Nuska

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Nuska
Vizier and scribe to the chief god Enlil, later god of fire and light, earth, and the arts
Parents	Usually Anu and Antu, but sometimes Enlil and an unknown mother or Sin and Ningal
Equivalents
Babylonian equivalent	Nusku

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Ancient Mesopotamian religion
Religions of the ancient Near East Anatolia Ancient Egypt Mesopotamia Babylonia Sumer Persia Semitic Arabia Canaan
Primordial beings Tiamat and Abzu Lahamu and Lahmu Kishar and Anshar Mummu
Seven gods who decree Four primary Anu Enlil Enki Ninhursag Three sky gods Inanna/Ishtar Nanna/Sin Utu/Shamash
Other major deities Adad Dumuzid Enkimdu Ereshkigal Kingu Geshtinanna Lahar Marduk Nergal Ninurta
Minor deities Agasaya Anunnaki Asaruludu Ashnan Bel Enbilulu Isimud Lahar Mami/Nintu Mamitu Nabu Namtar Nanshe Nisaba Ningal Ninkasi Ninlil Ninshubur Ninsun Nuska Sarpanit Uttu
Demigods and heroes Adapa Enkidu Enmerkar Gilgamesh Lugalbanda Shamhat Siduri Atra-Hasis Ziusudra Apkallu (seven sages)
Spirits and monsters Udug Lamassu/Shedu Asag Edimmu Siris Anzû Humbaba Hanbi Kur Lamashtu Pazuzu Rabisu
Tales Atra-Hasis Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta Enūma Eliš Epic of Gilgamesh
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Nuska (Assyrian: ^dnusku, also ^dEn-Šadibdib or ^dUmun-Šazedib) was the vizier of the chief Sumerian god Enlil.^[1] He is also described as a scribe who records events, and a boatman who takes Enlil to his future wife, Ninlil. His shrine was recorded to be in the Ekur.^[1]

Later, in Babylonia and Assyria, he became the light and fire god, indistinguishable from Girru (formerly Gibil).

Later influence[]

The cuneiform inscription on this symbolic base reads "Cult pedestal of the god Nusku, the grand vizier, the temple E-kur...", 13th century BCE. From Assur, Iraq. Pergamon Museum

In Babylonia and Assyria Nuska is the symbol of the heavenly as well as of the terrestrial fire. As the former he is the son of Anu, the god of heaven, but he is likewise associated with Enlil of Nippur as the god of the earth and regarded as a first-born son. A centre of his cult in Assyria was in Harran, where, because of the predominance of the moon-cult, he is viewed as the son of the moon god Sin and his wife Ningal, though Nuska was with Enlil when Sin wasn't born yet, and Enlil had not married Ninlil—Sin's mother. Nuska is by the side of Ea, the god of water, the great purifier. He is called upon to cleanse the sick and suffering from disease, which, at the time thought to be by demons, was looked upon as a species of impurity affecting the body.

The fire-god is also viewed as the patron of the arts and the god of civilization in general, because of the association of all human progress with the discovery and use of fire. As among other nations, the fire-god was in the third instance looked upon as the protector of the family. He becomes the mediator between humanity and the gods, since it is through the fire on the altar that the offering is brought into the presence of the gods.

While temples and sanctuaries to Nusku-Girru are found in Babylonia and Assyria, he is worshipped more in symbolical form than the other gods.

Because his presence is common and universal, he is not localized to the same extent as his fellow deities, and, while always enumerated in a list of the great gods, his place in the systematized pantheon is more or less vague. The conceptions connected with Nuska are of distinctly popular origin, as is shown by his prominence in incantations, which represent the popular element in the cult, and it is significant that in the astro-theological system of the Assyrian and Babylonian priests Nusku-Girru is not assigned to any particular place in the heavens.

Nusku is revered in the name of Mutakkil-Nusku ("he whom Nusku endows with confidence,") a 12th-century BC king of Assyria.

See also[]

• Gibil

Notes and references[]

Notes[]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Morris Jastrow, Jr. (1911). "Nusku". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

References[]

External links[]

• Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Nuska/Nusku (god)