#deity resource

Disclaimer: some of these websites require knowing Japanese or using Google Translate, I am not fluent in Japanese

[19th Century "Goddess Uzume with Rooster and Mirror"]

🔴"Ame-No-Uzume" in the Encyclopedia of Shinto

🔴"Local Legend: Meeting and Marriage of Sarutahiko no Mikoto and Ame no Uzume no Mikoto" from Ministry of Land, Infrustructure, Transportation, and Tourism. Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo.

🔴 "About Amenouzume and her dance Including information on her blessings and shrines" from Mainomichi

🔴Info on Ame-no-Uzume from a Japanese Website

Amenouzume, Japan's oldest dancer, is considered the ancestral goddess of song and dance and is enshrined in many shrines. In addition, because she made the gods laugh when they hid in the Heavenly Rock Cave, she is also considered the ancestor of entertainers, comedians, and actors, and has come to be widely known as the "goddess of performing arts." She is also sometimes called the "goddess of fortune," "Otafuku," or "Okame."

🔴Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America

**The Washington State location was closed and transfered to Shin Mei Spiritual Center but the original website is still up.

天鈿女命. Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is the wife of Sarutahiko-no-O-Kami. It was Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto who, through a dance, caused the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu-OmiKami, to emerge from a cave, thus restoring light once again to the earth. Sarutahiko-no-O-Kami, guardian Kami of the martial arts as well as courage and justice, is the ancestor of the earthly Kami and stands at the junction of earth and heaven, Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Mie, Japan. Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, known as the fearless one, is the guardian Kami of art and entertainment, marriage, joy, harmony and meditation; her main shrine is also Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Mie, Japan. Heavenly alarming female, strong (stout) tenacious hung around her Heavenly Club –Moss from Heavenly Mt. Kargu as the Obi made the heavenly spindle tree her Kanmuri/Kazura, made the Sasa as Suzu and made a sounding board Uke-Fusete before the door of the heavenly rock dwelling. She stamped her feet, and made the divine utterance of the Hi-Fu-Mi Norito.

Basic of the story of Amaterasu-OmiKami (Kami of the Sun) secluding herself in the Ame-no-Iwa-ya (rock dwelling/cave) to avoid further contamination/impurity after the encounter with her brother Susanao-no-Mikoto. The result was terrible for Heaven and Earth. Takama-no-Hara, the High Plain of Heaven, was obscure. With purifying sunlight removed from the Earth Plain many misfortunate occurrences arose. All the Heavenly Kami worked together to bring about the return of the source of light. The ancient texts deal with the actions, objects and potentialities assembled in great detail: jewels and a sacred mirror and a Hinoki palace were among the things made. All the myriads of Kami assembled and it was then that Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto kindled many sacred bonfires, wrapped heavenly club moss around her as the Obi/sash, made the Kazura/head dress from the spindle tree, made the Sasa-ba/bamboo grass leaves into a bouquet, took into her hand a Hoko/spear wreathed in eulalia grass and danced the 1st archetypal Kagura on a sounding board (overturned wash tub) outside the door of the rock dwelling. During the performance of this dance she also invented the flute and koto. As she danced she made the divinely inspired utterance Kamu Gakari, recited the HI-FU-MI Norito and pulled her clothes open to expose her private parts. This dance has been discussed by Western scholars more than any other Shinwa (story of Kami-yo Kami-age).

Of course the uncovering action was one in a complex series of magical events. Western scholars have focused on this because of the Western society's discomfort/fascination with Women's bodies and sexuality in general. Another way to view the reason Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto showed her breasts is to remind Amatersu-OmiKami of her divine mission to nourish all life and exposing her belly was to remind Amaterasu-OmiKami that the Sun is the ultimate source of life for everything in Heaven and Earth. This divine dance made all the assembled Kami so happy they laughed, shouted and made "life sounds" as well as songs of praise. Then divine illumination was restored to Earth and Heaven. This episode is an example of Divine Female Power (generative power) and intelligence (life power) in progress with life process.

🔴Chiyo Jinja - Shiga Prefecture

Chiyo Shrine is dedicated to two Shinto gods, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Sarutahiko, and has been designated as a nationally Important Cultural Property for the nagare-zukuri (streamlined gable style) of its main hall. The gods enshrined here are said to be the ancestor gods of the arts and performance. Chiyo Shrine also receives many visitors coming to visit this guardian shrine of the Ii family. Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mitoko in particular is a deeply revered deity, and is worshipped as the ancestor god of acting and the arts. Even now, the shrine is visited by famous actors and those involved in the arts, who come to pray for improvement of their skills.

🔴Ota Jinja | located in Kamigamo Jinja, Kyoto Prefecture

Ota Jinja is located approximately 800 meters to the east of Kamigamo Jinja grounds and is dedicated to Ame no Uzume no Mikoto, a goddess from the famous myth about Amaterasu Omikami, the goddess of the sun. Amaterasu Omikami became angry with her brother Susanoo no Mikoto and shut herself in a cave, plunging the world into unending night. Other deities tried to convince her to come back outside, but all their attempts failed. Finally, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto performed a lively dance while others cheered, which made Amaterasu Omikami curious enough to exit the cave and bring sunlight back to the world. Because of this story, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto is primarily worshipped as a deity that helps improve artistic skills.

As a shrine, Ota Jinja is said to be even older than Kamigamo Jinja. Farmers worshipped a deity of good fortune and long life at a shrine on this site even before the Kamo clan that founded Kamigamo Jinja immigrated to the area in the sixth century. After Kamigamo Jinja grew in power and influence, Ota Jinja became one of its auxiliary shrines.

The Otanosawa Pond on the shrine grounds is renowned for kakitsubata, or rabbit-ear irises. They bloom in purple clusters in mid-May, covering the entire pond, and the sight attracts countless visitors. In 1945, the iris pond was designated a Natural Monument. The irises at Ota Jinja have been beloved for centuries and were mentioned in several ancient records and poems. A particularly famous poem written by the courtier Fujiwara Shunzei (1114–1204) reads: The sacred mountain / The irises of Ota Pond / People’s deepest wishes / Can be seen in their color.

The prayer hall at Ota Jinja is used for sato kagura, the oldest remaining style of sacred kagura dance. Sato kagura is accompanied by musicians playing cymbals and drums. The words used to describe the sounds of the cymbals and the drums are "chan" and "pon," which gave rise to the alternative name chanpon kagura. Sato kagura is performed as part of prayer ceremonies held at Ota Jinja on the night of the 10th of each month. It is a registered Intangible Folk Cultural Property of Kyoto.

🔴Geino Jinja | Located in Kurumazaki Jinja, Kyoto Prefecture

Why Do Celebrities Visit Geino Shrine? Geino Shrine is very famous because many Japanese celebrities have visited it. “Geino Shrine” means “a shrine for the entertainment world” and a goddess of entertainment, Ame no Uzume no Mikoto is worshipped here.

According to Japanese Mythology, there was a goddess of the Sun, Amaterasu-ōmikami, whose brother Susano-o no Mikoto was a troublemaker and always doing bad things. One day Amaterasu-ōmikami was furious with him and hid in a rock cave. Then the world became as dark as midnight. However, when Ame no Uzume no Mikoto performed a dance in front of the cave, Amaterasu-ōmikami came out to see her dance, and the sun returned to this world. This is why Ame no Uzume no Mikoto is said to be a goddess of entertainment.

In Geino Shrine, there are more than 2,000 vermillion fence boards called tamagaki, which are offerings from prayers. If you offer tamagaki to the shrine, your name will be written on it. When I visited the shrine, I was excited to find a lot of celebrities’ names there. If you want to be famous, offer tamagaki to the shrine. Your tamagaki will be kept there for two years, together with celebrities’ tamagaki. It is 10,000 yen (in 2017).

🔴Mendake Jinja - Nagasaki Prefecture

The goddess Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto is venerated at Mendake Shrine. She is the ancestral deity of Japanese performing arts, and so she is believed to bestow blessings on the arts as well as on marriages.

🔴Betsugu Tsubakigishi Jinja | Axillary Shrine of Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Mie Prefecture

Tsubakigishi Shrine enshrines Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, the wife of Sarutahiko-no-Okami, as its main deity. It is revered as the ancestral god of performing arts, a god of pacification, a god of marital harmony, and a god of matchmaking, and also performs Shinto wedding ceremonies.

🔴Hinomikosha at Tokagushi Jinja - Nagano Prefecture

Founded around 1098, the shrine enshrines Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, who danced in front of the rock cave, as its main deity, along with three other gods. Even during the period of syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism, this shrine remained solely a Shinto shrine. The Togakushi Shrine Taidai Kagura has been passed down from ancient times by the shrine's attendants and continues to this day. The shrine is revered as the god of dance and performing arts, the god of matchmaking, and the god of fire prevention. In recent years, the shrine has seen an increase in visitors, and within its grounds are the "Married Couple Cedars (Two Cedars)," which are over 500 years old, and the famous Saigyo Cherry Tree.

About that Taidai Kagura

The deities enshrined at Togakushi Shrine are gods associated with the Japanese myth of "the opening of the Heavenly Rock Cave." It is said that the origin of "Kagura" (sacred dance and music) lies in the dance performed by Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto (the enshrined deity of Hino-Mikoto Shrine) in front of the rock cave to persuade Amaterasu-Omikami, who had hidden herself inside, to come out again.

The Taidai Kagura dance passed down at Togakushi Shrine consists of a total of 10 different dances (ten performances), including a dance to ward off evil and disaster, a dance in which the performer takes the form of a god who controls water and prays for a bountiful harvest, a dance by a charming shrine maiden, and a dance related to the opening of the Heavenly Rock Cave.

What is "Kagura"? It is a general term for songs and dances offered to the gods during Shinto shrine festivals. There are various types and traditions of Kagura, such as Takachiho Kagura in Kyushu, Izumo Kagura and Iwami Kagura in the Chugoku region, and Miko Kagura and Shishi Kagura passed down in various regions. The content also varies, from theatrical performances based on myths and legends to dances expressing wishes for a bountiful harvest, protection from misfortune, and good fortune. The "dance" serves to appease the gods and also as a ritual for divine possession. The descendants of Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, who danced in front of the rock cave, have participated in ceremonies and festivals at the imperial court and other shrines as miko (shrine maidens) who convey divine oracles to the people.

🔴Sarume Jinja | located within Sarutahiko Jinja, Mie Prefecture

Within the shrine grounds is the Sarume Shrine, where Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, revered as the ancestral deity of actors, Kagura (sacred dance), performing arts, and appeasing spirits, is enshrined. [...] Sarume Shrine is constantly visited by people from the performing arts and sports world, as well as those praying for improvement in their skills. Furthermore, as the deity who mediated between the Amatsukami (heavenly gods) and Kunitsukami (earthly gods), she is also deeply revered as a god who brings about various good fortunes, and the shrine is bustling with many worshippers.

🔴Other Shrines

Kogyo / Ogoso Jinja

Ota Jinja located in Ushitenjin Jinja

Karasumori Jinja

Shin Mei Spiritual Centers 3 Shrines that enshrine Ame-No-Uzume

More may be listed in the Mainomichi website linked above

.◾️.

[Tsukioka Yoshitoshi 1879. "Color woodblock print, triptych. From a series illustrating significant episodes in Japanese history. The goddess Ame-no-uzume no mikoto performs a dance enticing the sun goddess Amaterasu out of the cave, and light is restored to the world (centre). The god Ame no Tajikara-o no mikoto rolling back the rock that Amaterasu used to block the cave (left). Leader of the earthly deities Sarutahiko-ôkami looking on (right)."]

🔴Good Posts from @tenjin-no-shinja Link ; Link ; Link

🔴Ame-No-Uzume-No-Mikoto Ofuda avaliable via Shin Mei's Center

Right is her Ofuda from Shin Mei Jinja Link. Left is her Ofuda from Betsugu Tsubakigishi Jinja Link

🔴Shinto Beginner Guide

𒀭𒇉

Sumerian Goddess, primarily from the city of Eridu

Mother of the Gods. Creator of Mankind, specifically in Eridu, elsewhere this role went to Nintur or Ninmah

—How to use internet archive link

🔵 Information

From Gods Demons & Symbols by Black [Internet Archive Link]

"Nammu was a goddess who was considered, in some traditions, to have given birth to An (heaven) and Ki (earth) and to many more of the more ancient gods. Especially she was regarded as the mother of Enki. She came to be thought of as one of the mother goddesses. Her name is written with the same sign as engur, a synonym of abzu, and it is probable that she was originally a personification of the subterranean ocean." [p134]

Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology by Leick [Internet Archive Link]

Her name is usually written with the sign engur which was also used to write Apsu. In ancient times she personified the Apsu as the source of water and hence fertility in lower Mesopotamia. She may well have been worshipped in Eridu before Enki, who took over most of her prerogatives and functions. Significantly he was called the son of Nammu. In spite of her decline following the superiority of Enki, during the Neo-Sumerian period, at least at Ur, she was still considered important enough to have statues commissioned in her honour and she also features in the name of the famous king Ur-nammu. In mythology, Nammu appears as the primeval Mother-goddess in Enki and Ninmah who 'has given birth to the great gods'. She has the idea of creating mankind as a help for the gods and it is she who goes to wake her son Enki, asleep in the Apsu, that he may set the process going. [p 124]

Handbook of Gods & Goddess of the Ancient Near East [Google Books Link]:

"Namma: Sumerian goddess of the primeval, subterranean ocean. In the lexical series Diri the name has a syllabic rendering na-am-ma. In some traditions she was the mother of the sky god An, the earth goddess Ki, and a number of other deities. Enki/ Ea, the god of freshwater and wisdom, was considered her son. In the myth of "Enki and Nin-mah," when the other deities began complaining about how hard they had to work, it was Namma who awakened Enki from his sleep to urge him to create more creatures to take on the work of the gods. However, he delegated the task to Namma, who then received the credit for creating human beings. There was a shrine to the goddess in Marduk's great temple at Babylon, and at least one other of her sanctuaries is known"[p222]

Excerpt from Oracc [Link]:

"Very little is known about Namma, who belongs to the oldest generation of Mesopotamian deities and is associated with the pantheon of Eridu. She is mainly known for her role in the cosmogony of early Mesopotamia and her importance in magic, which is restricted to texts written in Sumerian [...]. According to the god list An-Anum, tablet I line 28 [...], Namma bears the title "mother who gave birth to the heavens and the earth. Because this goddess's name is written with sign for "(cosmic) subterranean waters" (Sumerian: engur) Wiggermann [..] has called her the "Cosmic Ocean. [...] In the Sumerian poem of Enki and Ninmah (ETCSL 1.1.2, line 17 link) Namma is called the "original mother who gave birth to the gods of the universe", again according her primary status among all the gods and describing her role in Mesopotamian cosmogony"

The Harps That Once by Jacobsen [Google Books Link]

"Namma, Enki's mother, was probably seen as the power in the riverbed which, empty or nearly empty in summer, gives birth to the fresh waters, to Enki, in the spring flood. This interpretation gains a measure of support from the fact that the cuneiform sign with which her name was written served also, if supplemented with the sign for "water," to write the word for "river." Etymologically the name Namma goes back to Nin-imma (nin-immaran-amma nama›namma) "lady female genitals," a personification of the numinous power to shape, mature, and give birth to the child, and it is as birth goddess generally, rather than as goddess of the riverbed, that the text here characterizes her. That latter aspect she may conceivably have acquired because the mythopoeic imagination conceived of the great gash in the earth which the dry riverbed presents as the genitals of Mother Earth herself, and the prototype of all female parts everywhere. Namma's role as birth goddess generally and as the one who gave birth to man probably represents a local tradition, perhaps at home in Eridu. Elsewhere it is the goddess Nintur, or Ninmah as she is called in this composition," [p 158]

From Wiggermann "Nammu" [PDF Link]

*He disagrees with Jacobsen on Nin-imma, but Wiggmann addresses many other authors both agreeing and disagreeing but its too densely written for me to even remotely understand the back & forth between the Assyriologists.

"Nammu is an ancient goddess of Eridu, who plays a part in the local (and early national) mythology as creatrix/mother goddess and as supporter of Enki in Magic. Most references relate to either of these two roles [...] Only her epithet "(^munus)agrig-zi-é-kur-(ra-)ke", "true housekeeper of Ekur" points outside Eridu to the pantheon of Nippur, but it may be due to a confusion with Nin-imma, Enlil's scholar and scribe." [p 137 Column 2]

From "The Sumerian Zame Hymns from Tell Abu Salabih" by Krebernik and Lisman [PDF Download Link]

To the best of our knowledge, until now no composition is known in which Namma is mentioned as the tutelar goddess of a specific city. There are three foundation pegs from the ED IlIb period —one peg from Uruk, the other two in all probability also from that town —on which a text was inscribed saying that Lugalkisalsi built a temple for Namma. The goddess is present in the Fãra god list SF 1 (obv. viii 10). In the Old Babylonian literature Namma appears in prominent roles: in a cosmogonic function as the mother of an-ki 'heaven-earth'; as the 'procreator of a multitude of gods' and as the mother of Enki." [p 129]

Section from Enki & Ninmah (ETCSL 1.1.2) [Link]

*Bolded part that explains her mother of Gods role, and also her creating man (different deities depending on myth)

*How deity, people, and place names are spelled is wildly inaccurate in the ETCSL, they don't even follow their own rules. But I still did not change the quote

"The gods said, weeping: "He is the cause of the lamenting!" Namma, the primeval mother who gave birth to the senior gods, took the tears of the gods to the one who lay sleeping, to the one who did not wake up from his bed, to her son: "Are you really lying there asleep, and ...... not awake? The gods, your creatures, are smashing their ....... My son, wake up from your bed! Please apply the skill deriving from your wisdom and create a substitute for the gods so that they can be freed from their toil!" At the word of his mother Namma, Enki rose up from his bed. In Hal-an-kug, his room for pondering, he slapped his thigh in annoyance. The wise and intelligent one, the prudent, ...... of skills, the fashioner of the design of everything brought to life birth-goddesses. Enki reached out his arm over them and turned his attention to them. And after Enki, the fashioner of designs by himself, had pondered the matter, he said to his mother Namma: "My mother, the creature you planned will really come into existence. Impose on him the work of carrying baskets. You should knead clay from the top of the abzu; the birth-goddesses will nip off the clay and you shall bring the form into existence. Let Ninmah act as your assistant; and let Ninimma, Cu-zi-ana, Ninmada, Ninbarag, Ninmug, ...... and Ninguna stand by as you give birth. My mother, after you have decreed his fate, let Ninmah impose on him the work of carrying baskets."

🔵 Titles / Epithets

*I did not use š, ḫ, or ĝ when typing these for ease of reading. See Sisterofiris' posts on transliterations [link] & normalizations [link]. Page numbers correspond to Wiggermann's Nammu PDF, linked above.

🔹Amaùtuanki — "Mother who gave birth to Heaven and Earth" (p137 column 2)

🔹Ama-palil-ù-tu-dingir-shár-shárra-ke-ne — "Mother, who gave birth to all the gods" [I kept dashes so it can be read] (p138 column 1)

🔹Amarhusheke — "Compassionate Mother" (p138 column 2)

🔹Amagal — "Great Mother" (p138 column 2)

🔹Agrigziékurrake — "True housekeeper of Ekur" (p137 column 2)

🔹Amadingirdingira | Modern— [Link]

"Mother of (the) Gods" in Sumerian

𒂼 — Mother, ama [Link]

𒀭𒀭— Many Gods, dingirdingir [Link]

𒀝 - "of" genetive case suffix, .a(k) [Link]

🔵 Iconography

She has no known iconography that has been found yet according to Oracc.

I made these tonight on my phone. Left has an ocean as its background to represent the "Cosmic Sea" aspect.

Its the Mesopotamian horned cap/crown of divinity then her name 𒀭 (diĝir) and 𒇉 (engur)

Arabian Goddess

Often a chief goddess in various ancient Arabian locations.

*I could not get her Safaitic name inscription for the table

—How to use the Internet Archive Link

🔵 Information

From Chapter 4 The Goddess of Pre-Islamic Arabia by Zofia A Brzozowska in Byzantium and the Arabs. The Encounter of civilizations (Academia Link):

“Some scholars are of the opinion that the three goddesses: Al’lāt, Al’Uzzā, and Manāt whose cult reached back to ancient times, occupied a particularly prominent place in the pre-Muslim pantheon.” Page 55.

“The name of the first of these goddesses appears already in the works by Herodotus, written in the fifth century BC. In describing religious beliefs of the Persians, the father of history points to the Assyrians and the Arabs as those from who the Persians adopted the cult of Aphrodite Urania. enumerating various names given to the goddess by different ethnic groups, the Greek historian says that the Arabs called her Alilat.” Page 55

“According to many scholars Arab religious cults described by Herodotus and his continuators were particularly popular with the Arab tribes inhabiting Nabatea— the State that existed from the fourth century BC to the first century CE. Archaeological excavations in this area prove that Al’lāt and Al’Uzzā— along with the God Dūshara, topped the Nabatean pantheon.” Page 56

“The cult of the goddess did not ceased to exist when Nabatea fell under Roman rule in 106 [CE], but by assimilating elements typical to the ancient religion it acquired a new dimension. Al’lāt began to be equated with Athena as is evidenced by the basalt stele representing the Goddess […] dated to the second century CE the stele shows the goddess standing with A spear in the right hand and a small shield in the left. Attired in Greek robes the goddess is wearing a helmet and breast plate.” Page 58

“To the discussion of the main goddess of Nabatea one should add a few remarks on the religious system that existed in Palmyra. archaeological excavation’s conducted by Polish scholars Leads to the conclusion that Al’lāt was one of the most important deities in the Palmyran pantheon. her name appears in a great number of inscriptions discovered in the city. A temple dedicated to this goddess was erected in the first century BC. it was rebuilt several times adjusting its architectural design to the change in the development of the urban area. Michal Gawlikowski is of the opinion that the temple survived Roman interventions which took place in the third century CE and it was not until the fourth century CE that it finally fell into ruin.” Page 62-63

From The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: A Study of Religious Interaction in Roman Syria By Lucinda Dirven page 78-79 (Internet Archive Link):

“The nomadic origin of members of the Bene Ma’zin [tribe] is apparent from the predominantly Arab character of the deities venerated in both sanctuaries the goddess Allat is the deity most frequently attested in Safaitic inscriptions throughout Arabia until the advent of Islam. Her name derives from Arabic al-‘ilâhat meaning ‘the goddess’ a clear indication of her importance. The goddess is first mentioned by Herodotus in the fifth century BCE. according to the Greek historian the desert people of the Sinai worshipped two deities: Orotalt (i.e Arabic Rada, Palmyrene Arsu) and Alillat, by whom they took oaths”

🔵 Inscriptions to Al'lat

From The Religion and Rituals of the Nomads of Pre-Islamic Arabia: A Reconstruction Based on the Safaitic Inscriptions by Ahmad Al-Jallad Chapter 3 (Academia Link)

*apologies for no alt text in some of these, the notation causes gibberish when I use the copy/paste technology

Page 94:

🔵 Iconography

Relief from Temple of Ba'alshmanin, Palmyra. 1st cent A.D. Goddess Allat with Palm + Lion. Mains Mus, Germany. XII.5.20 (Link)

Lion of Al'lat

From Lions of Al'lat by Michal Gawlikowski (Link 1) (Link 2)

The sculpture represents a huge lion in frontal view and was certainly incorporated into the wall of the sanctuary. There are no clues as to its exact location, but it would be sensible to suppose that the animal served as a guardian of the gate. As all recovered fragments fit into the restored monument, there is no reason to believe that a symmetrical beast accompanied this one at the other side of the entrance.

The figure of the lion is 3,46 m high from tip to toe and 1,94 m wide at the head. The half-opened mouth shows menacing fangs. The luxuri­ ous mane covers entirely the breast, leaving only the front legs apparent. Between these, an antelope is crouching, putting confidently one front leg on the predator’s claws. The sculptor rendered precisely the features of oryx leucoryx (Pallas 1777), a large animal of white complexion and long straight horns, once frequent in Syrian and Arabian deserts. Extinct in Syria for a while, the species has been lately reintroduced in the Talil reserve not far from Palmyra, where a herd of some thirty animals roam now a fenced stretch of the desert. Though maybe deriving from a hunting motive, the composition clearly intends to convey the impression of an idyllic friendship between the predator and its usual prey. The oryx is being protected between the formidable paws and shows no signs of alarm, while the lion seems to deter the beholder from harming its charge. This impression is confirmed by a short text inscribed on the left paw of the lion. It runs: “May Allat bless whoever does not spill blood on the temenos.” […] In front of the primitive chapel there stood an altar, preserved in the same place inside the later cella. Only the lower part of it subsists today, but the fact that it remained in the 2nd-century temple is proof enough that no animal sacrifice was performed on it. The altar, when complete, had to be rather high and would be intended just for frankincense offering, as most Palmyrene altars were.

The statue was put on display in 2005 in Palmyra Syria, destroyed in 2015 by Daesh, but moved to Damascus and restored again in 2017:

Amulet with Al'lat (Link)

🔵 More Reading

Representing and Naming the Gods. Iconography and Nomenclature of the Goddess Allat in Palmyra and Hatra by Lucinda Dirven | Discussion of Al'lat’s cult images and identifications with Greek deities LINK

𒀊𒍪

Akkadian God in the Enūma Eliš

Mesopotamian Terminology

As a God: Apsû was the primordial freshwater sea in Babylonian mythology, one of the first two Gods of creation along with the salt sea Tiāmat.

As terminology: prior to the myth of the Enūma Eliš, Apsû (Akkadian) / Abzu (Sumerian) was known as a non-anthropomorphic cosmological location— the very source of all fresh water on Earth—home to many gods, principally Ea (Akkadian) / Enki (Sumerian). The Apsû/Abzu also referred in some cases to water than can be accessed at the surface in order to pinch off clay or to catch fish— according to Jensen (Link). The Abzu/Apsû was also the name for tanks of holy purified water.

Thus the term is multifaceted. However, the anthropomorphic God Apsû of the Enūma Eliš was not worshipped in Mesopotamia, nor was he considered worthy of worship. Any worship would be wholly modern.

—How to use the internet archive Link

🔵 Information

From Oracc [Link]

The abzu (Sumerian form) or apsû (Akkadian form) was a large underground body of water in Mesopotamian cosmic geography. It was the domain of the god Enki/Ea. The city of Babylon was said to have been built on top of the abzu, and the Sumerian myth Enki and Ninhursag describes that the first humans were created from clay taken from the top of the abzu.

From Gods Demons & Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia by Jeremy Black & Antony Green [Internet Archive Link]

Abzu (apsû)

Although it can sometimes rain very hard in southern Mesopotamia, it was anciently believed that springs, wells, streams, rivers and lakes drew their water from and were replenished from a freshwater ocean which lay beneath the earth in the abzu (apst) or engur. (The salt sea, on the other hand, surrounded the earth.) The abzu was the particular realm and home of the wise god Enki (Ea), his wife Damgalnuna (Damkina) and his mother Nammu, and was also inhabited by a number of creatures subordinate to him (see Enki's creatures).

Enki was thought to have occupied the abzu since before the creation of mankind.

According to the Babylonian Epic of Creation, Apsû was the name of a primal creature, the lover of Tiāmat, and when Ea killed Apsû, he set up his home on the dead creature's body, whose name was henceforth transferred to Ea's residence. Marduk, as Ea's son, was called 'firstborn son of the aps‹'. Enki's temple at Eridu was known as E-abzu, 'Abzu temple'.

The underworld was located even further down, beneath the abzu. Since in some traditions it was necessary to cross a river (the Hubur) to reach the underworld, the river may sometimes have been identified with the abzu (see river of the underworld).

The term abzu/apsû was also used to designate a tank for holy water in a temple courtyard.

From A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology by Gwendolyn Leick [Internet Archive Link]

Apsu

from Sumerian Abzu, which denotes the subterranean 'sweet water ocean or groundwater, also generally the marshland of southern Mesopotamia.

In this area where rainfall is rare and where the semi-floating reed-islands support a great variety of wild life, the fertile marshes were regarded as the source of abundance. In mythological terms the Apsu extended underneath the surface of the earth, into a watery depth.

Several literary texts express the creative potential of the Apsu's muddy moisture. In the Sumerian myth Enki and Ninmah it is the place where Nammu forms the first human being. The god Kullu was also made there, according to the enuma Am ritual. Furthermore, an anthropomorphic Apsu is called the begetter of the great gods' in the cosmogonic beginning of the Enuma elis (1, 59-78). In this composition the Apsu is inert and sleepy but finds his peace disturbed by the restless ways and clamour of the younger gods, the offspring of his union with another watery body, Tiamat. He decides to destroy them. The gods choose Ea as their champion and he puts a spell on Apsu, casting him into a deep sleep and 'killing him'. This death, however, does not annihilate the essence of the Apsu, it just renders him without any will of his own. Thereby the Apsu is contained underground and becomes the dwelling of Ea Enku, the 'Lord of the Apsu' One of the oldest sanctuaries in Mesopotamia was at the southern city of Eridu, which was apparently situated on a hillock surrounded by a lagoon. In historical times, the temple was known as E-abzu, 'the House of the Apsu', and dedicated to Enki. Other cult-centres seem to have had natural or artificial ponds or basins which represented the Apsu.

From A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East by Douglas R Frayne and Johanna H Stuckey [Google Book Link]

Apsû(m) (Akk.), Abzu (Sum.)

Primeval deity of sweet (fresh) subterranean waters, which were the source of springs, lakes, rivers, and well water.

His consort was Ti'amat. The Enūma Eliš told how, in the beginning, the god Apsû(m), sweet waters, mingled with the goddess Ti'amat, salt waters. Another entity, Mummu, Apsû's minister or vizier, might also have been with them. The joining of the primordial pair begat a line of deities starting with Lahmu(m) and Lahamu(m) and fol-lowed, in sequence, by An-sar and Ki-Sar, Anu(m), Ea, and, finally, Marduk.

The younger gods were so rowdy and raucous that their parents could not get any sleep. Finally, Apsû(m) persuaded a reluctant Ti'amat that they should rid themselves of their noisy children. When the younger gods got wind of the plan, they quieted down until wise Ea thought of a solution. He put a magical sleeping spell on Apsû(m) and then, while Apsû(m) slept, Ea killed him. On Apsû(m)'s dead body Ea built his house at Eridu and called it

"Apsu(m)," the name of Ea's Eridu temple (E-Apsû) from then on. Marduk, Ea's son, was born in the Apsû(m). An Abzu/ Apsû(m) tank filled with holy water stood in most temple court-yards.

From Bad King, False King, True King: Apsû and His Heirs by Karen Sonik [JSTOR Link]

The problem of accurately pinpointing Apsû’s role and identity within Enuma elis, whether as monster or personified or deified subterranean waters, springs both from the shifting nature of his depiction in the narrative and from the writing of his name therein, which never includes the divine determinative that marks the gods proper within the text. Portrayed as an elemental entity at the opening of the epic as he mingles his waters with those of Tiamat, Apsû does not remain such for long. Once the first gods are generated from his intercourse with Tiamat, beginning the process of differentiation, Apsû himself seems to morph into a sort of proto-god, still not endowed with the dingir-determinative but newly provided with anthropomorphic features and with insignia reflecting his new rank and status: He is given both a voice and a mouth with which to speak (Ee I 35–36); a more or less anthropomorphic physical form (I 53–54), clothing or insignia including at least an agû, crown; and possibly also a riksu, sash or tie (I 67); melammu (I 68); and a rudimentary household of the type standard for the great gods, though here simply comprising his vizier or counselor Mummu (I 30–31). On the subject of Aprû’s state of dress, it is worth reiterating the association of clothing with life in Mesopotamian literature, specifically with civilized life. Thus, in well-known episodes from the SB Epic of Gilgames, Enkidu dons clothing as the second step in his transformation from wild proto-man to civilized man of the city (Gilg. SB II 34–35), while Gilgames, who dresses in lion skins during his wanderings in the wild, again dons his clean royal finery before returning to human civilization (XI 250–70). In the case of Apsû, his assumption of the agû may similarly signify his transformation into a more civilized and active entity, the direct result of his contribution to the differentiation and organization of the world through the generation of the gods.

From The Tablet of Destinies and the Transmission of Power in Enūma Eliš by Karen Sonik [PDF Link]

The opening lines of the epic describe the mingling of two primordial and el- emental entities, Apsû and Tiāmat, who generate the first gods and who seem to evolve thereby into active proto-deities, complete with at least semi-anthropomor- phic forms and divine powers and attributes. As the parents of all the gods, Apsû and Tiāmat may also be read as the first rulers of the text, legitimately endowed with divine authority over the gods. Apsû, as befits a king, stands at the head of a line of legitimate heirs, among them Lahmu and Lahamu, Anšar and Kišar, Anu, Ea, and ultimately Marduk, who comprise the great gods. He is also the apparent progenitor of a mass of unnamed and undifferentiated descendents, who comprise the lesser gods. Legitimate power, so far, is relatively concentrated: it is located in the hands of Apsû and Tiāmat and their rightful heirs. This situation, however, does not last.

[Footnote 6] Apsû and Tiāmat are not gods proper as has sometimes been suggested, ibid. Their names, unlike those of the rest of the gods in Enūma eliš, are never written with the divine determinative (Anšar alone is excepted, as his name begins with the dingir sign). Following the generation of the first gods from the mingling of their waters, however, Apsû and Tiāmat do seem to evolve into proto-deities, possibly as a result of the civilizing qualities of sexual intercourse [...]

[Footnote 7] Whether he is to be understood as the first king or ruler, Apsû is certainly the first major male authority figure to appear in Enūma eliš by virtue of his position as the father of all the gods. (Page 388)

🔵 Myth: Enūma Eliš

The myth he appears in is one that justifies Marduk as chief deity and therefore legitimizes the government.

Read it:

LW King Translation from 1902 — Link

Translation on Electronic Tools and Ancient Near East Archives (ETANA) — Link

Compiled translation primarily based on E.A Speiser — Link

E.A Speiser's translation is available in The Ancient Near East an Anthology of Texts and Pictures by James Pritchard page 28. — Link

🔵 Iconography

None that we know of, but here is one of the ritual pools:

Akkadian Goddess in the Enūma Eliš

Goddess of the primordial salt sea. She was not worshipped in Mesopotamia.

Tiamat was not worshipped in Ancient Mesopotamia, nor was she considered worthy of worship. Any worship would be wholly modern.

*That is Akkadian cuneiform, her name is not recorded in any Sumerian resource I can find.

—How to use Internet Archive link

🔵 Information

Tiāmat information on the Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus (Oracc)

From A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East by Frayne & Stuckey [Google Book Link]:

Ti'amat, Tâmtum (page 345)

Primeval goddess, personification of the sea, in the Enuma eliš. Attested as early as the Ur III period in a theophoric name of one of the wives of Šu-Sîn. The goddess's name means "Sea" ti'amtu(m). At first, according to the Enuma eliš, Ti'amat's salt waters were co-mingled with those of her husband Apsû, the fresh waters, and together they engendered various deities, including the sky god Anu. Eventually, Ea, Anu's son, slew Apsû. Then, in a heroic battle, Ea's son, Marduk, slew Ti'amat, splitting her body in half. Marduk made one part into the vault of the heavens and the other into the surface of the earth. He made the clouds from her spittle, the mountains from her head, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers from her tears. She had bestowed the Tablet of Destiny on Qingu, but when Marduk defeated Qingu, he gave the tablet to Anu. There was a "seat" of Ti'amat in the temple of Marduk in Babylon, and Marduk's "seat" there was named Ti'a mat An Ugaritic lexical text equates Ti'amatu to the Mesopotamian goddess Antu(m). She occurs in an Ugaritic god list as Tihāmātu / Tamatu.

From Gods Demons & Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamian by Black & Green [Internet Archive Link]:

Tiāmat (page 177)

In the unique version of the creation of the gods preserved in the Babylonian Epic of Creation, after the separation of heaven and earth the only entities in existence were Apsû [...] and Tiamat. Apsû personified the fresh subterranean waters and Tiāmat the salt waters: the name is a form of the word tiamtum, 'sea'. Apsû and Tiāmat were envisaged as a male-female pair, although it is said that 'their waters mingled together'. They engendered a line of gods including Anu (An), Anu's son Ea (Enki) and (apparently) other deities, whose activities so disturbed Apsû that he planned to exterminate them (despite Tiāmat's protests). When Ea slew Apsû, Tiāmat determined to be avenged and created eleven monsters [...] with, as her champion, the god Qingu, described as her 'lover'. Eventually, after a heroic contest, Marduk, champion of the younger gods (in the Assyrian version his name is substituted with that of Aššur), defeated the monsters and Qingu and destroyed Tiāmat by splitting her skull with his mace, while standing on her 'lower parts'. He broke her in two 'like a dried fish', using one half to roof the heavens and the other to surface the earth: her breasts formed mountains, Tigris and Euphrates flowed from her eyes, her spittle formed clouds. While in some respects Tiāmat, like other deities, is described in anthropomorphic terms, it is difficult to form a precise picture of how the author of the Epic envisaged her. In other passages it seems to be implied that the salt sea waters were inside her.

Tiāmat's Creatures (pages 177-178)

In the Babylonian Epic of Creation, in order to avenge herself on the younger gods, Tiāmat gives birth to eleven monsters, or groups of monsters (bearing some resemblance to the Slain Heroes defeated by Ningirsu or Ninurta in a story of earlier origin). The eleven are:

the mušmahhu, ušumgallu and bašmu (three types of horned snake)

the mushuššu (a snake-dragon)

the lahamu (possibly identical to Lahmu, the long-haired ‘hero' figure)

the ugallu ('great storm-beast', the lion-demon)

the uridimmu ('raging lion', the lion humanoid)

the girtablullû ('scorpion-man': see scorpion-people)

ūmu dabrūtu ('fierce storms')

kulullû ('fish-man': see merman and mermaid)

kusarikku (a mythical beast probably derived from the bison: see bull man).

All of these are defeated by Marduk (in the Assyrian edition, Aššur) in a great battle. Images of them were placed by Marduk in the apsû (abzu) as a monument to the victory. The creatures of Tiāmat were sometimes invoked in magical incantations [...], and figurines of some of them were among those used in Neo-Assyrian protective magic, as a consequence of which their distinctive iconography can in most cases be determined.

🔵 Myth: Enūma Eliš

The myth he appears in is one that justifies Marduk as chief deity and therefore legitimizes the government (at a later date it was for Aššur).

Read it:

L W King Translation from 1902

Translation on Electronic Tools and Ancient Near East Archives (ETANA)

Compiled translation primarily based on E.A Speiser

E.A Speiser's translation is available in The Ancient Near East an Anthology of Texts and Pictures by James Pritchard page 28. Available on Internet Archive Library (How to use the internet archive Link)

Interesting analysis of how it represented the creation of government

Analysis from Treasures of Darkness by Thorkild Jacobsen also available on Internet Archive Library

🔵 Iconography

These are academically debated as to whether or not they are Tiāmat but they are possibilities so I've included them. I have increased the contrast in both photos for visibility.

Faience, now cream probably originally glazed, cylinder seal; a standing archer (Marduk?) aims an arrow at a serpent (Tiamat?) with a crested head which rises before him. The figure wears a horizontally-striated robe and lines above his shoulder indicate arrows in a quiver. There are groups of wedges between the figures and above the serpent's coiled tail. Line border at top and bottom. — British Museum Asset Number 159745001

Black or dark brown and pale brown serpentinite cylinder seal in the linear style; a snout-nosed, horned reptile (Tiamat as a dragon?) faces left; the upper third of it's long, cross-hatched body rises vertically from two front paws or hands, one of which is raised; the remainder of the body runs around the bottom of the seal and supports three figures; there are no hind legs. A bearded god (Ninurta?) runs along the reptile's body towards the left; he wears a feather-topped head-dress and a vertically-striated, tiered and fringed open robe over a fringed kilt and has crossed, wedge-tipped quivers on his back. His arms are stretched out on either side, and in his right hand he holds a six-pronged thunderbolt below which is a rhomb, while in his left he holds two arrows. Behind the god, and advancing towards the left, is a smaller bearded god in a horned (?) head-dress with a long, tasselled streamer or necklace counterweight hanging down behind; he wears an open robe similar to that of the running god and holds a spear before him in both hands. On the tail of the reptile, with her back to the smaller god, stands an even smaller goddess, who wears a feather-topped, horned head-dress with a short tassel or necklace counterweight hanging behind, and a belted, vertically striated, tiered robe; she holds her arms open to seize the snout of the reptile. To the left of her head is a small globe-with-rays and to the right, a crescent. Line borders at top and bottom broken by the running god's head-dress. The seal may illustrate a scene from the epic of creation in which the forces of chaos, led by Tiamat, are defeated by a god representing cosmic order, probably Ninurta. Shiny, some chipping and weathering; note that there is a chip by the smaller god's shoulder and the tassel of his streamer may mask damage. — British Museum Asset Number 159863001

-not audio proof read sorry-