| Ninlil | |
|---|---|
Wife of Enlil | |
| Other names | Sud, Kutušar, Mullilu |
| Major cult center | |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Nisaba andḪaya |
| Consort | Enlil |
| Children | |
| Equivalents | |
| Syrian | Shalash |
| Ugaritic | Athirat |
| Assyrian | Mullissu and possiblyŠerua |
Ninlil (𒀭𒎏𒆤DNIN.LÍL; meaning uncertain) was aMesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife ofEnlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the pantheon. She is also well attested as the mother of his children, such as the underworld godNergal, the moon godNanna or the warrior godNinurta. She was chiefly worshiped inNippur and nearbyTummal alongside Enlil, and multiple temples and shrines dedicated to her are attested in textual sources from these cities. In the first millennium BCE she was also introduced to Ḫursaĝkalamma nearKish, where she was worshiped alongside the goddessBizilla, who was likely hersukkal (attendant deity).
At an early date Ninlil was identified with the goddessSud fromShuruppak, like her associated with Enlil, and eventually fully absorbed her. In the mythEnlil and Sud, Ninlil is the name Sud received after marrying Enlil.Nisaba, the goddess of writing, and her husbandHaya are described as her parents. While Ninlil's mother bears a different name,Nunbaršegunu, in the mythEnlil and Ninlil, the god listAn = Anum states that it was an alternate name of Nisaba.Syncretism with Sud also resulted in Ninlil acquiring some of her unique characteristics, such as an association with healing goddesses and withSudaĝ, a name of the wife of the sun godShamash. References to these connections can be found in various Mesopotamian texts, such as a hymn referring to Ninlil as a healing goddess or a myth apparently confusing her with Sudaĝ in the role of mother ofIshum.
In Syrian cities such asMari,Emar andUgarit, Ninlil was closely associated with the local goddessShalash, the spouse ofDagan, a god regarded as analogous to Enlil. This equivalence is also attested inHurrian religion, in which Shalash was the spouse ofKumarbi, another god regarded as similar to Enlil. However, Ninlil is also attested as a distinct deity in Hurrian texts, and could serve as a divine witness of treaties in this context.
In theNeo-Assyrian Empire Ninlil was reinterpreted as the spouse of the supreme Assyrian godAshur, and in this role developed intoMullissu, who in turn could be identified with various deities from the pantheon of Assyria, such asŠerua or local forms ofIshtar from cities such asNineveh.
Through most of the third millennium BCE, Ninlil's name was written with theSumeriancuneiform sign LÍL (KID[1]), while Enlil's with identically pronounced É.[2] From theUr III period onward LÍL started to be used in both cases.[3] The causes of these phenomena remain unknown.[4] The pronunciationNinlil is confirmed by a phonetic gloss rendering the name syllabically asni-in-lil.[5] The meaning of the second element of the name is not certain, though a late explanatory text translates the name Ninlil as GAŠANza-qí-qí, "lady of the breeze", which matches a common theory according to which Enlil's name should be understood as "lord wind".[6]
A variantAkkadian form of the name was Mullilu, inNeo-Assyrian sources spelled asMullissu, inAramaic texts asmlš, and inMandaic asmwlyt.[5] This form of the name was also known to Greek authors such asHerodotus (who transcribes it as "Mylitta") andCtesias.[5] It is possible that it originally developed as a feminine equivalent of Enlil's dialecticalEmesal name Mullil (derived fromUmum-lil,umun being the Emesal form ofen).[5] The names Mullil and Mullissu could also be connected with the Akkadian wordelēlu, and therefore it is possible they were understood as "he who makes clean" and "she who makes clean", respectively.[5]
According to the god listAn = Anum, an alternate name of Ninlil was Sud,[7] writtendSU.KUR.RU.[8] It originally referred to the tutelary deity ofShuruppak, who wassyncretised with Ninlil.[8] Jeremiah Peterson proposes that the Sumerian writing of Sud's name was misunderstood as an Akkadian noun based on a single copy of the Nippur god list in which a deity nameddsu-kur-ru-um occurs.[9] A different interpretation has been suggested byManfred Krebernik [de], who argues this entry has no relation to Sud and represents a deified cult emblem, specifically a lance (Akkadian:šukurrum).[10] The deified lance is elsewhere attested in association with the godWer.[11]
As the wife ofEnlil, Ninlil was believed to be responsible for similar spheres of life, and stood on the top of the pantheon alongside him.[12] Like him, she was believed to be in charge of the determination of fates, and in a few inscriptions even takes precedence over him in this role.[13] A late hymn states that she was the ruler of both earth and heaven, and that Enlil made no decision without her.[12] Kings from theThird Dynasty of Ur considered both of them to be the source of earthly royal authority.[13] In literary texts, she could be described as responsible for appointing other deities to their positions alongside her husband. For example, a hymn credits the couple with bestowingInanna's position upon her.[14] Another states thatNergal was entrusted with theunderworld by them both.[15] In yet another composition, they are also credited with givingNinisina "broad wisdom created by an august hand".[15]Nuska was also believed to owe his position to a decree of both Enlil and Ninlil.[16] It has been suggested that an entire standardized series of hymns describing how various deities were appointed to their positions this way existed.[17]
Due to Enlil's position as the father of gods, Ninlil could be analogously viewed as themother of gods.[10] In theTemple Hymns (ETCSL 4.80.1. in theElectronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature) she is one of the four goddesses described asama, "mother", the other three being Nintur (a goddess of birth), Ninisina andBau.[18] It is possible that Ninlil could also be referred to with the epithettamkartum, a rare feminine form of the wordtamkarum, "merchant".[19] Enlil could be described as a divine merchant (ddam-gar3), which according to Jeremiah Peterson might mean thatdta-am-kart-tum attested in a fragment of a non-standardOld Babylonian god list from Nippur is a name of Ninlil referring to a similar role.[19]
Like many other deities, she could be compared to a cow, though this does not indicate an association with cattle ortheriomorphic character in art.[12] It is possible that she is depicted as a seated enthroned goddess on at least onecylinder seal from the Ur III period.[20] Another might depict her as a tall goddess wearing the horned headdress of divinity leading a supplicant, followed by a shorter goddess, possibly representingNintinugga, whose devotee the owner of the seal was according to accompanying inscription.[21]
InMesopotamian astronomy, Ninlil was associated with twoconstellations, themulmar-gíd-da ("wagon") corresponding toUrsa Major and themulÙZ ("goat"), corresponding toLyra, as attested in the compendiumMUL.APIN and other sources.[12]
It has been argued that through the history of ancient Mesopotamian religion, the domain of Ninlil continued to expand,[22] sometimes at the expense of other goddesses.[23]
It is agreed that Ninlil fully absorbed the goddess Sud,[24] like her viewed as the spouse of Enlil.[25] Her association with this god goes back to theEarly Dynastic period.[8] A mythological explanation made Ninlil a name Sud received after getting married.[26] Thesyncretism between them is attested in the god listAn = Anum,[7] but in the olderWeidner god list Sud appears not with Enlil and Ninlil, but rather among the medicine goddesses, next toGula.[10]
The process of conflation meant that some associations originally exclusive to Sud could be transferred to Ninlil as well.[27] For example, theHymn to Gula composed byBulluṭsa-rabi attests that she could be viewed as a goddess of healing, which has been identified as a possible result of Sud's association with Gula.[22] Sud could also be associated withSudaĝ, one of the names of the wife of sun godShamash.[27]
Ninlil was also incorporated into Hurrian religion, where she and Enlil were regarded as two of the so-called "primeval gods",[28] a group of deities belonging to the former divine generations who resided in the underworld.[29] Other senior Mesopotamian deities likeAnu andAlalu could be listed among them too.[30] They could be invoked as divine witnesses of treaties.[30]
From the reign ofTiglath-Pileser I onward, Ninlil started to be viewed as the wife of theAssyrian head god,Ashur.[31] The equivalence between Ninlil understood as spouse of Enlil and Mullissu understood as spouse of Ashur is well attested inNeo-Assyrian sources.[32]
It has been argued that Mullissu's newfound position might have resulted in conflation withŠerua, as in scholarship it is often assumed that this goddess was the original wife of Ashur.[31] It has also been proposed that while originally regarded as his wife, she later came to be replaced (rather than absorbed) by Mullissu, and was demoted to the position of a daughter or sister.[33] A different theory, based onAramaic inscriptions from theParthian period, makes Šerua's initial position that of a daughter of Ashur, who later came to be viewed as his second wife alongside Mullissu.[33] Mullissu also came to be conflated withIshtar ofNineveh, who was also recast as Ashur's consort in the Neo-Assyrian period.[34] It has been argued that especially in texts from the reign ofAshurbanipal, the names are synonymous.[34] Similar process is also attested forIshtar of Arbela and Ishtar ofAssur.[34] At the same time Ishtar without any epithets indicating association with a specific location could appear in Assyrian texts separately from the goddesses of Nineveh and Arbela identified with Mullissu, indicating that they coexisted as separate members of the pantheon.[35]
Ninlil's husband was Enlil.[8] As early as in theEarly Dynastic Period, they are attested as a couple in sources fromAbu Salabikh andUr.[36] The relationship between them is further affirmed by most of the later major god lists: theWeidner god list, the Nippur god list, theIsin god list, theMari god list, Old BabylonianAn = Anum forerunner andAn = Anum itself.[8] As Ninlil's husband, Enlil could be called "the allure of her heart" (Sumarian:ḫi-li šag4-ga-na).[37] It has been pointed out that in some cases, they functioned as unity in religious texts.[38] A certain Enlilalša, a governor of Nippur, acted as a priest of both Enlil and Ninlil, though the terms used to refer to these functions are not identical (nu-eš3 andgudu4, respectively).[39]
The mythEnlil and Sud indicates that Ninlil was regarded as the daughter ofNisaba, the goddess of writing, and her husbandHaya.[31] InEnlil and Ninlil her mother is instead a goddess namedNunbaršegunu, who according to the god listAn = Anum was identified with Nisaba.[31]Eresh, the cult center of Nisaba, could be called the "beloved city of Ninlil", as attested in the compositionEnmerkar and En-suhgir-ana.[40] However, it is not known if atemple dedicated to her actually existed there.[41]
As the wife of Enlil, Ninlil could be regarded as the mother ofNinurta, as attested for example inNinurta's Return to Nippur (Angim), though other goddesses, such as Nintur,Ninhursag or Dingirmah are attested in this role too.[42] She was also practically without exception regarded as the mother ofNergal.[43] As the mother of those two gods, she could be referred to with the epithet Kutušar.[44] It is attested in association with the city ofTummal.[44] It also occurs in an inscription ofShamshi-Adad V, in which Kutušar is called "the lady equal toAnu andDagan" (Akkadian:bēlti šinnat Anum u Dagan), with Dagan most likely serving as a name of Enlil due to the long-standing association between those two gods.[45] Ninlil was also the mother of the moon godNanna.[46] By extension,Inanna (Ishtar) andUtu (Shamash) could be viewed as her grandchildren.[47]
While a number of sources attest that Ninlil could be regarded as the mother ofNinazu, according to Frans Wiggermann this tradition might only be a result of the growing influence of Nergal on this god's character, which was also responsible for his role as a divine warrior.[48] He points out that in other sources Ninazu was the son ofEreshkigal and a nameless male deity, presumably to be identified withGugalanna, which reflected his own character as a god of the underworld.[48] Ninazu is nonetheless one of the children born in the mythEnlil and Ninlil, where his brothers are Nanna, Meslamtaea (Nergal) andEnbilulu.[48] The last of these deities was responsible for irrigation, and in another tradition was a son ofEa, rather than Enlil and Ninlil.[49]
Ninlil could also be identified with Nintur, who was regarded as the mother of another of Enlil's sons,Pabilsaĝ.[50] In a hymn, she is credited with bestowing various titles and abilities onNinisina,[51] who is well attested as Pabilsag's wife.[52]
Ninlil'ssukkal (attendant deity) was most likely the goddessBizilla.[53][54] In a star list, Bizilla corresponds to the "star of abundance,"mulḫé-gál-a-a, which in turn is labeled as the sukkal of Ninlil in theastronomical compendiumMUL.APIN.[53] In most other contexts, Bizilla was closely associated with the love goddessNanaya.[55] An explanatory temple list known fromNeo-BabylonianSippar,[56] arranged according to a geographic principle, states that a temple of Bizilla existed in Ḫursaĝkalama, a cult center of Ninlil.[57]
Ninĝidru (writtendNIN.PA; a second possible reading is Ninĝešduru[58]) fulfills the role of a sukkal in a hymn to Sud, where she is described as responsible for receiving visitors in her mistress' temple.[59] She is also mentioned alongside Sud in a fragment of an inscription of an unidentified ruler (ensi) of Shuruppak from theSargonic period.[58] Christopher Metcalf assumes that Ningidru should be considered a male deity,[58] but other authors consider her to be a goddess.[60][59] Her name indicates she was a divine representation of thesceptre, and she was closely associated with the deified crown,Ninmena.[59]
Another courtier of Ninlil was her throne bearer Nanibgal,[61] who was initially synonymous with Nisaba but came to be viewed as a distinct deity later on.[62] Her other servants, known from the god listAn = Anum, were anudug (in this context the term denotes a protective spirit) of her temple Kiur named Lu-Ninlilla and a counselor named Guduga.[61]
A hymn to Sud from the reign ofBur-Suen ofIsin refers toAsalluhi as her doorkeeper.[59] Christopher Metcalf, who translated this composition, does not consider this to be an indication that he was closely associated with her otherwise, as the connection is not present in any other presently known texts,[58] but Jeremiah Peterson in a review of Metcalf's publication notes that it is not impossible that it had a longer tradition.[63] He suggests that as the god ofKuara, Asalluhi might have been associated with Sud andShuruppak due to both of those cities being viewed as predating the mythicalgreat flood in Mesopotamian tradition.[64]
The god listAn = Anum attests that the Syrian goddessShalash (not to be confused with the weather goddessShala[65]) was viewed as analogous to Ninlil, similar to how their respective husbands,Dagan and Enlil, were viewed as equivalents.[66] It is possible that inMari, Ninlil's name was used as alogographic representation of Shalash's.[67] She is also attested alongside Dagan in an offering list fromEmar, though she most likely simply represents his local spouse,[68] presumably also Shalash.[69] She is otherwise absent from Emar, the only other exception being an imported Mesopotamian god list, a variant of theWeidner god list.[70] Especially in Mari, Shalash could also be identified withNinhursag instead.[71]
A trilingual list fromUgarit attests the equivalence between Mesopotamian Ninlil, UgariticAthirat and a Hurrian goddess only labeled as Ašte Kumurbineve,[72] which means "wife ofKumarbi" in theHurrian language.[73] Kumarbi was a god considered analogous to Dagan[74] and due to this association Shalash also came to be viewed as his wife.[28] As a pair, they could also be equated with Enlil and Ninlil.[28]
Ninlil was chiefly worshiped in the cult centers of her husband Enlil.[61]Nippur was therefore also associated with her, as already attested in sources from theEarly Dynastic Period.[41] One of the oldest texts mentioning the worship of Ninlil might be an inscription of a certain Ennail, possibly a ruler (lugal) ofKish, who states that he collected first fruit offerings for Enlil and Ninlil.[46] The text is only known from copies from theUr III period, but a fragment of a statue from Nippur indicates that a ruler named Ennail reigned at some point before theSargonic period.[75] In theEkur temple complex, Ninlil was worshiped in the Kiur (Sumerian: "leveled place"),[76] which can be itself described as a "complex" in modern scholarly literature.[77] It appears in inscriptions ofUr-Ninurta ofIsin andBurnaburiash I of theKassite dynasty ofBabylon.[76] The same name was also applied to a shrine of Ninlil which was a part of a temple ofNinimma in the same city.[76] Further locations within the Ekur temple complex dedicated to her include the Eitimaku, alternative known as Eunuzu ("house which knows no daylight"),[78] a shrine described as her bedchamber,[79] and the Ekurigigal ("house, mountain endowed with sight") which was a storehouse dedicated jointly to her and Enlil, mentioned as early as during the reigns ofDamiq-ilishu andRim-Sîn I.[80] Multiple small shrines in Nippur were also dedicated to her, including the Ešutumkiagga ("house, beloved storeroom") built byUr-Nammu,[81] the Emi-Tummal (translation of the first element uncertain),[82] a shrine called Abzu-Ninlil ("Apsu of Ninlil"), attested in documents from the Ur III period,[83] which according to Manfred Krebernik was a water basin,[41] and a further sanctuary distinct from those three whose name is not fully preserved, also known from documents from the Ur III period.[84]
A further cult center of Ninlil was Tummal, attested in sources from the Ur III period already.[85] It was located in the proximity of Nippur andPuzrish-Dagan, and might correspond to modern Tell Dalham, located 21 kilometers south of the former of those two ancient cities in modernIraq.[85] Piotr Steinkeller proposes that it was initially a cult center ofNinhursag, and that she was replaced at some point with Ninlil, but this view is not supported by other researchers.[86] E-Tummal also functioned as an alternate name of Ninlil's main temple in Nippur.[87]In the Ur III period, a festival taking place in Tummal was centered on Ninlil symbolically renewing the king's legitimacy by decreeing his fate.[88] It has been suggested that it was also a celebration of her marriage to Enlil, and that various songs referring to sexual encounters between them might be related to it, though no direct evidence for the latter theory is currently available.[89]
It has been proposed that a further location associated with Ninlil was NUN.KID from theArchaic City List, a document from the Early Dynastic Period, but this is unlikely as the orthography of the name varies between sources, and there is no basis to assume it was read as Ninlil or associated with her in some way.[90]
It is possible that a temple of Ninlil attested in inscriptions of Rim-Sîn I, Eninbišetum ("house worthy of its lady") was located inUr.[91] It should not be confused with a similarly named temple ofNinshubur, Eninbitum (also "house worthy of its lady"), mentioned by the same ruler and most likely located in the same city.[91]
Ninlil was also worshiped inDur-Kurigalzu, and a temple dedicated to her, the Egašanantagal ("house of the lady on high") was built there by kingKurigalzu I from theKassite dynasty ofBabylon.[92]
In the first millennium BCE, according toJoan Goodnick Westenholz specifically during the reign ofMarduk-apla-iddina II (721-710 BCE), Ninlil was also introduced to Ḫursaĝkalamma, a part of Kish, replacing the older deity worshiped there, Ishtar.[54] The details of this process are presently unknown, though it is possible the goddess of Ḫursaĝkalamma was at this point understood not as a manifestation of Ishtar but as aništaru, a generic term referring to female deities, and therefore could be assigned the name Ninlil without any type ofsyncretism occurring.[54] Ninlil's temple there was known as E-Ḫursaĝkalamma ("house, mountain of the land").[93] Aziggurat possibly dedicated to her, Ekurmah ("house, exalted mountain"), also existed in the same location.[80] It has also been proposed that she was worshiped in theakitu temple ofZababa in Kish.[94] A festival held in Babylon in honor ofGula involved Ninlil, as well asBizilla, both of whom acted as the divine representatives of Kish, alongsideBelet Eanna (Inanna of Uruk), Belet Ninua ("Lady ofNineveh") and the deitydKAŠ.TIN.NAM, possibly to be identified as a late form of the beer goddessNinkasi.[95]
A further temple of Ninlil, Emebišedua (house built for itsme), which was also a temple of Enlil, is known from theCanonical Temple List, but its location is not known.[96]
Sud's main cult center wasShuruppak (modern Fara).[61][97] The name of the city was written the same as that of its tutelary goddess, though with a different determinative, SU.KUR.RUki rather thandSU.KUR.RU, similar to how the names of Enlil andNisaba could be used to represent Nippur and Eresh, respectively.[61] Much information about the religious life of this city has been obtained from administrative texts, and it is known that in addition to Sud, deities such as Nisaba, Ninkasi,Ninmug and Ninshubur were also worshiped there.[98] Sud's importance in the local pantheon is reflected in the number oftheophoric names invoking her.[61] At the same time, there is relatively little evidence regarding her worship outside of Shuruppak, and she is absent from earliest sources from cities such asLagash and Ur.[61] She is nonetheless attested in early texts fromAbu Salabikh,[61] such as theZame Hymns,[99] andAdab.[100] In the latter of these two cities she appears in theophoric names from the Early Dynastic period, such as Sud-anzu and Sud-dazi.[100] She does not appear in any offering lists from Adab predating the Sargonic period.[100]
It is commonly assumed that Sud ceased to be worshiped under own name with the decline of Shuruppak,[27] which is typically dated to the beginning of the second millennium BCE.[25] However, Christopher Metcalf points out that Sud was still actively worshiped by kings of theIsin dynasty, namelyBur-Suen andEnlil-bani.[101] He also notes that it cannot be precisely established how long Shuruppak remained inhabited due to lack of archeological data, aserosion only left the oldest layers of the city to excavate.[102] At the same time, he acknowledges the fact that Shuruppak retained a degree of religious importance does not necessarily indicate that it was still an administrative center or a major urban settlement in theIsin-Larsa period.[103]
A recently published hymn mentioning Bur-Suen indicates that Sud was regarded as responsible for granting him the right to rule.[25] It has been proposed that the Isin dynasty's interest in Sud was based on her association withGula, as medicine deities were particularly venerated in Isin, but there is no reference to her fulfilling such a role in this composition.[101] One of Bur-Suen's successors, Enlil-bani, rebuilt a temple dedicated to her, Edimgalanna (Sumerian: "house, great bond of heaven"; more literally "house,mooring pole of heaven").[104] It is generally agreed that it was located either in Shuruppak or close to it.[103] A further temple of Sud was Ekisiga ("house of funerary offerings"),[105] possibly also located in this city.[106] The name is homophonous with that of a temple ofDagan inTerqa, but the latter has a different meaning ("house, silent place").[105] Ekisiga and Edimgalanna appear side by side in a number of texts, for example in a lamentation describing the destruction of Shuruppak.[101] It is also possible that Esiguz ("house of goat hair") located in Guaba was a temple of Sud, but this is uncertain, and it is better attested in association withInanna of Zabalam.[107] A further temple which seemingly was primarily dedicated toSudaĝ but possibly could have been associated with Sud as well was Ešaba ("house of the heart"), whose location is presently unknown.[108]
In the Old Babylonian period, Shuruppak became a subject of antiquarian interest for Mesopotamian scholars.[103] It continued to be referenced in literature even after abandonment.[109]Utnapishtim, the protagonist of theflood myth which forms a part of theEpic of Gilgamesh, is described as a Shuruppakean,[109] while the text referred to asNippurian Taboos 3 in modern scholarship alludes to the belief that a confrontation between the primordial deityEnmesharra and either Enlil orNinurta took place there.[110] A late occurrence to Sud herself as an independent figure can be found in theCanonical Temple List,[111] which has been dated to theKassite period.[112]
Ninlil appears in the mythEnlil and Ninlil.[26] Most of the known copies come from Nippur, though it was apparently also known inSippar.[113] In the beginning Ninlil, portrayed as inexperienced, is warned by her mother, in this composition namedNunbaršegunu,[31] to avoid the advances of Enlil.[26] After encountering him, Ninlil initially resists, but after consulting his advisorNuska Enlil accomplishes his goal and seduces and impregnates her.[26] For his transgression, he has to be judged by the "fifty great gods" and "the seven gods of destinies."[114] According toWilfred G. Lambert, both terms are rare in Mesopotamian religious literature, and presumably refer to major deities of the pantheon treated as a group.[114] They deem him ritually impure and exile him from Nippur.[26] It is a matter of ongoing debate in scholarship if Enlil's crime was rape or merely premarital sex resulting in deflowering.[115] Ninlil follows him during his exile, even though he refuses to see her, and eventually ends up becoming pregnant multiple times,[116] giving birth to Nanna, Nergal, Ninazu and Enbilulu.[117] Alhena Gadotti argues that while the first encounter between them is arguably described as nonconsensual,[118] this does not seem to apply to the remaining three ones.[119] There is no indication that Enlil and Ninlil became husband and wife in the end, and only he receives praise in the closing lines of the composition.[120]
Ninlil's status inEnlil and Ninlil has been described as that of a "subordinate consort".[120] It has been pointed out that this portrayal does not appear to reflect her position in Mesopotamian religion, especially in the state pantheon of the Third Dynasty of Ur.[120] The absence of Ninurta among the children has also been noted.[31]
Ninlil is also one of the main characters in the mythEnlil and Sud, also known asMarriage of Sud.[121] Due to the difference in her portrayal, it is sometimes contrasted withEnlil and Ninlil in scholarship.[26] It describes how she became Enlil's wife.[122] Copies are known from Nippur,Susa,Nineveh,Sultantepe and possiblySippar.[123] Miguel Civil noted that the text had "wide diffusion attested not only by the relatively high number of sources preserved and their geographical distribution, but also by its long survival through Middle-Babylonian times and into the Assyrian libraries."[124] For uncertain reasons, no reference to Shuruppak is made as any point, and Sud lives with her mother Nisaba[101] in Eresh.[121]
In the beginning of the composition Enlil, who is portrayed as a young bachelor traveling to find a wife,[121] encounters Sud on the streets of Eresh and proposes to her.[125] However, he also calls her shameless.[121] She tells him to leave her sight in response,[121] and additionally remarks that past suitors made her mother angry with their dishonest offers.[125] Enlil consults his sukkalNuska, and sends him to negotiate with Nisaba on his behalf.[125] He is tasked with listing various gifts Enlil can bestow upon her daughter if she will let him marry her.[125] Enlil also says that as his wife, Sud will be able to declare destinies the same way as he does.[125] Nisaba is happy with the offer and with Nuska's conduct, and agrees to the proposal, declaring that she will become Enlil's mother-in-law.[126] After Enlil keeps his promise and the gifts are delivered to Eresh, Nisaba blesses Sud.[127]Aruru, in this myth portrayed as Enlil's sister,[128] leads her to Nippur and helps her prepare for the wedding.[129] Sud and Enlil subsequently get married, and she received the name Ninlil,[129] promised to her in the beginning of the composition.[125] She is described as a former "no-name goddess" (Sumerian:dingir mu nu-tuku), but after assuming her new identity she is instead a goddess who "has a great name" (mu gal tuku).[101] It has also been argued that name Nintur is bestowed on her,[130] thoughJeremy Black instead presumed that the goddess who receives it should be identified as Aruru, not Sud.[27] This event is followed by a short description of a sexual encounter between the newlyweds, which according to Jeremiah Peterson can be compared to similar episodes in love songs.[89]
It has been suggested that the portrayal of Ninlil inEnlil and Sud was informed by her position in the state pantheon of the Third Dynasty of Ur.[120]
Sud appears in some copies ofNanna-Suen's Journey to Nippur, though more known copies mention the goddessNinirigal in the same passage instead.[61]Manfred Krebernik [de] assumes this might indicate they were sometimes conflated.[10] Ninirigal, "lady of the Irigal," was the wife ofGirra.[131] This goddess appears in association with healing deities such asGula/Meme andBau elsewhere, but contrary to conclusions in older scholarship shows no affinity withInanna, despite also being associated with the territory ofUruk.[132]
Ninlil is mentioned in a myth only known from a single Old Babylonian fragment detailing the origin of the godIshum.[133] He is described as a son of Ninlil andShamash who was abandoned in the streets.[133] It is assumed that this myth represents a relic of the association between Sud, identified with Ninlil, andSudaĝ, one of the names of the wife of sun god.[27] Ishum was usually regarded as the son of this couple instead.[27] Manfred Krebernik considers the composition to be the result of confusion between the names Sud and Sudaĝ, and thus between Ninlil and Ishum's mother, rather than syncretism.[134]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| Primordial beings | _-_EnKi_(Sumerian).jpg) | |
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| Primary deities | ||
| Other major deities | ||
| Minor deities | ||
| Demons, spirits, and monsters | ||
| Mortal heroes | ||