As with many of the Mesopotamian deities,
their function, nature and even their names could differ depending on the region in question,
where worship and significance of said deity could fluctuate quite dramatically. For example,
the deity known as Utu - a solar deity of justice and also a judge in the Underworld, was considered
by the Sumerians to be the son of the moon God Nanna and the twin brother of the goddess of love,
sex and war - Inaana. But to the Akkadians, Utu was actually a son of the sky God Anu,
or a son of the earth god Enlil - he who was one of the most revered deities of the pantheon.
Along with this, the Sumerians and the Akkadians referred to Utu by two very different names,
with the Sumerians opting to go with ‘Utu’ and the Akkadians to go with ‘Šamaš.
Yet, despite these differences, there was some common ground as to Utu’s role in the mythology,
where he was worshipped amongst yet another trinity consisting of Nanna
and Inanna - one that seemed to operate in parallel to the trinity of Anu,
Enlil and Enki. Whilst Anu, Enlil and Enki were associated with constellations in the sky,
the worship of Utu, Nanna and Inanna appears to be reserved to temples - despite Utu being
one of the very first deities mentioned in documents daring as far back as 3500 BC.
What’s interesting about Utu is that he actually had two temples - one located in the ancient city
of Sippar on the east Euphratean bank, that which was the Akkadian monument to him, and one located
in ancient Sumerian city of Larsa - that which was the Sumerian cult centre for the god.
Both temples actually shared the same name of ‘E-babbar’, meaning ‘White House’
or ‘Shining House’ and these temples saw activity long after the end of Mesopotamian culture,
proving that despite the decline of the gods, Utu maintained a prominent or at least,
revered function in society as a solar deity. In what we have in terms of Sumerian text and art,
we understand Utu was bearded and that he possessed long arms. From around these long arms
and from his shoulders, rays of sunlight were thought to cascade.
But he is also often depicted in the form of a symbol, that being a solar disc, shown as a circle
with four points protruding outwards. This is also accompanied by smaller wavy lines
that flow diagonally outwards which represent the warmth, light and reach of the sun.
As the sun God, he was believed to have ridden out from the doors of heaven
in his chariot and strode across the sky before returning to heaven through a set of doors
in the far west, thus bringing nightfall. It was believed that at each door,
two lesser gods were responsible for opening the doors upon his emergence.
As he rode through the sky, it was believed that Utu saw everything that happened in the
world - something which he kept a key eye on given that it was believed that come nightfall,
he would descend to the underworld to cast judgement on the damned, alongside the sons of Anu
known as the Anunnaki. With this duty, he had also been known as a god of truth and justice,
for it is here in the Underworld that he would determine the truths of those being questioned,
having already known the truth from his journey across the sky, and would dispense judgment
where appropriate.Yet, despite this idea of Utu being an underworld judge, he was considered to
otherwise be a kind god who gave generously to his worshippers. Whilst in the Underworld,
he would sleep only to be awakened by his wife Serida at the crack of dawn, where he would set
off again across the sky to bring daytime. With this idea, Utu’s function was paramount
in terms of survival for humanity, when you consider that he was responsible
for bringing the rise of the sun. Yet, he was also a determinant of their fate when they died,
suggesting that Utu was indeed a very integral part in the lives (and deaths) of humans.
We see him take something of interest in human affairs - most notably in the mythologies,
where he also plays a role in the flood story. After Enlil has flooded the earth,
and after Enki has hidden the hero Utnapishtim from the onslaught, Utnapishtim sees Utu flying by
and thus knows it is safe to emerge. With this, he kneels to Utu and prostrates before him,
where he goes on to sacrifice a sheep and an ox in appreciation of the sun god.
Meanwhile, in the Sumerian poem of Gilgamesh and Huwawa, we see the hero Gilgamesh ask
Utu to assist him on his journey to the Cedar Mountain in his quest for fame.
Because this mountain was located in the far east where Utu rose in the morning, it was believed by
Gilgamesh that this mountain was associated with him and so, who better to help him get there?
But Utu, despite his known generosity to the humans is unwilling to aid the hero,
showing us that much like the other gods of the Pantheon,
it was not above Utu to reject the whims of the humans if their requests did not suit his mood.
But Utu is eventually won over by Gilgamesh who declares that reaching the Mountain is imperative
for him, for it will help garner him a reputation in his limited mortal life - something that Utu
must empathise with, given his own immortality. He decides to help Gilgamesh after all,
whereupon reaching the Cedar Mountain, even helps Gilgamesh defeat the ogre Huwawa who lived there.
Yet in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Babylonian standard account which also features this tale,
the Cedar Mountain is located in the north west and of course in this account, Utu is referred to
as Shamash. In much later versions of Gilgamesh story, Shamash becomes the initiator of this quest
and it is no longer a journey undertaken by Gilgamesh in an effort to establish fame,
but instead Shamash’s own desire to see Huwawa or Humbaba in the Babylonian version, slain.
But it isn’t just humans that Utu appears to take an interest in, but also animals too. In the
Myth of Etana, it is told that there was once a tree with an eagle’s nest at the top and a serpent
that slithered at the base. Now, the serpent and the eagle had already promised Utu that they
would not antagonise one another and that they would share the food of the land. But one day,
the eagle ate the serpent’s eggs. Distraught over this, the serpent cries to Utu, who tells the
serpent to hide inside the stomach of a dead bull. When the serpent descends to consume the flesh of
the bull, the serpent is given the blessing of Utu to capture the eagle and throw it into a pit
to die of starvation. In this, he serves much as he does in the Underworld - a judge.
He deems the transgressions of the eagle to be punishable and elects the serpent to
carry out the punishment. Yet, he is seen to still be a generous and merciful God,
for after the eagle has been cast into this pit, Utu sends the hero Etana to rescue the eagle.
Interestingly, the eagle later helps Etana reach the heavens to acquire
the plant of birth - that which he uses to help facilitate the conceiving of a child.
The elements of a bird and a serpent are also carried over
into another story featuring Utu’s sister Inanna, known as Inanna and the Huluppu-Tree.
Here, we see the goddess plant a tree in her patron city of Uruk,
for which she plans to nurture with the intention of using its wood to make herself a throne.
But in the years taken to care for the tree, a snake was able to build a nest in its roots
while a bird was able to make its home in the branches.
Coincidentally, an evil spirit known as a Lillitu was also able to claim the tree as its home
and burrowed itself deep within the centre of the bark. When Inanna learned of the presence
of these inhabitants, she became very upset and cried all night until dawn.
When dawn came, she noticed Utu soaring across the sky
as he began his journey from the east to the west. Hoping he would help her in her predicament,
she called out to him and told him of the unwanted guests in her tree.
But Utu was far less sympathetic than he’s appeared in the previous tales we’ve spoken about
and here, he puts his duty first and tells her there is nothing that he can do,
for he must complete the journey to once again bring nightfall. Furthermore,
he indicates that even if he could stop, he probably wouldn’t because this clearly
wasn’t something he really cared about. So Inanna turned to Gilgamesh for help,
who killed the snake, scared off the bird and banished the evil Lillitu spirit. Afterwards,
he even cut the wood from the tree and presented it to Inanna, so she could have her throne.
Utu’s reluctance to help Inanna in this episode isn’t just necessarily uncharacteristic of his
usual compassion, but also uncharacteristic of his usual relationship with his sister,
which is often described as being close or in some interpretations, even ‘incestuous’.
But in any case, you might say that Utu knew that Inanna’s need for assistance was not because she
was in danger or in any real plight, but merely because she wanted something and couldn’t have it.
Therefore, he deemed her request as juvenile and left it to someone like Gilgamesh to tend to
instead. Basically, helping his sister acquire the materials for her throne
was not as imperative as bringing nightfall, so with that, Utu shunned her.
As far as his relationships go, we also understand that Utu was married to Sherida - a goddess of
beauty, fertility and sex. It is understood that between them, they had two children:
the goddess Kittu, thought to be a goddess of truth and the god Misharu, thought to be a god
of justice. This of course is a parallel to Utu’s role as a god of truth and justice and it makes
sense that his children would reflect the two elements most associated with him. There’s also
a case for a third child in Bunene, the charioteer of Utu who accompanies him across the sky.
Interestingly, Bunene was worshipped in the regions of Sippar
and Uruk during the Old Babylonian period as none other than a god of justice.
But do let me know in the comments of any other stories of Utu that I
might’ve missed and as always, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode, then don’t forget
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Until next time