Enlil
Enlil | |
---|---|
God of the Storms | |
Cuneiform | 𒀭𒂗𒆤 |
Abode | Nippur |
Symbol | Horned crown |
Personal information | |
Parents | An and Ki |
Consort | Ninlil, Ki |
Children | Ninurta, Nanna, Nergal, Ninazu, and Enbilulu |
Equivalents | |
Babylonian equivalent | Elil |
Hurrian equivalent | Kumarbi |
Akkadian equivalent | Ellil |
Enlil,
Enlil plays a vital role in the
Etymology
Enlil's name comes from ancient Sumerian EN (𒂗), meaning "lord" and LÍL (𒆤), the meaning of which is contentious,[6][1][7] and which has sometimes been interpreted as meaning winds as a weather phenomenon (making Enlil a weather and sky god, "Lord Wind" or "Lord Storm"),[8][2][3] or alternatively as signifying a spirit or phantom whose presence may be felt as stirring of the air, or possibly as representing a partial Semitic loanword rather than a Sumerian word at all.[9] Enlil's name is not a genitive construction,[10] suggesting that Enlil was seen as the personification of LÍL rather than merely the cause of LÍL.[10]
Piotr Steinkeller has written that the meaning of LÍL may not actually be a clue to a specific divine domain of Enlil's, whether storms, spirits, or otherwise, since Enlil may have been "a typical universal god [...] without any specific domain."[11]
Piotr Steinkeller and Piotr Michalowski have doubts about the Sumerian origin of Enlil.[12] They have questioned the true meaning of the name, and identified Enlil with the Eblaite word I-li-lu.[12] As noted by Manfred Krebernik and M. P. Streck; Enlil being referred to as Kur-gal (the Great Mountain) in Sumerian texts suggests he might have originated in eastern Mesopotamia.[12]
Worship
Enlil who sits broadly on the white dais, on the lofty dais, who perfects the decrees of power, lordship, and princeship, the earth-gods bow down in fear before him, the heaven-gods humble themselves before him...
— Sumerian hymn to Enlil, translated by Samuel Noah Kramer[13]
Enlil was the patron god of the Sumerian city-state of
The Sumerians believed that the sole purpose of humanity's existence was to serve the gods.[18][19] They thought that a god's statue was a physical embodiment of the god himself.[20][21] As such, cult statues were given constant care and attention[22][20] and a set of priests were assigned to tend to them.[23] People worshipped Enlil by offering food and other human necessities to him.[18] The food, which was ritually laid out before the god's cult statue in the form of a feast,[22][20] was believed to be Enlil's daily meal,[18] but, after the ritual, it would be distributed among his priests.[18] These priests were also responsible for changing the cult statue's clothing.[21]
The Sumerians envisioned Enlil as a benevolent, fatherly deity, who watches over humanity and cares for their well-being.[24] One Sumerian hymn describes Enlil as so glorious that even the other gods could not look upon him.[25][26] The same hymn also states that, without Enlil, civilization could not exist.[26] Enlil's epithets include titles such as "the Great Mountain" and "King of the Foreign Lands".[25] Enlil is also sometimes described as a "raging storm", a "wild bull", and a "merchant".[25] The Mesopotamians envisioned him as a creator, a father, a king, and the supreme lord of the universe.[25][27] He was also known as "Nunamnir"[25] and is referred to in at least one text as the "East Wind and North Wind".[25]
Kings regarded Enlil as a model ruler and sought to emulate his example.[28] Enlil was said to be supremely just[13] and intolerant towards evil.[13] Rulers from all over Sumer would travel to Enlil's temple in Nippur to be legitimized.[29] They would return Enlil's favor by devoting lands and precious objects to his temple as offerings.[30] Nippur was the only Sumerian city-state that never built a palace;[18] this was intended to symbolize the city's importance as the center of the cult of Enlil by showing that Enlil himself was the city's king.[18] Even during the Babylonian Period, when Marduk had superseded Enlil as the supreme god, Babylonian kings still traveled to the holy city of Nippur to seek recognition of their right to rule.[30]
Enlil first rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC, when the importance of the god An began to wane.[31][32] During this time period, Enlil and An are frequently invoked together in inscriptions.[31] Enlil remained the supreme god in Mesopotamia throughout the Amorite Period,[33] with Amorite monarchs proclaiming Enlil as the source of their legitimacy.[33] Enlil's importance began to wane after the Babylonian king Hammurabi conquered Sumer.[34] The Babylonians worshipped Enlil under the name "Elil"[4] and the Hurrians syncretized him with their own god Kumarbi.[4] In one Hurrian ritual, Enlil and Apantu are invoked as "the father and mother of Išḫara".[35] Enlil is also invoked alongside Ninlil as a member of "the mighty and firmly established gods".[35]
During the Kassite Period (c. 1592–1155 BC), Nippur briefly managed to regain influence in the region and Enlil rose to prominence once again.
Iconography
Enlil was represented by the symbol of a horned cap, which consisted of up to seven superimposed pairs of ox-horns.[38] Such crowns were an important symbol of divinity;[39][40] gods had been shown wearing them ever since the third millennium BC.[39] The horned cap remained consistent in form and meaning from the earliest days of Sumerian prehistory up until the time of the Persian conquest and beyond.[39][21]
The Sumerians had a complex numerological system, in which certain numbers were believed to hold special ritual significance.
Mythology
Origins myths
The main source of information about the Eridu Genesis myth is the prologue to the epic poem
The story of Enlil's courtship with Ninlil is primarily a genealogical myth invented to explain the origins of the moon-god Nanna, as well as the various gods of the Underworld,[54] but it is also, to some extent, a coming-of-age story describing Enlil and Ninlil's emergence from adolescence into adulthood.[61] The story also explains Ninlil's role as Enlil's consort; in the poem, Ninlil declares, "As Enlil is your master, so am I also your mistress!"[62] The story is also historically significant because, if the current interpretation of it is correct, it is the oldest known myth in which a god changes shape.[54]
Flood myth
In the Sumerian version of the
In the later Akkadian version of the flood story, recorded in the
Chief god and arbitrator
Plucks at the roots, tears at the crown, the pickax spares the... plants; the pickax, its fate is decreed by father Enlil, the pickax is exalted.
— Enlil's Invention of the Pickax, translated by Samuel Noah Kramer[75]
A nearly complete 108-line poem from the Early Dynastic Period (c. 2900–2350 BC) describes Enlil's invention of the mattock,[76][77] a key agricultural pick, hoe, ax, or digging tool of the Sumerians.[78][77] In the poem, Enlil conjures the mattock into existence and decrees its fate.[79] The mattock is described as gloriously beautiful; it is made of pure gold and its head is carved from lapis lazuli.[79] Enlil gives the tool over to the humans, who use it to build cities,[75] subjugate their people,[75] and pull up weeds.[75] Enlil was believed to aid in the growth of plants.[78]
The Sumerian poem
Ninurta myths
In the Sumerian poem Lugale (ETCSL 1.6.2), Enlil gives advice to his son, the god
In the Old, Middle, and Late Babylonian myth of Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies, the
War of the gods
A badly damaged text from the Neo-Assyrian Period (911–612 BC) describes Marduk leading his army of Anunnaki into the sacred city of Nippur and causing a disturbance.[88] The disturbance causes a flood,[88] which forces the resident gods of Nippur under the leadership of Enlil to take shelter in the Eshumesha temple to Ninurta.[88] Enlil is enraged at Marduk's transgression and orders the gods of Eshumesha to take Marduk and the other Anunnaki as prisoners.[88] The Anunnaki are captured,[88] but Marduk appoints his front-runner Mushteshirhablim to lead a revolt against the gods of Eshumesha[89] and sends his messenger Neretagmil to alert Nabu, the god of literacy.[89] When the Eshumesha gods hear Nabu speak, they come out of their temple to search for him.[90] Marduk defeats the Eshumesha gods and takes 360 of them as prisoners of war, including Enlil himself.[90] Enlil protests that the Eshumesha gods are innocent,[90] so Marduk puts them on trial before the Anunnaki.[90] The text ends with a warning from Damkianna (another name for Ninhursag) to the gods and to humanity, pleading them not to repeat the war between the Anunnaki and the gods of Eshumesha.[90]
See also
References
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b Halloran 2006.
- ^ a b Holland 2009, p. 114.
- ^ a b Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 182.
- ^ a b c Coleman & Davidson 2015, p. 108.
- ^ Kramer 1983, pp. 115–121.
- ^ Stone, Adam. "Enlil/Ellil (god)". Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses. Oracc and the UK Higher Education Academy. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ Wang, Xianhua. The Metamorphosis of Enlil in Early Mesopotamia. pp. 6–22. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ISBN 978-0934718981.
- ^ Michalowski, Piotr (1998). "The unbearable lightness of Enlil". In Prosecký, J. (ed.). Intellectual Life of the Ancient Near East. The Oriental Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. p. 240.
- ^ a b van der Toorn, Becking & Willem 1999, p. 356.
- ^ Steinkeller, Piotr (1999). "On Rulers, Priests, and Sacred Marriage: Tracing the Evolution of Early Sumerian Kingship". In Watanabe, K. (ed.). Priests and Officials in the Ancient Near East. p. 114, n. 36.
- ^ a b c Marcus, David; Pettinato, Giovanni (2005). "Enlil". In Jones, Lindsay (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed.). MacMillan Reference USA. p. 2799.
Piotr Steinkeller (1999) and Piotr Michalowski (1998) have cast doubt upon the Sumerian nature of the god Enlil. They discuss the actual meaning of the name, equating the Eblaite I-li-lu with Enlil. Just how at variance this is with other Sumerian myths has been shown by Manfred Krebernik and M. P. Streck, and the epithet of Enlil in Sumerian literature is kur-gal (great mountain), suggesting origins in eastern Mesopotamia.
- ^ a b c Kramer 1963, p. 120.
- ^ Hallo 1996, pp. 231–234.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, pp. 74 and 76.
- ^ a b c d Black & Green 1992, p. 74.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 53.
- ^ a b c d e f Janzen 2004, p. 247.
- ^ Kramer 1963, p. 123.
- ^ a b c Black & Green 1992, p. 94.
- ^ a b c Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 186.
- ^ a b Nemet-Nejat 1998, pp. 186–187.
- ^ Nemet-Nejat 1998, pp. 186–188.
- ^ Kramer 1963, p. 119.
- ^ a b c d e f g Black & Green 1992, p. 76.
- ^ a b Kramer 1963, p. 121.
- ^ Kramer 1963, pp. 119–121.
- ^ Grottanelli & Mander 2005, p. 5,162a.
- ^ Littleton 2005, pp. 480–482.
- ^ a b Littleton 2005, p. 482.
- ^ a b Schneider 2011, p. 58.
- ^ Kramer 1963, p. 118.
- ^ a b Schneider 2011, pp. 58–59.
- ^ a b c d Schneider 2011, p. 59.
- ^ a b Archi 1990, p. 114.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 38.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 37.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 102.
- ^ a b c Black & Green 1992, p. 98.
- ^ Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 185.
- ^ McEvilley 2002, pp. 171–172.
- ^ Röllig 1971, pp. 499–500.
- ^ Tsumura 2005, p. 134.
- ^ Delaporte 1996, p. 137.
- ^ a b c Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 203.
- ^ Kramer 1963, pp. 118–122.
- ^ a b Rogers 1998, p. 13.
- ^ Levenda 2008, p. 29.
- ^ Levenda 2008, pp. 29–30.
- ^ Kramer 1961, pp. 30–33.
- ^ a b c Kramer 1961, pp. 37–40.
- ^ Kramer 1961, pp. 37–41.
- ISBN 978-1-83974-294-1.
- ^ a b c Kramer 1961, p. 43.
- ^ a b c Jacobsen 1946, pp. 128–152.
- ^ Kramer 1961, p. 44.
- ^ a b Kramer 1961, pp. 44–45.
- ^ Kramer 1961, p. 45.
- ^ Kramer 1961, p. 46.
- ^ Black, Cunningham & Robson 2006, p. 106.
- ^ Leick 2013, p. 66.
- ^ Leick 2013, p. 67.
- ^ Kramer 1961, p. 97.
- ^ a b Kramer 1961, pp. 97–98.
- ^ a b c d e f Kramer 1961, p. 98.
- ^ Dalley 1989, p. 109.
- ^ Dalley 1989, pp. 109–111.
- ^ Dalley 1989, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Dalley 1989, pp. 110–111.
- ^ Dalley 1989, p. 113.
- ^ Dalley 1989, pp. 114–115.
- ^ Dalley 1989, p. 115.
- ^ a b Dalley 1989, pp. 115–116.
- ^ Dalley 1989, p. 116.
- ^ a b c d Kramer 1961, p. 53.
- ^ Kramer 1961, pp. 51–53.
- ^ a b Green 2003, p. 37.
- ^ a b Hooke 2004.
- ^ a b Kramer 1961, p. 52.
- ^ Kramer 1961, pp. 49–50.
- ^ Kramer 1961, p. 50.
- ^ a b Kramer 1961, p. 51.
- ^ a b Penglase 1994, p. 68.
- ^ Leick 1991, p. 9.
- ^ Leick 1991, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Black & Green 1992, p. 173.
- ^ a b c d e f g Leick 1991, p. 10.
- ^ a b c d e Oshima 2010, p. 145.
- ^ a b Oshima 2010, pp. 145–146.
- ^ a b c d e Oshima 2010, p. 146.
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External links
- Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Enlil/Ellil (god)
- Gateway to Babylon: "Enlil and Ninlil", trans. Thorkild Jacobsen
- Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: "Enlil and Ninlil" (original Sumerian) and English translation
- Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: Sumerian Flood myth (original Sumerian) and English translation