Shamash

Shamash (as he is known in Akkadian, originally called Utu in Sumerian) was the ancient Sumerian god associated with the Sun. Utu was one of the most important gods of Sumerian religion — and all later Mesopotamian religion that developed from Sumero-Akkadian tradition — as one of the oldest gods.

Utu was believed to have seen all.

Contents

1. Character and Role of Utu-Shamash

Character and Role of Utu-Shamash

Utu was one of the chief Sumerian deities from the earliest of times, and remained one of the principle deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon for thousands of years. Epithets often applied to Utu describe him as a “youth” () and “hero” (). [1]

Utu was the primary god of justice. It is believed that this association is due to the fact that as his form as the Sun, he saw all that happened under him on the Earth. Thus Shamash often plays the role of a judge, to pass judgement on the righteousness or evil of man. Sometimes he was assisted by his father Nanna or sister Inanna, in his role as judge (along with various minor deities who could assist).

Each day, as the Sun, Utu was pulled across the sky in his solar chariot from east to west. At night he was said to travel in the opposite direction across the AN.ŠAG (“nether sky”) so that he could rise again in the east at dawn. However, this part of the tale is not recorded in the earliest texts. [1] In sources from the third millennium BCE Utu usually rests at night. [1]

In the “Standard Babylonian” Epic of Gilgamesh it is said that Shamash spends each night with his wife, Aya. [1]

Utu’s solar chariot is drawn by four animals that bear Sumerian names — indicating the great age of this tradition. They are Uhegalanna (“the abundant light of heaven”), Uhushgalanna (“the terrifying great light of heaven”), Usurmurgalanna (“the dreadful great light of heaven”) and Unirgalanna (“the noble light of heaven”). [1] Exactly what their species is not consistent, and can be variously described as niskum (“choice steeds”), horses, mules, or simply as beasts.

In the Early Dynastic god list from Fara, he is sixth among the deities listed (after Anu, Enlil, Inanna, Enki, and Nanna). [1]

In later god lists Shamash appears between Nanna (Sin) and Ishkur (Adad). This is the case in the An – Anum god list, whereas the Old Babylonian Nippur god list places Utu between Ishkur and Ninurta. [1]

Other theophoric names of Shamash — such as Shamash-bel-ili (“Shamash is the lord of gods”), Shamash-Enlil-ili (“Shamash is the Enlil of the gods”), and Shamash-ashared-ili (“Shamash is the foremost of the gods”) — have led certain scholars to suggest that certain traditions in Mesopotamia existed where Shamash was the king of the gods. However, it should be noted, that this is how Mesopotamian religion was. From the earliest Sumerian times, there was no consensus on the leader of the gods. Enki, Enlil, Anu, and Utu were all variously regarded in this way, with none being clearly superior.

Family

In Sumerian and Akkadian Religion, the sun god was traditionally viewed as the son of the Moon. Thus Utu was the son of Nanna (or to the Akkadians, Shamash was the son of Sin.)

In addition, they possessed matching epithets. In the god list An = Anum Utu is referred to as the Mabanda-anna (“small boat of heaven”) and his father, Nanna, as the Magula-anna (“great boat of heaven”).^[1]

Ningal was the mother of Utu, while Inanna was his sister — often his twin sister. This should immediately bring to mind Greek mythology, the twins Apollo and Artemis, the sun god and goddess of the hunt, respectively. Greek mythology is of the same ancestral tradition as Sumerian mythology.

Etymology

Utu is most commonly referred to by his Sumerian name, Utu, and by Akkadian Shamash. Another common name is Amna (origin uncertain). [1]

Shamash in the Semitic language is a cognate of the Akkadian terms for “sun” (šamšu) and “solar disc” (šamšatu).[1]

Although Utu appears to have been understood as masculine deity, it is interesting that in the majority of Semitic languages both the words referring to the sun and the names of solar deities are grammatically feminine.

Some scholars suggest that this is because the Sumerian god Utu was male, which is an attribute preserved in the religion within Semitic cultures, in spite of the gender of the words and names in their language.[1] Others suggest that this indicates a dual masculine-feminine nature to the god.

Shamash In Mesopotamian Mythology

The Iconography of Utu

As Utu in earlier times, and Shamash in later times (after the Akkadian Empire and) into the Babylonian Periods, the sun god was depicted with the same iconography. He was usually bearded, with a distinct headdress, which makes him one of the few gods that we can identify with certainty.

His best-known attributes are a šaššaru (large saw) as well as rays of light emanating from his shoulders (as the sun god). He is also depicted holding the rod-and-ring symbol, which is a symbol of power and authority associated with major deities. Sometimes he is shown handing this sceptre to human kings.

Exactly why he was depicted with a šaššaru is not entirely clear. Numerous suggestions have been made. Some say that it was because he cut through the dark as the sun, or that the šaššaru was a weapon used to behead criminals due to his role as judge. Another interpretations is that in both Sumerian and Akkadian judgements had to be “cut” (in the sense that we today are said to “cut a deal”) kud and parāsum respectively. [1]