Gods, Demons & Immortals
whose Names Start with 'N'
The immortals of ancient Sumer.
by James W. Bell © 2002-3
Nabu
Biblical Connection: Nabu is 'Nebo' in the Bible.
* * * * * * *
Isaiah 46:1-2 (Living Bible Translation):
"The Idols of Babylon, Bel (Marduk) and Nebo (Nabu), are being hauled away on ox carts! But look! The beasts are stumbling! The cart is turning over! The gods are falling out onto the ground! Is that the best they can do? If they cannot even save themselves from such a fall, how can they save their worshippers from Cyrus?"
* * * * * * *
Nabu was a latter day Sumerian god, the son of Marduk and Sarpanitu and the grandson of Enki. He was the patron god of scribes. His wife was a little known goddess named Tashmetu.
Nabu's temples were accounting and record-keeping centers, located in capitals of Sumerian city-states. In the Akkadian capital of Babil, his temples were: the E.niggidarkalammasumma, 'House Which Bestows the Sceptre of the Land,' and the Esh.barmesisa, 'The House in Which Decisions and the Mes are Kept in Order." In the Assyrian capital of Asshur, his temples were: E.gidrukalamma.summu, 'House Which Bestows the Sceptre of the Land,' and the E.gishlaanki, 'House of the Auditor of Heaven and the Netherworld.'
He later established a number of temples in Akkad, all named the E.zida, 'The True House,' first in Borsippa and then in Kalah, Nineveh and within Marduk's E.sagil Temple in Babil.
There are no known Sumerian stories about Nabu but, in the Babylonian New Year Festival called the Akitu, held at the Bit Akitu (House of the Akitu) in Babil (the Greek Babylon), Nabu was the hero who traveled to the mountains to go down into the Netherworld to rescue his father, Marduk. For a Babylonian version of the Akitu Festival plus an imaginative description of the Bit Akitu and its gardens, click here.
For an Assyrian account of the 12-day Akitu Festival (with illustrations), click here.
*[ In my stories, Enki had the goddess Nisaba teach Nabu to write while the god was still a boy. ]* In some traditions, Nisaba was regarded as Nabu's wife.
Nahhunte
Nahhunte was the Elamite Sun god of justice, known as 'The Enforcer of the Law.'
Nammu
Nammu was a primeval Sumerian sea goddess, the mother of Enki. At the urging of the gods, it was Nammu who went to the bottom of the sea and roused Enki from his lethargy so he would come up to the Great Above where, with the help of the goddess Ninmah, he created human mortals to be servants of the Gods.
For a translation of the Sumerian account of Nammu urging Enki to action and his creation of human mortals, titled 'Enki and Ninmah,' click here.
*[ In my stories, Nammu lived in the salty waters of the sea. She had long, flowing hair resembling seaweed and was seen by few mortals. ]*
A shrine, the Ki.us.Nammu, 'A Place Dedicated to Nammu,' was located in Marduk's E.sagil Temple in Babil (Babylon).
Namrasit (see Sin)
Namtar
Namtar (Sumerian: Nam=fate, Tar=to determine), the son of Ereshkigal and later, served his mother as her sukkal and became known as the 'Harbinger of Death.' He was also regarded as a bringer of disease and pestilence.
There were no temples or shrines dedicated to Namtar in the Great Above.
*[ In my stories, Namtar lived in the city of Irkalla, capital of the Netherworld. Whenever a human mortal was destined to die, Ereshkigal sent Namtar up to the Great Above to find him and escort him down to the 'Land of No Return.' Namtar was a young god, tall and thin. As the Harbinger of Death, he dressed in black. He wore a black horned cap with two pairs of horns. His face was clean-shaven with a sharp nose and dark, piercing eyes. His long-sleeved robe of black wool had an attached hood of the same material. His feet were always sandaled. When he approached the condemned person, Namtar, holding the edge of his cape, would fling it over the victim, cutting him off from his family and friends as well as shutting him off from the world. Then, taking the person by the arm, and using his black cape to make both invisible, Namtar would stealthily lead him down into the darkness of the Netherworld, the Land of No Return. ]*
Nanay
Nanay, the Sumerian Goddess of Love, was closely associated with the Inanna, the Queen of Heaven. Inanna and Nanay had a temple at Uruk jointly dedicated to them called the E.eshgal, 'The Big House.' Nanay also had a shrine, the E.hilianna, 'House of the Luxuriance of Heaven,' which was located within the E.anna, Inanna's main temple in Uruk. In the E.anna Temple, Nanay maintained a bed chamber called the E.hilikuga, 'House of Pure Luxuriance.'
In addition, Nanay had the E.meurur Temple at Babil (Babylon), the Sha.gaa Temple at Ashur and the E.ituda Temple, 'House of the Month,' at Ur.
*[ In my stories, Nanay was the goddess who said 'nay' in a way that meant 'aye.' Unlike Inanna, she was short but pert, a young goddess who flirted with every male, mortal and immortal alike. With her short, curly black hair, she reminded males of those nomadic desert women of the Amurru, with their quick tongues and flashing eyes. ]*
*[ Nanay's eyes were outlined in khol and shadowed with an antimony paste called, 'Let him come, let him come.' She colored her lips red like the pomegranate. The short tunic she wore was of bleached wool, always brightly colored. It was fringed in black at neck and bottom. She went about sandaled and wearing beaded anklets and necklaces of lapis and carnelian. When she walked, she pranced, causing her beads to make noise, and nearby males could hardly help noticing her. ]*
Nanna-Sin (Also Nanna-Suen) See: Sin
Nanshe
Nanshe was a daughter of Enki and the sister of both Nisaba and Ningirsu. She was married to a local god of Lagash named Nindara.
Along with her sister Nisaba, Nanshe judged the wicked and fought for social justice, bringing help to the oppressed, the widowed and the poor.
Her main temple was the E.sirara, 'House of Sirara,' in the seacoast city of Nina, which was at the mouth of the Ninagina Canal. She also had the E.sheshsheshgarra Temple at Girsu which was part of Ningirsu's E.ninnu 'House of Fifty' Temple.
To read a translation from Oxford University of a Sumerian hymn to Nanshe (in which 'c' replaces the Sumerian letter 'sh' so Nanshe is spelled 'Nance'), click here.
*[ In my stories, Nanshe witnessed South Wind's attack on Adapa. Later, after the Flood was unleashed by her uncle Enlil, Nanshe was put in charge of the morals of the gods by Enki who appointed her goddess of the city of Nina, a small Sealands port on the coast of the Lower Sea. As she was on the seacoast, Enki could reach her by sea to help enforce her decisions. In addition, at Nina, Nanshe's temple was protected against inland attacks by the marshlands that surrounded the area. ]*
Napir
Napir, which means 'The Shining God,' was the Elamite Moon god.
Narunte
Narunte was the Elamite goddess of victory. She had a temple in Susa where she sat on a throne ornamented with six heraldic lions.
Nergal *[ his pseudonym was Erra ]*
Nergal, Sumerian King of the Netherworld, was the son of Enlil and Belet-ili. While he served as King of the Netherworld in the Great Below, he also served in the Great Above as the tutelary deity of the Akkadian city of Kutha where he had a temple called the E.meslam, 'House of the Warrior of the Netherworld.' In addition, Nergal also had a cult center at Kutha, the E.huskia, 'Fearsome House of the Netherworld.'
Nergal was often associated with plagues and forest fires.
*[ In my stories, Nergal, was the son of Belet.ili, fathered by Enlil himself. As such, he was a member of the Assembly of the Gods. ]* It happened that, at one of their feasts, the gods sent Kakka down to the Netherworld to tell Ereshkigal they would give her food from the feast table if she would send someone up for it. Ereshkigal sent up her son, Namtar.
When Namtar entered the dining hall, all the gods stood as a sign of respect to Ereshkigal ... except one. When Namtar returned to the Netherworld and told his mother what had happened, she asked, "Who was it that did not stand?"
Namtar didn't know the name of the disrespectful god, so Ereshkigal commanded him to return to the dining hall and bring the errant god back to her so she could kill him.
Namtar went back to the dining hall and told the gods of his mother's command. "Find him," the gods told Namtar, "find the god who did not stand in your presence and take him back to your mistress."
Namtar looked over the assembly, but did not see the one who had not stood, though there was a god sitting in the back of the hall who was bald headed and looking at the floor. He told the gods he could not find the man.
Thereupon, Enki said, "Since we cannot send the god who insulted Ereshkigal to her for punishment, let us kneel before her messenger, and so offer our apologies to her." All the gods knelt before Namtar except the bald headed god in back.
"Then it must be you!" Namtar shouted, seizing Nergal.
"Why did you not kneel?" Enki asked.
"I did not hear you," Nergal replied, "but I am not afraid of Ereshkigal."
Enki told Namtar to go ahead and return to the Netherworld, that they would send Nergal down.
After Namtar left, Enki took Nergal aside and spoke to him, counseling him so he would not get stuck in the Netherworld, the dread world in the Great Below known as 'The Land of No Return.'
But when Nergal went down to the Netherworld, he did not follow Enki's advice. He thought the Netherworld not as bad as Enki imagined and had sex with Queen Ereshkigal for six days and six nights. On the morning of the seventh day, Ereshkigal woke and found Nergal gone. She learned he had escaped by telling the gatekeeper, Neti, that he had to deliver a message to the gods in the Great Above.
Ereshkigal wept copious tears. "Nergal, my voluptuous lover, has left me," she cried.
When Nergal returned to the Great Above and told the gods what had happened, they knew Queen Ereshkigal would soon be searching for him. Namtar showed up shortly afterwards with a message from Ereshkigal claiming that she had never known the pleasures of intercourse until Nergal introduced her to them. She claimed she was now defiled and impure and begged them to send Nergal back down to her, to be her husband. If they did not, she threatened, she would raise up the dead to devour the living.
After Enki counseled them, the gods agreed to send Nergal back down to the Netherworld. Again, Enki counseled Nergal but once more, he did not follow Enki's advice.
When Nergal descended to the Netherworld and reached the city of Irkalla where he saw Ereshkigal, he again became enamored of her and went back to bed with her. This time, he stayed in the Netherworld.
*[ That was how Nergal became Ereshkigal's husband and King of the Netherworld. ]*
To read a translation of the Akkadian version of 'Nergal and Ereshkigal,' click here.
*[ In my stories, the palace at Irkalla was called the E.galgina. There were twin thrones made of pure lapis lazuli in the great throne room of the palace. Nergal sat on one thorne while Ereshkigal sat on the one beside it. For formal occasions, Nergal dressed in a long-sleeved unbelted robe of black wool while his queen dressed in a similar robe dyed red. Both robes were tufted and fringed in black. ]*
*[ Nergal often became angry in the Netherworld and used the pseudonym, 'Erra,' when he went up to the Great Above to vent his anger by frightening and threatening the mortals living in the Great Above, on the surface of the Earth. His violent behavior was usually quashed by Ishum, the Sumerian god who served as the Great Above's watchman. ]*
For the translation of a Babylonian account of one confrontation between Erra and Ishum, click here.
Neti
Neti was Ereshkigal's immortal gatekeeper who guarded the seven gates on the stairway that led down into the Netherworld. Inanna met Neti when she descended to the Netherworld from the Ganzir Gate in the city of Uruk and had to discard a piece of clothing at each gate until she entered the Netherworld in a naked state.
No temples or shrines were known to have been dedicated to Neti in the Great Above.
Nidaba (see Nisaba)
Ninazimua
Ninazimua was a little known Sumerian goddess from the Arali Desert. Her name means 'Lady who makes the tree branches grow straight.' She was noted for her scribal skills. She became the wife of Ningishzida and may have been responsible for his decision to return to the Netherworld.
She had no known temples, shrines or sanctuaries.
Ninazu
Ninazu was one of the sons of Ereshkigal and, with his wife, Ningirida, was the father of Ningishzida. He was best known as the god of the spring rains that seeped deep down into the earth.
He came up to the Great Above where he was appointed tutelary god of the city of Eshnunna in Warum where he had a temple, the E.sikil. Later, he moved to the ship-buildng city of Enegi on the Euphrates River where he became their patron god. Ninazu's temple at Enegi was the E.gidda, 'The Long House.'
To read a translation of a Sumerian hymn to Ninazu, click here.
Ningal
Ningal (Sumerian: NIN=lady, GAL=great: Great Lady), one of Enki's daughters, became the wife of the Sumerian Moon god, Sin (also Nanna-Sin or Nanna-Suen). Ningal and Sin produced three very famous children, Shamash, the Sun god, Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Netherworld, and Innin, who became Inanna (later, Ishtar), the Queen of Heaven.
Like Sin, her husband, Ningal had temples at Ur and Harran.
The Sumerian poem, 'Lament for Ur,' is attributed to Ningal. To read a translation of this poem, click here.
Ningal's crytographic number was 25.
Ningirida
A Sumerian goddess, the wife of Ninazu.
Ningirsu
Ningirsu (Sumerian; NIN=lord: Lord of Girsu) was one of the sons of Enki and brother of Nanshe and Nisaba. He was married to the goddess Bau, who was the tutelary deity of the city of Lagash.
There is another tradition in which Ningirsu was a son of Enlil and his name was a localized (Lagashi) form of Ninurta.
Ningirsu was the partron god of the city of Girsu where he had his temple, the E.ninnu, 'The House of Fifty.' He also had a temple in his wife's city of Lagash, the E.bagara and in his sister's (Nanshe) city of Nina, the E.ninegarra, 'The House Founded by the Sister.'
To read a translation of the Sumerian account of building Ningirsu's Temple, click here.
Ningishzida
Ningishzida, son of Ninazu and a grandson of Ereshkigal, forsook the Great Above and returned to the Netherworld of his grandparents where he devoted himself to keeping order among the demons that lived below. His name means, 'Lord who makes the tree grow right.' The name of his wife, Ninazimua, means 'Lady who makes the branches grow right.'
In Sumeria, tree roots were often associated with the idea of snakes burrowing into the ground. Ningishzida's symbol was the horned snake.
Although he was a god of the Netherworld, he was often regarded as a protective god and had a number of temples in the Great Above including: the E.badbarra, 'House, Outer Wall,' at Lagash, the E.guzalamah, 'House of the Exalted Chamberlain (Sukkal)' at Babil (Babylon) and the E.niggina, 'House of Truth,' at Ur.
For a translation of the Sumerian story of Ningishzida's journey to the Netherworld (in which the Sumerian letter 'sh' is rendered as 'c'), click here.
Ninhursag (also Ninmah)
Ninhursag, Lady of the Moutains, was a Sumerian goddess originally named Ninmah, 'Exalted Lady,' a primeval goddess who once lived on Dilmun, the Sumerian Isle of Paradise. Enki visited her on Dilmun and impregnated her and then impregnated his offspring, which is recounted in the Sumerian story, 'Enki and Ninhursag.' To read a retelling of this story, click here.
Later, it was Ninmah who helped Enki create human mortals, shaping seven imperfect pairs of males and females. To read a translation of this Sumerian story, click here.
After that, Ninmah witnessed Ninurta's victory over Asag, the mountain god, in the Battle of the Gods on the Saidmarreh River, recounted in the Sumerian Story, 'Lugale." As Ninmah was Ninurta's mother, to celebrate the event, he changed her name to Ninhursag. To read a translation of this Sumerian story (in which Ninhursag is spelled Ninhursaja), click here.
Ninhursag was tutelary goddess of the city of Kesh on the frontier where she had a temple, the E.kesh, 'House of Kesh.' Ninhursag was also known as Belet-ili Kesh, or 'Woman of Kesh.'
As mother goddess of the Earth, Ninhursag was ranked with Enlil and Enki in importance. Temples to her included the E.mah, 'Exalted House,' in Adab and another temple of the same name at Girsu.
*[ In my stories, almost all Ninhursag's temples were built in the eastern part of Sumer, near the mountainlands (Hursag), and she is truly a Lady (Nin) of the Mountainlands (Hursag). ]*
Although she was the mother goddess, her cryptographic number was only 5.
Ninisina (see Gula)
Ninki (see Damkina)
Ninlil (also Sud)
Ninlil, 'Lady of the Sky,' was the wife of Enlil, the supreme god of the Earth. In Sumerian mythology, Enlil raped the young Ninlil while she was bathing in a canal outside the city walls of Nippur. When Ninlil became pregnant as a result of the rape, Enlil married her. Their child was a son, Sin, who became the Moon god. To read a translation of this Sumerian story 'Enlil and Ninlil,' click here.
In a different tradition, the young goddess was named Sud when Enlil raped her and later changed her name to Ninlil. To read a translation of this Sumerian story, click here.
Besides numerous shrines, sanctuaries, cellas and chapels in Enlil's E.kur Temple at Nippur, Ninlil had only one temple, and that at Ur, the E.ninbitum, 'House Worthy of its Lady.'
Her cryptographic number was 45.
Ninmah (See Ninhursag)
Ninshubur
Ninshubur was Inanna's androgynous sukkal who learned how to regender himself as a female.
*[ In my stories, Ninshubur was a minor god who fell captive to Inanna's charm and became her sukkal, who was able to assume, as needed, male or female gender. He was invaluable in helping the goddess get the Mes (divine laws) from Enki and assisting in her subsequent rise to greatness as Inanna, Queen of Heaven (the Semitic Ishtar). ]*
Ninshubur had two temples at Ur, the E.aaggakiliburur, 'House Which Gathers All Decrees,' and the E.ninbitum, 'House Worthy of its Lady,' a temple at Nippur, the E.akkilduku, 'House of Lamentation, and a temple at Girsun, the E.eshbarmesisa, 'House of Decisions Which Cleans the Mes.'
Ninsikilla
Ninsikilla, one of Enki’s daughters, is the daughter Enki chose to be the tutelary goddess of Dilmun after he purified it.
Ninsikilla had no known temples, sanctuaries or shrines.
Ninsun
Ninsun, 'Lady Wild Cow,' was the wife of Uruk's deified king, Lugalbanda. Their son was Gilgamesh, who subsequently became Lugal (King) of Uruk and a Sumerian hero.
Ninsun had a temple, the E.galmah, 'Exalted Palace,' at Uruk, and another temple, the E.mah, 'Exalted House,' at Ur.
Nintu (also Mami, Nintud and Nintur)
Nintu (the name translates as 'Lady Who Gave Birth' or 'Lady Life Giver') was the Sumerian goddess of birth. She was also known as Nintud and Nintur (translates as 'Lady of the Womb.')
The identity and accomplishments of Nintu are confused by the many different traditions. In one tradition, she was the wife of Anu (replacing Antu) and known as 'Mother of the Gods.' In a late Akkadian tradition, she was Enki's helpmate (replacing Ninmah) in the creation of human mortals which she helped to accomplish by using the blood of the slain god, Kingu.
She was also identified with Ki, Tiamat and Aruru. To read a translation of a Sumerian hymn which identifies Nintu (Nintud) with Aruru, click here. In this hymn, Nintu is protrayed as a benevolent goddess who has contended with Enlil and blessed the Sumerian people by making them more numerous.
In Sumerian literature, Nintu is listed as having the E.kesh Temple ('House of Kesh') and the E.mah Temple ('Exalted House') at Kesh, but these two temples are also listed as temples dedicated to Ninhursag, who was the tutelary deity of Kesh.
Ninurta
Ninurta was the son of Enlil and Ninmah (later renamed Ninhursag by Ninurta). Ninurta was best known as the Sumerian storm god who defeated mountain god, Asag, at the Battle of Gods on the Saidmarreh River in the Hursag. To read a translation of this Sumerian story, click here.
At another time, Ninurta recovered the Tablet of Destinies from the Anzu bird who had stolen them from Enlil, his father. To read a translation of this Sumerian story, click here.
Ninurta's wife was Gula, the tutelary goddess of Isin.
Besides his E.shumesha temple at Nippur, Ninurta had a temple in Babil (Babylon), the E.hursagtilla, 'House which Exterminates the Mountains.'
Nisaba (also Nibada and Nissaba)
Nisaba, 'Goddess of Writing and Accounting,' was a daughter of Enki, and sister of Ningirsu and Nanshe. Nisaba schooled Nabu and was sometimes rumored to have been married to him.
*[ Nisaba was orginally the tutelary goddess of Umma. At the time of the Flood, Enlil felt Nisaba had betrayed him and came to Umma searching for her only to discover that Enki had warned her to flee to Eresh on the frontier, where she hid for a while. Nisaba's brother, Ningirsu, knowing she was innocent of any conspiracy, rescued her from Eresh and took her to Lagash where, since he was nearby at Girsu, he could protect her from Enlil's vengeance. ]*
*[ At Lagash, Nisaba became a companion to her sister, Nanshe, tutelary goddess of nearby Nina. Later, Enki had Nisaba teach writing and accounting to Marduk's son, Nabu. ]*
Nisaba had a temple at Kesh, the E.mulmul, 'House of Stars,' and a number of shrines in temples at Eridu, Uruk and Babil (Babylon) all named, E.geshtu.Nisaba, 'House of the Wisdom of Nisaba.'
To read a translation of a Sumerian hymn to Nisaba, click here.
Nungal
Nungal was a daughter of Ereshkigal and resided in the Netherworld. Her husband was Birtum. Nungal often traveled up to the Great Above to visit Enlil at his Ekur Temple in Nippur on behalf of the Netherworld.
Nusku
Nusku was a son of Enlil and served as his sukkal at the Ekur Temple in the holy city of Nippur, where he lived with his consort, Sadarnunna.
Nusku's temple at Nippur was the E.melamanna, 'House of the Radiance of Heaven.' He also had a temple at Babil (Babylon), the E.nunmah, 'House of the Exalted Prince.'
To read the translation of a Sumerian hymn to Nusku (spelled 'Nuska' in this translation), click here.
Back to the Immortals Index
| |
