The people of Mesopotamia were very religious people. Given the large number of civilizations that flourished in the region, such as Akkad, Sumer, Babylon, etc., it is not surprising that some of the gods retained their identity by changing names. Other goddesses were transformed in a similar way. Let's find out what kind of goddesses were worshiped in Mesopotamia.
Ereshkigal or Irkalla - the goddess of the underworld
In Sumerian mythology, she was revered as the goddess of the land of the dead. Her name, Irkalla, meant the same thing as Hades (Hades) in Greek mythology - both the ruler of the afterlife and this space itself. In some texts, she is called Ninkigal, which means "Ruler of the Great Earth", since everything that happens in the world of the dead depended only on her. Nergal was her consort, ruling with her. The main temple of Ereshkigal was in Kuta.
Nanshe - Goddess of Justice and Prophecy
Nanshe was the daughter of the goddess of the earth and Enki, the god of magic and water. She had many different entities. She was the goddess of fertility, fishing, justice and prophecy. Like her father, she was associated with water and the rule of the Persian Gulf and all living things in it. She sat in the temple of Sirar in the city of Nina and was worshiped by the goddess of justice. She helped widows, was a mother to orphans, and gave advice to those in debt. As the goddess of prophecy, she defined the future as a oneiromancer - through the interpretation of dreams. Her priests also received the gift of divination from her through special rituals.
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Ishtar or Inanna - the goddess of love and fertility
The goddess of beauty, love, fertility, and sex was a significant goddess from around 3,500 BC to the Christian era. Its symbols were an eight-pointed star and a lion. By its status, it was quite close to Venus. She was believed to be the daughter of the heaven god Anu. People worshiped her in the upper kingdoms of Mesopotamia, in the Assyrian cities. Ishtar was worshiped by the people of the greatest Sumerian city of those times, Uruk. For many years scholars have discussed the issue of temple prostitution associated with the cult of Ishtar. As a goddess of love and sexuality, she was never worshiped as a goddess of motherhood or marriage.
Tiamat - the goddess of salt water and the foremother of all living things
Tiamat was an ancient Babylonian salt water goddess who converged with the fresh water god Abzu in order to create the lesser gods. She had two faces: Tiamat and Tiamat the Chaotic, representing the primordial chaos. The first of these was a goddess who signified the union between fresh and salt water. According to many sources, the second incarnation was completely monstrous. She was often represented as dragons and sea serpents. In the Babylonian epic about the creation of the world, she gives life to the first gods. They killed her husband Abzu in order to seize his throne. Furious, she started a war with them, transforming into a water dragon. Only the god of storms Marduk managed to defeat her, but before her death she managed to produce a whole horde of monsters - the first dragons with bodies filled with poison.
Ninkashi - the goddess of beer
The daughter of Enki and Ninhursag, Ninkashi was born to heal one of Enki's eight wounds. As the goddess of alcohol, she was nevertheless born from a source of pure water. Its purpose was to respond to the desires of the heart. The goddess of the Sumerian pantheon, she was responsible for the daily mash making, protected and promoted that craft. The Sumerian poem "Hymn to Ninkasi" is about brewing beer. In this way, the art of making a drink was also transmitted.
GUSAKOVA IRINA