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Full rewrite. The goddess Mammitum was first and foremost the wife of Nergal; she is not connected to the divine midwife from Atrahasis or to the goat-headed demon. |
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{{Short description|Mesopotamian goddess}} |
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{{More citations needed|date=March 2007}} |
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{{about|the wife of the god Nergal|the divine midwife|Mami (goddess)}} |
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{{Mesopotamian myth|expanded=5}} |
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'''Mammitum''', '''Mammitu''' or '''Mammi''' was a [[List of Mesopotamian deities|Mesopotamian goddess]] viewed as the wife of Nergal, the god of death.{{sfn|Lambert|1983|p=507}}{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=220}} Mamitum's name might mean “oath” or “frost” (based on similarity to the Akkadian word, ''mammû'', “ice” or “frost”).{{sfn|Krebernik|1987|p=330}} In the earliest sources she is Nergal's most commonly attested wife, but from the Kassite period onward she was often replaced in this role by the goddess Las.{{sfn|Lambert|1983|pp=506-507}} |
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'''Mamitu''', also known as '''Mammetun''', '''Mammetum''', or '''Mammitu''' was the ancient [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] goddess of fate and [[destiny]]. She was believed to reside in [[Irkalla]] and decree the fates of all human beings based on arbitrary whims. Nonetheless, whatever decrees she issued were irrevocable.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mark|first1=Joshua J.|title=The Mesopotamian Pantheon|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/221/|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=24 July 2017}}</ref> She was also worshipped as goddess of the oath, later a [[chthonic]] goddess of fate and a judge in the underworld, similar to the [[Anunnaki]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}} She is occasionally regarded as a consort of [[Nergal]].{{Fact|date=March 2007}} In some passages, she is also known as a demon of irrevocable curses.{{Fact|date=March 2007}} |
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As her name is homophonous with [[Mami (goddess)|Mami]], a goddess of birth or "divine midwife,"{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=87}} some researchers assume they are one and the same.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=220}} However, it has been proven that they were separate deities,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=87}} and they are kept apart in ancient Mesopotamian god lists.{{sfn|Krebernik|1987|p=330}} A goddess named Mamma known from [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] is most likely related to the divine midwife Mami rather than to Mammitum.{{sfn|Nakata|1995|pp=235-236}} Another being from Mesopotamian beliefs with a homophonous name was ''māmītu'', a type of underworld demon with a goat's head and human hands and feet, known from the late text ''Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince'' and absent from other sources.{{sfn|Wiggermann|2011|pp=301-302}} Unlike deities, who were generally fully antropomorphic in Mesopotamian beliefs, demonic beings were often hybrids.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=286}} |
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Mammitum was worshiped in [[Kutha]], where she was likely introduced alongside [[Erra (god)|Erra]], a god [[syncretism|syncretised]] with Nergal.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=220}} She also received offerings in the [[Ekur]] temple complex in [[Nippur]] alongside her husband.{{sfn|Peterson|2009|p=54}} |
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The god list ''An-Anum'' mentions both Mamitum and Las, and equates them with each other.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=220}} However, in the so-called Nippur god list Las occurs separately from Nergal,{{sfn|Lambert|1983|p=517}} while Mammitum is listed alongside him.{{sfn|Peterson|2009|p=54}} In at least one text, a description of a New Year ritual from [[Babylon]] during which the gods of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], Kutha and [[Borsippa]] were believed to visit [[Marduk]] (at the time not yet a major god), both she and Las appear side by side as two separate goddesses.{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=282}} |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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<references /> |
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==Bibliography== |
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{{Time in religion and mythology}} |
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{{refbegin}} |
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*{{cite book |first1=Julia M.|last1=Asher-Greve |first2=Joan G. |last2=Westenholz |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf |title=Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources |year=2013 |isbn=978-3-7278-1738-0}} |
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*{{citation|first=Krebernik|last=Manfred|entry=Mamma, Mammi, Mammītum|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=1987|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#7459|access-date=2022-02-06}} |
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*{{citation|first=Wilfred G.|last=Lambert|entry=Laṣ|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#6931|year=1983|access-date=2022-02-06}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Lambert|first=Wilfred G.|title=Babylonian creation myths|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake, Indiana|year=2013|isbn=978-1-57506-861-9 |oclc=861537250}} |
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*{{cite journal|last=Nakata|first=Ichiro|title=A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in the Old Babylonian Texts from Mari|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/orient1960/30and31/0/30and31_0_234/_article/-char/en|journal=Orient|publisher=The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan|volume=30-31|year=1995|issn=1884-1392|doi=10.5356/orient1960.30and31.234|pages=234–253}} |
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*{{cite book|last=Peterson|first=Jeremiah|title=God lists from Old Babylonian Nippur in the University Museum, Philadelphia|url=https://www.academia.edu/27631505|publisher=Ugarit Verlag|publication-place=Münster|year=2009|isbn=3-86835-019-5|oclc=460044951}} |
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*{{citation|first=Frans A. M.|last=Wiggermann|entry=Nergal A. Philological|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8358| year=1998|access-date=2022-02-05}} |
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*{{cite journal|last=Wiggermann|first=Frans A. M.|title=The Mesopotamian Pandemonium. A Provisional Census|url=https://www.academia.edu/2393427|journal=Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni|volume=77|issue=2|year=2011|pages=298-322}} |
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{{refend}} |
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[[Category:Middle Eastern mythology]] |
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[[Category:Time and fate goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Underworld goddesses]] |
[[Category:Underworld goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Mesopotamian demons]] |
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[[Category:Mesopotamian goddesses]] |
[[Category:Mesopotamian goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Mythological caprids]] |
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{{MEast-myth-stub}} |
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Revision as of 15:10, 6 February 2022
Mammitum, Mammitu or Mammi was a Mesopotamian goddess viewed as the wife of Nergal, the god of death.[1][2] Mamitum's name might mean “oath” or “frost” (based on similarity to the Akkadian word, mammû, “ice” or “frost”).[3] In the earliest sources she is Nergal's most commonly attested wife, but from the Kassite period onward she was often replaced in this role by the goddess Las.[4]
As her name is homophonous with Mami, a goddess of birth or "divine midwife,"[5] some researchers assume they are one and the same.[2] However, it has been proven that they were separate deities,[5] and they are kept apart in ancient Mesopotamian god lists.[3] A goddess named Mamma known from Mari is most likely related to the divine midwife Mami rather than to Mammitum.[6] Another being from Mesopotamian beliefs with a homophonous name was māmītu, a type of underworld demon with a goat's head and human hands and feet, known from the late text Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prince and absent from other sources.[7] Unlike deities, who were generally fully antropomorphic in Mesopotamian beliefs, demonic beings were often hybrids.[8]
Mammitum was worshiped in Kutha, where she was likely introduced alongside Erra, a god syncretised with Nergal.[2] She also received offerings in the Ekur temple complex in Nippur alongside her husband.[9]
The god list An-Anum mentions both Mamitum and Las, and equates them with each other.[2] However, in the so-called Nippur god list Las occurs separately from Nergal,[10] while Mammitum is listed alongside him.[9] In at least one text, a description of a New Year ritual from Babylon during which the gods of Kish, Kutha and Borsippa were believed to visit Marduk (at the time not yet a major god), both she and Las appear side by side as two separate goddesses.[11]
References
- ^ Lambert 1983, p. 507.
- ^ a b c d Wiggermann 1998, p. 220.
- ^ a b Krebernik 1987, p. 330.
- ^ Lambert 1983, pp. 506–507.
- ^ a b Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 87.
- ^ Nakata 1995, pp. 235–236.
- ^ Wiggermann 2011, pp. 301–302.
- ^ Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 286.
- ^ a b Peterson 2009, p. 54.
- ^ Lambert 1983, p. 517.
- ^ Lambert 2013, p. 282.
Bibliography
- 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.
- Manfred, Krebernik (1987), "Mamma, Mammi, Mammītum", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-06
- Lambert, Wilfred G. (1983), "Laṣ", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-06
- Lambert, Wilfred G. (2013). Babylonian creation myths. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-861-9. OCLC 861537250.
- 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.
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1998), "Nergal A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 2022-02-05
- Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2011). "The Mesopotamian Pandemonium. A Provisional Census". Studi e materiali di storia delle religioni. 77 (2): 298–322.