Gods of Antiquity: War Deities
Source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Warfare/
With the scarcity of resources often driving the movement of people, conflict between groups is nearly inevitable. As people began to settle, competition for resources became competition for land, minerals, or bragging rights, these conflicts became larger and more drawn out. War deities often became connected to the 'one true god' of monotheistic religions, whether they were originally war gods or became syncretized with them, leading to the idea of a 'holy war'. There are many feminine war deities, several of which are associated with love or sex as well as war. Some deities of war were invoked to hold back war and some to bring victory. War was sometimes viewed as the various gods fighting each other through the avatars of the armies, especially among city-states.
By PHGCOM (2007), CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3122874
One of the oldest attested warrior gods we know of is Ninurta 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁, also known as Ninĝirsu 𒀭𒎏𒄈𒋢. He was the god of law, agriculture, healing, hunting, scribes, and war in early Sumer, centered in Nippur, and syncretized with gods through the Roman Saturn. He can cause and heal human illness through his control over demons, which were thought to be the cause of illness. He took the position of warrior god as Mesopotamia became more militarized and battles became more common. He might have been the inspiration for Nimrod the 'mighty hunter' in the book of Genesis, though that is a subject of debate, as is the possibility that he might be Nisroch in the Book of Kings.
By The Walters Art Museum - This image has been extracted from another file, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=88510374
Ninurta is one of the oldest deities of the Sumerians and was the son of Enlil, the chief god and god of the air, earth, and storms. He was syncretized early with Ninĝirsu, who was worshiped in Girsu, or they might have been the same god with local dialectal variations in his name. His fierce reputation made him especially popular with the Assyrians with many kings having names that incorporate Ninurta's name. He was moved to the Assyrian capital of Kalhu (Nimrud) under the reign if Shalmaneser III (reigned 859-824 BCE).
By Anonymous (Mesopotamia) - Walters Art Museum: Home page Info about artwork, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18804095
The only god with more myths than Ninurta is Inanna, thus exemplifying his position in the Sumerian pantheon. In one, known as Lugal-e, which means 'O king!', Ninurta confronts a demon, Asag, the personification of winter cold and sickness, who has been poisoning the rivers and making people sick. Asag has an army of stone warriors to protect him and Ninurta. Ninurta destroys Asag's armies and uses the stones to create mountains that cause all the rivers to flow into the Tigris and Euphrates, allowing for irrigation and agriculture. His mother, Ninmah, came down to congratulate him and he dedicates the mountains to her, renaming her Ninhursag, which means 'Lady of the Mountain'. This exemplifies Ninurta's dual role as warrior and agriculture god.
By editor Austen Henry Layard , drawing by L. Gruner - 'Monuments of Nineveh, Second Series' plate 5, London, J. Murray, 1853, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18217886
Another myth that was particularly popular with the Assyrian scholars was that in which Enlil sets Anzû, a half-human storm bird with the ability to breathe fire, as the guardian of his sanctuary. Anzû takes the opportunity to steal the Tablet of Destinies that gave Enlil his authority, while Enlil was getting ready for a bath. As a result of the theft, the rivers dry up and the gods lose their powers. Three gods were sent and defeated before Ninurta was sent. He shoots Anzû with arrows, but because the Tablet of Destinies can reverse time and Anzû causes the arrows to return to their components. Ninurta calls to the south wind and rips Anzû's wings off, resulting in his victory. The messenger god Birdu is sent to request the Tablet of Destinies, and Ninurta initially denied the request, but eventually does return the Tablet to his father, though his full response to the request to return it has been lost to time.
