Giš-rin
giš rin (rin, Babylonian short form RIN , Libra ; Akkadian zibanitu , Libra ) is the Sumerian name of the zodiac sign Libra . The constellation was already part of the MUL.APIN series Weg des Mondes , which includes 18 astronomical constellations, where Libra was the tenth constellation and was also nicknamed the horn / claws of Scorpio and the star of the sun god Šamaš .
In terms of geographic location, the Akkadian name zibanitu refers to the city of Sippar . The Babylonian constellation RIN consisted of the stars RIN-ša-SI ( northern Libra ) and RIN-ša-U 18 ( southern Libra ). In the astrological- Babylonian texts, RIN was also equated with the planet Saturn ( Lubat-saguš ) as the “star of the sun”, since Saturn reaches its hypsoma in the constellation Libra , in Babylonian astronomy it is called a “secret place” or “hidden place” .
literature
- Dietz-Otto Edzard et al. (Hrsg.): Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Aräologie . Volume 7: Libanukšabaš - Medicine. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1990, ISBN 3-11-010437-7 , p. 14.
- Wayne Horowitz : Mesopotamian cosmic geography (= Mesopotamian Civilizations. Vol. 8). Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake IN 1998, ISBN 0-931464-99-4 , pp. 170-171.