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Enlil
Enlil
Etymology
Enlil's name comes from ancient Sumerian EN (𒂗), meaning "lord" and LÍL (𒆤) meaning "wind".[1][2][3]
His name therefore literally translates as "Lord Wind".[1][3] Enlil's name is not a genitive construction,[6]
indicating that Enlil was seen as the personification of the wind itself rather than merely the cause of
wind.[6]
Worship
The Sumerians believed that the sole purpose of humanity's existence was to serve the gods.[12][13] They
thought that a god's statue was a physical embodiment of the god himself.[14][15] As such, cult statues were
given constant care and attention[16][14] and a set of priests were assigned to tend to them.[17] People
worshipped Enlil by offering food and other human necessities to him.[12] The food, which was ritually laid
out before the god's cult statue in the form of a feast,[16][14] was believed to be Enlil's daily meal,[12] but,
after the ritual, it would be distributed among his priests.[12] These
priests were also responsible for changing the cult statue's
clothing.[15]
During the Kassite Period (c. 1592 BC – 1155 BC), Nippur briefly managed to regain influence in the region
and Enlil rose to prominence once again.[28] From around 1300 BC onwards, Enlil was syncretized with the
Assyrian national god Aššur,[30] who was the most important deity in the Assyrian pantheon.[31] Then, in
1230 BC, the Elamites attacked Nippur and the city fell into decline, taking the cult of Enlil along with it.[28]
Approximately one hundred years later, Enlil's role as the head of the pantheon was given to Marduk, the
national god of the Babylonians.[28][32] Enlil's importance in the pantheon significantly declined[32] and he
was sometimes assimilated as merely an aspect of Marduk.[32] Nonetheless, his temples continued
functioning throughout the Neo-Assyrian period (911 BC — 609 BC)[32] and even the Babylonians saw Anu
and Enlil as the ones who bestowed Marduk with his powers.[32] During the first millennium BC, the
Babylonians worshipped a deity under the title "Bel", meaning "lord", who was a syncretization of Enlil,
Marduk, and the dying god Dumuzid.[33][34] Bel held all the cultic titles of Enlil[34] and his status in the
Babylonian religion was largely the same.[34] Eventually, Bel came to be seen as the god of order and
destiny.[34] Meanwhile, Aššur continued to be known as "the Assyrian Enlil" or "the Enlil of the gods".[32]
After the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Enlil's statues were smashed and his temples were destroyed
because he had become inextricably associated with the Assyrians, who many conquered peoples hated.[32]
Enlil continued to be venerated under the name of Marduk until around 141 BC, when the cult of Marduk
fell into terminal decline, and was eventually largely forgotten.[32]
Iconography
Enlil was not represented anthropomorphically in Mesopotamian
iconography.[35] Instead, he was represented by a horned cap,[35]
which consisted of up to seven superimposed pairs of ox-horns.[36]
Such crowns were an important symbol of divinity;[37][38] gods had
been shown wearing them ever since the third millennium BC.[37]
The horned cap remained consistent in form and meaning from the
earliest days of Sumerian prehistory up until the time of the Persian
conquest and beyond.[37][15]
The Sumerians had a complex numerological system, in which Gudea dedication tablet to God
certain numbers were believed to hold special ritual significance. [39] Ningirsu: "For Ningirsu, Enlil's
Within this system, Enlil was associated with the number fifty, mighty warrior, his Master, Gudea,
[40] ensi of Lagash".
which was considered sacred to him. Enlil was part of a triad of
deities, which also included An and Enki.[41][42][43][44] These three
deities together were the embodiment of all the fixed stars in the
night sky.[45][43] An was identified with all the stars of the equatorial sky, Enlil with those of the northern
sky, and Enki with those of the southern sky.[45][43] The path of Enlil's celestial orbit was a continuous,
symmetrical circle around the north celestial pole,[46] but those of An and Enki were believed to intersect at
various points.[47] Enlil was associated with the constellation Boötes.[19]
Mythology
Origins myths
The main source of information about the Sumerian creation myth is the prologue to the epic poem
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (ETCSL 1.8.1.4
(http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1814.htm)),[48] which briefly describes the process of creation:
originally, there was only Nammu, the primeval sea.[49] Then, Nammu gave birth to An, the sky, and Ki, the
earth.[49] An and Ki mated with each other, causing Ki to give birth to Enlil.[49] Enlil separated An from Ki
and carried off the earth as his domain, while An carried off the sky.[50]
The story of Enlil's courtship with Ninlil is primarily a genealogical myth invented to explain the origins of
the moon-god Nanna, as well as the various gods of the Underworld,[51] but it is also, to some extent, a
coming-of-age story describing Enlil and Ninlil's emergence from adolescence into adulthood.[58] The story
also explains Ninlil's role as Enlil's consort; in the poem, Ninlil declares, "As Enlil is your master, so am I
also your mistress!"[59] The story is also historically significant because, if the current interpretation of it is
correct, it is the oldest known myth in which a god changes shape.[51]
Flood myth
In the later Akkadian version of the flood story, recorded in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enlil actually causes the
flood,[63] seeking to annihilate every living thing on earth because the humans, who are vastly
overpopulated, make too much noise and prevent him from sleeping.[64] In this version of the story, the hero
is Utnapishtim,[65] who is warned ahead of time by Ea, the Babylonian equivalent of Enki, that the flood is
coming.[66] The flood lasts for seven days; when it ends, Ishtar, who had mourned the destruction of
humanity,[67] promises Utnapishtim that Enlil will never cause a flood again.[68] When Enlil sees that
Utnapishtim and his family have survived, he is outraged,[69] but his son Ninurta speaks up in favor of
humanity, arguing that, instead of causing floods, Enlil should simply ensure that humans never become
overpopulated by reducing their numbers using wild animals and famines.[70] Enlil goes into the boat;
Utnapishtim and his wife bow before him.[70] Enlil, now appeased, grants Utnapishtim immortality as a
reward for his loyalty to the gods.[71]
Ninurta myths
A badly damaged text from the Neo-Assyrian Period (911 — 612 BC) describes Marduk leading his army of
Anunnaki into the sacred city of Nippur and causing a disturbance.[86] The disturbance causes a flood,[86]
which forces the resident gods of Nippur under the leadership of Enlil to take shelter in the Eshumesha
temple to Ninurta.[86] Enlil is enraged at Marduk's transgression and orders the gods of Eshumesha to take
Marduk and the other Anunnaki as prisoners.[86] The Anunnaki are captured,[86] but Marduk appoints his
front-runner Mushteshirhablim to lead a revolt against the gods of Eshumesha[87] and sends his messenger
Neretagmil to alert Nabu, the god of literacy.[87] When the Eshumesha gods hear Nabu speak, they come out
of their temple to search for him.[88] Marduk defeats the Eshumesha gods and takes 360 of them as prisoners
of war, including Enlil himself.[88] Enlil protests that the Eshumesha gods are innocent,[88] so Marduk puts
them on trial before the Anunnaki.[88] The text ends with a warning from Damkianna (another name for
Ninhursag) to the gods and to humanity, pleading them not to repeat the war between the Anunnaki and the
gods of Eshumesha.[88]
See also
Ancient Mesopotamian religion
El
Hymn to Enlil
Yahweh
Notes
a. Sumerian: 𒀭𒂗𒆤 dEN.LÍL, "Lord Wind"[1][2][3]
References
Citations
1. Halloran 2006. 37. Black & Green 1992, p. 98.
2. Holland 2009, p. 114. 38. Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 185.
3. Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 182. 39. McEvilley 2002, pp. 171–172.
4. Coleman & Davidson 2015, p. 108. 40. Röllig 1971, pp. 499–500.
5. Kramer 1983, pp. 115–121. 41. Tsumura 2005, p. 134.
6. van der Toorn, Becking & Willem 1999, 42. Delaporte 1996, p. 137.
p. 356. 43. Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 203.
7. Kramer 1963, p. 120. 44. Kramer 1963, pp. 118–122.
8. Hallo 1996, pp. 231–234. 45. Rogers 1998, p. 13.
9. Black & Green 1992, pp. 74 and 76. 46. Levenda 2008, p. 29.
10. Black & Green 1992, p. 74. 47. Levenda 2008, pp. 29–30.
11. Black & Green 1992, p. 53. 48. Kramer 1961, pp. 30–33.
12. Janzen 2004, p. 247. 49. Kramer 1961, pp. 37–40.
13. Kramer 1963, p. 123. 50. Kramer 1961, pp. 37–41.
14. Black & Green 1992, p. 94. 51. Kramer 1961, p. 43.
15. Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 186. 52. Jacobsen 1946, pp. 128–152.
16. Nemet-Nejat 1998, pp. 186–187. 53. Kramer 1961, p. 44.
17. Nemet-Nejat 1998, pp. 186–188. 54. Kramer 1961, pp. 44–45.
18. Kramer 1963, p. 119. 55. Kramer 1961, p. 45.
19. Black & Green 1992, p. 76. 56. Kramer 1961, p. 46.
20. Kramer 1963, p. 121. 57. Black, Cunningham & Robson 2006, p. 106.
21. Kramer 1963, pp. 119–121. 58. Leick 2013, p. 66.
22. Grottanelli & Mander 2005, p. 5,162a. 59. Leick 2013, p. 67.
23. Littleton 2005, pp. 480–482. 60. Kramer 1961, p. 97.
24. Littleton 2005, p. 482. 61. Kramer 1961, pp. 97–98.
25. Schneider 2011, p. 58. 62. Kramer 1961, p. 98.
26. Kramer 1963, p. 118. 63. Dalley 1989, p. 109.
27. Schneider 2011, pp. 58–59. 64. Dalley 1989, pp. 109–111.
28. Schneider 2011, p. 59. 65. Dalley 1989, pp. 109–110.
29. Archi 1990, p. 114. 66. Dalley 1989, pp. 110–111.
30. Black & Green 1992, p. 38. 67. Dalley 1989, p. 113.
31. Black & Green 1992, p. 37. 68. Dalley 1989, pp. 114–115.
32. Mark 2017. 69. Dalley 1989, p. 115.
33. Fontenrose 1980, p. 440. 70. Dalley 1989, pp. 115–116.
34. Doniger 1990, p. 120. 71. Dalley 1989, p. 116.
35. Moore 1977, p. 76. 72. Kramer 1961, p. 53.
36. Black & Green 1992, p. 102. 73. Kramer 1961, pp. 51–53.
74. Green 2003, p. 37. 82. Leick 1991, p. 9.
75. Hooke 2004. 83. Leick 1991, pp. 9–10.
76. Kramer 1961, p. 52. 84. Black & Green 1992, p. 173.
77. Kramer 1961, pp. 49–50. 85. Leick 1991, p. 10.
78. Kramer 1961, p. 50. 86. Oshima 2010, p. 145.
79. Kramer 1961, p. 51. 87. Oshima 2010, pp. 145–146.
80. Black & Green 1992, p. 142. 88. Oshima 2010, p. 146.
81. Penglase 1994, p. 68.
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External links
Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Enlil/Ellil (god) (http://oracc.museum.upenn.ed
u/amgg/listofdeities/enlil/)
Gateway to Babylon: "Enlil and Ninlil", trans. Thorkild Jacobsen (http://www.gatewaystobabylo
n.com/myths/texts/enlil/enlilninlil.htm).
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: "Enlil and Ninlil" (original Sumerian) (http://etcsl.
orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.2.1&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=c121.1#c121.
1) and English translation (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.2.1&display=Crit
&charenc=gcirc&lineid=t121.p1#t121.p1)
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: Sumerian Flood myth (original Sumerian) (htt
p://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.1.7.4&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=c174.
A.10#c174.A.10) and English translation (http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.7.
4&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=t174.p1#t174.p1)
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