Ningishzida

This article is about the Mesopotamian deity of the underworld. For German black metal band, see Ninnghizhidda.

The "libation vase of Gudea", dedicated to Ningishzida (21st century BC short chronology). The caduceus is interpreted as depicting the god himself.

Ningishzida (sum: ^dnin-ǧiš-zid-da) is a Mesopotamian deity of the underworld. His name in Sumerian is translated as "lord of the good tree"^[1] by Thorkild Jacobsen.

In Sumerian mythology, he appears in Adapa's myth as one of the two guardians of Anu's celestial palace, alongside Dumuzi. He was sometimes depicted as a serpent with a human head.

Lagash had a temple dedicated to Ningishzida, and Gudea, patesi of Lagash in the 21st century BC short chronology), was one of his devotees. In the Louvre, there is a famous green steatite vase carved for king Gudea of Lagash , dedicated by its inscription: "To the god Ningiszida, his god Gudea, Ensi^{[citation needed]} (governor) of Lagash, for the prolongation of his life, has dedicated this".

Ningishzida is sometimes the son of Ninazu and Ningiridda, even though the myth Ningishzidda's journey to the netherworld suggests he is the son of Ereshkigal.^[2] Following an inscription found at Lagash, he was the son of Anu, the heavens.^[3]

His wife is Azimua^[4] and his sister is Amashilama. He was one of the ancestors of Gilgamesh.

Ningishzida is the earliest known symbol of snakes twining (some say in copulation^[who?]) around an axial rod. It predates the Caduceus of Hermes, the Rod of Asclepius and the staff of Moses by more than a millennium.^[5] Although Wadjet 'the Green One', the serpent Goddess of Lower Egypt from the Pre-dynastic period demonstrates the earliest known representation of a single serpent entwined around a pole – in this case a papyrus reed (refer to first glyph): Wadjet Heiroglyph^{[unreliable source?]}

The Adapa myth mentions Ningizzida and Tammuz (or Dumuzi) and refers to the serpent god as male.

See also

• Nehushtan
• Apophis
• Nāga
• Quetzalcoatl
• Serpent (symbolism)

References

1. ^ Sumerian.org Q&A#20 (Ningishzida)
2. ^ Ningishzidda's journey to the netherworld on ETCSL
3. ^ Ira Maurice Price, Notes on the Pantheon of the Gudean Cylinders, The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. 17, No. 1 (Oct., 1900), pp. 47-53 http://www.jstor.org/stable/528092
4. ^ Sumerian Mythology: Chapter II. Myths of Origins
5. ^ Turner, Frederick. Natural Religion. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 0765803321. 

Further reading

• Michael Jordan, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002^{[unreliable source?]}

External links

• TheFreeDictionary
• Piney.com: Ningishzida's journey to the nether world
• Earth-History.com: Ningishzida's journey to the nether world
• His marriage to Dazimua is mentioned here
• ETCSLsubcorpus: balbales and hymns to Ninĝišzida