Gods, Demons & Immortals
whose Names Start with 'I'
The immortals of ancient Sumer.
by James W. Bell © 2002-3
Igalima (also Igalimma)
Igalima was a relatively unimportant local Sumerian god, one of Bau's sons, who maintained order in the city of Girsu and guarded Ningirsu's temple.
Igalima had a temple of his own at Girsu, the E.mehushgalanki, 'House of the Great Awesome Me's of Heaven and Earth.'
Igigi
The Igigi (the plural is Igigi, singular is Igigu) were the 300 lesser gods without individual names who remained in Heaven after 600 lesser gods (later known as the Anunnaki) left Heaven to grow food for the gods living on the Earth.
When the Anunnaki found farming a tiresome and difficult occupation and refused to till the land any longer, the Assembly of the Gods persuaded the Igigi to come down to the Earth and take their place. But the Igigi found farming fully as wearying as the Anunnaki and quickly returned to Heaven where they stayed forever after.
The Igigi had no known temples, shrines or sanctuaries on the Earth but they did have a seat in the chapel of Ninurta in the E.sagil Temple at Babil called E.umushaasalluhi, 'House of Command of Asalluhi.'
Ilabrat
Ilabrat was one of Anu's messengers.
He had no known temples, shrines or sanctuaries but did have a seat called Tab.mudhumhum in the E.sharra Temple as Asshur.
Imdugud (see Anzu Birds)
Imdugud was probably the correct reading for a large bird from Heaven frequently called the Anzu.
*[ However, in my stories, there are a number of Anzu birds and I treat Imdugud as an individual bird. Like other Anzu birds, Imdugud has the body of a gigantic eagle and the head of a lion. But, while most Anzu birds respond to the commands of Enlil the major god of Earth, Imdugud is responsive only to Enki's commands. ]*
Neither Imdugud or Anzu are known to have temples, shrines or sanctuaries on the Earth.
Iminbi (Sebitu in Akkadian)
The Iminbe are a group of seven beneficial Sumerian gods, all sons of Ishara. When summoned by incantations, the seven worked together with their sister, Narudu, to repel demons. The group of seven were represented by seven dots and identified with the Pleiades.
The Iminbi had a shrine, the 'Gishgal.Iminbi,' 'Station of the Divine Heptad,' in the E.rabriri Temple at Babil.
Inanna (also known as Innin
and called Ishtar in Akkadian)
Biblical Connection: In the King James Bible, the goddess known variously in Sumeria as Innin and Inanna and known as Ishtar in Akkad and Babylonia, is called Ashtoreth. (I Kings 11:5 and 33; 2 Kings 23:13)
Easter: Linguists now trace the name of the Christian celebration back to Ishtar (the Akkadian name for Inanna). To view one etymological trail, click here.
Inanna was the most popular of all goddesses in ancient Sumeria. She was the third and youngest chld of Sin and Ningal. Shamash and Ereshkigal were her older siblings.
The Sumerian name, Inanna, can mean Anu's Lady or the Queen of Heaven. *[ In my stories, I use 'Queen of Heaven.' Inanna is the youngest of the gods, having been born on the Earth in the Land of the Gods (the original name for the mountainlands - the Zagros Mountains - later called the Hursag) as Innin. Unlike other gods and goddesses, she was assigned no task to perform of the Earth and therefore held no position in the divine pantheon or in the Assembly of the Gods. ]*
*[ In my stories, when the gods abandoned the mountainlands and moved down to the plain of Sumer, Innin assumed tutelage of the mountain city of Aratta and declared herself its queen. While serving as its patron deity, she came into contact with Anu who had built the citadel of Der in the foothills to protect the cities of Sumer from attack by mountain men who had grown lawless after the major gods left. Inanna and Anu become infatuated with each other and it is at this point that Anu awarded the young goddess the name, Inanna, Queen of Heaven. ]*
*[ Inanna, witnessing the rising civilization of Sumer and wishing to make a name for herself, left Aratta and the mountainlands and went down to the plain of Sumer where she became goddess of Zabalam, a small village on the Iturungal Canal. It was at this time that she met Dumuzi, the tutelary god of Bad-tibira, and fell in love with him. After an intense courtship, she became his wife. ]*
Click here to read a translation of the Sumerian classic, 'The Marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi.'
Inanna is known to have had two sons, Shara and Lulal.
She built a great temple in Uruk named the E-anna Temple. This is where Gilgamesh spurned an offer to become her consort. Inanna became furious with him and had Anu send down Gugalnanna, the Bull of Heaven, Ereshkigal's spouse, to kill Gilgamesh. However, Gilgamesh and his friend, Enkidu, killed Gugalnanna instead.
After that, Inanna decided to descend to the Netherworld to attend Gugalnanna's funeral. Her sister, Ereshkigal, angry at Inanna's intrusion into her world, killed Inanna and hung her corpse on a peg but Enki rescued her by sending two creatures down to the Netherworld who brought the goddess back to life.
Though restored to life, the law of the Netherworld was such that Inanna was not allowed to return to the Great Above without finding someone to take her place in the Great Below. She returned to the surface of the Earth accompanied by underworld demons called galla. With the galla trailing her, Inanna went from city to city, looking for someone to take her place in the Land of No Return.
When she came to Bad-tibra, she found her husband, Dumuzi, enjoying the attentions of young women and handed him over to the galla demons to be taken below.
Click here to read the story in 'Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld.'
*[ In my stories, crushed by her husband's infidelity, Inanna became mad for power. She appointed her son, Shara, as patron deity of Umma and her other son, Lulal, to replace Dumuzi as the god of Bad-tibira. Having strategically placed her two sons in important cities on the Iturungal, Inanna then enticed Anu to move into her new E.anna Temple in Uruk and share it with her. With the Mes (divine laws) she had gotten from Enki, Inanna aspired to become Queen of the Earth. ]*
Click here to read 'Inanna and Enki' (the story of Inanna's acquisition of the holy Mes).
*[ In my stories, it was Inanna's ambition to become Queen of the Earth that brought her into conflict with human mortals, especially those independent merchants who were called 'traders.' This conflict, between man and god, is what gives rise to the stories I write.]*
Sumerians wrote many stories about Inanna. One popular tale was 'Inanna and the Huluppu Tree.' To read two translations of this story, click here.
Another Sumerian story that demonstrated Inanna's power was when she destroyed a mountain named Ebih which is told in , 'Inanna and Ebih.' To read a translation of this story, click here.
Inanna had countless temples throughout Sumeria, the largest and most popular of which was the E.anna Temple in Uruk, Sumer's largest city. She also had temples in the cities of Akkad where she was worshipped under the Akkadian (Semitic) name of Ishtar.
To give some idea of the great profusion of temples built for the goddess, consider the temples located in the relatively unimportant city of Zabalam, of which she was the tutelary goddess: the E.kalamtanigurru, 'House which Inspires Dread in the Land,' the E.sagil, 'House that Reaches to the Sky,' the E.sheerzigurru, 'House Clad in Splendor,' and the E.zikalamma, 'House of the Life of the Land.'
Inanna's earthly symbol was the gatepost of the storehouse. As the Queen of Heaven, she was symbolized by the rosette and identified with Venus, the morning star. Her cryptographic number was 15.
Innin (see Inanna)
Inshushinak
Inshushinak was one of the three major gods of Elam, the other two being Humban who was the supreme god and Kiririsha, who was Humban's second wife. In Elamite tradition, where brothers in the royal household take their sister to wife but not at the same time, Inshushinak seems to have taken Kiririsha to wife after Humban.
Inshushinak, whose name translates, 'Lord of Susa,' had his principal temple in Susa. He was a kind god, widely known as 'Father of the Weak.'
Working with the Elamite goddess Lagamal, Inshushinak helped judge the dead when they were brought down into the Netherworld.
Inzak (see Enshag)
Ishara
Ishara was a Semitic goddess, married to Adad in some traditions, whose worship began on the Upper Euphrates. In some respects, Ishara was the Akkadian counterpart of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess who was known as Ishtar to the Akkadians.
Ishara was the mother of the Seven Gods, the group called the 'Iminbi' by Sumerians and 'Settitu' by Akkadians.
Ishara had a temple at Babil, the E.shasurra, 'House of the Womb.'
Ishkur (Adad in Akkadian)
The Sumerian name Ishkur (ISH=mountain; KUR=foreign) i.e., foreign mountain god, whose spouse was named Shala.
*[ In my stories, Ishkur is the name of an ancient storm god who continued to dwell in the Hursag after the other gods had abandoned the mountainlands and went down to live on the plain of Sumer with humans. The storm god Ninurta, eldest of Enlil's sons, usurped his place in the Sumerian pantheon. ]*
Ishkur is known to have had a temple named, 'House Like a Great Storm, Built in a Fearsome Place,' but it is uncertain where the temple was located.
His cryptographic number was 10.
Ishnikarab
Ishnikarad, originally an Akkadian goddess, became the Elamite goddess of oaths. Those who swore using her name and then broke their oaths could count on being personally received by Ishnikarab when they died and went down to the Netherworld.
Ishtar (the Semitic name for Inanna, see Inanna)
Ishtaran
Ishtaran was the Sumerian tutelary god of Der. His wife was Sharrat-Deri, 'Lady of Der.' He was a protective god and noted as a peacemaker. He served as the mediator between the cities of Umma and Lagash in their ongoing border disputes.
*[ In my stories, when Anu left Der to share the Eanna Temple at Uruk with Inanna, he appointed Ishtaran the tutelary god of the mountain citadel. Ishtaran took up the task of guarding Sumer against roving gangs of mountain bandits. He also mediated disputes between Sumerian cities, including the border disputes between Umma and Lagash. ]*
Ishtaran had a temple in Der, the 'E.dimgalkalamma,' House that Serves as the Great Bond of the Land.'
Ishum
Ishum was a popular but not very important Sumerian god. One tradition has him the son of Shamash and Ninlil. He shared a wife with Hendursag, the Sumerian goddess, Ninmug.
Ishum is known for being a watchman and a herald, a benevolent god who helped keep order in the Great Above.
*[ In my stories, his most celebrated accomplishment was keeping the King of the Netherworld, Nergal, under control whenever he turned violent and came up to the Great Above to roam the Earth under the pseudonym, Erra. It was Ishum who always calmed Erra and talked him into going back down into the Great Below so he could resume kingship of the Netherworld. ]*
Isimud
Isimud was a two-faced Sumerian god, with one face in front that could peer into the future and another face on the back of his head that could peek back into the past. He served as sukkal (vizier) to Enki.
Isimud had no known temples, shrines or sanctuaries.
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