Wer (god)
Wer | |
---|---|
Major cult center | Terqa, Assur, Tell Afis |
Consort | Wertum |
Wer (Wēr), also known as Mer, Ber and Iluwer was a weather god worshiped in parts of Mesopotamia and ancient Syria. It is presumed that he was originally one of the main deities of the northern parts of these areas, but his cult declined in the second half of the second millennium BCE. The nature of the relation between him and Itūr-Mēr, the tutelary god of Mari, is disputed by researchers.
In an Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Wer is described as the master of the monster Humbaba, though in other versions of this narrative this role instead belongs to Enlil.
Name
Two forms of the name, Wēr and Mēr, were originally in use.
While multiple
Character
Wer was a
Wer's symbol was a lance.[8] A single Old Babylonian text attests that not only Wer himself, but also a deification of his emblem, dŠu-ku-ru-um ("lance"), could be an object of worship.[8]
While god lists, starting with
The feminine form of the name, Wertum (or Mertum)[13] likely designated the wife of Wer.[3] She is attested in Assur in the Old Assyrian period (where one of the city gates was named after her) and in a theophoric name from Mari.[13]
A number of
While known copies of a single passage from the incantation series Šurpu alternate between Wer and a deity named Immeriya, it cannot be established if the latter, who is otherwise best known from an inscribed statue possibly taken as bounty by Untash-Napirisha, was related to him in any way.[22]
Worship
Worship of Wer is chiefly attested from the middle
Wer appears in nine types of masculine theophoric names from Old Babylonian Mari, with eight using the spelling Mer and one - Wer.[23] Furthermore, the names of the local deities Itūr-Mēr and Tar’am-Mēr are both agreed to be theophoric names invoking him.[21] Other sites where names invoking him are attested include Sippar, various locations in Assyria (in the Old Assyrian period)[13] and the Diyala area,[4] Puzrish-Dagan (Puzur-Wer from the Ur III period)[24] and Larsa (Ubār-Wēr from the Old Babylonian period).[25] A possible seventh century BCE attestation of a theophoric name invoking him as Ber, dnbr, usually interpreted as Dannu-Ber, "Ber is strong," is known from an Aramaic papyrus found in Saqqara in Egypt,[25] However, the restoration is not certain, and according to Daniel Schwemer caution should be maintained.[1]
References to veneration of Wer other than theophoric names are absent from the corpus of Mari texts, though a place named Bāb-Mēr (KÁ-me-erki) is attested in a single source from the
A school text from
Mythology
In a section of an Old Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh preserved on the so-called "Yale tablet," corresponding to tablet III of the standard version, Enkidu mentions that the cedar mountain to which Gilgamesh wants to venture is under the control of the god Wer,[28] described as "mighty" and "never sleeping," and as the one who appointed the monster Humbaba as its guardian.[29] Adad is also associated with Wer in the same passage.[30]
In other versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Humbaba's master is Enlil.[31] Even on the Yale tablet, it is mentioned that he bestowed seven terrors upon him.[32] Andrew R. George assumes that while the mountain belongs to Wer, and he appointed Humbaba as its guardian and his second in command, the decision still had to be approved by Enlil.[33]
References
- ^ a b c d e Schwemer 2001, p. 208.
- ^ a b c Schwemer 2008, p. 27.
- ^ a b c d e f Schwemer 2008, p. 28.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2001, p. 205.
- ^ a b c d e f Frayne 2009, p. 294.
- ^ Krebernik 1997, p. 73.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2015, p. 90.
- ^ a b Krebernik 2013, p. 269.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 200.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2008, pp. 27–28.
- ^ Schwemer 2008, p. 3.
- ^ Schwemer 2008, p. 18.
- ^ a b c d Schwemer 2001, p. 206.
- ^ Nakata 1975, p. 18.
- ^ George 2003, p. 193.
- ^ Nakata 2011, p. 129.
- ^ Schwemer 2008, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Nakata 1975, pp. 18–20.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, pp. 203–204.
- ^ Nakata 1975, pp. 19–20.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2001, p. 203.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 36.
- ^ Nakata 1995, p. 252.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, p. 202.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2001, p. 201.
- ^ a b Schwemer 2001, p. 204.
- ^ Schwemer 2001, pp. 205–206.
- ^ George 2003, pp. 192–193.
- ^ George 2003, p. 199.
- ^ Schwemer 2007, p. 151.
- ^ George 2003, p. 144.
- ^ George 2003, p. 201.
- ^ George 2003, p. 210.
Bibliography
- Frayne, Douglas (2009). Pre-Sargonic Period. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-1-4426-8886-5.
- George, Andrew R. (2003). The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic: introduction, critical edition and cuneiform texts. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 51668477.
- Krebernik, Manfred (1997), "Meru", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-02-12
- Krebernik, Manfred (2013), "Šukurru(m)", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-03-05
- Nakata, Ichiro (1975). "A Mari Note: Ikrub-El and Related Matters". Orient. 11. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 15–24. S2CID 178437649.
- Nakata, Ichiro (1995). "A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in Old Babylonian Texts from Mari". Orient. 30 and 31. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 234–253. ISSN 1884-1392.
- Nakata, Ichiro (2011). "The God Itūr-Mēr in the Middle Euphrates Region During the Old Babylonian Period". Revue d'Assyriologie et d'archéologie orientale. 105. Presses Universitaires de France: 129–136. S2CID 194094468.
- 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.
- Schwemer, Daniel (2007). "The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies Part I" (PDF). Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. 7 (2). Brill: 121–168. ISSN 1569-2116.
- Schwemer, Daniel (2008). "The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies: Part II". Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. 8 (1). Brill: 1–44. ISSN 1569-2116.
- Schwemer, Daniel (2015), "Wettergott(heiten) A. Philologisch", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-02-12