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Utu was a sun god, Mesopotamian (Sumerian) [Iraq); worshipped from about 3500 BC to 1750 BC and his cult center was Sippar. This deity was the power of sunlight and, in a social context, of justice and the implementation of law. He was the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ninlil; his brother and sister were Iskur and Inanna. It is said that he rises "in the mountains of the east" and sets "in the mountains of the west." He is usually depicted as wearing a horned helmet and carrying a saw edged weapon not unlike a pruning saw, which it was thought that he has used to cut through the side of the mountain from which he emerges, symbolizing the dawn. He may also carry a mace and stand with one foot on the mountain. A.G.H.

