| Tadmuštum | |
|---|---|
Goddess associated with the underworld | |
| Major cult center | Kutha |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents |
|
| Spouse | Šubula |
Tadmuštum orDadamušda[1] was aMesopotamian goddess associated with theunderworld. She was regarded as the daughter ofNergal, and in known texts often appears in association with his main cult center,Kutha.
Attested spellings of Tadmuštum's name incuneiform includedTá-ad-muš-tum (in an offering list from theUr III period),dTá-ad-mu-uš-tum (in the god listAn = Anum),dTá-da-muš-da (in a late list of dyads of goddesses),dTa-ad-muš-tum (in the textSilbenvokabular A), and according to Manfred Krebernik possiblydTaš-mu-uš-tum (in theNippur god list).[2] However, according to Jeremiah Peterson the last writing, which he renders asdUR-mu-uš-(t)um,[3] stands for the deitydUR-ma-šum (ordUR-maš), thesukkal ofGula known from theWeidner god list andAn = Anum.[4] He notes only in a single exemplar the name ends in theAkkadian femininesuffix,-tum.[5]
It is presumed that thetheonym Tadmuštum originates in aSemitic language, though its preciseetymology is uncertain, with possible cognates including Akkadiandāmasu ("to humble") anddāmašu (interrogative form of "cover up"), as well asGeʽezdamasu ("to abolish," "to destroy" or "to hide").[2]
According to the god listAn = Anum (tablet VI, line 15), Tadmuštum was the daughter ofNergal, the god of the underworld.[6] Another deity of similar character,Šubula, was regarded as her husband according to the same source.[7] Like both of these deities, she was also associated with the underworld herself.[2]
Manfred Krebernik proposes an etymological connection existed between the names of Tadmuštum and theUgaritic goddessDadmiš, who occurs in offering lists from this city alongsideResheph.[8]
The oldest available attestations of Tadmuštum come from the Ur III period.[6] She was already regarded as one of the deities ofKutha in this period.[6] In one of the published offering lists, she appears alongside deities such asLaṣ and Šubula.[7]
The so-calledSilbenvokabular A explains the signs [AŠ].NI-[AŠ].UR first as the primordial parEnki-Ninki, and then as Zarriqum (an underworld god from the circle of Nergal, possibly deification of anofficial bearing the same name[9]) and Tadmuštum.[2]
A late late school text from Babylon, which lists dyads of goddesses, labels Tadmuštum ("Dadamušda") and Belet-ili as the "daughters of E-Meslam,"[1] the maintemple of Nergal located in Kutha.[2] The other pairs listed in include the daughters ofEsagil fromBabylon (Ṣilluš-ṭāb and Katunna), the daughters of Ezida fromBorsippa (Gazbaba andKanisurra), daughters of Edubba fromKish (Iqbi-damiq and Ḫussinni), daughters of Ebabbar fromSippar (Mami and Ninegina), daughters of E-ibbi-Ani fromDilbat (Ipte-bīta and Bēlet-Eanni), and daughters of E-Ningublaga (Mannu-šāninšu and Larsam-iti according toJoan Goodnick Westenholz, Mannu-šāninšu andUrkitum according to Manfred Krebernik).[10][1] Collectively, these deities are referred to as "Divine Daughters" inAssyriology.[11] In addition to these known from the list, further pairs are attested in texts fromUruk,Nippur,Eridu andArbela.[11][12] Based on the well attested roles of the daughters of Esagil and Ezida ashairdressers of corresponding major goddesses, respectivelyZarpanitum andNanaya,Andrew R. George suggests that the other Divine Daughters were also believed to function as members of the households of major deities who were responsible for various menial tasks.[11]