Gods, Demons & Immortals
whose Names Start with 'G'
The immortals of ancient Sumer.
by James W. Bell © 2002-3
galla
Galla were Netherworld demons under the command of the Anunnaki, the gods who judged the dead. In the Sumerian story, The Descent of Inanna, gallas are described as:
“They touch not food
Nor drink water;
They accept no offerings of sprinkled flour
Nor taste libations of sacred wine.
They enjoy not women
And have no children to love,
They steal the wife from her husband’s arms,
And remove the child from its father’s knee.”
“Small galla are like the reeds in a low reed fence,
Large galla are like the reeds in a high reed fence.”
* [ In my stories, galla were thin Underworld demons who looked like broken stalks of dead reeds. They were numerous in number and ventured up to the Great Above, either singly or in mass, to inflict pain with their sharp heads, causing suffering and death among human mortals. ] *
To read a Sumerian elegy on the death of Nawirtum, who was taken away from her husband by a galla demon, click here.
Being demons, the galla had no temples, shrines or sanctuaries.
Gatumdug
Gatumdug, a daughter of Anu, was a local mother goddess in the city-state of Lagash. She is sometimes identified with Bau. Gudea, a later lugal (king) of Lagash, declared Gatumdug to be his mother and built a temple for her in the Uru.ku at Girsu, called the E.gula, 'The Big House.'
Geshtinanna
Geshtinanna, a daughter of Duttur, was Dumuzi's sister.
Geshtinanna, was a spinster, living alone in the Arali Desert in southern Eden. In Dumuzi's flight from the galla, when Inanna told them to carry away her husband and take him down to the Netherworld, he ran to Geshtinanna for help. She tried to hide her brother but her efforts did little good. Dumuzi was found by the galla. It was then that Geshtinanna learned her brother had been sentenced by Inanna, his wife, to the Netherworld, never to return again to the Great Above.
*[ In my stories, feeling sorry for her brother, Geshtinanna offered to take Dumuzi's place in the Netherworld for six months of each year. At first, Ereshkigal would not agree to that but her people bemoaned the loss of Dumuzi so much that she finally had to accept Geshtinanna's offer. As a result, Geshtinanna takes Dumuzi's place in the Netherworld for six months every year. ]*
Dumuzi built a temple for Geshtinanna at Bad-tibira, the E.sheshegarra, 'House Established by the Brother.'
Gibil (Gerra or Girra in Akaddian)
Gibil, the Sumerian god of Fire, was the son of Anu and the goddess Shala, Ishkur's wife. He provided humans with the means for making food more edible, by cooking it with fire. He also provided for the building of cities by hardening bricks of clay used for construction until they were hard as stone. He was an especially benevolent god, one who, as a benefactor of urban life, helped the black-headed Sumerians build their civilization.
Gibil's only known temple was the E-melamhush, 'House of Awful Radiance,' which was at Nippur. In addition, the canal running from Zabalam by Apisala and through the frontier to the Tigris River was named the Gibil Canal in his honor.
*[ In my stories, Gibil, was a fire god who had the ability to ignite himself or any object within sight. He represented fire in its beneficial respects, as heating the smelter's ladle or firing the potter's kiln. ]*
*[ I picture Gibil as big and muscular, like a burly smelter, with curly black hair on head and chest and a bushy black beard. He wore circlets of burnished copper around his hair and arms, and dressed in a belted leather kilt and leather sandals. He was often covered with soot stains from burning reeds and rushes in kilns and smelteries. ]*
*[ When Gibil self ignited, his body started smoking. As the process continued, he gave off increasing amounts of smoke from his shoulders until he flared and burst into flames, like a torch. When returning to normal state, the flames would die down and gradually disappear, leaving Gibil's body hot and smoldering afterwards. ]*
Gibil had no known temples, shrines or sanctuaries of his own, but had a chamber in Nusku's E.me.lam.hush Temple at Nippur, 'House of the Awesome Radiance.'
gidim (etemmu in Akkadian)
Gidim (etemmu in Akkadian) were the spirits of dead people living in the Netherworld, the Sumerian equivalent of today’s ghosts.
The deceased human mortal consisted of two parts: the adda (esemtu in Akkadian) and the gidim (etemmu in Akkadian). In Sumer, the body (adda) was often buried under the floor of the family home at which time the gidim separated and went down into the Netherworld.
A gidim could be powerful, depending on personal valor and accomplishments of the deceased while alive and also on the number of sons he had. A gidim was weak if the deceased had few or no sons or had achieved little during his lifetime. Powerful gidim could return to the land of the living while weak gidim might not have sufficient strength to make the journey back up to the Great Above.
The worst that could happen was for a dead person not to be buried. If that happened, the gidim, even a weak gidim, was liable to persecute whoever was responsible. Once the deceased had been properly buried, the gidim descended o the Netherworld where it stayed unless not properly fed or remembered by the living, in which case, if it was powerful enough, it returned to the Great Above to haunt those who had been negligent.
* [ In my stories, once a dead person had been totally forgotten in the world of the living, the gidim became forever dormant unless revived and called forth by one of the deities. ] *
Gishzida (see Ningishzida)
Gubaba
Gubaba was a little known Assyrian god most often associated with another little known god from Assyria named Samnuha.
Gubarra (See Shala)
A Sumerian goddess, once known as 'The Fire Lady of the border of Eden' became the consort of Ishkur, where her name became Shalah.
As Gubarra, the goddess once had a temple but its name and location have been lost.
Gugalanna
(also called The Great Bull of Heaven)
Gugalanna, the Great Bull of Heaven was an early husband of Ereshkigal, Queen of the Netherworld. When he was called down from Heaven by Inanna to wreak vengeance on Gilgamesh, it was he who was slain on the streets of Uruk by Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu.
Ninazu was the son of Ereshkigal and Gugalanna.
*[ In my stories, although Gugalanna was married to Ereshkigal, he maintained a residence in Heaven. It was rumored that he was married to Ereshkigal in name only. However, whenever Inanna wanted vengeance, she would call on her friend, Anu, to send down her husband, the Great Bull of Heaven, to wreak vengeance on whomever had offended her. This is how Gugalanna came to be called down from Heaven and killed on the Earth by Gilgamesh. ]*
Gulgalanna had no earthly temples, shrines or sanctuaries.
Gula (also known as Ninisina)
Gula, wife of Pablisag, was a Sumerian goddess of healing with her principal temple in the city of Isin. Gula and Pablisag had a son named Damu, a god of healing, and a daughter named Gunura.
*[ In the early days, before the Flood, Gula married Pablisag, the tutelary god of Larak. After seeing the terrible destruction wrought by the Flood and losing her husband to the Netherworld, Gula became interested in caring for the sick and wounded in the Great Above. ]*
*[ When she had a temple built in Isin to care for the ill, the inhabitants of the city appointed her queen of Isin and called her Ninisina, 'Lady of Isin.' ]*
*[ Gula was a mature goddess with the demeanor of a professional. She was stocky and short in stature. Her black hair was straight and held in place by a gold circlet inset with pieces of carnelian. She wore a full-length robe of bleached wool with long sleeves. ]*
*[ In antediluvian times, Gula had a temple at Larak, the E.ashte, 'House of the Throne.' This was washed away when the city of Larak was destroyed by the Flood. ]*
*[ After the Flood, Gula had a temple at Isin, dedicated in the name of Ninisina, the E.galmah, 'Exalted Palace.' She later added more temples, all named E.galmah, in the cities of Uruk, Ur, Babylon and Asshur. ]*
Gunura
A little known Sumerian goddess, the daughter of Gula and a sister of Damu, sometimes rumored to be the consort of Damu.
Gunura had a seat named the E.ankuga, 'House Pure Heaven,' in the E.rabriri Temple at Babil.
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