nanerta is the sumerian and acadian hero god of war hunting and the south wind also known
as ninjirsu pablsog and the biblical nimrod he originally appears in sumerian writings in the
early 3rd millennium bce as an agricultural god and local deity of the sumerian towns of jirsu
as ninja zoo and lorac as poblsak his function as a deity of agriculture shifted as mesopotamia
cities became more military and initiated conquering campaigns against one another
so in today's video we are going to be talking a ninerta the mesopotamian war god ninerta was the
son of enlil and near hersog or enlil and ninlil in various accounts gula the goddess of healing
was his wife but he was married to the goddess bao in earlier inscriptions as ninjirsu also known
as baba he was regularly invoked in magical spells to fend off danger demons and disease
despite his aggressive temperament he was also connected with healing and protection
thus his association with gula and was often involved in magical rituals to ward off danger
demons and disease he is most frequently depicted as a warrior with upraised wings a bow and arrow
and his legendary mace charour a weapon capable of speech and reason he stands or runs on the back
of a scorpion-tailed lion beast in babylonian art he was still associated with agriculture
growth and the harvest as laid as circa 1500 bce represented as a fully realized individual capable
of great feats yet flawed like any mortal asher nasser paul ii 884-859 bce erected a huge temple
in ziggurat to nunerta at asher nasser paul's ii's new city of kalu and the assyrian and neo-assyrian
empires welcomed him as the son of their deity asur seals from the period depict user as a winged
disc with nanerta's name beneath it implying that the two were almost equals between circa 3300 and
612 bce when the neo-assyrian empire succumbed to invaders ninerta was invoked by a number of
kingdoms and principalities in ancient mesopotamia whether for protection or military assistance
however early in his career he was portrayed as the polar antithesis of a war god
ninjirsu lord of jirsu was the god's original name in sumer and the earliest scriptures used this
name for the son of enlila ninlil although one myth suggests he's the son of enlil and a she-goat
gudia of lagash circa 2144-2124 bce known for his piety and dedication to the gods committed
himself to ninjirsu and his successor earned injirsu would honor him by taking the god's name
gudia is most known for the gudiya cylinders a pair of terracotta cylinders about 2125 bce that
describe his dream in the building of ninjirsu's temple the longest sumerian book ever unearthed
by the second millennium bce ninjirsu had already established himself as a battle deity
as evidenced by his appearance in the babylonian book the epoch of anzu during the first millennium
bce ninjirsu's name was changed to ninerta and the narrative was rewritten by circa 2600 bce
the god was already recognized by this latter name whose meaning is uncertain and while ninjirsu
was still mentioned in sumer ninerta was the name most mesopotamians knew and used ninerta remained
associated with agriculture despite his status as a powerful warrior god a champion of the gods
and defender of humans the sumerians are well known for their technological advancements
which were particularly useful in the early stages of agriculture this manual the world's earliest
farmers almanac dates from between 1700 and 1500 bce and begins with the statement quote in days of
yore a farmer trained his son almost like a fairy tale before moving on to practical advice on how
to get the most out of the land the article goes into great detail about how to prepare the soil
plant the seed even drive away birds and harvest the produce properly although it appears that this
guidance is being delivered by a father to his son throughout the 35 lines of writing the tablet
concludes ninerta and lil's son has given these teachings your praise is well deserved ninurta and
leo's dependable farmer the farmer's instructions to his son were thus granted divine sanction
ninerta's power and status in the mesopotamian pantheon would have given text credited to him
great weight especially since he would have had to take time away from heroic deeds to offer his
advice ninerta's tales are similar to those of the babylonian deity marduk and the later greek hero
heracles roman hercules in that he prevails over the forces of chaos and restores order like marduk
but his hubris like hercules can get the better of him at times the anzu bird had stolen the tablets
of destiny from enlil in the epic of anzu also known as the defeat of zoo these tablets contain
the fates of gods and mortals as well as the legitimacy of whoever wields them the anzu bird
a supernatural creature of tremendous size waits for the opportunity to steal the tablets and one
day when enlil is washing his face the bird swoops in and steals them he takes off while imlil seeks
assistance from the other gods ninerta is the only one who steps forward to chase the enzo
the tablets of destiny on the other hand have the ability to turn back time so when ninurta
shoots his arrows at the bird they disintegrate in midair and revert to their original components
the shafts to the cane break the feathers to birds and the tip to the quarry erderta's bow
like the bowstring may be traced back to the woods the anzu drives niner to back
but he summons the south wind which shreds the bird's wings off and drops him to the ground
ninerta then slashes the anzu's throat and returns to enlil with the tablets of destiny
in the poem lugale also known as the exploits of ninerto the hero must confront assag also
known as ag a demon of sickness and disease who dwells in the underworld this struggle
is started by ninerta's mace shiror who urges him to fight the demon by complimenting niner ninerta
strength courage and skill as well as informing him how easy it will be to vanquish the enemy
nenerta travels to battle with a sock but the demon isn't alone he's gathered an army of rock
monsters and rebellious plants to pursue the hero lenerta is terrified the text says he flees like
a bird but geror encourages him to turn around and face his foes reminding him of his former
glories and the immense fame he will achieve if he succeeds ninerta uses his mace huge bow and other
weapons in his belt to defeat a sog in his army assag and his followers on the other hand kept
the underworld's primordial waters in control and their deaths caused the brackish waters to rise
and flood the land nothing can grow since there isn't enough fresh water to sustain the crops
dunerta gathered his enemies bodies and built a wall around the land then stacked them higher
into a mountain to keep the underworld's waters at bay and finally elevated the river
tigris to irrigate the area what do you think of this video let us know in the comments below
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