Ashgi
| Ashgi | |
|---|---|
Warrior god | |
| Major cult center | Adab, Kesh, Irisaĝrig |
| Personal information | |
| Parents | Ninhursag and Šulpae[1] |
| Siblings | Panigingarra, Egime |
| Spouse | Gishhuranki |
Ashgi (𒀭𒋓𒄄 Ašgi) was a
Character
In the Kesh temple hymn, Ashgi is characterized as a warrior god.[2] He was also the tutelary god of Adab.[1]
While
Connections with other deities
It is unclear if Ashgi was initially the spouse or the son of the goddess Nintu, analogous to Ninhursag.[6] In later periods he was viewed as her son, and her husband Šulpae is identified as his father in the god list An = Anum.[1] Marcos Such-Gutiérrez notes that the latter deity is very sparsely attested in documents from Adab.[1]
In the same god list Ashgi's wife is the goddess Gishhuranki.
While no deity is identified as Ashgi's sukkal in the god list An = Anum, a deity named Shatarnunta-e is labeled as his "servant" (Sumerian: gu4-dúb).[7] Additionally, one of his courtiers is identified as the sukkal of his wife, though only a part of their name, dDam-u5-(...) is preserved.[7]
The Weidner god list places Ashgi next to another of Ninhursag's sons, Panigingarra, who was also associated with him in other sources, and who in An = Anum is also the son of Šulpae.[9]
Worship
Ashgi is already mentioned in Early Dynastic sources from Fara.[7] He was worshiped in Adab and Kesh.[1] Additionally, a village named Ashgi-pada existed near the first of these cities.[10] Evidence is also available from a city closely connected to Kesh, Irisaĝrig.[11]
A temple of Ashgi existed in Adab.[12] A partially preserved name, E-ugim(...), "house like a storm (...)," is known from temple lists, but according to Andrew R. George it is uncertain if it refers to a house of worship located in Adab or in Kesh.[13] A house of worship dedicated to him was also located in Irisaĝrig.[11]
In texts from Adab, Ashgi is one of the three deities most commonly attested in theophoric names, next to
While Ashgi was one of the main gods of Adab in the Early Dynastic and
Mythology
According to Dina Katz, Lulil (Sumerian: "man-spirit") from the lament Lulil and his sister (dated to the Isin-Larsa period[17]) can be identified with Ashgi.[18] Lulil is described as a son of Ninhursag and Šulpae and as a deity of Kesh and Adab.[17] His sister mentioned in the title of this composition was the goddess Egime.[17] The text appears to contain a description of a funerary ritual.[19] Egime is instructed to pour water into a libation pipe, an implement known to be associated with graves, as evidenced by burials from Ur and the designation of Enegi, cult center of the netherworld god Ninazu, as the "great offering pipe of the netherworld."[20] The goal ritual libations performed using the pip[es was guaranteeing the well being of the dead in the netherworld.[20]
Manfred Krebernik proposes that the portrayal of Lulil is a dying god was the result of confusion between him and the similarly named god Lulal, associated with Inanna.[21]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Such-Gutiérrez 2005, p. 6.
- ^ Black, Cunningham & Robson 2006, p. 325.
- ^ Wiggermann 1997, p. 33.
- ^ Wiggermann 2011, pp. 676–677.
- ^ Wiggermann 2011, p. 677.
- ^ a b Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 19.
- ^ a b c d Krebernik 1997, p. 509.
- ^ a b c Schwemer 2001, p. 85.
- ^ Krebernik 2005, p. 326.
- ^ Such-Gutiérrez 2005, p. 7.
- ^ a b Nicolet 2022, p. 47.
- ^ Such-Gutiérrez 2005, pp. 6–7.
- ^ George 1993, p. 153.
- ^ a b c Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 61.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 59.
- ^ Such-Gutiérrez 2005, p. 19.
- ^ a b c Katz 1999, p. 109.
- ^ Katz 2005, p. 62.
- ^ Katz 1999, p. 112.
- ^ a b Katz 1999, p. 114.
- ^ Krebernik 1987, p. 20.
Bibliography
- Asher-Greve, Julia M.; Westenholz, Joan G. (2013). Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources (PDF). ISBN 978-3-7278-1738-0.
- Black, Jeremy A.; Cunningham, Graham; Robson, Eleanor (2006). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929633-0. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
- George, Andrew R. (1993). House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. OCLC 27813103.
- Katz, Dina (1999). "The Messenger, Lulil and Cult of the Dead". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 93 (2). Presses Universitaires de France: 107–118. JSTOR 23281604. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
- Katz, Dina (2005). "Death they dispensed to mankind. The funerary world of ancient Mesopotamia". Historiae (2): 55–90. ISSN 2462-3636. Retrieved 2022-03-31.
- Krebernik, Manfred (1987), "Lil", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-03-31
- Krebernik, Manfred (1997), "Muttergöttin A. I. In Mesopotamien", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-03-31
- Krebernik, Manfred (2005), "Pa(p)-niĝara", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-03-31
- Nicolet, Grégoire (2022). "Old Babylonian god-lists in retrospect: A new edition of TH 80.112". Syria (99). OpenEdition: 9–78. ISSN 0039-7946.
- Schwemer, Daniel (2001). Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen (in German). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. OCLC 48145544.
- Such-Gutiérrez, Marcos (2005). "Untersuchungen zum Pantheon von Adab im 3. Jt". Archiv für Orientforschung (in German). 51. Archiv für Orientforschung (AfO)/Institut für Orientalistik: 1–44. JSTOR 41670228. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1997). "Transtigridian Snake Gods". In Finkel, I. L.; Geller, M. J. (eds.). Sumerian Gods and their Representations. ISBN 978-90-56-93005-9.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2011). "Agriculture as Civilization: Sages, Farmers, and Barbarians". Oxford Handbooks Online. Oxford University Press. .