Ninsun: The Anunnaki Goddess and Mother of Gilgamesh! 🌺👑

Ninsen is a female figure found in Sumerian mythology. She is a goddess whose parents are the deities Anu, the sky god, and Uras, the goddess of the earth. As a goddess, Ninsen was worshipped by the ancient Mesopotamians and had several cult centers in that civilization. Today, however, Ninsen is perhaps best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh, the principal hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a piece of work commonly regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. The name Ninsen is said to mean, lady wild cow. Additionally, she is referred to by a number of other, often bovine-related names, including, the flawless cow, the wild cow of the enclosure, august cow, and, the mother of good offspring that loves the offspring. Due to this connection with cows, Ninsen was also attributed to the maternal qualities of this creature. Thus, Ninsen was regarded by the ancient Mesopotamians as a motherly goddess who possessed a tender, loving, nurturing, and caring nature. This is perhaps best seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, where she is not just a mother in symbolic terms, but also an actual mother, i.e. the mother of Gilgamesh. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the eponymous hero Gilgamesh is described as such, two-thirds of him was divine, and one-third mortal. In the Epic, it is written that Gilgamesh's father was a king of Uruk by the name of Lugalbanda, whilst, as mentioned before, his mother was the goddess Ninsen, son of Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh, perfect in strength, son of the lofty cow, the wild cow Ninsen. It was from his father that Gilgamesh inherited his mortal nature, whilst, from his mother, he gained his divine nature. Ninsen does not really play a major role in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The main character of this piece of literature, after all, is her son, Gilgamesh. Yet, when she does appear in the text, she is depicted as a loving mother who does what she can to assist her son. This can be seen in the interpretation of Gilgamesh's dreams, in which Ninsen plays an important part. In the text, Gilgamesh tells his mother of a dream he had. Mother, I saw a dream in the night. There were stars in the sky for me. And, something, like a skybolt of a new, kept falling upon me. I tried to lift it up, but it was too heavy for me. I tried to turn it over, but I couldn't budge it. The country, men, of Uruk, were standing over it. The countrymen had gathered over it. The men crowded over it. They kissed its feet like very young children. I loved it as a wife, doted on it. I carried it and laid it at your feet. You treated it as equal to me. Ninsen interpreted her son's dream, which is as follows. It means, a strong partner shall come to you. One who can save the life of a friend. He will be the most powerful in strength of arms in the land. His strength will be as great as that of skybolt of a new. You will love him as a wife. You will dote upon him. Gilgamesh had a second dream, which involved an axe being thrown into the street of Uruk. The interpretation of this dream by Ninsen is the same as Gilgamesh's first dream. Gilgamesh's dream is to be fulfilled in the form of Enkidu, the wildman created by the gods to challenge Gilgamesh, but later becomes his close friend and companion. Enkidu would also be like her own son by Ninsen, just as indicated by Gilgamesh's dream. Ninsen's main cult center was in the city-state of Lagash. Nevertheless, she was also worshipped in other ancient Mesopotamian cities, including Nippur, Ur, and Uma. During the third dynasty of Ur, for example, its founder, Ur-Nammu, built a temple called Emma, meaning, magnificent temple, in Ur for this goddess. We hope you enjoyed the video as much as we enjoyed creating it for you. Your support means the world to us, and it's what keeps us motivated to produce even more amazing content. So, if you liked what you saw, don't forget to hit that like button, share your thoughts in the comments below, and subscribe to our channel.