Šassuratu

Šassuratu (also schassuratu , SIG ₇ -en-SIG ₇ -SAr ) referred to in the Akkadian language , the divine mother bodies , inter alia, in Atrahasis epic and in Enki and Nammu were responsible for the creation of man. In a Neo-Assyrian tradition of the Atraḫasis epic it says: "The wise and knowing (women), seven and seven wombs: seven create men, seven create women."

It is known from older sources that Nintu, the mother of the gods , was pregnant with seven twins. In Enki and Nammu , the seven active wombs are mentioned by name: NIN-imma , Šuzianna , Ninmada , Ninšara , Ninbara , Ninmug and Dududuḫ . Some of the womb goddesses are already recorded in the lists of gods from Šuruppak : ^DIGIR NIN-imma, also called ^DIGIR NIN-SIG ₇ , shows striking similarities to the later ^DINGIR NIN-imin ( mistress of the ^{seven deities} ) and ^DINGIR NIN-nammu ( mistress of everything ).

literature

• Gebhard J. Selz : Sumerians and Akkadians. CH Beck, Munich 2005, ISBN 3-406-50874-X .
• Marten Stol, FAM Wiggermann: Birth in Babylonia and the Bible . Styx, Groningen 2000, ISBN 9-0723-7189-5 , pp. 82-83.
• Wolfram von Soden : The Old Babylonian Atramḫasis Myth. In: Otto Kaiser u. a .: TUAT, Volume III - Wisdom Texts, Myths, Epics : 3.1 Wisdom Texts. Gütersloher Verlaghaus Mohn, Gütersloh 1990, ISBN 3-5790-0072-1 , pp. 612-645.