Category Archives: Reference

“(Also called Ninhursag and Ninmah) A Sumerian mother goddess. Possibly a later form of the ancient earth goddess Ki, Nintu created human beings, molding six varieties of them from clay. To the water god Enki, she bore Ninsar, who in turn bore him Ninkur, upon whom Enki fathered Uttu, the goddess of plants. When Enki ate the plants, he was cursed by Nintu, but he eventually persuaded her to remove the curse, in return for various gifts.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

“A Babylonian warrior god. Marduk was a son of Ea, the god of water and wisdom. When the other gods are terrified by the invasion of Tiamat, the dragon of the sea, Marduk slays her. He makes heaven and earth of the two halves of her body and creates man of the bones and blood of Kingu, one of Tiamat’s henchmen. Part of Marduk’s supremacy in the pantheon of Assyria and Babylonia was due to the fact that he was the local Baal of Babylon.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

“Sumerian and Babylonian god of war, the south wind, and artificial irrigation. Ninurta is the hero of a fragmentary epic poem that tells of his successful war on the dragon Kur. Following the advice of this talking weapon Sharur, Ninurta, a son of Enlil, moves against Kur, a monster often associated with the underworld. At first defeated, Ninurta returns to the battle and destroys Kur completely. Kur’s death, however, adversely affects the normal behavior of the waters, upon which the land depends for irrigation. Ninurta therefore guides the flood waters into the Tigris, and the fertility of the fields returns. Of the stones that were flung in the battle with Kur, Ninurta blesses those that had been on his side and curses the others. In many respects this myth is the forerunner of innumerable others in which the hero slays the dragon.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.

“In Babylonian mythology, the primeval sea seen as a dragon goddess. The wife of Apsu, the ancient god of the fresh waters, Tiamat was the mother of all the gods. In the famous creation myth of the War of the Gods, she fights against the younger gods, but is killed by Marduk, who, splitting her body, makes heaven of the upper half and earth of the lower.”

Excerpted from: Murphy, Bruce, ed. Benet’s Reader’s Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.