Sarpanit

Zarpanitu
Queen of the gods, goddess of pregnancy
Tablet with a hymn to Marduk and Zarpanitu attributed to Ashurbanipal. British Museum.
Other names	Erua, Papnunanki, Elagu, Laḫamun[1]
Major cult center	Zarpan, Babylon
Personal information
Spouse	Marduk
Children	Nabu, Ṣilluš-ṭāb, Katunna

Zarpanitu (also romanized as Ṣarpānītu) was a

Zarpanitu's name has Akkadian origin.^[10] Two different possible etymologies are well documented in primary sources, "the lady of the city of Zarpan" and "creatress of seed" (from zēr-bānītu).^[11] Today it is assumed the name was most likely derived from the toponym Zarpan, a settlement located near Babylon, though seemingly according to a folk etymology it was named after the goddess instead, as attested in a myth known only from a fragmentary tablet from the library of Ashurbanipal.^[2] While attempts have been made to etymologize the name as "silvery" instead, this view is now regarded as unsubstantiated.^[11]

Additional names

Two names which originally designated the spouse of Asalluhi, Erua and Papnunanki, came to be used as names of Zarpanitu after her husband Marduk was equated with that god in the eighteenth century BCE.^[2] However, this tradition is not yet documented in the Old Babylonian forerunner to the later god list An = Anum, where both of these names are stated to refer to the same goddess, but without identification with Zarpanitu.^[12] The theonym Erua could be used either as a sumerogram meant to be read as Zarpanitu or as an epithet, while Papnunanki typically appears in place of her standard name.^[2] An early case has been identified in a text from the reign of Samsu-Ditana, who in a formula written in Sumerian refers to Zarpanitu as Papnunanki, in contrast with his predecessors Sumu-la-El, Hammurabi and Samsu-iluna, who all used her primary name in texts written in this language.^[10]

According to a god list, secondary names of Zarpanitu were Elagu and Laḫamun, glossed as used in Elam and Dilmun, respectively.^[1] However, it has already been pointed out by Friedrich Wilhelm König [de] in the 1930s that Elagu appears exclusively in Mesopotamian, as opposed to Elamite, texts.^[13] The second name, while sometimes quoted among Dilmunite theonyms in Assyriological literature as recently as in the 1990s, is similarly known only from sources from Mesopotamia.^[4]

Character

Not much is known about Zarpanitu's character.^[11] Joan Goodnick Westenholz has suggested that she and Tashmetum were simply "prototypical divine wives".^[14] In late sources she could be characterized as a motherly figure connected to birth.^[15] She was worshiped under the byname Erua as a goddess associated with pregnancy.^[12]

In the first millennium BCE, Zarpanitu's role as the wife of

Nabu was regarded as the son of Zarpanitu and Marduk.^[20] This god was initially regarded as the divine "vizier" (sukkal) of the latter, as documented for example in Middle Assyrian An = Anum, but in a late tradition became a member of this god's family instead.^[21]

Two minor goddesses, Ṣilluš-ṭāb and Katunna, were considered the

The mythical creature uridimmu (from Sumerian ur-idim, "mad lion"^[24]) could be described as the door keeper of both Zarpanitu and Marduk, and in a late incantation is implored to intercede with both of these deities on behalf of the petitioner.^[25] The same being is also mentioned in a hymn to these two deities attributed to Ashurbanipal, but in this case it appears in a context seemingly indicating influence from its portrayal in Enūma Eliš instead.^[26]

Syncretism

In Assyria, Zarpanitu could be identified with Šerua, which reflected the syncretism between their respective spouses, Marduk and Ashur, first documented under Sennacherib, and was further facilitated by the phonetic similarity between the name of the Assyrian goddess and the secondary name Erua.^[27]

Through the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, attempts have been made to subordinate the local theology of

Zarpanitu presumably was originally venerated in Zarpan, a town located in the immediate proximity of Babylon, though she is much better attested than this settlement itself.^[34] It is known from a Neo-Babylonian (or later) fragment of a topographical text from Sippar (BM 66534), which mentions its city gates, as well as from a fragmentary myth confirming its association with Zarpanitu.^[35] Babylon also served as her cult center, and she worshiped in this city in the Esagil temple complex dedicated to Marduk in a cella known under the ceremonial names E-dara-anna ("house of the ibex of heaven") or E-ḫili-ĝar ("house endowed with luxuriance").^[27] Her seat inside it was known as the Eḫalanki ("house of the secrets of heaven and the netherworld").^[36]

The oldest reference to Zarpanitu which can be dated with certainty occurs in the twenty-fourth year name of

In a New Year (akitu) ritual from Babylon presumed to precede the rise of Marduk to the position of the head of the pantheon under Nebuchadnezzar I, Zarpanitu is listed as one of the deities present during the celebrations, alongside Marduk, Nabu, Nanaya, Sutītu, Zababa, Bau, Nergal, Laṣ and Mammitum.^[40] One of the inscriptions of Sargon II (722–705 BCE) commemorating his participation in the akitu festival in the same location mentions Zarpanitu among the recipients of gifts provided by him.^[41]

A list of deities worshiped in

Theophoric names invoking Zarpanitu are known from sources from the Neo-Babylonian period, though for the most part only women bore them, in contrast with names invoking many other goddesses, for example Bau, Gula, Ishtar, Nanaya or Ningal, which are attested for men too.^[42] Only two exceptions are known, Ardi-Ṣarpanitu and Ardi-Erua, both of which are masculine theophoric names invoking her under respectively her primary name and an epithet.^[43] They are regarded as atypical.^[44]

Outside Mesopotamia

In the corpus of Ugaritic texts Zarpanitu is mentioned in an incantation against Lamashtu which pairs her with Marduk and invokes them in parallel with Anu and Antu, Enlil and Ninlil, Ea and Damkina and Papsukkal and Amasagnudi.^[45] It is one of the twelve examples of texts from this site written in standard cuneiform which are assumed to be patterned after similar Mesopotamian compositions.^[46] Direct parallels to individual passages have been identified in the corpus of Mesopotamian incantations against Lamashtu.^[47]

In Emar Zarpanitu is attested exclusively in colophons.^[8]

Mythology

In literary texts Zarpanitu typically appears alongside Marduk.^[48]

A short myth focused on Zarpanitu describes how the town Zarpan was named after her and then gifted to her by

Zarpanitu is also referenced in Ludlul bēl nēmeqi, where the protagonist prays to her at the Kaḫilisu ("gate sprinkled with luxuriance"), presumably the gate of her cella in Esagil.^[27] Andrew R. George points out that it is also attested in inscriptions of Ashurbanipal and Nebuchadnezzar II.^[50]

Takayoshi Oshima suggests that in a

Bibliography