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Bašmu orBashmu (Akkadian:𒈲𒊮𒉣𒇬,romanized: bašmu;cuneiform:MUŠ.ŠÀ.TÙR orMUŠ.ŠÀ.TUR,lit. "Venomous Snake") was an ancientMesopotamian mythological creature, a horned snake with two forelegs and wings.[2] It was also theAkkadian name of theBabylonianconstellation (MUL.DINGIR.MUŠ) equivalent to theGreekHydra.[3] TheSumerian termsušum (portrayed with feet, seeNinurta's Dragon) andmuš-šà-tùr ("birth goddess snake", portrayed without feet) may represent differing iconographic types or different demons.[4] It is first attested by a 22nd-century BC cylinder inscription atGudea.
In theAngim, or "Ninurta's return toNippur", it was identified as one of the eleven "warriors" (ur-sag) defeated by Ninurta. Bašmu was created in the sea and was "sixty double-miles long", according to a fragmentary Assyrian myth[5] which recounts that it devoured fish, birds, wildasses, and men, securing the disapproval of the gods who sentNergal or Palil ("snake charmer") to vanquish it. It was one of the eleven monsters created byTiamat in theEnuma Elish creation myth. It had "six mouths, seven tongues and seven ...-s on its belly".[6]