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List of Mesopotamian deities

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The following is a list of Mesopotamian deities.

Major Deities

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  • Hadad (or Adad) - storm and rain god
  • Enlil (or Ashur) - god of air, head of the Assyrian and Sumerian pantheon
  • Anu (or An) - god of heaven and the sky, lord of constellations, and father of the gods
  • Dagon (or Dagan) - god of fertility
  • Enki (or Ea) - god of the Abzu, crafts, water, intelligence, mischief and creation and divine ruler of the Earth and its humans
  • Ereshkigal - goddess of Irkalla, the Underworld
  • Inanna (later known as Ishtar) - goddess of fertility, love, and war
  • Marduk - patron deity of Babylon who eventually became regarded as the head of the Babylonian pantheon
  • Nabu - god of wisdom and writing
  • Nanshe - goddess of prophecy, fertility and fish
  • Nergal - god of plague, war, and the sun in its destructive capacity; later husband of Ereshkigal
  • Ninhursag (or Mami, Belet-Ili, Ki, Ninmah, Nintu, or Aruru) - earth and mother goddess
  • Ninlil - goddess of the air; consort of Enlil
  • Ninurta - champion of the gods, the epitome of youthful vigor, and god of agriculture
  • Shamash (or Utu) - god of the sun, arbiter of justice and patron of travelers
  • Sin (or Nanna) - god of the moon
  • Tammuz (or Dumuzid) - god of food and vegetation

Minor deities

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This is only some of them. There are thousands. This is in Alphabetic order.

  • Abu - a minor god of vegetation
  • Ama-arhus - Akkadian fertility goddess; later merged into Ninhursag
  • Amasagnul - Akkadian fertility goddess
  • Amurru - god of the Amorite people
  • An - a goddess, possibly the female principle of Anu
  • Arah - the goddess of fate.
  • Asaruludu or Namshub - a protective deity
  • Ashnan - goddess of grain
  • Aya - a mother goddess and consort of Shamash
  • Azimua - a minor Sumerian goddess
  • Bau - dog-headed patron goddess of Lagash
  • Belet-Seri - recorder of the dead entering the underworld
  • Birdu - an underworld god; consort of Manungal and later syncretized with Nergal
  • Bunene - divine charioteer of Shamash
  • Damgalnuna - mother of Marduk
  • Damu - god of vegetation and rebirth; possibly a local offshoot of Dumuzi
  • Emesh - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for woods, fields, sheep folds, and stables
  • Enbilulu - god of rivers, canals, irrigation and farming
  • Endursaga - a herald god
  • Enkimdu - god of farming, canals and ditches
  • Enmesarra - an underworld god of the law, equated with Nergal
  • Ennugi - attendant and throne-bearer of Enlil
  • Enshag - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
  • Enten - god of vegetation, created to take responsibility on earth for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows, donkeys, birds
  • Erra - Akkadian god of mayhem and pestilence
  • Gaga - a minor deity featured in the Enûma Eliš
  • Gatumdag - a fertility goddess and tutelary mother goddess of Lagash
  • Geshtinanna - Sumerian goddess of wine and cold seasons, sister to man
  • Geshtu-E - minor god of intelligence
  • Gibil or Gerra - god of fire
  • Gugalanna - the Great Bull of Heaven, the constellation Taurus and the first husband of Ereshkigal
  • Gunara - a minor god of uncertain status
  • Hahanu - a minor god of uncertain status
  • Hani - an attendant of the storm god Adad
  • Hayasum - a minor god of uncertain status
  • Hegir-Nuna - a daughter of the goddess Bau
  • Hendursaga - god of law
  • Ilabrat - attendant and minister of state to Anu
  • Ishum - brother of Shamash and attendant of Erra
  • Isimud - two-faced messenger of Enki
  • Ištaran - god of the city of Der (Sumer)
  • Kabta - obscure god “Lofty one of heaven”
  • Kakka - attendant and minister of state to both Anu and Anshar
  • Kingu - consort of Tiamat; killed by Marduk, who used his blood to create mankind
  • Kubaba - tutelary goddess of the city of Carchemish
  • Kulla - god of bricks and building
  • Kus (god) - god of herdsmen
  • Lahar - god of cattle
  • Lugal-Irra - possibly a minor variation of Erra
  • Lulal - the younger son of Inanna; patron god of Bad-tibira
  • Mamitu - Sumerian goddess of fate
  • Manungal - an underworld goddess; consort of Birdu
  • Mandanu -god of divine judgment
  • Muati - obscure Sumerian god who became syncretized with Nabu
  • Mushdamma - god of buildings and foundations
  • Nammu - a creation goddess
  • Nanaya - goddess personifying voluptuousness and sensuality
  • Nazi - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
  • Negun - a minor goddess of uncertain status
  • Neti - a minor underworld god; the chief gatekeeper of the netherworld and the servant of Ereshkigal
  • Nibhaz - god of the Avim
  • Nidaba - goddess of writing, learning and the harvest
  • Namtar - minister of Ereshkigal
  • Nin-Ildu - god of carpenters
  • Nin-imma - goddess of the female sex organs
  • Ninazu - god of the underworld and healing
  • Nindub - god associated with the city Lagash
  • Ningal - goddess of reeds and consort of Nanna (Sin)
  • Ningikuga - goddess of reeds and marshes
  • Ningirama - god of magic and protector against snakes
  • Ningishzida - god of the vegetation and underworld
  • Ninkarnunna - god of barbers
  • Ninkasi - goddess of beer
  • Ninkilim - "Lord Rodent" god of vermin
  • Ninkurra - minor mother goddess
  • Ninmena - Sumerian mother goddess who became syncretized with Ninhursag
  • Ninsar - goddess of plants
  • Ninshubur - Sumerian messenger goddess and second-in-command to Inanna, later adapted by the Akkadians as the male god Papsukkal
  • Ninsun - "Lady Wild Cow"; mother of Gilgamesh
  • Ninsutu - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
  • Nintinugga - Babylonian goddess of healing
  • Nintulla - a minor deity born to relieve the illness of Enki
  • Nu Mus Da - patron god of the lost city of Kazallu
  • Nunbarsegunu - goddess of barley
  • Nusku - god of light and fire
  • Pabilsaĝ - tutelary god of the city of Isin
  • Pap-nigin-gara - Akkadian and Babylonian god of war, syncretized with Ninurta
  • Pazuzu - son of Hanbi, and king of the demons of the wind
  • Sarpanit - mother goddess and consort of Marduk
  • The Sebitti - a group of minor war gods
  • Shakka - patron god of herdsmen
  • Shala - goddess of war and grain
  • Shara - minor god of war and a son of Inanna
  • Sharra Itu - Sumerian fertility goddess
  • Shul-pa-e - astral and fertility god associated with the planet Jupiter
  • Shul-utula - personal deity to Entemena, king of the city of Eninnu
  • Shullat - minor god and attendant of Shamash
  • Shulmanu - god of the underworld, fertility and war
  • Shulsaga - astral goddess
  • Sirara - goddess of the Persian Gulf
  • Siris - god of beer
  • Sirsir - god of mariners and boatmen
  • Sirtir - goddess of sheep
  • Sumugan - god of the river plains
  • Tashmetum - consort of Nabu
  • Tishpak - tutelary god of the city of Eshnunna
  • Tutu - tutelary god of the city of Borsippa
  • Ua-Ildak - goddess responsible for pastures and poplar trees
  • Ukur - a god of the underworld
  • Uttu - goddess of weaving and clothing
  • Wer - a storm god linked to Adad
  • Zaqar - messenger of Sin who relays communication through dreams and nightmares

Primordial beings

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  • Abzu - the Ocean Below, the name for fresh water from underground aquifers; depicted as a deity only in the Babylonian creation epic Enûma Eliš
  • Anshar - god of the sky and male principle
  • Kishar - goddess of the earth and female principle
  • Kur - the first dragon, born of Abzu and Ma. Also Kur-gal, or Ki-gal the underworld
  • Lahamu - first-born daughter of Abzu and Tiamat
  • Lahmu - first-born son of Abzu and Tiamat; a protective and beneficent deity
  • Ma -primordial goddess of the earth
  • Mummu - god of crafts and technical skill
  • Tiamat - primordial goddess of the ocean

Demigods and Heroes

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  • Adapa - a hero who unknowingly refused the gift of immortality
  • The Apkallu - seven demigods created by the god Enki to give civilization to mankind
  • Gilgamesh - hero and king of Uruk; central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh
  • Enkidu - hero and companion of Gilgamesh
  • Enmerkar - the legendary builder of the city of Uruk
  • Lugalbanda - second king of Uruk, who ruled for 1,200 years
  • Utnapishtim - hero who survived a great flood and was granted immortality; character in the Epic of Gilgamesh

Spirits and demons

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  • Alû, demon of night
  • Asag - monstrous demon whose presence makes fish boil alive in the rivers
  • Asakku, evil demon(s)
  • The edimmu - ghosts of those who were not buried properly
  • Gallû, underworld demon
  • Hanbi or Hanpa - father of Pazuzu
  • Humbaba - guardian of the Cedar Forest
  • Lamashtu - a malevolent being who menaced women during childbirth
  • Lilû, wandering demon
  • Mukīl rēš lemutti demon of headaches
  • Pazuzu - king of the demons of the wind; he also represented the southwestern wind, the bearer of storms and drought
  • Rabisu - an evil vampiric spirit
  • Šulak the bathroom demon, “lurker” in the bathroom
  • Zu - divine storm-bird and the personification of the southern wind and the thunder clouds

Legendary beasts

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The eleven mythical monsters created by Tiāmat in the Epic of Creation, Enûma Eliš: