List of Mesopotamian deities facts for kids

The following is a list of Mesopotamian deities.

Major Deities

• Hadad (or Adad) - storm and rain god
• Enlil (or Ashur) - god of air, head of the Assyrian and Sumerian pantheon
• Anu (or An) - god of heaven and the sky, lord of constellations, and father of the gods
• Dagon (or Dagan) - god of fertility
• Enki (or Ea) - god of the Abzu, crafts, water, intelligence, mischief and creation and divine ruler of the Earth and its humans
• Ereshkigal - goddess of Irkalla, the Underworld
• Inanna (later known as Ishtar) - goddess of fertility, love, and war
• Marduk - patron deity of Babylon who eventually became regarded as the head of the Babylonian pantheon
• Nabu - god of wisdom and writing
• Nanshe - goddess of prophecy, fertility and fish
• Nergal - god of plague, war, and the sun in its destructive capacity; later husband of Ereshkigal
• Ninhursag (or Mami, Belet-Ili, Ki, Ninmah, Nintu, or Aruru) - earth and mother goddess
• Ninlil - goddess of the air; consort of Enlil
• Ninurta - champion of the gods, the epitome of youthful vigor, and god of agriculture
• Shamash (or Utu) - god of the sun, arbiter of justice and patron of travelers
• Sin (or Nanna) - god of the moon
• Tammuz (or Dumuzid) - god of food and vegetation

Minor deities

This is only some of them. There are thousands.

• Abu - a minor god of vegetation
• Ama-arhus - Akkadian fertility goddess; later merged into Ninhursag
• Amasagnul - Akkadian fertility goddess
• Amurru - god of the Amorite people
• An - a goddess, possibly the female principle of Anu
• Arah - the goddess of fate.
• Asaruludu or Namshub - a protective deity
• Ashnan - goddess of grain
• Aya - a mother goddess and consort of Shamash
• Azimua - a minor Sumerian goddess
• Bau - dog-headed patron goddess of Lagash
• Belet-Seri - recorder of the dead entering the underworld
• Birdu - an underworld god; consort of Manungal and later syncretized with Nergal
• Bunene - divine charioteer of Shamash
• Damgalnuna - mother of Marduk
• Damu - god of vegetation and rebirth; possibly a local offshoot of Dumuzi
• Emesh - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for woods, fields, sheep folds, and stables
• Enbilulu - god of rivers, canals, irrigation and farming
• Endursaga - a herald god
• Enkimdu - god of farming, canals and ditches
• Enmesarra - an underworld god of the law, equated with Nergal
• Ennugi - attendant and throne-bearer of Enlil
• Enshag - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
• Enten - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows, donkeys, birds
• Erra - Akkadian god of mayhem and pestilence
• Gaga - a minor deity featured in the Enûma Eliš
• Gatumdag - a fertility goddess and tutelary mother goddess of Lagash
• Geshtinanna - Sumerian goddess of wine and cold seasons, sister to Dumuzid
• Geshtu-E - minor god of intelligence
• Gibil or Gerra - god of fire
• Gugalanna - the Great Bull of Heaven, the constellation Taurus and the first husband of Ereshkigal
• Gunara - a minor god of uncertain status
• Hahanu - a minor god of uncertain status
• Hani - an attendant of the storm god Adad
• Hayasum - a minor god of uncertain status
• Hegir-Nuna - a daughter of the goddess Bau
• Hendursaga - god of law
• Ilabrat - attendant and minister of state to Anu
• Ishum - brother of Shamash and attendant of Erra
• Isimud - two-faced messenger of Enki
• Ištaran - god of the city of Der (Sumer)
• Kabta - obscure god “Lofty one of heaven”
• Kakka - attendant and minister of state to both Anu and Anshar
• Kingu - consort of Tiamat; killed by Marduk, who used his blood to create mankind
• Kubaba - tutelary goddess of the city of Carchemish
• Kulla - god of bricks and building
• Kus (god) - god of herdsmen
• Lahar - god of cattle
• Lugal-Irra - possibly a minor variation of Erra
• Lulal - the younger son of Inanna; patron god of Bad-tibira
• Mamitu - Sumerian goddess of fate
• Manungal - an underworld goddess; consort of Birdu
• Mandanu -god of divine judgment
• Muati - obscure Sumerian god who became syncretized with Nabu
• Mushdamma - god of buildings and foundations
• Nammu - a creation goddess
• Nanaya - goddess personifying voluptuousness and sensuality
• Nazi - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
• Negun - a minor goddess of uncertain status
• Neti - a minor underworld god; the chief gatekeeper of the netherworld and the servant of Ereshkigal
• Nibhaz - god of the Avim
• Nidaba - goddess of writing, learning and the harvest
• Namtar - minister of Ereshkigal
• Nin-Ildu - god of carpenters
• Ninazu - god of the underworld and healing
• Nindub - god associated with the city Lagash
• Ningal - goddess of reeds and consort of Nanna (Sin)
• Ningikuga - goddess of reeds and marshes
• Ningirama - god of magic and protector against snakes
• Ningishzida - god of the vegetation and underworld
• Ninkarnunna - god of barbers
• Ninkasi - goddess of beer
• Ninkilim - "Lord Rodent" god of vermin
• Ninkurra - minor mother goddess
• Ninmena - Sumerian mother goddess who became syncretized with Ninhursag
• Ninsar - goddess of plants
• Ninshubur - Sumerian messenger goddess and second-in-command to Inanna, later adapted by the Akkadians as the male god Papsukkal
• Ninsun - "Lady Wild Cow"; mother of Gilgamesh
• Ninsutu - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
• Nintinugga - Babylonian goddess of healing
• Nintulla - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
• Nu Mus Da - patron god of the lost city of Kazallu
• Nunbarsegunu - goddess of barley
• Nusku - god of light and fire
• Pabilsaĝ - tutelary god of the city of Isin
• Pap-nigin-gara - Akkadian and Babylonian god of war, syncretized with Ninurta
• Pazuzu - son of Hanbi, and king of the demons of the wind
• Sarpanit - mother goddess and consort of Marduk
• The Sebitti - a group of minor war gods
• Shakka - patron god of herdsmen
• Shala - goddess of war and grain
• Shara - minor god of war and a son of Inanna
• Sharra Itu - Sumerian fertility goddess
• Shul-pa-e - astral and fertility god associated with the planet Jupiter
• Shul-utula - personal deity to Entemena, king of the city of Eninnu
• Shullat - minor god and attendant of Shamash
• Shulmanu - god of the underworld, fertility and war
• Shulsaga - astral goddess
• Sirara - goddess of the Persian Gulf
• Siris - goddess of beer
• Sirsir - god of mariners and boatmen
• Sirtir - goddess of sheep
• Sumugan - god of the river plains
• Tashmetum - consort of Nabu
• Tishpak - tutelary god of the city of Eshnunna
• Tutu - tutelary god of the city of Borsippa
• Ua-Ildak - goddess responsible for pastures and poplar trees
• Ukur - a god of the underworld
• Uttu - goddess of weaving and clothing
• Wer - a storm god linked to Adad
• Zaqar - messenger of Sin who relays communication through dreams and nightmares

Primordial beings

• Abzu - the Ocean Below, the name for fresh water from underground aquifers; depicted as a deity only in the Babylonian creation epic Enûma Eliš
• Anshar - god of the sky and male principle
• Kishar - goddess of the earth and female principle
• Kur - the first dragon, born of Abzu and Ma. Also Kur-gal, or Ki-gal the underworld
• Lahamu - first-born daughter of Abzu and Tiamat
• Lahmu - first-born son of Abzu and Tiamat; a protective and beneficent deity
• Ma -primordial goddess of the earth
• Mummu - god of crafts and technical skill
• Tiamat - primordial goddess of the ocean

Demigods and Heroes

• Adapa - a hero who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality
• The Apkallu - seven demigods created by the god Enki to give civilization to mankind
• Gilgamesh - hero and king of Uruk; central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh
• Enkidu - hero and companion of Gilgamesh
• Enmerkar - the legendary builder of the city of Uruk
• Lugalbanda - second king of Uruk, who ruled for 1,200 years
• Utnapishtim - hero who survived a great flood and was granted immortality; character in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Spirits and demons

• Alû, demon of night
• Asag - monstrous demon whose presence makes fish boil alive in the rivers
• Asakku, evil demon(s)
• The edimmu - ghosts of those who were not buried properly
• Gallû, underworld demon
• Hanbi or Hanpa - father of Pazuzu
• Humbaba - guardian of the Cedar Forest
• Lamashtu - a malevolent being who menaced women during childbirth
• Lilû, wandering demon
• Mukīl rēš lemutti demon of headaches
• Pazuzu - king of the demons of the wind; he also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought
• Rabisu - an evil vampiric spirit
• Šulak the bathroom demon, “lurker” in the bathroom
• Zu - divine storm-bird and the personification of the southern wind and the thunder clouds

Legendary beasts

• Battle Bison beast - one of the creatures slain by Ninurta

The eleven mythical monsters created by Tiāmat in the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš:

• Bašmu, “Venomous Snake”
• Ušumgallu, “Great Dragon”
• Mušmaḫḫū, “Exalted Serpent”
• Mušḫuššu, “Furious Snake”
• Laḫmu, the “Hairy One”
• Ugallu, the “Big Weather-Beast”
• Uridimmu, “Mad Lion”
• Girtablullû, “Scorpion-Man”
• Umū dabrūtu, “Violent Storms”
• Kulullû, “Fish-Man”
• Kusarikku, “Bull-Man”

Images for kids

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  Akkadian cylinder seal dating to c. 2300 BC, depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud