Note: The names in bold are the major gods. The names in italics are other names that certain gods were known by. Names in parentheses are the original Sumerian name of the deity and an “s” in parenthesis means that the god was originally Sumerian.
Adad-The storm god and a god of the oracles, along with Shamash. He was a son of Anu’s.
Aia-The wife of Shamash.
Allatu-Another name for Ereshkigal.
Amakandu-A god from the “Babylonian Theogony”. May only have been a local god or another name for some other god. The sea god and the son of Hain.
Anshar-”The Whole Sky”. A sky god. The son of Apsu and Tiamat, the husband of Kishar and the father of Anu. He was blended with Ashur by the Assyrians.
Antu-An earth goddess and the Babylonian wife of Anu. She was the mother of the gods.
Anu (An)-The Heaven god and the father of the gods with Antu and Nammu. He also married his daughter Ishtar.
Apsu-God of the underworld ocean. Apsu was a region/body of water in Sumerian myth and not a god. In Babylonian myth he was the husband of Tiamat and the father of Anshar and Kishar. He plotted to kill his children and grandchildren (the gods) because of the noise they created. Ea found out about the plot and killed him.
Arazu-God of prayers.
Aruru (Ninmah)-The mother goddess and goddess of the womb. She was a wife of Ellil’s and the mother of Ninurta. She was a primary creator of man. See also: Belet-ili, Huber, Mammetum and Mammi.
Ashnan (S)-The god of grain.
Ashur-A god of war and the national god of Assyria. His symbol was the winged disk enclosing an upper body while he shoots an arrow.
Babbar-Another name for Shamash.
Bel-The name means lord, it became the primary name for Marduk in Neo-Babylonian times.
Belet-ili-Another name for Aruru.
Beletseri-The tablet scribe of the underworld.
Belili (Geshtinanna)-The wife of Ningishzida and the daughter of Anu. She was “the One Who Always Weeps”.
Birdu-An underworld god.
Dagan-A fertility god and a god of the underworld.
Dumkina-The wife of Ea and the mother of Marduk. Ningikuga of Sumerian?
Ea (Enki)-The son of Anu. The god of water, wisdom and incantations. He helped in the creation of man and saved Utnapishtim from the great deluge. He was the father of Marduk and Ellil and was the tutelary deity of Eridu. See also: Ninigiku, Nudimmud and Zulummar.
Ellil (Enlil)-The air/sky god. He was the father of Sin with Ninlil and Ninurta with Aruru. He was the creator of agricultural tools and caused the Great Deluge because man was becoming too noisy. He was the tutelary deity of Nippur, the religious capital of Sumer. He was also a god of fertility of vegetation. See also: Narru.
Engidudu-Another name for Nergal.
Enmesharra-An underworld god.
Ennugi-The canal controller of the gods.
Ereshkigal (S)-Goddess and ruler of the underworld with her husband Nergal. He first husband may have been Gugalana, the Bull of Heaven. See also: Allatu.
Erra-The god of the hunt as well as pestilence and war. He was an aspect of Nergal.
Erragal-Another name for Nergal.
Ga’um-A goddess from the “Babylonian Theogony”. May only have been a local god or another name for some other god.
Gerra (Gibil)-A fire god and the son of Anu.
Geshtu-e-A ‘god who has intelligence”, he was killed so that man could be created from his flesh and blood (Atrahasis myth).
Gizzira
Gushkin-banda-The god of the goldsmiths.
Hain-A god from the “Babylonian Theogony”. May only have been a local god or another name for some other god. The supreme god.
Hanish-A minor weather god. Usually paired with Shullat, the two were heralds of Adad.
Hararnu- A god from the “Babylonian Theogony”. May only have been a local god or another name for some other god.
Huber-Another aspect/name of Aruru.
Irnini-Another name for Ishtar in her war-like aspect.
Irra-A plague god and an underling of Nergal’s.
Ishara-Another name for Ishtar in her marriage rite aspect.
Ishtar (Inanna)-The daughter and wife of Anu in Babylonian myth. Her temples may have had prostitute/priests of both sexes. She was the goddess of love, procreation and of war. She was also the wife/lover of Tammuz. See also: Irnini and Ishara.
Ishum (Hendursaga)-A fire god.
Kakka-Anu’s vizier.
Kalkal-Ellil’s doorkeeper in Nippur.
Kingu-He was Tiamat’s vizier and instigated her war against the gods. He was killed after the war and man was made from his blood (in Enuma Elish).
Kishar-”The Whole Earth”, she was an earth goddess. Daughter of Apsu and Tiamat, wife of Anshar and the mother of Anu.
Kulla-God of bricks.
Lahamu-Along with Lahmu, the “hairy or muddy ones”. They were the first children of Apsu and Tiamat.
Lahar (S)-God of the herd or the fold.
Lahmu-Along with Lahamu, the “hairy or muddy ones”. They were the first children of Apsu and Tiamat.
Mammetum-Another name for Aruru, she was the goddess of fate in this aspect.
Mammi-Another name for Aruru.
Marduk-A solar god, he was the supreme deity. He had four eyes and ears and breathed fire. Tutelary deity of Babylon, his symbol was a dragon. The son of Ea. He defeated Apsu and killed Tiamat in order to gain the leadership of the gods. See also: Bel and the list below.
Mash-Another name for Ninurta.
Mina-ikul-beli-Another name for Umunmutamku.
Mina-ishti-beli-Another name for Umunmutamnak.
Mullitu-Another name for Ninlil.
Mummu-A craftsman god.
Mylitta-Another name for Ninlil. Also spelled Mullitu.
Nabu-The son of Marduk. By the first millennium he had replaced Nisaba as the god of scribes and became the tutelary deity of Borsippa.
Nammu (S)-Goddess of the fresh waters and the mother of Ea with Anu.
Narru-Another name for Ellil.
Nash (Nanshe)-A “pure goddess” and the daughter of Ea. She was the tutelary deity of the town of Sirarra, near Lagash.
Nedu-Guardian of the first gate of the underworld.
Nergal (S)-He ruled the underworld along with his wife Ereshkigal. His job was to kill any over-populations of man or animals through war and plague. See also: Engidudu, Erra and Erragal.
Nidaba (S)-Another name for Nisaba.
Ninagal-God of smiths.
Ninezen-A vegetation god.
Ningal (S)-The wife of Sin and the mother of Shamash.
Ningeshtinna-A goddess from the “Babylonian Theogony”. May only have been a local god or another name for some other god.
Ningishzida (S)-The god of the dawn and an underworld god. He may have originally been an aspect of Dumuzi as the god of roots and serpents. He was married to Ninazimua and was the deity of Gishbanda.
Ningizzia-A guardian of the gate of heaven and an underworld god.
Ninigiku-Another name for Ea.
Ninildu-A carpenter god.
Ninkarrak-Goddess of healing.
Ninkurra-Goddess of stone cutters. Ninkur of Sumerians?
Ninlil (S)-Wife of Ellil and the goddess of Nippur. See also: Mylitta.
Ninsimug-A god of smiths.
Ninsun (S)-”The great wild cow” and the mother of Gilgamesh.
Ninurta (S)-War god and champion of the land. He was the son of Ellil and was the hero of numerous epics. He did not have a city dedicated to him. See also: mash, panigara and Papsukkal.
Ninzadim-God of engravers.
Nisaba (S)-A cereal grain harvest goddess and the goddess of writing and knowledge. See also: Nidaba.
Nudimmud (S)-Another name for Ea.
Nusku-A fire god, he was the vizier of Ellil.
Panigara-Another name for Ninurta.
Papsukkal-The vizier of the great gods and possibly another name for Ninurta. He was a son of Sin (while Ninurta is a son of Ellil).
Shamash (Utu)-The son of Sin. He rides a chariot pulled by fiery mules. His symbol is the solar disk, which is sometimes winged. See also: Babbar.
Shara-The son of Anu and Ishtar.
Sharru-The god of submission.
Shullat-A minor weather god. Usually paired with Hanish, the two were heralds of Adad. At other times he is depicted as a servant of Shamash.
Sin (Nanna)-The god of the moon and tutelary deity of Ur. He rides a winged bull. The father of Shamash and Ishtar and was married to Ningal.
Siris-Goddess of wine.
Sumuqan (Sumugan)-The god of wild animals and of cattle.
Tammuz (Dumuzi)-The “shepherd god”, he had one of the oldest and largest followings. He was the “dying god” and god of fertility and vegetation/seasonal abundance. He died each fall to symbolize the changing of the seasons. After spending six months in the underworld, he return to life in the spring, symbolizing the renewal of vegetation after winter. He was usually the lover/husband of Inanna and their sacred marriage rite (performed by the king and his queen or high priestess) insured fertility and prosperity. He had numerous local aspects and variants, with Dumuzi being his “national” name. His main area of worship was in the south. He had a temple in the Arali desert and was the tutelary deity of Badtibira.
Tiamat-The embodiment of primeval chaos. She was married to Apsu and was the mother of Anshar and Kishar. She was goaded into war with the gods after the death of Apsu. She was killed by Marduk and cut up, her body becoming the sky and the earth.
Umunmutamku-Marduk’s cook. See also: Mina-ikul-beli.
Umunmutamnak-Marduk’s cupbearer. See also: Mina-ishti-beli.
Zaltu-The goddess of strife, she was created by Ea.
Zulummar-Another name for Ea.
The names of Marduk
Addu, Agaku, Agilima, Aranuna, Asar-alim, Asar-alim-nuna, Asare, Asarluhi, Asharu, Barashakushu, Bel, Dumu-duku, Enbilulu, Emkukur, Epadun, Esiskur, Gil, Gilima, Girru, Gizh-numun-ab, Gugal, Hegal, Irkingu, Iruga, Kinma, Lugal-ab-dubur, Lugal-dimmer-ankia, Lugal-duku, Lugal-durmah, Lugal-lugga, Lugal-shuanna, Malah, Marukka, Marutukku, Mershakushu, Mummu, Namru, Namshub, Namtila, Namtillaku, Nari-Lugal-dimmer-amkia, Nibiru, Pagal-guena, Shazu, Sirsir, Sugurim, Suhrim, Tutu, Zahgurim, Ziku, Zisi, Zi-ukkina, Zulum, Zulum-ummu
Demi-gods, monsters, etc.
Anzu-A lion-headed eagle, it was slain by Ninurta.
Aqrabuamelu (Girtablilu)-Scorpion-men who are guardians of the gates of the underworld.
Enkidu (S)
Gilgamesh (S)
Humbaba (S)-The protective demon of the Cedar Forest. He was killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
Lamashtu-A female demon, “she who erases”.
Lilith-A demon.
Lugalbanda (S)-King of Uruk, later deified.
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