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Nisaba: Sumerian Goddess of Writing and Scribe of the Gods

Nisaba (also Naga, Se-Naga, Nissaba, Nidaba, and associated with Nanibgal) is the Sumerian goddess of writing, accounts, and scribe of the gods. Although her name is commonly given as Nidaba, noted scholar Jeremy Black points out that "the name Nisaba (or Nissaba) seems more correct than Nidaba" (Gods, 143).

She was originally a grain goddess worshiped at the city of Umma in the Early Dynastic period I (circa 2900-2750/2700 BCE), but she later became associated primarily with the city of Eresh (also Eres), whose location remains unknown.

She was the daughter of Anu and Unas (personifications of Heaven and Earth), although, in certain cities like Lagash, she was represented as the daughter of Enlil and Ninlil, the divine couple who came to power with the blessing of Anu and Unas. In the best-known stories, however, Ninlil (also known as Sud) is Nisaba's daughter and Enlil her son-in-law, while Enki, god of wisdom, is her patron.

There is no known iconography for her as goddess of writing (although in her early form as a grain goddess, she was represented as a single stalk), but there are many descriptions in written works. In the story Dream of Gudea, she is pictured as "a woman holding a gold stylus and studying a clay tablet on which the starry heaven was depicted" (Kramer, 138). She became increasingly important throughout Mesopotamia, regularly invoked in blessings, supplications, even curses, and listed among the most prestigious deities in the Sumerian pantheon circa 2600-2550 BCE.

From Grain Goddess to Scribe of the Gods

Nisaba began as an agricultural deity. As a grain goddess, she was linked to the god Ennugi (god of canals and dikes) as Nanibgal and was also known as Nun-barsegunu ("Lady Whose Body is the Flecked Barley" or "Lady Whose Body is Dappled Barley"). Perhaps the association between fertility (of the earth in this case) and creativity led to her elevation in status to the goddess of writing, although most scholars believe this association developed because of the written word used in keeping records of agricultural transactions.

She developed in power and prestige along with the written word in Mesopotamia until she was known as the scribe of the gods and keeper of both divine and mortal accounts. She is sometimes referenced as the scribe of Nanshe, goddess of social justice, and is thought to have kept the accounts of mortals that Nanshe noted – those in need as well as those deserving of punishment for transgressions against their neighbors and the gods.

Cylinder seals from the Early Dynastic period in Mesopotamia (circa 2900-2350/2334 BCE) seem to depict her associated with construction, particularly of monuments and temples, which – along with her literary association – would link her to the Egyptian goddess of writing, accounts, and construction, Seshat. Scholars are far from unanimous on this interpretation of the cylinder seals, however, because the symbol that might represent Nisaba on the seals is unclear. Her associations with Seshat are unmistakable, however, even if she were not identified with measurements in building projects.

Sanctuaries to Nisaba, with attached libraries and scribal houses, existed all across Mesopotamia from circa 2000 BCE to circa 1750 BCE. She is last attested to as associated with Eresh by Shulgi of Ur during the Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE). During the Old Babylonian Period (circa 1894-1595 BCE), her status declined, particularly during the reign of Hammurabi of Babylon (1792-1750 BCE), when goddesses lost prestige across Mesopotamia in favor of male deities. Nisaba was replaced by Nabu around this time when Hammurabi elevated Marduk to the position of king of the gods and Nabu as his son.

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