirits. A popular legend
among the literate classes in Babylon
holds that Nergal was dispatched
to Ereškigal after offending Namtar,
her vizier, and there was either seduced
or forcibly kidnapped by the
Queen of the Underworld.
NINḪURSAG
(wr. d.NIN.ḪUR.SAG ?????
as Bēlet-ilī, wr. var. d.NIN-ìlí
?????, d.Be-le-et-ì-lí
??????, etc.)
Tutelary Affiliation: None.
Two distinct temples, sharing the
name Emaḫ are located in the cities
of Adab and Keš.
Indicia: A symbol resembling
the Greek letter Ω (a stylized
uterus?)
Description: Ninḫursag
is one of the many names used to
identify the person of the “mother
goddess” in Sumero-Akkadian literature.
Formerly ranked among
the greatest gods by the Sumerians,
during the Old Babylonian Period
her prominence has yielded to that
of Eštar.
Like Eštar, she is often associated
with fertility and childbirth,
and is also treated as the creator of
humanity in earlier sources.
NUSKA
(wr. d.NUSKA ???)
Tutelary Affiliation: None,
but has various shrines, among them
Eešmaḫ in Ekur in Nippur, along
with the temple E-melamanna, also
in that city. In Babylon, his shrine
Egirku is located in Esagil.
Indicia: None identified in
the Old Babylonian Period, but afterwards
the lamp and the rooster.
Description: Nuska is the
son and minister of Ellil. Like Gibil,
he is a god of light and fire. A protective
deity, he is often invoked to
protect sufferers against sorcery and
demons of the night.
ŠAMAŠ
(wr. d.UTU ??, sumerian UTU)
Tutelary Affiliation: Sippar,
where his sanctuary is Ebabbar;
also Larsa, where again his temple
is called Ebabbar. In Babylon, his
main sanctuary is Edikukalamma.
Indicia: The sun disk, the
saw (OB. šaššarum), and the number
20.
Description: One of the
most prominent gods of the Old
Babylonian Period, Šamaš is at once
the god of the sun and the god of
justice. He is invoked in virtually
every contact and legal transaction,
and his temples serve as both locations
for entering legal agreements
and as archives of those matters.
He is a favored god of divinatory
prayers, where bārû invoke him to
ensure accuracy in their omens.
Most mythologies agree
that Šamaš is the son of the moongod
Sîn and the husband of Ayya.
During the period of the First Dynasty,
the worship of his charioteer,
Bunene is popular as well.
SÎN
(wr. d.EN.ZU ??? as Sîn, also d.30
?? and d.ŠEŠ.KI ??? as Nanna)
Tutelary Affiliation: Ur,
where he is worshiped at Ekišnugal.
In Babylon he has two temples, Enitendu
and Egišnugal.
Indicia: The crescent moon,
the bull, and the number 30.
Description: As patron god
of Ur, the cult of the moon god is
one of the most favored in Mesopotamia
at this point in history. Sîn is
the father of Šamaš in most sources,
and as such, often plays a role in
divinatory prayers.
ZABABA
(wr. d.za-ba4-ba4 ????)
Tutelary Affiliation: Kiš,
where he shares a temple with Eštar,
Edubba.
Indicia: The lion, the mace,
and the bow.
Description: A warrior god
often synchronized with similar deities
(such as Ninurta), Zababa regularly
appears associated with the
more-warlike aspects of Eštar, as in
Kiš. Like his city, the cult of Zababa
has a long history, as shown in the
frequent use of his name among of
the early kings of Kiš.