In Mesopotamian mythology, the moon god was considered to be a protective deity - a guardian,
if you will, of his followers, particularly those in the region of Ur where his great temple
and cult centre resided. His reach and significance spanned drastically
across the Mesopotamian pantheon and he was frequently listed alongside the likes of Anu,
Enki, his father Enlil, and his daughter Inanna.
Across the regions of Akadia, Babylonia and Sumeria, Nanna was known by several different
names including Nannar, Nanna-Suen, and Sin - or as ‘the illuminator’. Amongst these territories,
he would maintain the position as ‘moon god’ and was often dubbed as a ‘god of wisdom.’
There was also the epithet ‘Enzu’ - the Lord of Wisdom, which was also associated with Nanna.
It’s understood that like the aforementioned gods, he was one of the oldest and appears to
be mentioned in ancient writings that span as far back as the year 3500 BCE. In fact, by the third
period in the city of Ur, somewhere between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE, there were many hymns and
inscriptions written of him, thus confirming his status as a chief god of the pantheon.
Of course, his highly reputable status comes as no surprise when you consider his father,
Enlil - he who was celebrated for many years in Mesopotamia as the god of all gods. We
first see mention of Nanna’s parents in the Sumerian myth Enlil and Ninill,
which describes the seduction of mother Ninlil and how she gives birth to several sons including
Nergal, Ninurta, and Enbililu, but of these sons, it is Nanna who was considered to be the
most important - likely on the account that he was the first born. Whilst on the subject of family,
we understand that Nanna’s wife, the goddess of reeds Ningal, also gave birth to his more famous
children Inanna the goddess of love and war, Ereshkigal the goddess of the Underworld and Utu,
the god of the sun. Historians have suggested that some practical thought had gone into the
belief that Nanna was Utu’s father and propose that because the moon was important to travellers
who moved by night, that helped them determine which month it was. This was believed to
have been Nanna guiding people throughout the wilderness and granting them a sense of bearing.
Of course, once travellers were settled within a community, they no longer needed the moon
for this purpose and thus, the sun became a far more important essence in the growing of crops.
Therefore, transition from wilderness to society saw Utu become a more recognised deity as the sun
god and so, some might say that a parallel can be drawn between man finding a home and the birth of
Utu. In some traditions, we also see Iskur featured amongst his descendants, (sometimes
known as Adad) who was the god of storms. In the ancient times, Nanna’s primary
symbol was considered to be a bull - or, the horn of a bull which when rotated
made the shape of a crescent moon. But his link to bulls or cows for that matter does not end here,
for we know from the text ‘A Cow of Sin’ - a magical-medical text, speaks of the story of
Nanna’s magical cow ‘Geme-Sin’. The cow was described as being pregnant and was enduring
tremendous pain during his pregnancy, but Nanna, or ‘Sin’ is seen to erase the cow’s discomfort.
The text implies that Sin also had the ability to remove the pain a human woman might face
during her pregnancy, which leads to the idea that amongst his duties pertaining to wisdom,
Sin was also a fertility god by easing the pangs and woes of childbirth. This would
also correlate with the realm of his daughter Inanna who was also named as a fertility goddess.
One might also say that given the moon is connected to the menstrual cycle in some cultures,
Sin or Nanna certainly has some influence over reproduction, menstruation and bodily health.
This is much unlike Utu, he is physically seen charioteering the sun across the sky in some
of the mythological tales. Nanna on the other hand does not seem to physically move the moon
or dictate its course across the sky. Whilst depictions of Nanna are quite rare,
he was thought to have maintained a beard of lapis lazuli, a deep blue metamorphic rock
and would ride on a winged bull or sometimes a beast that was part lion and part dragon.
In some astral-theological systems, he is represented by number 30 and as you might imagine
is consolidated with the moon with the average number of days in a lunar month equalling 30. He
was also thought to have been seen riding the night’s sky similarly to his son Utu,
though where Utu could be found in a chariot, Nanna was found in a barge or a small boat.
As mentioned, the Sumerian city state of Ur was the cult centre for Nanna and also where his main
temple was situated - that which was known as Ekisnugal, or ‘The House of the Great Light’.
It was at this temple in Ur where the role of the ‘En-Priestess’ was established- that which was a
role conducted by the daughter of the Akkadian King in power. Most notably, by the daughter
of Sargon the Great, the princess Enheduanna, who was recognised as maintaining this role.
In fact, on the topic of Sargon the Great, it would become apparent that the king revered
Nanna - or ‘Sin’ with the utmost diligence and the moon god’s wisdom was honoured by not just him,
but also his descendants. In fact, his grandson would even adopt the name
Naram-Sin in honour of the moon God before ascending to the throne,
showing that the kings of Akkadia, at some point, owed much of their glory to this very deity.
Given how highly the Akkadian royalty thought of Sin, it’s probable that the god was regarded as
the head of the pantheon (or the ‘father of gods’) during this time, where the region of Ur held
dominion over the Euphrates valley in the years 2600-2400 BCE. Naturally, the consolidation of the
Akkadian empire did not begin until the year 2300 BCE, so it’s interesting to note that it was Sin,
a god that is much less remembered when compared to the likes of Enlil and Enki,
that spurred on the conquests that saw the Akkadians become the first rulers of Mesopotamia.
As the more devoted worshippers of the moon god, the Akkadians also knew Sin by a few other names
including ‘Asimbabbar’ meaning ‘the embellisher’ and ‘Namrasit’ meaning ‘who shines forth’
Sanctuaries in the Sumerian city state of Nippur also shared the same name and were used as places
of worship for the moon god, but there were said to be many of these temples throughout
both Akkadian and Babylionian regions. Another more famous temple that was dedicated to him was
situated at Harran in modern-day Syria. Whilst the Akkadians revered Nanna,
or Sin, as the chief of the gods, the Babylonians would come to view him with some differences.
To them, Nanna was the son of the usurper god Marduk, who with the decline of Enlil
would assume his position as head of the pantheon. It was believed by the Babylonians that Marduk had
created Nanna with the intention of placing him in the sky to serve as the moon. Additionally,
eclipses were worked into a narrative whereby demons had descended upon Nanna in an effort
to steal his moonlight. With his father Marduk, Nanna would do battle with the demons in the sky
and upon victory, natural light would be restored. Additionally, there are other ideas
that upon lunar eclipses, Nanna would descend into the Underworld where like his son Utu,
he would serve as a judge for the deceased. It’s understood that Nanna’s wife Ningal
may also have served alongside him in his duties in the underworld,
though this is just speculation based on a set of artifacts known as the ‘eyes of Ningal’ which
are specially crafted clay eye models infused with semi-precious stones. The use of these eyes in the
age of Mesopotamia is very much unclear, though one might suggest it represented the eyes of the
gods - the eyes of Ningal specifically, who along with her husband were always watching the mortals
and thus were in a reliable position to judge a person with the utmost accuracy.
As far as the mythology goes, Nanna or Sin are spoken of in the Epic of Gilgamesh
where he is noted as being the father of both Inanna and Utu, or Ishtar and Shamash.
We even see Gilgamesh compose a song for Nanna where he praises the god for the series of events
in his life, as well the opportunities the god has provided for him to grow. It’s also supposed
that Gilgamesh praised Nanna as Nanna was able to see his future and thus, guided Gilgamesh through
various points of his story in order to ensure he achieved the best possible outcomes. With this,
it is also believed that Nanna was something of a divinity god - a god who could understand
exactly where man was heading, both as a species and individually and therefore could be appeased
to in order to garner wisdom for future events. Meanwhile, in the poem The Journey of Nanna to
Nippur, we see more of the relationship unfold between him and his father Enlil. In this poem, we
see Nanna loading his boat at his patron city of Ur as he prepares to visit his father at Nippur.
He fills his boat with several gifts to present to his father including trees, plants and animals
and proceeds across the sky, taking moments to stop at several cities along the way
to pay respects to the other gods. When he gets to Nippur, he and Enlil feast for a great many days.
Afterwards, Nanna asks his father for a favour. He asks for the river to be filled with sweet water,
for the fields to produce a healthy harvest, for honey, wine and a long
life for which to enjoy them. Enlil grants his son this favour and Nanna returns to Ur.
It is believed that this poem reflects Nanna’s association with fertility and that by dealing
with Enlil, the god of all gods, and thus, the one with enough power to grant anything,
Nanna achieves an environment for the humans in which they can thrive. He is able to bargain not
just for clean water and an abundant harvest, for which was necessary for human life, but also honey
and wine - commodities, if you will, that would give the humans a sense of luxury.
He not only seeks to ensure humanity’s survival, but also seeks to ensure that they enjoy life and
live long enough to feel content. It might also be said then that Nanna was a god of
giving - a god of gifts, even - who cared deeply for humanity and provided for them in abundance.
It is therefore not surprising to find Nanna in the position to determine the fate of humanity, on
the account that he not only knows their future, but also is responsible for them in some capacity,
for it is by his hand that they enjoy certain comforts such as alcohol. As a judge in the
underworld, it would have been quite fitting, and perhaps comforting for the Mesopotamians
to have Nanna decreeing their fate, for the god certainly had a liking for humanity and would have
wanted the best outcome for each individual man. Yet, if Nanna determined for someone to suffer,
there could be no doubt that the person deserved it, especially considering how like Enki worked
against Enlil to save humanity in the flood, Nanna also goes the extra mile for them too.
Like with many of the gods from this era, we understand the scope of which Nanna was
incorporated into the Akkadian Empire and how the god transcended civilisations by making his way
into the Assyiran Empire over a thousand years later. But when the Assyrian Empire collapsed,
many of the deities lost their imperativeness. Nanna however survived and was worshipped in
what is now modern day Syria and as recent as the third century of the common era.
Let me know what you thought about Nanna in the comments below and as always,
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