*Note: Babylonian equivalents noted in parentheses
Nammu, the great primeval chaotic ocean/goddess/mother figure. Archetype: Pre-Creation Chaos
From Nammu, came a mountian of dry land: Anki, the "Cosmic Mountain," represented by the ziggurat. From the Cosmic Mountain came Enlil, (Lord of the Wind) God of Air, son of Anki who is both male ("An" the sky) and female ("Ki" the earth). ("An" is "Anu" in Babylonian myth). Ki -> Ninhursag (another name for Ki).
An ("Anu") is the sky god, thought of as being a god, but as the sky he is a solid dome made of lapis lazuli. Since he emerged from chaos, An represents the principle of order. He becomes king of the gods. (Typically the high priest representing a god is also the king of that god's city. If two cities fought, it was believed that the two gods of those cities were also fighting each other.) "An" is a word which represents kingship -- order through unquestioned obedience to An and his high priest. An is thought of as a busy older man, king of the universe.
As for Ki, Enlil returns home one day and rapes her (his mother). This union yields all living things on earth. Ki is then called the "Mother of All Living Things." An and Ki are parents of the gods.
Enlil is the god of air. By separating An and Ki (through the rape of his mother), he holds them apart forever (a common archetype). He is a very powerful god and the second in command. He is characteristically unpredictable like the wind. He is a god of wisdom. He gave humanity a gift: a pickaxe. This is the symbol for agriculture (taught by Enlil). The pick side symbolizes (phallic) the rape of the virgin soil, thus the rape of Ki. Enlil eventually evolves into a god who seems to slowly replace An as king of the gods because An has become too busy with keeping the universe in balance. People begin eventually to pray to Enlil.
Enki, ("Ea") "Lord of the Soil", God of Water. He is a trickster, a prankster, a liar. He loves to win. He is totally unpredictable. He is very clever. He has an advantage: he is the only god who knows magic in addition to his deified powers. This allows him to win virtually every time. But no one ever goes to him first. He is usually the third god approached. He gives to humanity the knowledge of writing (cuneiform). Written and spoken language are both closely associated with magic. Enki's tricks always catch up with him. His magic doesn't keep him out of trouble. Enki lives in the Abzu (the Abyss -- the bottom of the Euphrates). Enki is also associated with law. Trials were often performed as trials by ordeal. The accused would be thrown into the Euphrates to let Enki decide his innocence or guilt. If Enki kept him (drowning), he was guilty and considered justly punished. If Enki threw him back (survival), he must be innocent. Many men were acquitted this way. Later on, they began tying people up first before sugjecting them to this trial. Enki has a thunderbird, called Imdugud. Imdugud is considered to be the South Wind. It carries the rain on its back. It has the body of a bird and the head of a lion (to explain the roar of thunder). Enki is a patron god of artisans. (The only real raw material that existed for the Sumerians was clay. Water is needed to work with the soil and make clay. This is why Enki was known as the Lord of the Soil. The words En and Ki literally mean "Lord of the Soil.") Enki is represented with rays coming off him directed downward, symbolizing water, with fish swimming in the rays.
En = "Lord of"
Nin = "Lady of" (usually; it is sometimes a masculine name as well)
Nanna ("Sin") is the God of the Moon. Nanna is an extremely powerful god who came from An and Ki. The moon is often portrayed as feminine, but Nanna is male. He taught the seasonal planting and harvesting, the lunar month (calendar), tides, astrology (also including astronomy).
The Children of Nanna
Utu ("Shamash"), the God of the Sun (a reversal of the common archetype in which the sun is considered the superior figure). The word "shamash" means "sun." (A "shamash" candle lights the menorah.) Utu is the Judge of the Gods. He is immensely wise and inescapable (because the sun is always watching). He is tremendously powerful. (Shamash is depicted giving Hammurabi the Code of Law). He is depicted as an ordinary Sumerian man, with rays coming off him, and holding either a comb (to separate the truth from the lie) or a saw (to cut through to the truth).
Kur, the Underworld. "Kur" can mean three
things:
"the Underworld"
"the land of the dead personified"
"a river of dead stagnant water that flows through the Underworld"
Nergal, God of the Underworld. A very powerful but not very popular god. (Death and the gods related to it are not usually considered to be evil, but they are not popular.) Nergal abducts a consort from the living world (because no one likes him enough to come willingly). Her name is Ereshkigal. She becomes queen of the Underworld and pushes Nergal out of the picture. No one can come from outside the Underworld and force her in any way (a typical archetype). She is not an evil goddess; she is just unpopular. Ereshkigal cannot be fooled. She has a gatekeeper (a position of tremendous honor) called Neti. Along one side of Ereshkigal's throne room sit seven judges called the Anunaki. They are called the "Seven Judges of the Underworld." When lightning seems to come up from the ground, it is said that the Anunaki are raising their torches.
Ninurta, Lord of the Plow. He is the Storm God, "Lord of the South Wind." He is thought of like Imdugud. He is also a God of War, but atypically he PREVENTS war, like a peace officer. He is the son of An and Ki and is very dear to his mother. He is the patron god of farmers and herdsmen. His herds are the clouds.
Inanna, daughter of Nanna. She is also called (in Babylonian) "Ishtar." She is the goddess of fertility (in humans), of lust, and of love. She is the goddess of hate, war, and slaughter. Love between a man and a woman was considered to be a form of insanity (passion). This kind of love leads to irrational behavior. Passion is a driving emotion which cannot be overcome. To be struck by this goddess meant complete insanity. Therefore, one shouldn't make any serious decisions in this state of mind (e.g., marriage). There was therefore ample provision for divorce in Sumerian society, because it was understodd that the insanity would eventually pass. Inanna shoots barbed arrows. If one of the spouses does not wish to be divorced, it was justifiable to effect the divorce "Italian Style" (murder); this was considered a crime of passion. The passionate insanity of love was considered an acceptable defense for murder. Hate is equally passionate and powerful (e.g., Euripides's "Medea": "Love is diseased."). The worst thing that can happen to a man is to be noticed by Inanna who will immediately want to have an affair with him, after which she will kill him. If he refuses her, she will kill him anyway. She is irresistibly beautiful and totally self-centered. She always holds a grudge and never forgives. Men were always positive that women were scheming to get them and that they used magical charms to do it. (In Celtic folklore, women were said to have "cast a glamour" meaning that a woman's beauty is an illusion.) [One of the three major revolutions of civilization was the medieval advent of courtly love, when the woman became an object of adoration.]
Dumuzi is the God of Fertility in Animals. Dumuzi is brash, impetuous, and he never stops talking. He is very egocentric. He eventually marries Inanna.
Enkimdu is the God of Fertility in Vegetation. Enkimdu is rather shy, modest, unassuming.
There are demons in these early cultures.
Asag, demon of draught.