Laṣ
Laṣ | |
---|---|
Goddess associated with the underworld | |
Major cult center | Kutha, Tarbiṣu |
Personal information | |
Spouse | Nergal |
Laṣ (dLa-aṣ; also
Name and character
The best attested spelling of the
Lambert proposed that Laṣ was a goddess of healing, as an explanatory version of the Weidner god list equates her with Bau, while other similar documents place her in the proximity of Gula, who were both regarded as deities of such character.[4]
An
A Neo-Assyrian text calls Laṣ the "mistress of Eridu," nin-NUNki.[4]
Associations with other deities
Laṣ was the wife of Nergal.[6] In Babylonia, she became the goddess most commonly identified as such starting with the reign of Kurigalzu II, while in Assyria an analogous phenomenon is attested from the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III onward.[7] In the Old Babylonian period, Nergal's wife was usually Mammitum.[4] The god list An = Anum equates them with each other.[8] However, in the so-called "Nippur god list" Laṣ occurs separately from Nergal,[4] while Mammitum is listed alongside him.[9] It is possible that through the second millennium BCE both Laṣ and Mammitum were worshiped in the Emeslam temple in Kutha.[10] In a description of a New Year ritual from Babylon during which the gods of Kish (Zababa), Kutha (Nergal) and Borsippa (Nabu) and their entourages were believed to visit Marduk (at the time of the text's composition likely not yet a major god), both she and Mammitum appear side by side as two separate goddesses.[11] It is possible Mammitum was originally associated with Erra rather than Nergal, and was only introduced to Kutha alongside him.[6] A third goddess labeled as Nergal's wife in An = Anum is Admu ("earth").[6] She is otherwise only known from theophoric names and a single offering list from Old Babylonian Mari.[12]
In an
In the
Worship
While no attestations of Laṣ from the third millennium BCE were known to Wilfred G. Lambert at the time of publication of her entry in
In Assyria the main cult center of Laṣ and Nergal was Tarbiṣu.[4] they are mentioned together in the treaty between Ashur-nirari V of Assyria and Mati'ilu of Arpad among gods meant to guarantee the document will be binding.[3]
A late reference to Laṣ might be present in a theophoric name identified in a Seleucid document from Kutha dated to the year 226 BCE, though the restoration of the theonym is uncertain.[20]
Mythology
Laṣ appears in the myth Erra and Naram-Sin.[2] Wilfred G. Lambert argued that the eponymous god should be understood as Nergal, rather than Erra, due to being referred to as the god of Kutha.[4] In literary texts both Erra and Nergal are names which can designate the latter.[21] In this myth, the eponymous king builds a temple for Erra and his wife after the former approaches him to ask for help in a conflict between him and Enlil.[22] In the end of the composition, Laṣ implores her husband to bless Naram-Sin.[23]
References
- ^ a b c Lambert 1983, p. 506.
- ^ a b Westenholz 1997, p. 189.
- ^ a b Goetze & Reiner 2011, p. 212.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lambert 1983, p. 507.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 273.
- ^ a b c d e Wiggermann 1998, p. 220.
- ^ Lambert 1983, pp. 506–507.
- ^ Krebernik 1987, pp. 330–331.
- ^ Peterson 2009, p. 54.
- ^ Müller-Kessler & Kessler 1999, pp. 81–82.
- ^ Lambert 2013, p. 282.
- ^ Nakata 1995, p. 236.
- ^ a b Krebernik 2013, p. 398.
- ^ Simons 2016, p. 9.
- ^ Krebernik 1998, p. 443.
- ^ Krebernik 1998, p. 444.
- ^ Krebernik 2008, p. 247.
- ^ a b c d Da Riva 2010, p. 47.
- ^ Leemans 1983, p. 417.
- ^ Müller-Kessler & Kessler 1999, p. 81.
- ^ Wiggermann 1998, p. 217.
- ^ Westenholz 1997, p. 190.
- ^ Westenholz 1997, p. 199.
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.
- Da Riva, Rocío (2010). "Dynastic Gods and Favourite Gods in the Neo-Babylonian Period". Concepts of kingship in antiquity: proceedings of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop, held in Padova, November 28th-December 1st, 2007. Padova Winona Lake, Ind: S.A.R.G.O.N. Editrice e Libreria Distributed by Eisenbrauns. OCLC 664134580.
- Goetze, Albrecht; Reiner, Erica (2011). "Treaties". The Ancient Near East. Princeton University Press. .
- Krebernik, Manfred (1987), "Mamma, Mammi, Mammītum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
- Krebernik, Manfred (1998), "Nin-kasi und Siraš/Siris", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-25
- Krebernik, Manfred (2008), "Raqadu", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2023-07-06
- Krebernik, Manfred (2013), "Tadmuštum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
- Leemans, Wilhelmus François (1983), "Lagaba", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-20
- Lambert, Wilfred G. (1983), "Laṣ", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
- Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013). Babylonian creation myths. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. OCLC 861537250.
- Müller-Kessler, Christa; Kessler, Karlheinz (1999). "Spätbabylonische Gottheiten in spätantiken mandäischen Texten". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie. 89 (1). Walter de Gruyter GmbH. ISSN 0084-5299.
- Nakata, Ichiro (1995). "A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in the Old Babylonian Texts from Mari". Orient. 30–31. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 234–253. ISSN 1884-1392.
- Peterson, Jeremiah (2009). God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum, Philadelphia. Münster: Ugarit Verlag. OCLC 460044951.
- Simons, Frank (2016). "The God Alammuš dLÀL/d.mùšLÀL". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (N.A.B.U.) (1).
- Westenholz, Joan Goodnick (1997). "Erra and Naram-Sin". Legends of the Kings of Akkade. Penn State University Press. ISBN 978-1-57506-503-8.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1998), "Nergal A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02