The Chaldean account of Genesis

by George Smith

10. Nusku, holder of the golden sceptre, the lofty god.

11. Belat, wife of Bel, mother of the great gods, lady of the city of Nipur.

12. Istar, Gingir in Accadian, eldest of heaven and earth, raising the face of warriors.

Below these deities there was a large body of gods forming the bulk of the pantheon, and below these were arranged the Igigi, or 300 angels of heaven, and the Anunnaki, or 600 angels of earth. Below these again came various classes of spirits or genii called Sedu, Vadukku, Ekimu, Gallu, and others; some of these were evil, some good.

The relationship of the various principal gods and their names, titles and offices will appear from the following remarks.

At the head of the Babylonian mythology stands a deity who was sometimes identified with the heavens, sometimes considered as the ruler and god of heaven. This deity is named Anu, his sign is the simple star, the symbol of divinity, and at other times the Maltese cross. In the philosophic theology of a later age, Anu represents abstract divinity, and he appears as an original principle, perhaps as the original principle of nature. He represents the universe as the upper and lower regions, and when these were divided the upper region or heaven was called Anu, while the lower region or earth was called Anatu; Anatu being the female principle or wife of Anu. Anu is termed the old god, and the god of the whole of heaven and earth; one of the manifestations of Anu was under the two forms Lakhmu and Lakhamu, which probably correspond to the Greek forms Dache and Dachus, see p. 44.[7] These forms are said to have sprung out of the original chaos, and they are followed by the two forms Sar and Kisar (the Kissare and Assorus of the Greeks). Sar means the upper hosts or expanse, Kisar the lower hosts or expanse; these are also forms or manifestations of Anu and his wife. Anu is further called lord of the old city, and bears the name of Alalu. His titles generally indicate height, antiquity, purity, divinity, and he may be taken as the general type of divinity. Anu was originally worshipped at the city of Erech, which was called the city of Anu and Anatu, and the great temple there was called the “house of Anu,” or the “house of heaven.”

Anatu, the wife or consort of Anu, is generally only a female form of Anu, but is sometimes contrasted with him; thus, when Anu represents height and heaven, Anatu represents depth and earth; she is also the lady of darkness, the mother of the god Hea, the mother of heaven and earth, the female fish-god, and is often identified with Istar or Venus. Anatu, however, had no existence in Accadian mythology. She is the product of the imagination of the Semites, whose grammar drew a distinction between the masculine and feminine genders.

Anu and Anatu had a numerous family; among their sons are numbered Lugal-edin, “the king of the desert,” Latarak, Ab-gula, Kusu, and the air-god, whose name was Ramman or Rimmon, in Accadian Mirmir. Rimmon is god of the region of the atmosphere, or space between the heaven and earth, he is the god of rain, of storms and whirlwind, of thunder and lightning, of floods and watercourses. He was in high esteem in Syria and Arabia, where he bore the name of Dadda; in Armenia he was called Teiseba. Rimmon is always considered an active deity, and was extensively worshipped.

Another important god, a son of Anu, was the god of fire, whose name was Gibil in Accadian. The fire-god takes an active part in the numerous mythological tablets and legends, and is considered to be the most potent deity in relation to witchcraft and spells generally.

The most important of the daughters of Anu was named Istar; she was in some respects the equivalent of the classical Venus. Her worship was at first subordinate to that of Anu, and as she was goddess of love, while Anu was god of heaven, it is probable that the first intention in the mythology was only to represent love as heaven-born; but in time a more sensual view prevailed, and the worship of Istar became one of the darkest features in Babylonian mythology. As the worship of this goddess increased in favour, it gradually superseded that of Anu, until in time his temple, the house of heaven, came to be regarded as the temple of Venus.