Enlil

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Jump to: navigation, search Enlil (EN = Lord+ LIL = Air, "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the 4 primary: ind"!"#$ %as the name of a chief deit& 'isted and %ritten a(out in Anu ancient )umerian, A**adian, +ittite, ,anaanite and other Enlil -esopotamian c'a& and stone ta('ets. /he name is perhaps pronounced Ki and sometimes rendered in trans'ations as Ellil in 'ater A**adian, Enki +ittite and ,anaanite 'iterature. En'i' %as considered to (e the god of (reath, %ind, air and space."0$ 3 sky:

Ishtar in ama

Contents
"hide$ # Origins 0 ,osmo'ogica' ro'e 1 ,u'tura' histories 2 3eferences 4 E5terna' 'in*s

[edit] Origins
One stor& names his origins as the e5hausted (reath of An (god of the heavens! and 6i (goddess of the Earth! after se5ua' union. hen En'i' %as a &oung god, he %as (anished from 7i'mun, home of the gods, to 6ur, the under%or'd for raping a &oung gir' named Nin'i'. Nin'i' fo''o%ed him to the under%or'd %here she (ore his first chi'd, the moon god )in ()umerian Nanna 8 )uen!. After fathering three more under%or'd deities (su(titutes for )in!, En'i' %as a''o%ed to return to 7i'mun. "1$ "2$ En'i' %as a'so *no%n as the inventor of the pic*a5e9hoe (favorite too' of the )umerians! and caused p'ants to gro%"4$.

[edit] Cosmological role

En'i', a'ong %ith Anu9An, En*i and Ninhursag %as one of the four gods of the )umerians ":$. ;& his %ife Nin'i' or )ud, En'i' %as father of the moon god Nanna 8 ()uen! (in A**adian )in! and of Ninurta (a'so ca''ed Ningirsu!. En'i' is sometimes father of Nerga', of Nisa(a the goddess of grain, of <a(i'sag %ho is sometimes e=uated %ith Ninurta, and sometimes of En(i'u'u. ;& Eresh*iga' En'i' %as father of Namtar.

[edit] Cultural histories

En'i' is associated %ith the ancient cit& of Nippur, sometimes referred to as the cu't cit& of En'i'.">$ At a ver& ear'& period prior to 1??? ;,@Nippur had (ecome the centre of a po'itica' district of considera('e e5tent. Inscriptions found at Nippur, %here e5tensive e5cavations %ere carried on during #AAAB#C?? (& John < <eters and John +enr& +a&nes, under the auspices of the Dniversit& of <enns&'vania, sho% that En'i' %as the head of an e5tensive pantheon. Among the tit'es accorded to him are "*ing of 'ands," "*ing of heaven and earth" and "father of the gods". +is chief temp'e at Nippur %as *no%n as E*ur, signif&ing E+ouse of the mountainE, and such %as the sanctit& ac=uired (& this edifice that ;a(&'onian and Ass&rian ru'ers, do%n to the 'atest da&s, vied %ith one another in em(e''ishing and restoring En'i'Es seat of %orship, and the name E*ur (ecame the designation of a temp'e in genera'. Frouped around the main sanctuar&, there arose temp'es and chape's to the gods and goddesses %ho formed his court, so that E*ur (ecame the name for an entire sacred precinct in the cit& of Nippur. /he name "mountain house" suggests a 'oft& structure and %as perhaps the designation origina''& of the staged to%er at Nippur, (ui't in imitation of a mountain, %ith the sacred shrine of the god on the top.