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MARDUK, THE MAIN BABYLONIAN GOD

Marduk from Elam

The main Babylonian god was Marduk while the main Assyrian god was Ashur. Ultimately simply called Bel, or Lord, Marduk was the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia. Originally he seems to have been a god of thunderstorms. A poem, known as Enuma elish, dating from the reign of Nebuchadrezzar I (1124-03 B.C.), describes Marduk as being so powerfull and all-encompassing that he has 50 names, each one a deity or of a divine attribute. He became "lord of the gods of heaven and earth" after conquering the monster of primeval chaos, Tiamat. All nature, including man, was created by him. The destiny of kingdoms and individuals was in his hands. [Source: Kenneth Sublett, piney.com]

Morris Jastrow said: “Anu, Enlil, Ea, presiding over the universe, are supreme over all the lower gods and spirits combined as Annunaki and Igigi, but they entrust the practical direction of the universe to Marduk, the god of Babylon. He is the first-born of Ea, and to him as the worthiest and fittest for the task, Anu and Enlil voluntarily commit universal rule. This recognition of Marduk by the three deities, who represent the three divisions of the universe—heaven, earth, and all waters,—marks the profound religious change that was brought about through the advance of Marduk to a commanding position among the gods. [Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911]

“From being a personification of the sun with its cult localised in the city of Babylon, over whose destinies he presides, he comes to be recognised as leader and director of the great Triad. Corresponding, therefore, to the political predominance attained by the city of Babylon as the capital of the united empire, and as a direct consequence thereof, the patron of the political centre becomes the head of the pantheon to whom gods and mankind alike pay homage. The new order must not, however, be regarded as a break with the past, for Marduk is pictured as assuming the headship of the pantheon by the grace of the gods, as the legitimate heir of Anu, Enlil, and Ea.

SIN (NANNAR), THE MOON GOD

Sin (Nannar, Nanna) was the Mesopotamian Moon God. He has strong associations with time, fertility, agriculture and kingship. Among the Sumerians as the firstborn of Enlil and Ninlil, Lord and Lady Air, Nanna was known as the Prince of the Gods, and was ranked second in deity hierarchy after Enlil, the chief god of Sumer. Nanna is the father of Utu/Shamash, the Sun God, and presides over night and day.

Morris Jastrow said: Sin “appears under various designations; prominent among them is that of En-Zu, “the lord of knowledge,” of which the name Sin may be a derivative. As the god of wisdom, he reminds us of Nebo, but his knowledge lies more particularly in reading the signs in the heavens. [Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911]

Nanna from Ur

“It is in astrological lore and through the widespread influence of astrology in Babylonia and Assyria that Sin appears in the full exuberance of his powers. The moon as the great luminary of the night, with its constantly changing phases, forms, in fact, the basis of divination through the phenomena observed in the heavens. This form of divination, as we shall see in a subsequent lecture, is the direct outcome of speculation in the temple-schools—not an outgrowth of popular beliefs,—but such was the importance that astrology (which may be traced back to the days of Sargon) acquired in the course of time that in an enumeration of the gods, even in texts other than astrological compilations, Sin invariably takes precedence over Shamash.

“The Semitic form of his name is Nannar, which means “illumination” or “luminary,” and this appears to be a designation more particularly connected with the cult at Harran. It is by virtue of being the great luminary of the night also that he becomes the “father of the gods,” as he is frequently called in hymns. He is depicted on seal cylinders as an old man with a flowing beard, said in poetical compositions to be of a lapis-lazuli colour. His headgear consists of a cap on which the horns of the moon are generally indicated; and it is interesting to note, as pointing to the influence acquired by the moon-cult, that the horns became a general symbol of divinity which, e.g., Naram-Sin attaches to his head on the famous monument on which he depicts himself as a ruler with the attribute of divinity.

“The antiquity of the moon-cult is attested by very ancient Sumerian hymns that have come down to us, in which he is frequently described as sailing along the heavens in a ship. It is a reasonable supposition that the moon’s crescent suggested this picture of a sailing bark. The association between Sin and the city of Ur is particularly close, as is seen in the common designation of this centre as the “city of Nan-nar.” No doubt the political importance of the place had much to do with maintaining the high rank accorded to Sin in the systematised pantheon. And yet outside of his sphere in Babylonian-Assyrian astrology, the moon-cult, apart from special centres like Ur and Harr an, is not a prominent feature in the actual worship. The agricultural life is too closely dependent on the sun to permit of any large share being taken by the moon. He is not among the Powers whose presence is directly felt in communities whose chief occupation is the tilling of the soil; and, as has already been suggested, his position in astrological divination determines the relationship in which he stands to both gods and mankind.”

To Nanna, Lord of the Moon: Babylonian Prayer

“To Nanna, Lord of the Moon” (1600 B.C.) reads:
“1. O brilliant barque of the heavens, ruler in your own right,
Father Nanna, Lord of Ur,
Father Nanna Lord of Ekishshirgal,
Father Nanna, Lord of the brilliant rising,

“5. O Lord, Nanna, firstborn son of Bel,
You stand, you stand
Before your father Bel. You are ruler,
Father Nanna; you are ruler, you are guide.
O barque, when standing in the midst of heaven, you are ruler.

“10. Father Nanna, you yourself ride to the brilliant temple.
Father Nanna, when, like a ship, you go in the midst of the deep,
You got, you go, you go,
You go, you shine anew, you go,
You shine anew, you live again, you go.

“15. Father Nanna, the herd you restore.
When your father looks on you with joy, he commands your waxing;
Then with the glory of a king brilliantly you rise.
Bel a scepter for distant days for your hands has completed.
In Ur as the brilliant barque you ride,

“20. As the Lord, Nudimmud, you are established;
In Ur as the brilliant boat you ride.
........................................
. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .. .. .
The river of Bel Nanna fills with water. “21. The brilliant river Nanna fills with water.
The river Diglat [Tigris] Nanna fills with water.
The brilliance of the Purattu [Euphrates] Nanna fills with water.
The canal with its gate Lukhe, Nanna fills with water.
The great marsh and the little marsh Nanna fills with water.
[Source: George A. Barton, “Archaeology and the Bible”,” 3rd Ed., (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920), pp. 398-401]

NERGAL, BABYLONIAN GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD

Nergal

Nergal was the god of death, disease, war and destruction. He ruled underworld with his queen Ereshkigal and their household of demon laborers and administrators. The Pluto of Babylonia, Nergal, kept the dead imprisoned in his gloomy kingdom. The names given to their demon administrators, such as “pestilence,” the “seizer,” the “one lying in wait,” “destroyer,” “storm,” illustrate the uncompromisingly forbidding and gloomy views held of them, which is even further emphasised by the terrifying shapes given to them—leopards, dragons, serpents, etc.[Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911 ]

Nergal was originally a sun god. In the process of differentiation among the chief solar deities of Babylonia he came to represent the sun of midsummer, bringing pestilence, suffering, and death while the god Ninib became the sun-god of the spring, restoring life and bringing joy and gladness. In Babylonian theology, Nergal became associated with the sun’s destructive power such as pestilence and famine which can occur when the sun burns up crops. Morris Jastrow said: “His city, Cuthah, becomes a poetical designation for the great gathering-place of the dead, and his name is explained, perhaps fancifully, as “the lord of the great dwelling,” that is, the grave. It is quite within the range of possibility that Cuthah may have been a place that acquired special sanctity as a burial-place, as Kerbela, in the same region, is still regarded as such by the Shiite sect of Islam. The animal associated with Nergal, as a symbol, is a fierce lion, and he is pictured as greedy for human victims. The various names assigned to him, almost without exception, emphasise this forbidding phase of his nature, and the myths associated with him deal with destruction, pestilence, and death. Naturally, Nergal is also pictured as a god of war, bringing about just the results for which he would be held responsible.”

In Babylonian-Assyrian astrology, Nergal is identified with the planet Mars, regarded as the unluckiest of all planets. Jastrow said: “This unlucky and downright hostile character of Mars is indicated by his many names: such as the “dark” Lu-Bat; “pestilence”; the “hostile” one; the “rebellious” one; and the like...The association of ideas between Nergal, the lord of the “dark” region, and the dark-red colour of Mars may be regarded as an element of the identification of Mars with Nergal, just as the ideas associated with the colour red—suggesting blood and fire—furnished the further reason for connecting ill-boding omens with the appearance of Mars.

Nergal and Ereshkigal

By Nergal side is his consort Ereshkigal (Allatu)—the Proserpine of Babylonian mythology—as scary and gloomy he is. She appears to have been the original occupier of Aralñ (the Underworld) with whom Nergal is subsequently associated. Morris Jastrow said:“A myth describes how Nergal invaded the domain of Ereshkigal, and forced her to yield her dominion to him. The gods are depicted as holding a feast to which all come except Ereshkigal. She sends her grim messenger Namtar—that is, the “demon of plague”—to the gods, among whom there is one, Nergal, who fails to pay him a proper respect. When Ereshkigal hears of this, she is enraged and demands the death of Nergal. The latter, undaunted, proceeds to the abode of the angry goddess, encouraged to do so apparently by Enlil and the gods of the pantheon. A gang of fourteen demons, whose names indicate the tortures and misery inflicted by Nergal, accompany the latter. He stations them at the gates of Eresh-kigal’s domain so as to prevent her escape. [Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911 ]

“A violent scene ensues when Nergal and Ereshkigal meet. Nergal drags the goddess from her throne by the hair, overpowers her, and threatens to kill her. Ereshkigal pleads for mercy, and agrees to share with him her dominion. “Do not kill me, my brother! Let me tell thee something.” Nergal desists and Ereshkigal continues: “Be my husband and I will be thy wife. /I will grant thee sovereignty in the wide earth, entrusting to thee the tablet of wisdom./ Thou shalt be master, and I the mistress.” In this way the myth endeavours to account for the existence of two rulers in Aralu, but one may doubt that a union so inauspiciously begun was very happy.

“The messengers and attendants of Nergal and Ereshkigal are the demons whom we have met in the incantation rituals. They are the precursors of all kinds of misery and ills to mankind, sent as messengers from the nether world to plague men, women, and children with disease, stirring up strife and rivalry in the world, separating brother from brother, defrauding the labourer of the fruits of his labour, and spreading havoc and misery on all sides; depicted as ferocious and terrifying creatures, ruthless and eternally bent on mischief and evil. The association of these demons with the world where no life is, further emphasises the view held of the fate of the dead. With such beings as their gaolers what hope was there for those who were imprisoned in the great cavern? If conscious of their state, as they appear to have been, what emotion could they have but that of perpetual terror?”

Marriage of Nergal and Ereshkigal

Nergal addresses Ea (God of the Universe) apparently expressing a wish to visit Ereshkigal in the Underworld:
"[ ] I will rise to my feet
[ ] you said.
[ ] will double it."
When Ea heard this he said to himself,
"[ ]"
Then Ea made his voice heard and spake, he addressed his words to Nergal.
"My son, you shall go on the journey you want to make,... grasp a sword in your hand.
Go down to the forest of mesu trees.
Cut down mesu trees, tiaru trees, and juniper!
Break off kanaktu trees and simberru trees."

When Nergal heard this, he took an axe up in his hand,
Drew the sword from his belt,
Went down to the forest of mesu trees,
Cut down mesu trees, tiaru trees, and juniper,
Broke off kanaktu trees and simberru trees,
[ ] he made a throne for far-sighted Ea.
He painted it with [ ] as a substitute for silver,
Painted it with yellow paste and red paste as a substitute for gold,
Painted it with blue glaze as a substitute for lapis lazuli.
The work was finished, the chair complete.

Then he (Ea) called out and laid down instructions for him,
"My son, about the journey which you wnat to make: from the moment you arrive,
Follow whatever instructions I give you.
From the moment they bring a chair to you,
Do not go to it, do not sit upon it.
When the baker brings you bread, do not go to it, do not eat the bread.
When the butcher brings you meat, do not go to it, do not eat the meat.
When the brewer brings you beer, do not go to it, do not drink the beer.
When they bring you a foot bath, do not go to it, do not wash your feet.
When she (Ereshkigal) has been to the bath
And dressed herself in a fine robe,
Alowing your to glimpse her body...
You must not do that which men and women do."

Nergal set his face toward Kurnugi,
To the dark house, dwelling of Erkalla's god,
To the house which those who enter cannot leave,
On the road where travelling is one way only,
To the house where those who enter are deprived of light,
Where dust is their food, clay thier bread.
They are clothed, like birds, with feathers.
They see no light, the dwell in darkness.
They moan like doves.
The gatekeeper opened his mouth and addressed his words to Nergal,
"I must take back a report about the god standing at the door."
The gatekeeper entered an addressed his words to Ereshkigal,
"May lady, a [ ] has come to see us. [ ] will identify him."

ERRA, BABYLONIAN GOD OF WAR

Erra was the Babylonian god of war, death, and other disasters. He was often associated with Nergal, the god of death. Erra expressed death himself symbolically by his continuous lethargy as he lay in a drunken stupor. He was supplicated to ward off pestilence and other calamities. He is mentioned in one of the earliest known epic poems, written on clay tablets, called the Epic of Erra (about 1000 B.C.). [Source: by Micha F. Lindemans]

In Erra and Ishum Tablet I the narrator invokes Marduk, chief deity of Babylon, and Ishum, vanguard and companion of Erra. Erra is restless and breaks into a soliloquy. He is anxious to fight and campaign, but hesitates through natural inertia. Speaking of himself in the third person, Erra says that what he needs to stir him to action is Ishum's encouragement. [Source: piney.com]

O king of all inhabitanted lands, creator of the world, O Hendursagga, first born of Enlil ] Holder of the sublime scepter, herdsman of the black-headed folk, shepherd of mankind, O Ishum, zealous slaughterer , whose hands are suited tp brandish fierce weapons, And to make his sharp spear flash, Erra, warrior of the gods, was resteless in his dwelling, His heart urged him to do battle! Says he to his weapons. "Smear yourselves with deadly venom!" To the Seven, warriors unrivalled, "Let your weapons be girded!" He even says to you: "You are the torch, they will see your light "You are the vanguard, the gods will "You are the stanchion, [zealous] slaughterer! "(So) up, Erra, from laying waste the land "How cheerful your mood will be and joyful your heart! "Erra's limbs are sluggish, like those of a mortal lacking sleep, "He says to himself, Shall I get up or go to sleep? "He says to his weapons, Stay in the corners! "To the Seven, warriors unrivalled, Go back to your dwellings! "Until you rouse him, he will sleep in his bedrooms, "He will dally with Mami, his mate". (With a second invocation, now of Ishum, the narrator introduces the terrible Seven, who stand ready to massacre the "black-headed folk" or Mesopotamians) O Engidudu, who patrols at night, ever guiding the noble, Who ever guides young men and women in safety, making light as day,

The Seven, warriors unrivalled, their divine nature is different, Their origins are strange, they are terrifying, Whoever sees them is numbed with fear. Their breath of life is death, People are too frightened to appproach it! Yet Ishum is the door, bolted before them. When Anu, the king of the gods, sowed his seed in the earth, She bore him seven gods, he called them the Seven. They stood before him, that he ordain their destinies, He summoned the first to give his instructions, "Wherever you go and spread terror, have no equal." He said to the second, "Burn like fire, scorch like flame". He commanded the third, "Look like a lion, let him who sees you be paralysed with fear". He said to the fourth,"Let a mountain collapse when you present your fierce arms". He said to the fifth, "Blast like the wind, scan the circumference of the earth". He said to the sixth."Go out everywhere (like the deluge) and spare no one". The seveth he charged with viperous venom," Slay whatever lives".

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia sourcebooks.fordham.edu , National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, especially Merle Severy, National Geographic, May 1991 and Marion Steinmann, Smithsonian, December 1988, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated June 2024