Wilson ArchAngel, and Stephanie Singleton. ONE. Enki (/ˈɛŋki/; Sumerian: dEN.KI(G)𒂗𒆠) is a god in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians. He was the deity of crafts (gašam); mischief; water, seawater, lakewater (a, aba, ab), intelligence (gestú, literally ear) and creation (Nudimmud: nu, likeness, dim mud, make beer). He was associated with the southern band of constellations called stars of Ea, but also with the constellation AŠ-IKU, the Field (Square of Pegasus).[1] Beginning around the second millennium BCE, he was sometimes referred to in writing by the numeric ideogram for 40, occasionally referred to as his sacred number.[2][3][4] The planet Mercury, associated with Babylonian Nabu (the son of Marduk) was in Sumerian times, identified with Enki. A large number of myths about Enki have been collected from many sites, stretching from Southern Iraq to the Levantine coast. He figures in the earliest extant cuneiform inscriptions throughout the region and was prominent from the third millennium down to Hellenistic times. The exact meaning of his name is uncertain: the common translation is Lord of the Earth: the Sumerian en is translated as a title equivalent to lord; it was originally a title given to the High Priest; ki means earth; but there are theories that ki in this name has another origin, possibly kig of unknown meaning, or kur meaning mound. The name Ea is allegedly Hurrian in origin while others [5][6] claim that his name Ea is possibly of Semitic origin and may be a derivation from the West-Semitic root *hyy meaning life in this case used for spring, running water. In Sumerian E-A means the house of water, and it has been suggested that this was originally the name for the shrine to the god at Eridu.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 23:04:05 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015