Mesopotamian Mythology This Article Talks About

Mesopotamian Mythology

This Article talks about the Mesopotamian Mythology: the different gods and goddesses, their relation to each other, and the specialty of each one. Since our civilization is the oldest one in the world, it always had a huge influence on other neighboring cultures, such as Persia, Phoenicia, and Greece… part of this influence was Mythology.The Greek Mythology (most famous in the world) greatly resembles ours in many different aspects, their philosophers have always founded their epics and stories on our Mesopotamian material, which is hundreds of years older… it was their source of inspiration.Below is a diagram, representing the (Family Tree) of the Mesopotamian deities. 1)

Blue color indicates a male god, and the red color indicates a female goddess. 2) Some have two names, the first one represents the Sumerian name, and the second one (in brackets) represents the Babylonian (Semitic) name.
Example: Utu (Shamash) Utu = Sumerian � Shamash = Babylonian (Semitic) 3) During the explanation, I will use only one name (the most popular)
According to the Mesopotamian
Mythology, at the very beginning there was only Abzu and Tiamat. Their union
resulted in the creation of the universe, and the existence of all the other
deities that followed. Both Abzu and Tiamat are considered supreme deities but
yet, they have no temples at all.Abzu: The Sweet water Ocean God. The father of all the other gods and
goddesses, and the creator of the universe. Husband of Tiamat, father of Anshar
and Kishar.
The name (Abzu/Apsu) is the original root word, from which the English word
(Abyss) comes from.Tiamat: The Salt water Ocean Goddess. The mother of all the other gods
and goddesses, and the creator of the universe. Wife of Abzu, mother of Anshar
and Kishar.
Tiamat is a huge and evil, serpent-like creature (snake or dragon), w hich was
later killed by Marduk, who became the national god of Babylonians.Here, Tiamat is depicted as an innocent mermaid
This picture is the most accurate representation about Tiamat… depicted as a
big snake-like creature.
Here, Tiamat is depicted as a dragon

Anshar and Kishar: Children of Abzu and Tiamat. Respectively, father and
mother of Anu and Antu.
Anu: The powerful Sky God, ruler of Heavens. Husband of Antu, father of
Enki and Enlil. The main temple for Anu is in the Sumerian city of Uruk.
Antu: The Sky Goddess. Wife of Anu, mother of Enki and Enlil.
Nintu: The Earth Goddess. Wife of Shulpae, mother of Ninurta.
Shulpae: The Earth God. Husband of Nintu, father of Ninurta.
Ninurta: The War God. Son of Nintu and Shulpae..
Ninurta has the face of an eagle and the body of a human, and he was also known
for his violent behavior and bad temper. Planet Saturn is his symbol.
Ninurta is shown here, with a face of an eagle and a body of a human being
(original)

Lugalbanda: King of Uruk. Husband of Ninsun, father of Gilgamesh.
Ninsun: The Sheep Goddess. Mother of Gilgamesh, from her first husband:
Lugalbanda. Also, mother of Tammuz and Geshtinanna, from her second husband:
Enki.
Gilgamesh: Shepherd-King of Uruk. Son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun.
Two thirds of Gilgamesh is divine (god) and one third is mortal (human). He was
the hero of the Epic named after him, and was responsible for the killing of
Nergal.

Enki: The powerful
Water and Wisdom God. Father of Marduk from his first wife: Ninki. Also, father
of Tammuz and Geshtinanna, from his second wife: Ninsun. The main temple for
Enki is in the Sumerian city of Eridu.Enki is believed to live in a watery nature, as shown here… He is inside the
square.
Enki is shown here, with the fish flowing into his body
Magnification of the previous picture
Drawing of the previous picture
Ninki: The Water Goddess. Wife of Enki, mother of Marduk.
Geshtinanna: Lady of Wine. Daughter of Enki and Ninsun, sister of Tammuz.
Tammuz: Shepherd-King of Uruk. Son of Enki and Ninsun, brother of
Geshtinanna.
He was a simple poor shepherd feeding his sheep in the fields, then he fell in
love with Ishtar and married her, but later he betrayed her and therefore, had
to be punished.
Enlil: The powerful Air God. Husband of Ninlil, father of Nanna. The main
temple for Enlil is in the Sumerian city of Nippur.
Ninlil: The Air Goddess. Wife of Enki, mother of Nanna.
Marduk: Son of Enki and Ninki. The main temple of Marduk is in Babylon.
Planet Jupiter is his symbol.

According to our history, Tiamat felt jealous from the others deities, and
decided to destroy the world. Nobody had enough courage to confront and
challenge her except Marduk. A great battle marked the conflict between Marduk
and Tiamat, the Good and the Evil. At the end, Marduk was victorious, he cut
Tiamat in two halves, one half formed the Earth and the other half formed the
Sky, and her two eyes created the two Rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. As a
result, Marduk was considered a hero and became the National God of Babylonians.
Marduk is shown here, trying to kill the evil Tiamat

A European/Western depiction of the battle between Marduk and Tiamat (imaginary)

The real Sumerian tablet featuring the battle of Marduk and Tiamat

Nanna: The Moon God.
Husband of Ningal, father of Shamash, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal. The main temple of
Nanna was in the Sumerian city of Ur. The Moon is his symbol.Ningal: Wife of Nanna, mother of Shamash, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal.Shamash: The Sun and Justice God, the provider of Law. Son of Nanna,
brother of Ishtar and Ereshkigal. The main temple of Shamash is in the Sumerian
city of Sippar. The Sun is his symbol.Shamash is shown on the right, sitting on his thrown… King Hammurabi is on the
left s ide, getting the law code from Shamash

Nergal: The evil God of the Underworld. Husband of Ereshkigal.
He has the face of a human being and the body of a bull, therefore, he is also
known as the Bull of Heaven. Nergal was later killed by Gilgamesh, according to
the Epic. Planet Mars is his symbol.
Nergal is shown here, with a face of a human and a body of a bull

A Western/European depiction of Nergal in a human form

Ereshkigal: The evil Goddess of the Underworld. Wife of Nergal, sister of
Shamash and Ishtar.
She rules the dark world of the death, and takes away the living souls of humans
beings. Ereshkigal was believed to be very jealous of her sister, Ishtar, who
had all the beauty, and importance… in addition to her love story with Tammuz.
Western/European depiction of Ereshkigal

The real Sumerian tablet featuring Ereshkigal… shown here standing on two
lions, with two owls in the background… reflects the evil and dark environment
of the Underworld.

Ishtar: The most important identity in the Mesopotamian Mythology.
Goddess of love, sex, and fertility. Daughter of Nanna, sister of Ereshkigal and
Shamash, wife of Tammuz. The main temple of Ishtar is in the Sumerian city of
Uruk. Planet Venus is her symbol.
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The real Sumerian tablet featuring Ishtar, standing on two goats… reflects the
peaceful nature of her

Ishtar is shown here with her scepture