Sumerian gods, gods and goddesses of the Sumerians. Who did the ancient Sumerian worship, and what was the pantheon of gods of the Sumerian civilization? Sumerian gods

In the minds of the ancient Mesopotamians, the world was inhabited by good and evil spirits, as well as powerful deities who controlled all the forces of nature. Each clan, community, city-state in Sumer had its own patron gods, sometimes considered mythical ancestors. Each person had his own personal guardian spirits - I'm walking And lamassu – and patronizing god and goddess. But, on the other hand, human life was threatened by numerous evil demons - the personification of disease and death ( niqub, lilou, lilith). The fate of a person was recorded in cuneiform by the gods in the “Table of Fates”, and at the hour of death “Fate” came for him - the god Namtar ("Abductor") - and took the doomed person to the kingdom of death - the underworld, where the god Nergal and the goddess Ereshkigal ruled together with a council of the seven gods of the earth - the demons of the Anunnaki. In the underworld, the soul of the deceased was doomed to a miserable existence in eternal darkness, hunger and thirst. When thinking about such a bleak posthumous fate, a person could only console himself with the fact that, depending on the type of death, he would receive a more or less merciful sentence from the Anunnaki court and would be able to enjoy food and drink from the sacrificial gifts that his relatives who remained on earth brought him.

The sky also had its own “heavenly” kingdom with a council of gods. The main one is Enlil, the god of air, ruler of the earth (“Middle World”), king of all gods and patron of earthly kings. His cult was celebrated in a special temple in the holy city of Nippur, and this energetic and omnipotent god was worshiped throughout Sumer.

No less important in the pantheon was An (Anu) - the god of the Sky, as well as the wise and very supportive of people Enki (Ea), the deity of underground waters and the world Ocean. The mother goddess Ninhursag closes the four “great gods”.

Ill. 73. Sun God Shamash, sailing on his magic boat.

Drawing a cylindrical seal impression.

Tell Asmar (Eshnunna). Akkadian period

The strongest gods also included Utu (Shamash) - the god of the Sun, guardian of justice, revealing the future to people in fortune-telling and predictions of oracles; blue-bearded god of the moon - Nanna (Sin); the wayward beauty Inanna (Ishtar) is the goddess of the planet Venus, the patroness of carnal lust and love, earthly fertility, but at the same time the goddess of strife and discord.

Other significant deities include the thunder god Adda, who brings thunderclouds and torrential rain; the warlike son of Enlil - the god of war, patron of warriors Ninurta; god of plague and disease Era.

Each community, each "nome" revered its local god (or goddess), considering him (her) primarily as a deity of fertility. In Uruk, such main deities were the Sky god An and his daughter, the goddess Inanna (Ishtar), in Ur - the Moon god Nanna and his wife Ninlil; in Sippar - the sun god Utu (Shamash).

So, in addition to the local “nome” patron deity with his wife and retinue, all the inhabitants of Sumer also revered the four “great” “cosmic” gods. These were An (Anu) - the god of the Sky, Enlil - the god of the air, Enki - the god of underground waters and, finally, the mother goddess Ninhursag, who bore different names in different Sumerian “nomes” (Ninhursang, Ninmah, Dingirmah). It was they who created the universe, earth, water, canals, vegetation, animals and people. It was they who occupied the top of the Mesopotamian “Olympus”.

Ill. 74. A genius with the head of an eagle, holding a vessel of pure water and a pine cone. It accompanied a person in his daily life and protected him from illness and evil forces. Nimrud.

Assyrian relief. 885 BC e.

An (Anu) – king of heaven

“An,” writes the famous historian Torkild Jacobson from the USA, “is the force that takes existence out of chaos and anarchy and transforms it into an ordered whole. Just as a structure rests on a foundation and reveals the foundation laid in it, so the ancient Mesopotamian universe is supported by and reflects the creative will of An.

However, An, at least in classical Sumerian mythology, did not play any important or effective role in earthly affairs and always remained aloof from them, sitting in his heavenly palaces and representing a majestic and somewhat abstract figure.

Enlil - lord of the inhabited world

Over time, Enlil managed to seize the helm of supreme power in the community of gods even from the “lord of the sky” himself, the head of the pantheon - An.

Ill. 75. A monster with the head of a lion, one of the seven evil demons, born in the Mountain of the East and living in pits and ruins. It causes discord and disease among people. Geniuses, both evil and good, played a large role in the life of the Babylonians. 1st millennium BC e.

The theologians of Nippur, however, made Enlil the ruler of all mankind, the “king of kings.” If An still formally retained the insignia of royal power, then it was Enlil who chose and placed on the throne the rulers of Sumer and Akkad, “placing a sacred crown on their heads.”

Ill. 76. Enlil

The kneeling deities near the sacred tree, with their hands raised in a protective gesture, probably represent Enlil or Bel, the god of the earth. Relief from Nimrud. 900 BC e.

It should also be emphasized that not all of Enlil's activities were beneficial to the human race. Enlil's potential hostility relates to the dual nature of the wind, which can be both a soft, refreshing zephyr and a destructive hurricane. It is in the storm that the ferocity and destructive temper inherent in this god find expression:

Mighty Enlil,

his word is inviolable,

he is a hurricane destroying a barn,

sweeping sheep pen.

Finally, in the Flood Myth (Sumerian version) and partly in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enlil is invariably in a bad mood and subject to outbursts of violent anger. It is he who sends a catastrophic flood to the earth, designed to destroy all of humanity.

Enki (Ea) – “Lord of the Earth” (and water)

Enki stood above other gods in his learning and wisdom, was the patron (and inventor) of crafts, arts, science and literature, patron of magicians and sorcerers:

Big Brother of the Gods, who brings prosperity,

Who makes reports of the universe,

The ear and brain of all lands and countries.

Enkimdu for the supervision and care of these tools. He invents and introduces into culture all the grains and fruits on earth.

There is a myth that Enki was (along with the goddess Ninhursag) the main participant in the act of creating man. The narrative begins with a story about the difficulties that the gods of the Sumerian “Olympus” experienced in obtaining food for themselves. The gods complain bitterly about their unenviable fate. But Enki, the god of water and, at the same time, the god of wisdom, which, according to the logic of things, should have helped his brothers, rests calmly in his palace in the depths of the sea and does not hear these complaints and lamentations. Then his mother Ninhursag goes to apsu(“abyss”), wakes him up and forces him to look for a way out of the current dramatic situation. Together they made the first people from clay and divine blood, but they were not entirely successful. Only the second attempt was successful, and people began their main calling on earth - to faithfully serve the gods, providing them with everything they needed.

Enki, as noted in most myths, was always very favorable towards people. He is not only the creator and patron of humanity. Trying to convey to people some of the secrets of his wisdom, Enki first teaches his arts to a group of younger gods, so that they will then bring his wisdom to the human race. Enki is the patron of Sumerian schools and patron of Sumerian scribes. He loved (in defiance of Enlil) to overcome and even violate natural law: it was his timely advice that saved the family of the righteous (Utnapishtim, Ziusudra) from a destructive flood. Enki heals the sick, helps people in all good deeds and endeavors.

Two more important Sumerian myths are also associated with the name Enki: “Enki and Inanna” and “The Story of the Seven Divine Plants.”

Ill. 77. The god of underground waters, Ea or Enki, depicted in the center with the bird Anzu.

On the right is the winged goddess Inanna with a date branch in her hand and the solar god Utu-Shamash, born from the Mountain of the East. 1st millennium BC e.

The content of the first myth is as follows: in ancient times, the goddess Inanna, “queen of heaven” and “queen of Uruk,” wanting to glorify her name and increase the power of her city, decided to turn Uruk into the center of all of Sumer. To do this, it was necessary to obtain, by goodness or deceit, meh - wonderful clay tablets with the divine laws of life written on them, which Enki carefully guarded in his underwater palace. And the goddess goes to Eredu, to the house of the Lord of Wisdom, having first dressed herself in her best clothes and wearing the most expensive jewelry. Seeing her from afar, Enki called his servant Isimuda and said to him:

Let the young girl into the Abzu of the city of Eredu,

Let Inanna into the Abzu of the city of Eredu.

Treat her to some barley cake with butter,

Pour her cold water that refreshes the heart,

Give her beer from a jug,

At the sacred table, at the Table of Heaven

Greet Inanna with words of greeting.

The myth “Enki and Ninhursag” tells how the Lord of the Underground Waters, together with the goddess Ninhursag, took possession of the island of Dilmun (Telmun). But there was no fresh water on the island at all, and Enki provided it in abundance, turning this previously deserted and barren piece of land into a wonderful piece of paradise, surrounded by the greenery of gardens and palm groves. Here he built a beautiful, spacious house for the goddess and one night tried to take possession of her. But, having met a decisive rebuff, he was forced to make an official proposal to Ninhursag and enter into legal marriage with her. The fruit of their union was the goddess Ninsar (“Mistress of Plants”). One day, already an adult girl, she was walking along the seashore, where Enki met her. The lustful god seduced the young beauty, and as a result, Uttu, the goddess of weaving, was born. The girl grew quickly, became prettier, and the worried Ninhursag decided to protect her from the encroachments of her dissolute husband. She locked her tightly in her house, forbidding her to go outside. However, here too Enki managed to overcome all obstacles, lured his daughter out and took possession of her.

Then he committed another serious crime: he ate eight magical plants that Ninhursag had long and carefully cultivated. Having learned about this, the goddess flew into a wild rage and cursed her husband: eight plants turned into eight deadly diseases in Enki’s womb, and he began to slowly die in terrible agony. Ninhursag herself, knowing that other gods who wanted to help their suffering brother would look for her, hid in the most remote place. For a long time the search did not yield any results. But a cunning fox intervened in this matter. She found Ninhursag, conveyed to her the request of the Council of Gods to help the dying “Lord of Fresh Waters,” and the calmed goddess quickly cured Enki.

Are gods aliens?

The Sumerian religious system was classically polytheistic, that is, based on the idea of ​​the existence of many deities, each of which had its own specific characteristics, functions and biographies. The Sumerian gods were in many ways similar to the more familiar ancient pagan pantheon - their gods also had anthropomorphic features, possessing not only human appearance, but also human emotions, character traits and even shortcomings. The gods entered into family relationships with each other, entered into alliances, fought, and used people and deified heroes against each other. It is noteworthy that the Sumerians also had an idea of ​​paradise as a place of supreme bliss, but ordinary people were not allowed to go there - the Sumerian paradise was only for the gods and, in some cases, for heroes who were also deified.

The similar, almost human, character of the Sumerian pantheon, as well as the special interpretation of those images of the Sumerian gods that have come down to us, have given rise to the emergence of an alternative hypothesis in our time.

Proponents of this version believe that this “real” character of the Sumerian gods indicates that the Sumerians supposedly they saw them with their own eyes, that is, these “gods” literally descended from the sky and stayed among people for some time. In addition, enthusiasts of such assumptions are confident that the features of the image of the Sumerian gods indicate that they were dressed in some kind of modern spacesuits for astronauts. Accordingly, a theory is being developed about representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations , who visited the Sumerians, shared with them certain technological achievements and scientific knowledge and therefore acquired the features of gods in Sumerian mythology.

Different gods are needed, different gods are important

As with virtually all polytheistic religious systems, the Sumerians had at least several dozen deities, each with their own “responsibilities” and powers.

The most revered gods of the Sumerian pantheon:

• Anu is the progenitor of the gods, “father of the gods,” the supreme god of the sky. It was from him that all the other gods originated, but over time he seemed to withdraw from active participation in the affairs of the universe. In Sumerian myths, he is one of the three most revered gods, but he almost does not participate in the affairs of mankind (and if he does, it is usually in a negative way, bringing down disasters on people as punishment for one or another guilt), he rather personified the idea of ​​​​supreme power . In fact, Anu was too busy maintaining the existence of the universe to think about people;
• Enlil is the second of the three main deities of the Sumerian pantheon, the god of the wind, the son of Anu. Enlil was a very controversial deity in the perception of the Sumerians. On the one hand, it was he who actually created the world inhabited by people, since he separated heaven from earth; In addition, he created agriculture and taught it to people. On the other hand, Enlil is described as a very insidious and unkind deity who sends all sorts of natural disasters to people and, in the end, the global flood, which was an important part of Sumerian mythology, was also “organized” by this god;
• Ea (Enki) is the third of the “triad” of the supreme Sumerian gods. He was the ruler of the underworld and underground waters, the god of wisdom and the ruler of the kingdom of the dead. Thus, the Sumerian universe was divided into three main tiers, each of which was dominated by its own god: in the sky - Anu, in the world of people - Enlil, in the underworld - Ea. Despite his underground character, Ea was the kindest of the supreme gods towards humanity, although in some situations he was capricious. It was he who created people from clay as helpers for the gods, it was he who was responsible for the fertility of the earth, it was he who at one time saved people from complete destruction from the global flood, warning the chosen person and teaching him to build an analogue of the Ark from the biblical narrative;
• Inanna is the main female deity of the Sumerian pantheon, in subsequent religious systems of Mesopotamia, transformed into the goddess Ishtar. The granddaughter of Enlil, had such functions as patronage of fertility, love, family life, all women, and also administered justice and brought victory. At the same time, in myths, Inanna had very clear, feminine shortcomings - she was cunning (thanks to which she was able to outwit even Ea, the god of wisdom), easily changed husbands and lovers, and even betrayed one of her spouses, “slipping” him into the kingdom of the dead in her place.

Mesopotamia as a whole, recorded in sources in the specified language. It included the most ancient (including pre-Sumerian?) layer of beliefs of the inhabitants of Lower Mesopotamia, the mythology of the southern “nomes” of the early dynastic time, the mythology of the Sumerian population of the Akkadian kingdom and the Power of the III dynasty of Ur. The unity of Sumerian mythology is conditional: each city-state had its own pantheon, its own genealogy of the most important gods and local versions of myths.

Comparison of Sumerian and Akkadian names of mythical characters, terms, locations

Mythological picture of the world

As in most traditional cultures, the universe had a sphere-like image and a three-member structure. The following levels were identified.

• Upper world- heaven; abode of the highest gods.
• Middle world- Earth; abode of people.
• Lower or chthonic world- the underworld; the abode of the dead, demons, chthonic gods.

Pantheon

The unified Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon is the result of the syncretization of numerous local traditions, which took place as a result of certain political events: the priests of the largest powers of Mesopotamia, primarily the Babylonian kingdom and the Powers of the III dynasty of Ur, worked to build a single mythological scheme. There was a group of important deities who were probably universally revered, but their names and positions in the divine hierarchy were not always the same.

The most important Mesopotamian gods

The most important gods were worshiped in the vast majority of cities; their cults go back to the earliest stages of Mesopotamian history.

• An(noise. "sky" ), Anu(m)(Akkadian) - god of the sky; his cult was of particular importance in Uruk. An acts as the highest essence in the divine hierarchy, the embodiment of supreme power, cosmos organizer, supreme judge, patron of royalty, “father of the gods.” With the increase in the cult significance of the city of Nippur, many of these functions passed to the “firstborn of An” - the god Enlil; the differences between the functions of the two gods were blurred, but in general An was seen as a passive supreme deity, the embodiment of the highest justice. In the three-part structure of the world, An is the ruler of the “upper”, heavenly world; he is in charge of the stars and weather phenomena.
• Enlil(noise. "Lord of the breath (that is, air)" ), Ellil(Akkad.) - the supreme active deity; like other important gods, he could initially have been the patron of a separate territorial community, grouped around the city of Nippur. Enlil's functions are close to those of An: he is the “father of the gods,” the determiner of fate, the supreme ruler, the lord of the wind; but unlike his father, he takes an active part in the life of gods and people. In the tripartite structure of the world, Enlil is the ruler of the “middle world,” the world of people. In relation to humanity, it manifests itself in two ways: on the one hand, he is responsible for fertility, is the giver of the harvest and a prosperous, peaceful life, on the other hand, he is a fierce and warlike god of the storm, bringing natural disasters to people. With the rise of Babylon, most of Ellil's functions, as well as the epithet "bel" (Akkadian "Lord") gradually passed to Marduk; In the Assyrian pantheon, Ashur acted as the supreme god
• Enki(noise. “Lord of the earth(?)”, “Lord of the bowels(?)” ), Ea(Akkadian " Aya) - god of underground waters, fertility, wisdom, magical art; creator and space organizer. He may have originally been the patron saint of the ancient city of Eredu, where a characteristic cult involving fish sacrifice can be traced back to prehistoric times. Enki is in charge of the “lower” chthonic world, more precisely that part of it that is connected with water; his abode is the Abzu palace in the underground ocean of fresh water; attitude towards people is favorable. In the genealogical scheme, this god is usually the son of An; his wife is Damkina, one of the children is Amarutu (Marduk)
• Inanna(noise.), Ishtar(Akkadian) - the main female deity of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon; was revered everywhere, including as a single hypostasis of various female deities responsible for fertility (cf. “Mother Goddess”); the most important center is Uruk. Early sources are not clear about the functions of this deity; in subsequent times, Inanna merged with Ishtar - the Akkadian version of the Semitic warrior goddess Astar, adopting some of her properties. The complex basis on which the image of the goddess was formed determines the complexity of her functions. In various sources, Inanna appears as the “heavenly mistress”, “the mistress of all meh"(the title of the highest gods), "heavenly cow" (that is, the giver of life and essential goods), "woman" (semantics of female deities), "heavenly harlot" (projection of erotic functions on the scale of the universe), "multiplying people and countries like sheep "(reproductive force of nature). At the same time, Inanna-Ishtar also embodies destructive forces; This is a great warrior, crushing cities and countries, unsurpassed in battles. The cult of this goddess was also associated with the concept of “Sacred Marriage” and the practice of cultic prostitution. Indications of Ishtar's position in the divine genealogy are contradictory. The astronomical embodiment was the planet Venus. With the rise of Babylon, some of Ishtar’s functions coincided with the functions of Tsarpanit, the divine wife of Marduk.
• Marduk(Akkad.), Amarutu(noise. "Taurus Utu?" ) - initially the patron god of the community centered in the city of Babylon, one of the younger gods (igigs). With the rise of Babylon at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. The importance of Marduk also increases. In the process of evolution, his image absorbed the features of other important cults, primarily Ellil, Ea, Shamash, etc.; as a result, the image of Marduk is complex. In the sources he is described as the “lord of the gods” (head of the pantheon), cosmic organizer, divine warrior, hero responsible for fertility, “father of the human race,” god of wisdom, healing, magical art, patron of irrigation, giver of peace and prosperity. Unlike many early deities, the image of Marduk does not have pronounced features of ambivalence: Marduk is favorable to people, and wars and disasters are usually interpreted as a consequence of the existence of other forces acting in his absence. In Neo-Babylonian times, the cult of this god reached its apogee: in the pantheon there were no characters equal to him, he was perceived as the ruler of the Universe. At the same time, the gradual assimilation of other cults led to attempts at a monotheistic interpretation of the image of Marduk, according to which all other gods were his hypostases. Astronomical aspect - planet Jupiter.
• Ashur(Akkadian?) - originally the patron god of the community with its center in the city of the same name; with the expansion of the Assyrian kingdom - the main god of the pantheon of this country. The evolution of Ashur's image is similar to that of Marduk; here there was a perception of the properties of the most important Mesopotamian deities - Enlil, Ea, Shamash, etc. In fact, he was a local version of the Babylonian god: in the Assyrian version of the epic “Enuma Elish” the name of Marduk was replaced by the name of Ashur. The cult of this god had a special ideological significance: the Assyrian king was considered the high priest of Ashur. After the destruction of the Assyrian state, the cult of Ashur continued to persist for some time; In sources, references to “Ashurism” of local residents are found until the 3rd century. n. e. .
• Nanna(r)(noise.), Zuen(noise. "lord of knowledge" ), Syn(Akkad.) - a lunar god, especially revered in Ur. His cult had important ideological significance in the Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom; the high priestess of Nanna was the king’s daughter. In divine genealogy he is usually regarded as the "firstborn son of Enlil"; his mother is Ninlil, his wife is Ningal, his son is Utu (Shamash). In the sources, Nanna is called “radiant”, “Taurus of Enlil” (meaning the “hornedness” of the month), “rook” (another reference to the shape of the luminary). Like other patron deities of communities, Nanna was responsible for the fertility and well-being of nature and people. The function of fertility was sometimes associated with the menstrual cycle (due to the connection of the moon with the monthly period of time), as well as with special favor towards cattle (cf. “horniness” of the month). In addition, Nanna was also responsible for determining the fate of the living (in this role he acted as an adviser to Enlil) and the dead (during the new moon, when he descended into the underworld). The differences in the names of God were determined by the changing phases of the moon: Nanna- it's a full moon, Zuen- crescent, Ashimbabbar- young crescent moon. In Akkadian the name is Zuen ( Suen) as a result of contraction received the shape Syn. In the Babylonian and Assyrian traditions, Sin was also seen as a healing god and soothsayer. After Ancient Mesopotamia lost its political independence, the cult of Sin continued to exist for some time among local residents until it was supplanted by other religious traditions.
• "Mother Goddess"- a symbol for a number of female deities (mainly the Sumerian pantheon) with similar functions, but revered under different names in different cities. Among them: Ninhursag(noise. "Lady of the Wooded Mountain" ), Ninmah(noise. "Great Lady" ), Dingirmah(noise. "Great Goddess" ), Ki(noise. "Earth") etc. The character of these goddesses goes back to the ancient beliefs of the population of the Middle East. Subsequently, most of them began to be seen as various forms of Ishtar.
• Shamash(Akkadian "sun") Utu(noise. "Sun") - the sun god, the embodiment of the beneficial forces of sunlight. Sumerian Utu is the son of Nanna, which reflected the idea that day is the product of night; its cult center is Larsa. Akkadian Shamash may originally have been a female deity; its most important cult center was at Sippar. The role of this god in the early stages of Mesopotamian history was less significant than the role of the deities mentioned above; however, over time, Shamash began to be considered as one of the great gods, “the god of heaven and earth,” the embodiment of justice, the judge of the living (at noon, at the zenith) and the dead (at night, when he descends into the underworld), a warrior who expels evil demons, a giver well-being and longevity.
• Adad(Akkad.), Ishkur(noise) - the god of thunderstorms and strong winds. Sumerian Ishkur was the main god of the city of Karkara (location unclear), responsible for the fertility of the area; in myths he appears as a minor deity, the son of Enlil (or An), the warrior god, “riding the storm,” “the roaring wind,” and also as the keeper of the canals. Akkadian Adad acquired great importance in Assyria, where it was associated with royal power, as well as with the art of divination.
• Dumuzi(noise. "True Son" ), the Hebrew or Aramaic form of this name is often used Tammuz. Deity of dying and resurrecting nature (change of seasons); its cult centers were Kullab (one of the districts of Uruk) and Bad-tibira. The functions were close to the functions of similar Middle Eastern deities such as Adon (is), Telepinus, partly Osiris, etc.).
• Chthonic deities- lords of the “lower”, underworld, inhabited by demons and souls of dead people. Information about this group of deities is fragmentary, contradictory and, as a rule, depends on the characteristics of the local tradition. At the head of the “Land of No Return” was a deity with the epithet nè-eri-gal; in different traditions this role was played by: Ereshkigal(Inanna's evil sister) Ninazu(son of Ereshkigal) Girra(God of fire), Erra(god of plague) Meslamta-ea etc. In the Akkadian tradition, the title nè-eri-gal evolved into the name of god Nergala- lord of the underworld, a warrior god who sends epidemics, but also an astral deity, the personification of the planet Mars and at the same time the god of fertility. On boundary stones kudurru where symbols of deities were carved, in the area intended for the lower world a god was sometimes depicted Ningishzida, or rather its symbol is a horned snake; chthonic features were present in the image Tiamat(the embodiment of primary chaos), Ishkhara(the personification of the constellation Scorpio), etc. In general, the gods of this group had ambivalent functions: the semantics of the earth was associated with both death and fertility.
• Warrior Gods- a group of deities fighting numerous enemies or monsters. The most famous: Ninurta- (originally the patron god of Dilbat (?); especially revered in Assyria), Ningirsu(originally the patron god of Girsu; revered in the state of Lagash), Zababa(patron god of Kish), Tishpak(patron of Eshnunna, winner of the monster Labbu), Pabilsag(hypostasis of Ninurta; embodiment of the constellation Sagittarius), etc. The traits of a warrior were often inherent in the most important gods: Enlil, Marduk, Ashur, Ishtar, Shamash, etc.

Patron gods of individual communities

Patrons of individual communities- originally represented local supreme deities responsible for the fertility of the land and the general well-being of local residents. Later their functions were specialized.

The most important myths

Myths about the creation and arrangement of the world

Enki and Ninhursag

In gratitude for deliverance from hard labor, the Anunnaki presented Marduk with a gift of a magnificent sanctuary, Babylon, where they erected Esagila, the ziggurat of Etemenanki, as well as temples in their honor. After this, the gods began to feast and determine destinies. The remainder of the text is a summary and explanation of the "fifty names of Marduk".

Myths associated with the annual cycle

Inanna's Descent to the Underworld

“The Descent of Inanna to the Underworld” (noise. an.gal.ta ki.gal.šè- From the Great Heavens to the Great Below [Inanna turned her thoughts]) - a lengthy text in the Sumerian language, telling about Inanna’s attempt to extend her power to the lower (chthonic) world, as well as the fate of Dumuzi, the groom of the goddess.

At the beginning of the story, Inanna leaves heaven and earth, leaves the temples of Sumer dedicated to her, and takes those that belong to her. meh and in solemn vestments with regalia goes into the “earthly interior.” Fearing not to return, before leaving, Inanna punishes her messenger Ninshubura: after three days and nights, go around all the temples in mourning and in Ekur beg Enlil not to let her die; if Enlil refuses, go to Ur, to Ekishnugal to Nanna, if he refuses, go to the wise Enki in Eredu. Inanna arrives at the gates of the Ganzir palace - the abode of the gods of the lower world, where she is met by the guard Neti. Inanna tells the surprised guard that she came to participate in the ritual for the deceased Gugalanna, the husband of Ereshkigal, the mistress of the lower world and Inanna's sister. Neti reports to the frightened Ereshkigal about the arrival of Inanna, after which she lets the goddess into the “Land of No Return”. But the laws of the lower world are not subject to the power of Inanna; Passing through the seven gates of the Ganzir palace, the goddess is deprived of each of her seven powers and appears naked before Ereshkigal. Inanna's attempt to seize her sister's throne is unsuccessful and the seven Anunnaki - judges of the underworld - condemn the goddess to death; Ereshkigal turns Inanna into a corpse and hangs her on a hook. After three days and nights, Ninshubur does everything as his mistress punished him; Enlil and Nanna refuse the messenger, believing that Inanna wanted too much power and therefore is herself to blame for what happened, that the laws of the underworld are omnipotent and that no one will stand up for the goddess; and only Enki is willing to help. From the earth under his nails Enki creates two characters - Kurgara(noise. kur.gar.ra) And Galatura(noise. gala.tur.ra), gives them the “grass of life” and “water of life” and sends them to the gates of the underground country. The characters see Ereshkigal, who is suffering from childbirth (?) pains and, conducting an “echo” dialogue with her, “bargain” for Inanna’s body. After this, with the help of “water” and “herb of life” they revive the goddess. However, the Anunnaki grab the goddess and say that she can leave the “Land of No Return” only if she finds a replacement. Surrounded by hordes of demons - galla Inanna exits through the seven gates of the lower world, along the way returning her vestments and insignia. The first to appear on their way is Ninshubur, dressed in rags, whom the demons are ready to grab, but Inanna prevents them; the same thing happens in Umma with the saddened local god Shara and in Bad-tibir with the grieving Ulul. Finally, the procession reaches Kullaba (district of Uruk), where it meets Dumuzi, who, instead of mourning, sits in luxurious clothes on a brilliant throne. In anger, Inanna orders the demons to seize him, but Dumuzi calls on the sunny Utu, Inanna's brother, saying that she went to the underworld of her own free will, and now wants to send Dumuzi there in her place. Utu heeds the hero's request and turns him into a lizard, which allows the latter to escape from the demons, but they continue to chase Dumuzi. Further, the text is damaged and partially restored by another source - "Dumuzi's Dream": in this place, perhaps, there is a description of the hero’s other attempts to hide from demons, for which he takes on other guises, hiding with his sister Geshtinanna; demons torture Geshtinanna and find Dumuzi; Geshtinanna is ready to go to the lower world instead of her brother. The text of the original poem continues below. Inanna is sad about Dumuzi's departure and decides that her lover will spend only half of the year in the lower world, and Geshtinanna will be there in his place for the other half.

The text ends with the praise of “bright Inanna” and “bright Ereshkigal.”

The myth of the hero Ethan

The main characters of the epic are Gilgamesh and Enkidu, about whom separate songs have also survived in the Sumerian language, some of them were created at the end of the first half of the 3rd millennium BC. e. The heroes had the same opponent -

Sumerian gods, initial knowledge of cosmology, mythology and ideas about anthropomorphic deities were formed at the time of the formation of the Sumerian state. The Sumerians are a people of unknown origin who, at the end of the fourth millennium BC, mastered the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and formed the first city-states in human history. The gods of the ancient Sumerians were primarily the patrons of the community, embodiments of the elements of nature and forces that the inhabitants of the ancient empire encountered in everyday life. From the written sources with which the Sumerian religion was rich, you can find out the names of such gods as Innana and Enlil, who embodied the forces of earth and sky. The earliest religious and literary texts, which are hymns to the gods, prayers to the gods of Sumer, tales and legends, lists of proverbs originating from the excavations of Abu Salyabih and Farah, give ideas about the mythology and cult of the deities of the Sumerian state.

Sumerian gods are prototypes of the creators of the universe.

Sumerian civilization is a state with a centuries-old history. The oldest list of deities discovered in Fara, which contained information about all the gods of the ancient Sumerians of that era, identified six supreme beings, namely Ennil, Anu, Inanna, Nanna, Utu and Enki. Sumerian gods, including astral deities, throughout history have retained the function of patrons of land fertility and harvests. One of the most frequently encountered images of the Sumerian gods is the image of mother earth, the protector of humanity with a child in her arms. In the mythology of the Sumerian and later Babylonian people, the Sumerian goddesses who nursed their children were known as Ninhursag, Ninmah, Nintu, Mami and Damgalnuna. This image of the foremother of people and Sumerian gods is also found in Akkadian legends - the goddess Beletili, in Assyrian myths - Aruru, and even in later Babylonian legends - the mother goddess Enkidu. It is possible that the goddesses who served as patroness of the Sumerian city-states, for example Bau and Gatumdug, were also associated with the face of the earth goddess, to whom the Sumerian gods owed their lives. By the way, the Sumerian female gods who protected human settlements are mentioned in legends and hymns under the epithets “mother” and “mother of all cities.”

In the legends of the Sumerian people, revealing which gods the ancient Sumerians worshiped, a close dependence of mythology on cult and vice versa, cult on mythology can be traced. Cult songs from the city of Ur, dating back to the third millennium BC, speak of the priestess’s love for the king, and most importantly emphasize the official status and nature of their relationship. Hymns in which the Sumerian gods are mentioned, tales dedicated to the deified rulers of Ur, show that a marriage ceremony was annually carried out between the king and the high priestess, during which the king, the representative of the Sumerian gods, appeared in the form of Dumuzi, and the priestess in the guise of Inanna. The plot of the works of the cycle “Inanna and Dumuzi” contains descriptions of the courtship and wedding of the heroes, who were the patrons of the Sumerians, the gods of this people, as well as details of the goddess’s descent into the underworld and her salvation at the cost of the life of her god-husband. Tales of this nature, describing the obstacles faced by the Sumerian gods, are in fact drama-action, forming the basis of the metaphorical ritual “life-death-life”. The numerous myths of tragedy affecting the lives of the Sumerian gods and the deities themselves found in these narratives are explained primarily by the disunity of the Sumerian religious communities.

Sumerian gods, the underworld and trials of the soul.

Legends that are directly related to the cult of the Sumerian gods of fertility give ideas about the mythological underworld. Almost nothing is known about the location of the underworld, called Eden, Irigal, Arali or Kur-Nu-Gi, which translates as “land of no return”. What is clear is that the Sumerian goddesses and deities created the underground kingdom in such a way that one could not only go down there, but also fail. The mythology that the Sumerians created, the religion of this people, says that the border of the underworld was an underground river through which the souls of people were transported with the help of a carrier. They could be supportive, but they could also be cruel. The fate of the dead people was difficult, their bread was bitter, and their water was not water. The underworld that the Sumerian gods created is a dark world, a world full of dust.

Tales about the Sumerian gods do not contain a specific description of the court of the dead, where the dead would be judged according to the rules and norms established by the deities; there are only guesses and theories of researchers. It can be argued that the Sumerian gods awarded a tolerable life in the afterlife only to those people who were buried underground or sacrificed, as well as those who died in battle. The judges of the underworld were the ancient Sumerian gods, the Anunnaki, who sat on a pedestal in front of the mistress of the underworld. The supreme god of the Sumerian underworld, the goddess Ereshkigal, passed only death sentences. The names of the dead were recorded in the book by the Sumerian gods - the Anunnaki, as well as by a female scribe called Geshtinanna. According to the legends, the “honorable” inhabitants of the underworld included the Sumerian gods, numerous legendary heroes and figures of the Sumerian civilization, for example Sumukan and Gilgamesh, the former was the founder of the third dynasty of Ur, the latter was a god by birth.

The Sumerian gods, dominant in the underworld, returned people who were not buried at death and brought misfortune to earth, and those who were buried according to the rules were sent across the border of the underworld, the dark river, into the kingdom of dead souls. Souls of the dead and all the gods of Sumer, who were unlucky enough to end up in the underworld, were transported across the Ur-Shanab River by boat.

Sumerian religion - cosmology and mythology of human origins.

The Sumerian civilization was a practical people in its own way. However, the cosmology that the Sumerians possessed and the religion of this people, oddly enough, do not contain any specific theories and unambiguous hypotheses of the origin of man. Almost all the gods of the ancient Sumerians participated in the creation of man, at least this is the conclusion one can come to with a cursory study of the mythology of the Sumerian and Babylonian empires. Specifically, in the Sumerian religion one can only judge the time of the creation of humanity and the creation of the underworld. The text that the Sumerian religion produced, Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld, states that the sacred events, namely the creation of humanity, took place during the period when the earth was separated from the heavens and when the gods of the Sumerian civilization, An and Enlil, divided the world's possessions among themselves. The legend of the hoe and the ax says that the earth was separated by the god Enlil, after which the pantheon of Sumerian gods moved to live in heaven, and those who did not make it went to and under the earth. Another fact that the Sumerian religion operates on is also known: the primordial paradise before the division of the universe was the island of Tilmun.

Several myths created by the Sumerian religion have survived to this day about the creation of people. But only one of them is completely independent - about Enki and Ninmah. Sumerian legends say that the gods Enki and Ninmah molded a man from clay. They were helped by Nammu, the goddess to whose life all the Sumerian gods owe and, as it turns out, humanity. The purpose for which people were created was to work for the glory of the gods. From this legend it becomes clear why and what gods the Sumerians worshiped. Sumerian mythology has a unique perspective on the lives of people and their role in this world. Sumerian religion says that people were obliged to cultivate the land, collect fruits, graze livestock, and most importantly, feed the gods with their lives, sacrificing them. Religious singing, which was organized by the Sumerians, prayers to the gods were also an integral duty of the common man. When the first people were born, created by the gods with whom the Sumerian religion is rich, the inhabitants of the pantheon determined their future fate and organized a great feast on this occasion. The Sumerians worshiped gods who were completely in charge of their lives. Ancient tales, legends, Sumerian myths and photos of Sumerian gods show that at the feast, the drunken creators Ninmah and Enki created bad people. This is how the Sumerians explained human diseases and illnesses: infertility, deformities, etc.

In myths, and specifically in the legend of the hoe and the ax, which describes the ancient Sumerian religion, the need to create man is explained primarily by the fact that the first gods were unable to manage a household. The same legend mentions the Sumerians and the names of the gods, who supposedly sprouted from the ground, and therefore did not know anything about labor. The people who also emerged from the ground were already endowed with knowledge about agriculture, which means they could serve their creators well.

The gods of the ancient Sumerians - the origin of the inhabitants of the pantheon.

A significant part of the myths of ancient Sumerians and Babylonians is devoted to the origin of divine beings. The gods of the ancient Sumerians are generally widely represented in mythology. The gods of the ancient Sumerians Enlil and Enki, who later created humanity, act as creator-demiurges in legends. Also visited as the first gods who created ancient Sumerian, goddesses Ninkasi and Uttu, responsible for brewing and weaving. Another significant character is also mentioned in the Sumerian legends about the creation of the world and the gods, the archaic king Enmeduranka, who was considered a predictor of the future. In general, the Sumerian civilization and its gods clearly separated roles, for example, one of the first gods Ningal-Paprigal was the inventor of the harp, and the great Gilgamesh was the creator of urban planning and the forefather of architecture. The line of fathers and mothers, creators and ancestors, related to the gods of the ancient Sumerians, is clearly visible in the myths about the flood and the “wrath of Inanna.”

Unfortunately, in Sumerian mythology very little information has been preserved about the gods of the ancient Sumerians who performed heroic deeds, about destructive natural forces and great monsters. Only two legends are known that tell about great divine deeds, namely the struggle of Ninurta with the demon Asag and the confrontation of Inanna with the monstrous Ebih. Essentially, heroic deeds were the prerogative of the people.

The Sumerian gods, photographs, engravings and images describing them, represent the ancient creators of the world as beings of two moods and hypostases. Alone gods of the ancient Sumerians were evil towards humanity and passive, others were kind and forgiving. So the most living images of the gods were Inanna, Enki, Dumuzi and Ninhursag, as well as some minor and local deities. The Sumerian gods, photos, tablets and ancient texts, say that An, Enlil and Enki were evil, and therefore passive towards people. These gods of the ancient Sumerians, their faces and images, had elements of comedy: people did not like them, which means they presented them in the appropriate light and made up ambiguous legends and tales about them. It is partly obvious why the alliance between the gods of the Sumerians and the year 2012 is endowed with such unfavorable predictions.

The development of the epic tradition of representing gods as heroic figures, characteristic of many mythological and cosmological systems, was not typical of the Sumerian empire. The Sumerian civilization and their gods developed according to their own, unique scenario. Their relationship was not characterized by love, and the Sumerians were not imbued with deep respect for their creators; on the contrary, the gods of the ancient Sumerians, at least today, appear as tyrants who in every possible way interfered with a calm way of life. Is it good or bad? Who knows? But one thing is certain: the Sumerian people with such an ambiguous pantheon of deities existed for many centuries, while civilizations with more gentle and good-natured gods were wiped out from the face of the earth almost immediately after their formation.

Sumerian civilization and Sumerian mythology are rightfully considered one of the most ancient in the history of all mankind. The golden age of this people, who lived in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), occurred in the third millennium BC. The Sumerian pantheon consisted of many different gods, spirits and monsters, and some of them were preserved in the beliefs of subsequent cultures of the Ancient East.

Common features

The basis on which Sumerian mythology and religion rested were communal beliefs in numerous gods: spirits, demiurge deities, patrons of nature and the state. It arose as a result of the interaction of an ancient people with the country that fed them. This faith did not have a mystical teaching or orthodox doctrine, as was the case with the beliefs that gave rise to modern world religions - from Christianity to Islam.

Sumerian mythology had several fundamental features. She recognized the existence of two worlds - the world of gods and the world of phenomena that they controlled. Each spirit in it was personified - it possessed the features of living beings.

Demiurges

The main god of the Sumerians was considered An (another spelling is Anu). It existed even before the separation of Earth from Heaven. He was depicted as an advisor and manager of the assembly of the gods. Sometimes he was angry with people, for example, he once sent a curse in the form of a heavenly bull to the city of Uruk and wanted to kill the hero of ancient legends, Gilgamesh. Despite this, for the most part An is inactive and passive. The main deity in Sumerian mythology had its own symbol in the form of a horned tiara.

An was identified with the head of the family and the ruler of the state. The analogy was manifested in the depiction of the demiurge along with the symbols of royal power: a staff, a crown and a scepter. It was An who kept the mysterious “meh”. This is how the inhabitants of Mesopotamia called the divine forces that controlled the earthly and heavenly worlds.

Enlil (Ellil) was considered the second most important god by the Sumerians. He was called Lord Wind or Mr. Breath. This creature ruled the world located between earth and sky. Another important feature that Sumerian mythology emphasized: Enlil had many functions, but they all boiled down to dominion over the wind and air. Thus, it was an elemental deity.

Enlil was considered the ruler of all countries foreign to the Sumerians. He has the power to arrange a disastrous flood, and he himself does everything to expel people alien to him from his possessions. This spirit can be defined as the spirit of wild nature that resisted the human collective trying to inhabit desert places. Enlil also punished kings for neglecting ritual sacrifices and ancient holidays. As punishment, the deity sent hostile mountain tribes to peaceful lands. Enlil was associated with the natural laws of nature, the passage of time, aging, death. In one of the largest Sumerian cities, Nippur, he was considered their patron. It was there that the ancient calendar of this vanished civilization was located.

Enki

Like other ancient mythologies, Sumerian mythology included exactly the opposite images. So, a kind of “anti-Enlil” was Enki (Ea) - the lord of the earth. He was considered the patron saint of fresh waters and all humanity in general. The lord of the earth was prescribed the characteristics of a craftsman, a magician and an artist who taught his skills to the younger gods, who, in turn, shared these skills with ordinary people.

Enki is the main character of Sumerian mythology (one of the three along with Enlil and Anu), and it was he who was called the protector of education, wisdom, scribes and schools. This deity personified the human collective, which was trying to subjugate nature and change its habitat. Enki was especially often turned to during wars and other serious dangers. But during periods of peace, its altars were empty; sacrifices, so necessary to attract the attention of the gods, were not made there.

Inanna

In addition to the three great gods, in Sumerian mythology there were also the so-called elder gods, or gods of the second order. Inanna is counted among this host. She is best known as Ishtar (an Akkadian name that was later also used in Babylon during its heyday). The image of Inanna, which appeared among the Sumerians, survived this civilization and continued to be revered in Mesopotamia in later times. Its traces can be traced even in Egyptian beliefs, and in general it existed until Antiquity.

So what does Sumerian mythology say about Inanna? The goddess was considered associated with the planet Venus and the power of military and love passion. She embodied human emotions, the elemental power of nature, as well as the feminine principle in society. Inanna was called the warrior maiden - she patronized intersexual relations, but she herself never gave birth. This deity in Sumerian mythology was associated with the practice of cult prostitution.

Marduk

As noted above, each Sumerian city had its own patron god (for example, Enlil in Nippur). This feature was associated with the political features of the development of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. The Sumerians almost never, with the exception of very rare periods, lived within the framework of one centralized state. For several centuries, their cities formed a complex conglomerate. Each settlement was independent and at the same time belonged to the same culture, bound by language and religion.

Sumerian and Akkadian mythology of Mesopotamia left its traces in the monuments of many Mesopotamian cities. It also influenced the development of Babylon. In a later period, it became the largest city of antiquity, where its own unique civilization was formed, which became the basis of a large empire. However, Babylon began as a small Sumerian settlement. It was then that Marduk was considered his patron. Researchers classify him as one of the dozen elder gods that Sumerian mythology gave birth to.

In short, Marduk's importance in the pantheon grew along with the gradual growth of Babylon's political and economic influence. His image is complex - as he evolved, he included the features of Ea, Ellil and Shamash. Just as Inanna was associated with Venus, Marduk was associated with Jupiter. Written sources of antiquity mention his unique healing powers and the art of healing.

Together with the goddess Gula, Marduk knew how to resurrect the dead. Also, Sumerian-Akkadian mythology placed him in the place of the patron of irrigation, without which the economic prosperity of the cities of the Middle East was impossible. In this regard, Marduk was considered the giver of prosperity and peace. His cult reached its apogee in the period (VII-VI centuries BC), when the Sumerians themselves had long disappeared from the historical scene, and their language was consigned to oblivion.

Marduk vs Tiamat

Thanks to cuneiform texts, numerous tales of the inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia have been preserved. The confrontation between Marduk and Tiamat is one of the main plots that Sumerian mythology preserved in written sources. The gods often fought among themselves - similar stories are known in Ancient Greece, where the legend of gigantomachy was widespread.

The Sumerians associated Tiamat with the global ocean of chaos in which the whole world was born. This image is associated with the cosmogonic beliefs of ancient civilizations. Tiamat was depicted as a seven-headed hydra and a dragon. Marduk entered into a fight with her, armed with a club, a bow and a net. God was accompanied by storms and heavenly winds, called by him to fight monsters generated by a powerful enemy.

Each ancient cult had its own image of the foremother. In Mesopotamia, Tiamat was considered her. Sumerian mythology endowed her with many evil traits, because of which the rest of the gods took up arms against her. It was Marduk who was chosen by the rest of the pantheon for the decisive battle with the ocean-chaos. Having met his foremother, he was horrified by her terrible appearance, but entered into battle. A variety of gods in Sumerian mythology helped Marduk prepare for battle. The water demons Lahmu and Lahamu gave him the ability to summon floods. Other spirits prepared the rest of the warrior's arsenal.

Marduk, who opposed Tiamat, agreed to fight the ocean-chaos in exchange for the recognition by the other gods of their own world domination. A corresponding deal was concluded between them. At the decisive moment of the battle, Marduk drove a storm into Tiamat's mouth so that she could not close it. After that, he shot an arrow inside the monster and thus defeated his terrible rival.

Tiamat had a consort husband, Kingu. Marduk dealt with him too, taking away the tables of destinies from the monster, with the help of which the winner established his own dominance and created a new world. From the upper part of Tiamat's body he created the sky, the signs of the zodiac, the stars, from the lower part - the earth, and from the eye the two great rivers of Mesopotamia - the Euphrates and the Tigris.

The hero was then recognized by the gods as their king. In gratitude to Marduk, a sanctuary in the form of the city of Babylon was presented. Many temples dedicated to this god appeared in it, including the famous ancient monuments: the Etemenanki ziggurat and the Esagila complex. Sumerian mythology left many evidences about Marduk. The creation of the world by this god is a classic plot of ancient religions.

Ashur

Ashur is another Sumerian god whose image survived this civilization. He was originally the patron saint of the city of the same name. In the 24th century BC it arose there. When in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. this state reached the peak of its power, Ashur became the most important god of all Mesopotamia. It is also curious that he turned out to be the main figure of the cult pantheon of the first empire in the history of mankind.

The King of Assyria was not only the ruler and head of state, but also the high priest of Ashur. This is how theocracy was born, the basis of which was Sumerian mythology. Books and other sources of antiquity and antiquity indicate that the cult of Ashur existed until the 3rd century AD, when neither Assyria nor independent Mesopotamian cities existed for a long time.

Nanna

The Sumerian moon god was Nanna (also a common Akkadian name Sin). He was considered the patron saint of one of the most important cities of Mesopotamia - Ur. This settlement existed for several millennia. In the XXII-XI centuries. BC, the rulers of Ur united all of Mesopotamia under their rule. In this regard, the importance of Nanna increased. His cult had important ideological significance. The eldest daughter of the king of Ur became the High Priestess of Nanna.

The moon god was favorable to cattle and fertility. He determined the fate of animals and the dead. For this purpose, every new moon Nanna went to the underworld. The phases of the Earth's celestial satellite were associated with his numerous names. The Sumerians called the full moon Nanna, the crescent moon Zuen, and the young crescent Ashimbabbar. In the Assyrian and Babylonian traditions, this deity was also considered a soothsayer and healer.

Shamash, Ishkur and Dumuzi

If the moon god was Nanna, then the sun god was Shamash (or Utu). The Sumerians believed that day was a product of night. Therefore, in their minds, Shamash was Nanna’s son and servant. His image was associated not only with the sun, but also with justice. At noon Shamash judged the living. He also fought evil demons.

The main cult centers of Shamash were Elassar and Sippar. Scientists date the first temples (“houses of radiance”) of these cities to the incredibly distant 5th millennium BC. It was believed that Shamash gave wealth to people, freedom to prisoners, and fertility to lands. This god was depicted as a long-bearded old man with a turban on his head.

In any ancient pantheon there were personifications of each natural element. So, in Sumerian mythology, the god of thunder is Ishkur (another name is Adad). His name often appeared in cuneiform sources. Ishkur was considered the patron saint of the lost city of Karkara. In myths he occupies a secondary position. Nevertheless, he was considered a warrior god, armed with terrible winds. In Assyria, the image of Ishkur evolved into the figure of Adad, which had important religious and state significance. Another nature deity was Dumuzi. He personified the calendar cycle and the change of seasons.

Demons

Like many other ancient peoples, the Sumerians had their own underworld. This lower underground world was inhabited by the souls of the dead and terrible demons. In cuneiform texts, hell was often called "the land of no return." There are dozens of underground Sumerian deities - information about them is fragmentary and scattered. As a rule, each individual city had its own traditions and beliefs associated with chthonic creatures.

Nergal is considered one of the main negative gods of the Sumerians. He was associated with war and death. This demon in Sumerian mythology was depicted as the distributor of dangerous epidemics of plague and fever. His figure was considered the main one in the underworld. In the city of Kutu there was the main temple of the Nergalov cult. Babylonian astrologers personified the planet Mars using his image.

Nergal had a wife and his own female prototype - Ereshkigal. She was Inanna's sister. This demon in Sumerian mythology was considered the master of the chthonic creatures Anunnaki. The main temple of Ereshkigal was located in the large city of Kut.

Another important chthonic deity of the Sumerians was Nergal's brother Ninazu. Living in the underworld, he possessed the art of rejuvenation and healing. His symbol was a snake, which later became the personification of the medical profession in many cultures. Ninaza was revered with special zeal in the city of Eshnunn. His name is mentioned in the famous Babylonian ones where it is said that offerings to this god are obligatory. In another Sumerian city - Ur - there was an annual holiday in honor of Ninazu, during which abundant sacrifices were held. The god Ningishzida was considered his son. He guarded the demons imprisoned in the underworld. The symbol of Ningishzida was the dragon - one of the constellations of Sumerian astrologers and astronomers, which the Greeks called the constellation Serpent.

Sacred trees and spirits

Spells, hymns and prescription books of the Sumerians testify to the existence of sacred trees among this people, each of which was attributed to a specific deity or city. For example, tamarisk was especially revered in the Nippur tradition. In Shuruppak's spells, this tree is considered to be Tamarisk, used by exorcists in rites of purification and treatment of diseases.

Modern science knows about the magic of trees thanks to the few traces of conspiracy traditions and epics. But even less is known about Sumerian demonology. Mesopotamian magical collections, which were used to drive out evil forces, were compiled already in the era of Assyria and Babylonia in the languages ​​of these civilizations. Only a few things can be said for sure about the Sumerian tradition.

There were spirits of ancestors, guardian spirits and hostile spirits. The latter included the monsters killed by the heroes, as well as personifications of illnesses and diseases. The Sumerians believed in ghosts, very similar to the Slavic hostages of the dead. Ordinary people treated them with horror and fear.

Evolution of mythology

The religion and mythology of the Sumerians went through three stages of its formation. At the first, communal-tribal totems evolved into the masters of cities and demiurge gods. At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC, conspiracies and temple hymns appeared. A hierarchy of gods emerged. It began with the names An, Enlil and Enki. Then came the suns and moons, warrior gods, etc.

The second period is also called the period of Sumerian-Akkadian syncretism. It was marked by a mixture of different cultures and mythologies. Alien to the Sumerians, the Akkadian language is considered the language of the three peoples of Mesopotamia: the Babylonians, Akkadians and Assyrians. Its oldest monuments date back to the 25th century BC. Around this time, the process of merging the images and names of Semitic and Sumerian deities began, performing the same functions.

The third, final period is the period of unification of the common pantheon during the III dynasty of Ur (XXII-XI centuries BC). At this time, the first totalitarian state in human history arose. It subjected to strict ranking and accounting not only people, but also the disparate and multifaceted gods. It was during the Third Dynasty that Enlil was placed at the head of the assembly of gods. An and Enki were on either side of him.

Below were the Anunnaki. Among them were Inanna, Nanna, and Nergal. About a hundred more minor deities were located at the foot of this staircase. At the same time, the Sumerian pantheon merged with the Semitic one (for example, the difference between the Sumerian Enlil and the Semitic Bela was erased). After the fall of the III dynasty of Ur in Mesopotamia it disappeared for some time. In the second millennium BC, the Sumerians lost their independence, finding themselves under the rule of the Assyrians. A mixture of these peoples later gave rise to the Babylonian nation. Along with ethnic changes, religious changes also occurred. When the former homogeneous Sumerian nation and its language disappeared, the mythology of the Sumerians also sank into the past.