The Religion of Babylonia and AssyriaPinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Religion
The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria
Pinches, Theophilus G. (Theophilus Goldridge)
Assyro-Babylonian religion
Nanâ or Nanaa was the consort of Nebo at Borsippa, but appears as a
form of Ištar, worshipped, with Anu her father, at Erech.
Nin-aha-kuku, a name of Êa or Aa and of his daughter as deity of the
rivers, and therefore of gardens and plantations, which were watered
by means of the small canals leading therefrom. As daughter of Êa,
this deity was also "lady of the incantation."
Nin-azu, the consort of Ereš-ki-gal, probably as "lord physician." He
is probably to be identified with Nerigal.
Nin-igi-nagar-si, a name somewhat more doubtful as to its reading than
the others, designates Êa or Aa as "the god of the carpenter." He
seems to have borne this as "the great constructor of heaven" or "of
Anu."
Nin-mah, chief goddess of the temple Ê-mah in Babylon. Probably to be
identified with Aruru, and therefore with Zer-panîtum.
Nin-šah, a deity whose name is conjectured to mean "lord of the wild
boar." He seems to have been a god of war, and was identified with
Nirig or Ênu-rêštu and Pap-sukal.
Nin-sirsir, Êa as the god of sailors.
Nin-sun, as pointed out by Jastrow, was probably the same as Ištar or
Nanâ of Erech, where she had a shrine, with them, in Ê-anna, "the
house of Anu." He renders her name "the annihilating lady,"[*]
"appropriate for the consort of a sun-god," for such he regards
Lugal-banda her spouse. King Sin-gasid of Erech (about 3000 B.C.) refers
to her as his mother.
[*] This is due to the second element of the name having, with another
pronunciation, the meaning of "to destroy."
Nun-urra.--Êa, as the god of potters.
Pap-sukal.--A name of Nin-šah as the "divine messenger," who is also
described as god "of decisions." Nin-šah would seem to have been one
of the names of Pap-sukal rather than the reverse.
Qarradu, "strong," "mighty," "brave."--This word, which was formerly
translated "warrior," is applied to several deities, among them being
Bêl, Nergal, Nirig (Ênu-rêštu), and Šamaš, the sun-god.
Ragimu and Ramimu, names of Rimmon or Hadad as "the thunderer." The
second comes from the same root as Rammanu (Rimmon).
Šuqamunu.--A deity regarded as "lord of watercourses," probably the
artificial channels dug for the irrigation of fields.
Ura-gala, a name of Nerigal.
Uraš, a name of Nirig, under which he was worshipped at Dailem, near
Babylon.
Zagaga, dialectic Zamama.--This deity, who was a god of war, was
identified with Nirig. One of this titles was /bêl parakki/, "lord of
the royal chamber," or "throne-room."
Zaraqu or Zariqu.--As the root of this name means "to sprinkle," he
was probably also a god of irrigation, and may have presided over
ceremonial purification. He is mentioned in names as the "giver of
seed" and "giver of a name" (i.e. offspring).
These are only a small proportion of the names found in the
inscriptions, but short as the list necessarily is, the nature, if not
the full composition, of the Babylonian pantheon will easily be
estimated therefrom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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