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Mušmaḫḫū, inscribed inSumerian as𒈲𒈤 MUŠ.MAḪ,Akkadian asmuš-ma-ḫu, meaning "Exalted/distinguished Serpent", was an ancientMesopotamian mythological hybrid of serpent, lion and bird, sometimes identified with theseven-headed serpent slain byNinurta in the mythology of the Sumerian period. He is one of the three horned snakes, with his companions,Bašmu andUšumgallu, with whom he may have shared a common mythological origin.[1]
InAngim or "Ninurta's return to Nippur", the storm god describes one of his weapons as "the seven-mouthed muš-mah serpent" (line 138), reminiscent of the Greek myth ofHeracles and the seven headedLernaean Hydra he slew in the second of hisTwelve labours. An engraved shell of theEarly Dynastic period shows Ninğirsu slaying the seven-headedmušmaḫḫū.[2]
In the Epic of Creation,Enûma Eliš,Tiāmat gives birth (alādu) to mythical serpents, described asmušmaḫḫū, "with sharp teeth, merciless fangs, instead of blood she filled their bodies with venom".[3]