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Laṣ

May 03, 2024

Laṣ (dLa-aṣ; also romanized as Laz) was a Mesopotamian goddess who was commonly regarded as the wife of Nergal, a god associated with war and the underworld. Instances of both conflation and coexistence of her and another goddess this position was attributed to, Mammitum, are attested in a number sources. Her cult centers were Kutha in Babylonia and Tarbiṣu in Assyria.

Laṣ
Goddess associated with the underworld
Major cult centerKutha, Tarbiṣu
Personal information
SpouseNergal

Name and character edit

The best attested spelling of the theonym Laṣ in cuneiform is dLa-aṣ, and the single instance of dLa-a-aṣ known from a copy of the Mesopotamian Weidner god list from Ugarit it is not sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that it was pronounced with a long vowel, as the additional sign might be a scribal mistake.[1] Laz is a romanization commonly used in modern publications,[2][3] but according to Wilfred G. Lambert Laṣ is the most accurate option in the light of the name being spelled with a ṣ in an Aramaic inscription from one of the Sefire steles, KAI 222.[1] It is assumed that the name originates in a Semitic language, but a plausible etymology has yet to be proposed.[1]

Lambert proposed that Laṣ was a goddess of healing, as an explanatory version of the Weidner god list equates her with Bau, while other similar documents place her in the proximity of Gula, who were both regarded as deities of such character.[4]

An Old Babylonian text attests that Laṣ was believed to be capable of interceding with Nergal on behalf of human supplicants, a role commonly associated with wives of major gods.[4] Similar function as a mediator between worshipers and a major deity is well attested in the cases of Shamash's wife Aya, Adad's wife Shala, Ea's wife Damkina, Ishum's wife Ninmug, but also for Ninshubur, the sukkal (divine vizier) of Inanna.[5]

A Neo-Assyrian text calls Laṣ the "mistress of Eridu," nin-NUNki.[4]

Associations with other deities edit

Laṣ was the wife of Nergal.[6] In Babylonia, she became the goddess most commonly identified as such starting with the reign of Kurigalzu II, while in Assyria an analogous phenomenon is attested from the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III onward.[7] In the Old Babylonian period, Nergal's wife was usually Mammitum.[4] The god list An = Anum equates them with each other.[8] However, in the so-called "Nippur god list" Laṣ occurs separately from Nergal,[4] while Mammitum is listed alongside him.[9] It is possible that through the second millennium BCE both Laṣ and Mammitum were worshiped in the Emeslam temple in Kutha.[10] In a description of a New Year ritual from Babylon during which the gods of Kish (Zababa), Kutha (Nergal) and Borsippa (Nabu) and their entourages were believed to visit Marduk (at the time of the text's composition likely not yet a major god), both she and Mammitum appear side by side as two separate goddesses.[11] It is possible Mammitum was originally associated with Erra rather than Nergal, and was only introduced to Kutha alongside him.[6] A third goddess labeled as Nergal's wife in An = Anum is Admu ("earth").[6] She is otherwise only known from theophoric names and a single offering list from Old Babylonian Mari.[12]

In an Ur III offering list from Puzrish-Dagan, Laṣ appears alongside Tadmuštum, a minor underworld goddess[13] regarded as Nergal's daughter.[6] In an inscription from a kudurru (boundary stone) of Marduk-apla-iddina I (the "land grant to Munnabittu kudurru") she is listed a member of a group of underworld deities alongside Nergal, Bēl-ṣarbi, the pair Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea, Šubula and Mammitum.[14]

In the Weidner god list, the beer goddesses Ninkasi and Siraš occur between Nungal, the goddess of prisons, and Laṣ.[15] It has been proposed that this possible association between beer and underworld deities was meant to serve as a reflection of negative effects of alcohol consumption.[16] Laṣ also occurs in the same text for the second time in association with Simut, an Elamite god who could be equated with Nergal.[4] In a variant of known from a copy from Ugarit, a deity named Raqadu appears instead of her, and according to Manfred Krebernik [de] should be identified as Simut's spouse.[17]

Worship edit

While no attestations of Laṣ from the third millennium BCE were known to Wilfred G. Lambert at the time of publication of her entry in Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie,[4] in more recent publications other authors point out she was already worshiped in the Ur III period, as evidenced by lists of offerings to deities of Kutha.[6][13] This city was located in Babylonia and served as a cult center of Nergal; Laṣ was worshiped in it in his temple, known under the ceremonial name E-Meslam.[18] She is also attested in theophoric names from Lagaba, a small town located in northern Babylonia, possibly near Kutha.[19] Based on a cylinder of Neriglissar, in the Neo-Babylonian period providing for E-Meslam was regarded as a royal duty, similarly as in the case of Marduk's and Nabu's main temples (respectively E-Sagil in Babylon and E-Zida in Borsippa).[18] However, administrative documents indicate that Nergal and Laṣ received fewer offerings than Marduk or Nabu and their respective spouses.[18] Offerings of sheep, bulls and muttāqu (a type of cake) to the pair are attested.[18]

In Assyria the main cult center of Laṣ and Nergal was Tarbiṣu.[4] they are mentioned together in the treaty between Ashur-nirari V of Assyria and Mati'ilu of Arpad among gods meant to guarantee the document will be binding.[3]

A late reference to Laṣ might be present in a theophoric name identified in a Seleucid document from Kutha dated to the year 226 BCE, though the restoration of the theonym is uncertain.[20]

Mythology edit

Laṣ appears in the myth Erra and Naram-Sin.[2] Wilfred G. Lambert argued that the eponymous god should be understood as Nergal, rather than Erra, due to being referred to as the god of Kutha.[4] In literary texts both Erra and Nergal are names which can designate the latter.[21] In this myth, the eponymous king builds a temple for Erra and his wife after the former approaches him to ask for help in a conflict between him and Enlil.[22] In the end of the composition, Laṣ implores her husband to bless Naram-Sin.[23]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Lambert 1983, p. 506.
  2. ^ a b Westenholz 1997, p. 189.
  3. ^ a b Goetze & Reiner 2011, p. 212.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lambert 1983, p. 507.
  5. ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 273.
  6. ^ a b c d e Wiggermann 1998, p. 220.
  7. ^ Lambert 1983, pp. 506–507.
  8. ^ Krebernik 1987, pp. 330–331.
  9. ^ Peterson 2009, p. 54.
  10. ^ Müller-Kessler & Kessler 1999, pp. 81–82.
  11. ^ Lambert 2013, p. 282.
  12. ^ Nakata 1995, p. 236.
  13. ^ a b Krebernik 2013, p. 398.
  14. ^ Simons 2016, p. 9.
  15. ^ Krebernik 1998, p. 443.
  16. ^ Krebernik 1998, p. 444.
  17. ^ Krebernik 2008, p. 247.
  18. ^ a b c d Da Riva 2010, p. 47.
  19. ^ Leemans 1983, p. 417.
  20. ^ Müller-Kessler & Kessler 1999, p. 81.
  21. ^ Wiggermann 1998, p. 217.
  22. ^ Westenholz 1997, p. 190.
  23. ^ Westenholz 1997, p. 199.

Bibliography edit

  • Asher-Greve, Julia M.; Westenholz, Joan G. (2013). Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources (PDF). ISBN 978-3-7278-1738-0.
  • Da Riva, Rocío (2010). "Dynastic Gods and Favourite Gods in the Neo-Babylonian Period". Concepts of kingship in antiquity: proceedings of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop, held in Padova, November 28th-December 1st, 2007. Padova Winona Lake, Ind: S.A.R.G.O.N. Editrice e Libreria Distributed by Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-88-95672-01-4. OCLC 664134580.
  • Goetze, Albrecht; Reiner, Erica (2011). "Treaties". The Ancient Near East. Princeton University Press. doi:10.1515/9781400836215-010.
  • Krebernik, Manfred (1987), "Mamma, Mammi, Mammītum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
  • Krebernik, Manfred (1998), "Nin-kasi und Siraš/Siris", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-25
  • Krebernik, Manfred (2008), "Raqadu", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2023-07-06
  • Krebernik, Manfred (2013), "Tadmuštum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
  • Leemans, Wilhelmus François (1983), "Lagaba", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 2022-05-20
  • Lambert, Wilfred G. (1983), "Laṣ", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02
  • Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013). Babylonian creation myths. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-861-9. OCLC 861537250.
  • Müller-Kessler, Christa; Kessler, Karlheinz (1999). "Spätbabylonische Gottheiten in spätantiken mandäischen Texten". Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie. 89 (1). Walter de Gruyter GmbH. doi:10.1515/zava.1999.89.1.65. ISSN 0084-5299.
  • Nakata, Ichiro (1995). "A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in the Old Babylonian Texts from Mari". Orient. 30–31. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan: 234–253. doi:10.5356/orient1960.30and31.234. ISSN 1884-1392.
  • Peterson, Jeremiah (2009). God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum, Philadelphia. Münster: Ugarit Verlag. ISBN 3-86835-019-5. OCLC 460044951.
  • Simons, Frank (2016). "The God Alammuš dLÀL/d.mùšLÀL". Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires (N.A.B.U.) (1).
  • Westenholz, Joan Goodnick (1997). "Erra and Naram-Sin". Legends of the Kings of Akkade. Penn State University Press. doi:10.1515/9781575065038. ISBN 978-1-57506-503-8.
  • Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1998), "Nergal A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-05-02

May 03, 2024
laṣ, aṣ, also, romanized, mesopotamian, goddess, commonly, regarded, wife, nergal, associated, with, underworld, instances, both, conflation, coexistence, another, goddess, this, position, attributed, mammitum, attested, number, sources, cult, centers, were, k. Laṣ dLa aṣ also romanized as Laz was a Mesopotamian goddess who was commonly regarded as the wife of Nergal a god associated with war and the underworld Instances of both conflation and coexistence of her and another goddess this position was attributed to Mammitum are attested in a number sources Her cult centers were Kutha in Babylonia and Tarbiṣu in Assyria LaṣGoddess associated with the underworldMajor cult centerKutha TarbiṣuPersonal informationSpouseNergal Contents 1 Name and character 2 Associations with other deities 3 Worship 4 Mythology 5 References 5 1 BibliographyName and character editThe best attested spelling of the theonym Laṣ in cuneiform is dLa aṣ and the single instance of dLa a aṣ known from a copy of the Mesopotamian Weidner god list from Ugarit it is not sufficient evidence to support the conclusion that it was pronounced with a long vowel as the additional sign might be a scribal mistake 1 Laz is a romanization commonly used in modern publications 2 3 but according to Wilfred G Lambert Laṣ is the most accurate option in the light of the name being spelled with a ṣ in an Aramaic inscription from one of the Sefire steles KAI 222 1 It is assumed that the name originates in a Semitic language but a plausible etymology has yet to be proposed 1 Lambert proposed that Laṣ was a goddess of healing as an explanatory version of the Weidner god list equates her with Bau while other similar documents place her in the proximity of Gula who were both regarded as deities of such character 4 An Old Babylonian text attests that Laṣ was believed to be capable of interceding with Nergal on behalf of human supplicants a role commonly associated with wives of major gods 4 Similar function as a mediator between worshipers and a major deity is well attested in the cases of Shamash s wife Aya Adad s wife Shala Ea s wife Damkina Ishum s wife Ninmug but also for Ninshubur the sukkal divine vizier of Inanna 5 A Neo Assyrian text calls Laṣ the mistress of Eridu nin NUNki 4 Associations with other deities editLaṣ was the wife of Nergal 6 In Babylonia she became the goddess most commonly identified as such starting with the reign of Kurigalzu II while in Assyria an analogous phenomenon is attested from the reign of Tiglath Pileser III onward 7 In the Old Babylonian period Nergal s wife was usually Mammitum 4 The god list An Anum equates them with each other 8 However in the so called Nippur god list Laṣ occurs separately from Nergal 4 while Mammitum is listed alongside him 9 It is possible that through the second millennium BCE both Laṣ and Mammitum were worshiped in the Emeslam temple in Kutha 10 In a description of a New Year ritual from Babylon during which the gods of Kish Zababa Kutha Nergal and Borsippa Nabu and their entourages were believed to visit Marduk at the time of the text s composition likely not yet a major god both she and Mammitum appear side by side as two separate goddesses 11 It is possible Mammitum was originally associated with Erra rather than Nergal and was only introduced to Kutha alongside him 6 A third goddess labeled as Nergal s wife in An Anum is Admu earth 6 She is otherwise only known from theophoric names and a single offering list from Old Babylonian Mari 12 In an Ur III offering list from Puzrish Dagan Laṣ appears alongside Tadmustum a minor underworld goddess 13 regarded as Nergal s daughter 6 In an inscription from a kudurru boundary stone of Marduk apla iddina I the land grant to Munnabittu kudurru she is listed a member of a group of underworld deities alongside Nergal Bel ṣarbi the pair Lugal irra and Meslamta ea Subula and Mammitum 14 In the Weidner god list the beer goddesses Ninkasi and Siras occur between Nungal the goddess of prisons and Laṣ 15 It has been proposed that this possible association between beer and underworld deities was meant to serve as a reflection of negative effects of alcohol consumption 16 Laṣ also occurs in the same text for the second time in association with Simut an Elamite god who could be equated with Nergal 4 In a variant of known from a copy from Ugarit a deity named Raqadu appears instead of her and according to Manfred Krebernik de should be identified as Simut s spouse 17 Worship editWhile no attestations of Laṣ from the third millennium BCE were known to Wilfred G Lambert at the time of publication of her entry in Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie 4 in more recent publications other authors point out she was already worshiped in the Ur III period as evidenced by lists of offerings to deities of Kutha 6 13 This city was located in Babylonia and served as a cult center of Nergal Laṣ was worshiped in it in his temple known under the ceremonial name E Meslam 18 She is also attested in theophoric names from Lagaba a small town located in northern Babylonia possibly near Kutha 19 Based on a cylinder of Neriglissar in the Neo Babylonian period providing for E Meslam was regarded as a royal duty similarly as in the case of Marduk s and Nabu s main temples respectively E Sagil in Babylon and E Zida in Borsippa 18 However administrative documents indicate that Nergal and Laṣ received fewer offerings than Marduk or Nabu and their respective spouses 18 Offerings of sheep bulls and muttaqu a type of cake to the pair are attested 18 In Assyria the main cult center of Laṣ and Nergal was Tarbiṣu 4 they are mentioned together in the treaty between Ashur nirari V of Assyria and Mati ilu of Arpad among gods meant to guarantee the document will be binding 3 A late reference to Laṣ might be present in a theophoric name identified in a Seleucid document from Kutha dated to the year 226 BCE though the restoration of the theonym is uncertain 20 Mythology editLaṣ appears in the myth Erra and Naram Sin 2 Wilfred G Lambert argued that the eponymous god should be understood as Nergal rather than Erra due to being referred to as the god of Kutha 4 In literary texts both Erra and Nergal are names which can designate the latter 21 In this myth the eponymous king builds a temple for Erra and his wife after the former approaches him to ask for help in a conflict between him and Enlil 22 In the end of the composition Laṣ implores her husband to bless Naram Sin 23 References edit a b c Lambert 1983 p 506 a b Westenholz 1997 p 189 a b Goetze amp Reiner 2011 p 212 a b c d e f g h i Lambert 1983 p 507 Asher Greve amp Westenholz 2013 p 273 a b c d e Wiggermann 1998 p 220 Lambert 1983 pp 506 507 Krebernik 1987 pp 330 331 Peterson 2009 p 54 Muller Kessler amp Kessler 1999 pp 81 82 Lambert 2013 p 282 Nakata 1995 p 236 a b Krebernik 2013 p 398 Simons 2016 p 9 Krebernik 1998 p 443 Krebernik 1998 p 444 Krebernik 2008 p 247 a b c d Da Riva 2010 p 47 Leemans 1983 p 417 Muller Kessler amp Kessler 1999 p 81 Wiggermann 1998 p 217 Westenholz 1997 p 190 Westenholz 1997 p 199 Bibliography edit Asher Greve Julia M Westenholz Joan G 2013 Goddesses in Context On Divine Powers Roles Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources PDF ISBN 978 3 7278 1738 0 Da Riva Rocio 2010 Dynastic Gods and Favourite Gods in the Neo Babylonian Period Concepts of kingship in antiquity proceedings of the European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop held in Padova November 28th December 1st 2007 Padova Winona Lake Ind S A R G O N Editrice e Libreria Distributed by Eisenbrauns ISBN 978 88 95672 01 4 OCLC 664134580 Goetze Albrecht Reiner Erica 2011 Treaties The Ancient Near East Princeton University Press doi 10 1515 9781400836215 010 Krebernik Manfred 1987 Mamma Mammi Mammitum Reallexikon der Assyriologie retrieved 2022 05 02 Krebernik Manfred 1998 Nin kasi und Siras Siris Reallexikon der Assyriologie in German retrieved 2022 05 25 Krebernik Manfred 2008 Raqadu Reallexikon der Assyriologie in German retrieved 2023 07 06 Krebernik Manfred 2013 Tadmustum Reallexikon der Assyriologie retrieved 2022 05 02 Leemans Wilhelmus Francois 1983 Lagaba Reallexikon der Assyriologie in German retrieved 2022 05 20 Lambert Wilfred G 1983 Laṣ Reallexikon der Assyriologie retrieved 2022 05 02 Lambert Wilfred G 2013 Babylonian creation myths Winona Lake Indiana Eisenbrauns ISBN 978 1 57506 861 9 OCLC 861537250 Muller Kessler Christa Kessler Karlheinz 1999 Spatbabylonische Gottheiten in spatantiken mandaischen Texten Zeitschrift fur Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archaologie 89 1 Walter de Gruyter GmbH doi 10 1515 zava 1999 89 1 65 ISSN 0084 5299 Nakata Ichiro 1995 A Study of Women s Theophoric Personal Names in the Old Babylonian Texts from Mari Orient 30 31 The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan 234 253 doi 10 5356 orient1960 30and31 234 ISSN 1884 1392 Peterson Jeremiah 2009 God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum Philadelphia Munster Ugarit Verlag ISBN 3 86835 019 5 OCLC 460044951 Simons Frank 2016 The God Alammus dLAL d musLAL Nouvelles Assyriologiques Breves et Utilitaires N A B U 1 Westenholz Joan Goodnick 1997 Erra and Naram Sin Legends of the Kings of Akkade Penn State University Press doi 10 1515 9781575065038 ISBN 978 1 57506 503 8 Wiggermann Frans A M 1998 Nergal A Philological Reallexikon der Assyriologie retrieved 2022 05 02 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laṣ amp oldid 1163874121, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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