Sumerian God An: What Need To Know About Father of All Mesoptamian Gods

The Sumerians forever transformed the world by developing new technologies and perfecting existing ones. They developed a writing system called cuneiform, a number system based on 60 for measuring time. They also invented important things like wheeled transportation among many others. Who knows where we would be today if they had not settled along the floodplains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers all those years ago? Clearly, they were very imaginative people. The most obvious example of this is seen in another first, the creation of the earliest known pantheon of gods. How this came about remains a mystery. As the father of all gods and ruler of heaven, An holds the highest position in the Sumerian pantheon. He is the ruler of the skies and the king of the Sumerian gods. Later, these positions were passed on to Enlil and Inanna. During the time of Babylonian king Hammurabi, Anu was retired and his powers were handed to the national god of Babylonia, Marduk. All believed this honor and responsibility was blessed by Anu himself. Anu and his sons, Enlil and Enki, were the three gods who formed the Mesopotamian triad of heaven. Together, they ruled over the heavens, the earth, and the seas. In some later accounts, the Babylonians divided the skies into three levels and assigned these gods to their respective domains. An lived at the highest level. An took over the realm of heaven when Ki birthed Enlil, an event that divided heaven and earth. Hence, this cosmic being became a personification of the sky and the heavens. In fact, his name means sky or heaven in the Sumerian language. The Barton Cylinder, dating back to around 2400 BC, mentions this consorting of the heaven and the earth. In the sacred area of Nibru, the storm roared, the lights flashed, heaven talked with earth, earth talked with heaven. During some periods of Sumer's history, Anu was not worshipped directly. He was seen as a more passive god who stood in the background and made things possible. Still, he is the most important ancestor figure in the Sumerian pantheon. All of his divine children went on to achieve greatness. Anu's legacy in human terms would be one of a figurehead. However, regarding dominant gods in Mesopotamia, Ashur, Enlil and Marduk would always overshadow him. But Anu brought a sense of comfort and tradition to those who worshipped the Sumerian gods, as he represented a lineage that could be traced right back to the primordial creation of the universe. His leadership is what made the act of kingship possible, both in the divine world and within the realm of humanity. Anu was one of the first Sumerian gods, and it is assumed that he either always existed or was pulled from the primordial waters by Namu. It was only in later traditions that various sources tried to put him into the context of a greater family, possibly with parents and grandparents of his own. But because of his role as king of the gods, his parentage, frankly, didn't matter all that much. One of the most famous attempts to explain Anu's ancestry was the Enuma Elish. The Babylonian creation epic, dated to the 7th century BC, states on tablet one, lines 12 to 17, Anshar and Kishar were formed, surpassing the others. They prolonged the days and added on the years. Anu was their heir, the rival of his father's. Yes, Anu, Anshar's firstborn, was his equal. Therefore, to the Babylonians, An's parents are Anshar, the sky god, and Kishar, the earth goddess. However, their names differed depending on the religion. In early Sumer, he was assumed to be the son of Apsu and Namu. Later Babylonian texts have An as the son of Apsu and Tiamat. The Hittites believed he was the son of Alalu, the lord of the skies. As you may have noticed, from the Enuma Elish text, An's name was later changed to Anu, the Akkadian word for heaven. This happened circa 2375 BC. However, for the sake of continuity, we will refer to him as An for the rest of the overview. Similarly, the names of his consort also vary. For example, his consort was Uras, the earth goddess, during the early Sumerian period. Later, it was Ki. During the Assyrian and Babylonian periods, it became Antu. Since they were all similar earth goddesses, we can assume that these three divine beings were actually the same entity, so we will refer to her as Ki, for brevity's sake. So far, the earliest mentions of An date to around the mid-third millennium BC. For example, his name appeared on the Pharah god list, the earliest list of its type, in 2600 BC. He is also mentioned in the name of Messanepada, the first king in the first dynasty of Ur in the 26th century BC. Messanepada means youngling, chosen by An. However, given that An is one of the first gods, he likely dates back to an older Sumerian period. Indeed, thanks to archaeological evidence, such as cylinder seals and impressions thought to depict An, websites like the Encyclopedia Britannica have placed An at 3000 BC, the oldest period. Of course, he may date back even before this, before the Sumerians began writing their hymns and poems on cuneiform tablets. Records of his worship date back to the 24th century BC, when he and his son Enlil were mentioned together in scripture. Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier, throughout the entire history of Sumeria, Anu's popularity was dwarfed by his sons, despite him being a family elder. One of his primary tasks was creating and managing the rest of the pantheon and authorising their privileges, functions and responsibilities. He also gave power to the kings on Earth, and was recognised as superior to all others. As a consequence, kings would support their right to govern by asserting that they had An's approval. In fact, when people were elevated to a higher level, or given a more significant leadership role, it was said that they had been given the power of An. Likewise, Mesopotamian officials would legitimise their policies by claiming they were endorsed by An. On the flip side, legal documents would enforce compliance by claiming that anyone who did not adhere to them would incur the wrath of An. Sargon of Akkad, the founder of the Akkadian empire, believed that An bestowed his rule and made his military conquests successful. An inscription discovered during the 1890s expedition at Nippur reads, Sargon, king of Akkad, king of Kish, anointed of Anu, king of the land, governor of Enlil, defeated the city of Uruk and tore down its walls. Anu had very few dedicated shrines at the height of the Sumerian empire, but he did have a place in the sky. The three regions, or tracts of stars seen in the night sky, were attributed to Enlil in the north, Ea in the south and Anu's starfield in the centre, separating the other two. Although An was worshipped at Ur and Lagash, he was primarily associated with Uruk and often referred to as its patron deity and protector, alongside Ishtar and Nanaya. One inscription reads, To Uruk, thy city, do thou show abundant favour. O great god Anu, avenge thy city in hostile lands. As time passed, he was overshadowed at Uruk, and by the time the Second Babylonian Empire came around, he was no longer considered a temple god. A single source claims that Anu had a temple named Ekinama in the city of Kesh. If it did exist, no physical evidence has ever been found. In terms of archaeology, one crucial part of the Uruk was dedicated to him, the Anu district. This is where the Anu ziggurat was built, back in or around 4000 BC. 500 years later, the white temple would be built atop Anu's territory, one of the few ancient structures to be associated with his name, though there's no evidence that he was actually worshipped within its walls. They called it the Enana Temple, meaning the house of heaven. With its whitewashed mudbrick walls, this temple would have shone like the sun, much like the Great Pyramid of Giza, which was once encased in white limestone rock. While the Sumerian people considered him the embodiment of the sky, he could also take human form. We see this in numerous artefacts, where he is easily recognisable, thanks to his royal tiara or crown, adorned with two pairs of bull horns. He is also frequently depicted with the sceptre or the staff, and sometimes seated on a throne, symbolising power. One hymn, translated by English historian Wallace Budge, refers to his crown, O Prince of the gods, whose utterance ruleth over the obedient company of the gods, Lord of the horned crown, which is marvellously splendid, Thou travellest hither and thither on the raging storm, Thou standest in the royal chamber to be admired as a king. Later in Sumerian tradition, Anu's name appeared with Enlil and Enki on royal inscriptions. This triumvirate embodied the attributes that rulers wished to display to their people. Though he wasn't the star of many Sumerian myths, Anu appeared in many ancient texts over the centuries. In these writings, we find out that he has a sukkal, a kind of advisor and intermediary, named Ninshubur. Ninshubur was also Inanna's sukkal, so she probably got little time off. When human petitioners asked Anu for something, Ninshubur faithfully brought their concerns to Sky God. She would help him carry out his will on the matter and tell humanity what the result of their prayers had been. Other attendants of Anu, perhaps just different names used for Ninshubur, were Papsukal and Ilabrat. The only surviving Sumerian texts where Anu plays a primary role are all associated with the creation myth. In it, we learn that Enlil is the tether between his father Anu and his mother Ki, creating and maintaining the space necessary for life on Earth. Anu is the mediator in the battle between Marduk and Tiamat, not a very good one by the looks of things. Being one of the senior and more respected gods, Anu believes he can reason with Tiamat. However, Anu's mission fails and a chain reaction begins, leading to the younger gods being victorious. Marduk kills Tiamat and is propelled to the forefront of the new order of gods. After the failures of Anu, the gods realize they can no longer maintain the status quo. They must change their ways. Now, Marduk has appointed the king of gods, and with his father Enki, the pair set about carving up Tiamat to create Heaven and Earth. In other tales, we learn more about the make-up of the sky itself. The Sumerian sky is a dome protecting the Earth, consisting of three gem-like layers. Anu lived within the very top layer, represented by a red gemstone, such as garnet, carnelian or ruby. Mesopotamian gods were often accompanied by their sacred creatures. Anz was a bull. This creature later became a mythological entity known as the Bull of Heaven, which features in the epic of Gilgamesh. In the tale, Anu gives his daughter Ishtar the Bull of Heaven after being blackmailed with the threat of undead forces rising against humanity and devouring them. Thankfully, the bull cannot slay Gilgamesh, and the tale continues. In Hurrian myth, Anu was overthrown and replaced by Kumarbi, who is their answer to Enlil or Dagan. The Kumarbi cycle is a wild fusion of many traditions, so his exact relation to the Sumerian gods can't always be clarified. But we know that in their religion, Kumarbi bites off Anu's genitals, perhaps signifying the end of his divine bloodline. The Sumerians called Anu the father of all gods because all deities were considered his children. Of course, as is usually the case with the Sumerian pantheon, finding out who his children were is tricky and depends on what literary resources you read. Nevertheless, there is no doubt Anu is the father and creator of some of the mightiest gods in the entire pantheon. The children of Anu and Ki are commonly referred to throughout the region as the Anunnaki. Enki, god of crafts and knowledge, Enlil, god of storms, and Nisaba, goddess of grain and writing, are all such children, according to Sumerian lore. One creation myth, called the myth of cattle and grain, describes how the Anunnaki, or Anunna, were the first creatures of the land. On the hill of heaven and earth, when Anu had created the Anunna gods, there was no grain, no weaving, no sheep, no goat, no cloth. Even the names of these things were unknown to the Anunna. It is implied that the reed goddess, Ningikuga, is also his child, due to his illicit affair with his mother, Namu. The inscription of Gudia also counts Bao, or Baba in some texts, as one of Anu's brood. It's implied that Bao's mother was Ababa, though the name suffers from translation issues. Utu may also be An's son. However, that is only mentioned in one source, so there are some doubts. Of course, outside of the Sumerian religion, Anu is said to be the father of several other deities, including the aforementioned Ishtar. There is also a group of demons called the Sons of Anu. Throughout regional lore, the demon lord and goddess, Lamashtu, is also referred to as the daughter of Anu. Lamashtu is a fearsome-looking, lion-headed creature whose hostility towards people is palpable. Lamashtu does not appear to listen to the gods and causes pain and suffering, simply because she feels like it. The texts do not explain why she has these tendencies. All told, Anu is the father of over a dozen of the region's gods and demons. Other cultures of the area believed Anu was the ancestor not just of all deities, but of all people. This means he was regarded as more of an ancestral deity. Hence, the Mesopotamians preferred to worship his children. One might see Anu as the glue that held Sumerian mythology together, as one of the primary forces used to create a safe place for humanity. He served an important purpose, without stealing Enlil's spotlight. It could be said that An sets the stage for a grand mythological tradition. Yet, he does not demand top billing in the ensuing show. At times, he might be perceived as a distant, perhaps even absent father. But that's why the Sumerians had Enlil. Besides, there's no need for two father figures in a pantheon. And the distance makes sense. An's home was the third sphere of the sky, far removed from humanity and from even his fellow gods and goddesses. He had the power to visit anyone that he wished. But he didn't. In fact, most myths involve other gods coming to see him. Anu was a god that earned his peace and quiet. He probably wouldn't see a lack of temples and worshippers as bad, preferring his solitude to the hustle and bustle of divine intrigue. Hopefully, you are now more familiar with one of the most significant characters in Sumerian mythology.