Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 3500 BC and 400 AD, after which they largely gave way to Syriac Christianity.

The lists on the left are from the Pantheon of the Assyrian and Akkadian Cultures. Look at the names and see if you spot any you recognise? Now, can you see where they are placed in historical context? On the right – take note of their positions and powers or status. Connect as many dots as you can possible manage. Look – BE fearless – allow insights to enter your consciousness.

E-Question 12

The Underworld


Galla Demons 


Tiamut: In the religion of ancient Babylon, Tiamat is a primordial goddess of the salt sea, mating with Abzû, the god of fresh water, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation. She is referred to as a woman, and described as “the glistening one.”

Lahamu: Was the first-born daughter of Tiamat and Abzu in Akkadian mythology. With her brother Lahmu she is the mother of Anshar and Kishar, who were in turn parents of the first gods. Lahamu is sometimes seen as a serpent, and sometimes as a woman with a red sash and six curls on her head. It is suggested that the pair were represented by the silt of the sea-bed, but more accurately are known to be the representations of the zodiac, parent-stars, or constellations.

Kishar: Is the daughter of Lahamu and Lahmu, the first children of Tiamat and Abzu. She is the female principle, sister and wife of Anshar, the male principle, and the mother of Anu. Kishar may represent the earth as a counterpart to Anshar, the sky, and can be seen as an earth mother goddess. Her name also means “Whole Earth“.

Mummu: which translates as “main body, bulk, life-giving force” and “knowledge” as the active part in contrary to the more lethargical primordial forces Tiamat and Apsu. Mummu is a craftsman, the personification of practical knowledge and technical skill. As the third of the primordial gods, Mummu symbolizes the mental world, the Logos.
Anu: or An is the divine personification of the sky, supreme god, and ancestor of all the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion. Anu was believed to be the supreme source of all authority, for the other gods and for all mortal rulers, and he is described in one text as the one “who contains the entire universe“. He is identified with the north ecliptic pole centered in the constellation Draco and, along with his sons Enlil and Enki, constitutes the highest divine triad personifying the three bands of constellations of the vault of the sky.


Enlil: plays a vital role in the Sumerian creation myth; he separates An (heaven) from Ki (earth), thus making the world habitable for humans. In the Sumerian flood myth, Enlil rewards Ziusudra with immortality for having survived the flood and, in the Babylonian flood myth, Enlil is the cause of the flood himself, having sent the flood to exterminate the human race, who made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping. The myth of Enlil and Ninlil is about Enlil’s serial seduction of the goddess in various guises, resulting in the conception of the moon-god Nanna and the Underworld deities.

Enki:  is the Sumerian god of water, knowledge (gestú), mischief, crafts (gašam), and creation.

NinhursagShe is principally a fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the “true and great lady of heaven” (possibly in relation to her standing on the mountain). Nin-hursag means “lady of the sacred mountain.”

Nanna: Sīn or Suen or Nanna was the god of the moon. The occasional Assyrian spelling of DNANNA-ar DSu’en-e is due to association with Akkadian na-an-na-ru “illuminator or lamp.”

Utu: was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god, god of justice, morality, and truth, and the twin of the Mesopotamian goddess Inanna (Ishtar in the Assyrio-Babylonian language), the Queen of Heaven

Tammuz/Dumuid: Is associated with shepherds, and after Innana’s death, she returns from the Underworld, she allows the galla demons to drag him down to the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister Geshtinanna stays in the Underworld in his place, thus resulting in the cycle of the seasons.

Kingu: His mother Tiamut, who wanted to establish him as ruler and leader of all gods before she was killed by Marduk, gave Kingu the Tablet of Destinies, which he wore as a breastplate and which gave him great power.

Geshtinanna: is the ancient Sumerian goddess of agriculture, fertility, and dream interpretation, the so-called “heavenly grape-vine.”

Lahar: was the Sumerian cattle-god or goddess sent by Enlil and Enki from the sky down to earth in order to make abundant its cattle. He is the brother of Ashnan. Lahar, along with his sister, was created in the creation chamber of the gods so the Anunnaki might have food and clothes.

Marduk: “Calf of the sun; solar calf.” Marduk is associated with the divine weapon Imhullu. (Imhullu) is a divine wind weapon used by the sky god Marduk to savage the water goddess Tiamat in the Mesopotamian story of creation Enuma Elish.

Annunaki: Are the most powerful deities in the pantheon, descendants of An and Ki, the god of the heavens and the goddess of earth, and their primary function was to decree the fates of humanity. They are portrayed as seven judges who sit before the throne of Ereshkigal in the Underworld.

Enbilulu: was the god of rivers and canals in Mesopotamian mythology. In the creation mythology he was placed in charge of the sacred rivers Tigris and Euphrates by the god Enki. 

Mami: She was involved in the creation of humankind from clay and bloodAs Nintu legends states she pinched off fourteen pieces of primordial clay which she formed into womb deities, seven on the left and seven on the right with a brick between them, who produced the first seven pairs of human embryos. She may have become the Mistress of the Gods when, at Enki’s suggestion, the gods slew one among themselves and used that god’s blood and flesh, mixed with clay, to create humankind.

Mamitu: The ancient Akkadian goddess of fate and destiny. She was believed to decree the fates of all human beings based on arbitrary whims. Nonetheless, whatever decrees she issued were irrevocable. She was also worshipped as goddess of the oath, later a goddess of fate and a judge in the underworld, similar to the Anunnaki. In some passages, she is also known as a demon of irrevocable curses.

Ninlil: Consort of Enlil, “lady of the open field” or “Lady of the Wind,” who lay with her by the water, she conceived a boy, Nanna, the future moon god. As punishment Enlil was dispatched to the underworld  and impregnated her disguised as the gatekeeper, where upon she gave birth to their son Nergal, god of death. In a similar manner she conceived the underworld god Ninazu when Enlil impregnated her disguised as the man of the river of the nether world, a man-devouring river. Later Enlil disguised himself as the man of the boat, impregnating her with a fourth deity Enbilulu, god of rivers and canals.

Ninshubur: She helped Inanna fight Enki’s demons after Inanna’s theft of the sacred me. Later, when Inanna became trapped in the Underworld, it was Ninshubur who pleaded with Enki for her mistress’s release. [Sacred me: is one of the decrees of the divine that is foundational to human conditions that make civilization possible. They are fundamental to the Sumerian understanding of the relationship between humanity and the gods.] Some of them are indeed physical objects such as musical instruments, but many are technologies like “basket weaving” or abstractions like “victory”. Not all of the mes are admirable or desirable traits. Alongside functions like “heroship” and “victory” are “the destruction of cities”, “falsehood”, and “enmity”. The Sumerians apparently considered such evils and sins an inevitable part of humanity’s experience in life, divinely and inscrutably decreed, and not to be questioned.

Uttu: Is an ancient Sumerian goddess associated with weaving. The same cuneiform symbol used to write her name was also used to write the Sumerian word for “spider“, indicating that Uttu was probably envisioned as a spider spinning a web. She resists the sexual advances of her father Enki by ensconcing herself inside her web, but he convinces her to let him in using a gift of fresh produce and the promise that he will marry her. Enki then intoxicates her with beer (there are two Gods dedicated to beer in this pantheon) and rapes her. She is rescued by Enki’s wife Ninhursag, who removes Enki’s semen from her vagina and plants it in the ground resulting in the growth of eight new plantsLater, Enki sees the plants and is annoyed because he does not recognize them, which Enki later eats. Enki determined the nature of the grasses” and “had them know it in their hearts.

Adapa: Adapa was a mortal man, a sage or priest . There is a comparison between Adam and Adapa (root word connection) where both accounts include a test involving the eating of purportedly deadly food; and both are summoned before god to answer for their transgressions.

Anzu: In the myth of Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies, the Anzû is a giant, monstrous bird. Enlil gives Anzû a position as the guardian of his sanctuary, but Anzû betrays Enlil and steals the Tablet of Destinies, a sacred clay tablet belonging to Enlil that grants him his Godly authority. Enlil’s son, Ninurta confronts the Anzû and shoots it with his arrows, but the Tablet of Destinies has the power to reverse time. Ninurta, however, hungry for power and even greater accolades, “set[s] his sights on the whole world.” Enki senses his thoughts and creates a giant turtle, which he releases behind Ninurta and which bites the hero’s ankle.

Humbaba: His face is that of a lion. “When he looks at someone, it is the look of death.” “Humbaba’s roar is a flood, his mouth is death and his breath is fire! Another description from Georg Burckhardt’s translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh says, “he had the paws of a lion and a body covered in thorny scales; his feet had the claws of a vulture, and on his head were the horns of a wild bull; his tail and phallus each ended in a snake’s head.”

Udug: were an ambiguous class of demons from ancient Mesopotamian mythology who were sometimes thought of as good and sometimes as evil. In exorcism texts, the “good udug” is sometimes invoked against the “evil udug”.

Lamassu: is a Sumerian protective deity. Initially depicted as a female deity in Sumerian times, when it was called Lamma, it was later depicted from Assyrian times as a hybrid of a human, bird, and either a bull or lion—specifically having a human head, the body of a bull or a lion, and bird wings.

Edimmu: Similar in nature to the preta of the Hindu religions or the jiangshi of Chinese mythology. They were envisioned as the ghosts of those who were not buried properly. They were considered vengeful toward the living and might possess people if they did not respect certain taboos, such as the prohibition against eating ox meat. They were thought to cause disease and inspire criminal behavior in the living, but could sometimes be appeased by funeral repasts or libations. The edimmu were also thought to be completely or nearly incorporeal, “wind” spirits that sucked the life out of the susceptible and the sleeping (most commonly the young). They are known loosely as vampires.

Lamashtu: A female demon, monster, malevolent goddess or demigoddess who menaced women during childbirthShe is often shown standing or kneeling on a donkey, nursing a pig and a dog, and holding snakes. She thus bears some functions and resemblance to the demon Lilith.

Munangal: is a goddess of the underworld, worshipped by the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Akkadians. She is the consort of the god Birdu. Her title was the “Queen of the Ekur” where she held the tablet of life and carried out judgement on the wicked.

Galla Demons: They were one of seven devils (or “the offspring of hell”) of Babylonian theology that could be appeased by the sacrifice of a lamb at their altars.

Ereshkigal:  “Queen of the Great Earth“, and married to Nergal (god of death). She was the only one who could pass judgment and give laws in her kingdom – Kur – a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue “a shadowy version of life on earth. “

WHAT CONCLUSIONS HAVE YOU COME TO? Your task to draw conclusions about history, Genesis, the beginning, the layers of reality, the gods, the heavens etc.

Look at all the movies being released – vampires, living dead, zombies etc. Remember, the veil was lifted and we have taught that all the layers (astral and physical / conscious and sub-conscious) are merging.

Looking at this epic (pre-Christian) saga of the Origin Creation Drama – what strikes you? What images or texts, stories or links are you able to make?

I have underlined lots of teasers that should inspire a cascade of thoughts.

I will add an example: Ninshubur – the ‘me’s’ inspire all these personality traits both physical and non-physical or abilities. ME = the human traits . . . Walter on earth. The personality, so that humans could exist in a civilised manner. ME’s gave order to society. Now – we go from ME to I AM and head the opposite way.

Here is another: Anzu – a turtle snaps at his heels . . . ancient achilles heal perhaps?

You have different languages so make use of your own language and stories, religion and beliefs.

Your comprehensive list of conclusions from this document will need to be sent in by the last day of TTL.

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