Gods and Goddesses of Mesopotamia
Enlil
A supreme god of the Mesopotamian pantheon
Pantheon - all the gods of a certain people group
He decrees fates of people
His commands couldn't be altered
The god who granted kingship.
Picture of Enlil
Ishtar
Goddess of war and love.
Daughter of Nanna (god of the moon)
Also known as Inanna.
Ashur
Head of the Assyrian pantheon of gods
Mainly worshipped in the northern
half of Mesopotamia.
Ashur's wife was Ninlil
He was an East Semitic god
Shamash
Also known as Utu.
God of the sun and divine justice
Famously known in the feature in the
renowned law code of Hammurabi.
The son of Sin.
Ninurta
God of farming, healing, hunting, scribes, and law.
First worshipped in early Sumer.
Later became loved by the Assyrians as a formidable warrior.
Sin
God of the moon.
Represented as a bull.
He was a major god in the early part
of the Sumerian period.
Hadad
God of storms, rain, and thunder
Also called Had, Haddu, or Hadda
Associated with the goddess Atargatis
The bull was his symbol
Nergal
The god of death, pestilence, and plague
Lord of the Underworld
Also associated with warfare death
Mentioned in 2 Kings 17:30
The people from Babylon made Sukkoth Benoth, those from Kuthah made Nergal, and those from Hamath made Ashima;
Marduk
A late generation god
Patron deity of the city of Babylon.
Deity - a god or goddess
God of thunderstorms in Mespotamia
Chief god of the city of Babylon
Was called Bel later on.
Accompanied by the goddess Zarpanitu.
Anshar
Means "whole heaven"
His associate is Kishar which
means "whole earth"
They are the kids of Lahmu
Mummu
Appeared in the Babylonian creation myth
A craftsman
someone who is skilled in a particular craft
A personification of practical knowledge
and technical skill
The third of primordial gods
Symbolizes the mental world
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God of war
Associated with Ninurta the god
His symbol is the eagle headed staff
The protector god of the city of Kish
in ancient Mesopotamia.
Amurru
Also known as Martu
God of the Amorite/Amurru people
The protector god of the city Ninab
His accomplice is the goddess Asherah
Shara
Identified as the son of Inanna (Ishtar)
Mainly identified with the city of Umma
Minor god of war
Kingu
Also spelled Qingu
Means "unskilled laborer"
A god in Babylonian mythology
Tiamat (his mom) wanted to make
him leader of all gods before Marduk
killed her
Tiamat wanted to destroy the other gods
so she created an army with Kingu leading it
Kingu was afraid of Marduk and fled
After his mom's death Kingu was
captured and executed
Enki created humans from Kingu's blood
NOT TRUE!
Anzu
Also known as Zu
Wanted to rule the gods
Means the "wise one"
Seen as a half man, half bird.
With a beak like a saw.
His wings so powerful that they could cause
storms, tornadoes, and thunder.
Associated with the storm demon
Main topic
Enmesarra
Described as a god of sun
The Underworld god of law
Protector of flocks and vegetation
Equal to the god Nergal
An ancestor of Enlil
Lahmu
Means parent star or constellation.
He is a protective and beneficent god.
The first born son of Abzu and Tiamat.
His sister is Lahamu.
Enki
The god of the supreme triad
Triad - trinity/group of 3
Chief god of the city of Eridu.
God of water, crafts, creation, mischief, and intelligence.
Later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology.
Picture of Enki
Abzu
God of freshwater
Mates with Tiamat (goddess of salt water)
A Babylonian god
Also called Apsu
Ningishzida
Originally a tree god
Sumerian for "Lord of the good tree"
God of vegetation and the underworld.
Represented as a serpent.
Anu
God of sky, kings, and the yearly calendar.
Theoretically the highest god although
only played a small role.
Anu is from the oldest Sumerian period
(at least 3000BC)
Nabu
Also called Nebo
God of wisdom, writing, and vegetation
A Babylonian god
His symbols were the clay tablet and stylus
Mentioned in Isaiah 46:1
Bel bows down, Nebo stoops low;
their idols are borne by beasts of burden.[a]
The images that are carried about are burdensome,
a burden for the weary.
Associated with Nana a Sumerian god
Tiamat
Goddess of the salt sea
Mates with Abzu (the god of freshwater)
She signifies the chaos primordial creation.
Primordial - existing at the beginning of time