Английская Википедия:Enlil
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:About Шаблон:Redirect Шаблон:Good article Шаблон:Infobox deity Шаблон:SpecialChars Enlil,Шаблон:Efn later known as Elil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms.Шаблон:Snf He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon,Шаблон:Snf but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Babylonian national god Marduk.
Enlil plays a vital role in the Sumerian creation myth; he separates An (heaven) from Ki (earth), thus making the world habitable for humans. In the Sumerian flood myth, Enlil rewards Ziusudra with immortality for having survived the flood and, in the Babylonian flood myth, Enlil is the cause of the flood himself, having sent the flood to exterminate the human race, who made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping. The myth of Enlil and Ninlil is about Enlil's serial seduction of the goddess Ninlil in various guises, resulting in the conception of the moon-god Nanna and the Underworld deities Nergal, Ninazu, and Enbilulu. Enlil was regarded as the inventor of the mattock and the patron of agriculture. Enlil also features prominently in several myths involving his son Ninurta, including Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies and Lugale.
Etymology
Enlil's name comes from ancient Sumerian EN (𒂗), meaning "lord" and LÍL (𒆤), the meaning of which is contentious,[1]Шаблон:Sfn[2] and which has sometimes been interpreted as meaning winds as a weather phenomenon (making Enlil a weather and sky god, "Lord Wind" or "Lord Storm"),[3]Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn or alternatively as signifying a spirit or phantom whose presence may be felt as stirring of the air, or possibly as representing a partial Semitic loanword rather than a Sumerian word at all.[4] Enlil's name is not a genitive construction,Шаблон:Snf suggesting that Enlil was seen as the personification of LÍL rather than merely the cause of LÍL.Шаблон:Snf
Piotr Steinkeller has written that the meaning of LÍL may not actually be a clue to a specific divine domain of Enlil's, whether storms, spirits, or otherwise, since Enlil may have been "a typical universal god [...] without any specific domain."[5]
Worship
Enlil was the patron god of the Sumerian city-state of NippurШаблон:Snf and his main center of worship was the Ekur temple located there.Шаблон:Snf The name of the temple literally means "Mountain House" in ancient Sumerian.Шаблон:Snf The Ekur was believed to have been built and established by Enlil himself.Шаблон:Snf It was believed to be the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth,Шаблон:Snf meaning that it was seen as "a channel of communication between earth and heaven".Шаблон:Snf A hymn written during the reign of Ur-Nammu, the founder of the Third Dynasty of Ur, describes the E-kur in great detail, stating that its gates were carved with scenes of Imdugud, a lesser deity sometimes shown as a giant bird, slaying a lion and an eagle snatching up a sinner.Шаблон:Snf
The Sumerians believed that the sole purpose of humanity's existence was to serve the gods.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn They thought that a god's statue was a physical embodiment of the god himself.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn As such, cult statues were given constant care and attentionШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and a set of priests were assigned to tend to them.Шаблон:Sfn People worshipped Enlil by offering food and other human necessities to him.Шаблон:Sfn The food, which was ritually laid out before the god's cult statue in the form of a feast,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn was believed to be Enlil's daily meal,Шаблон:Sfn but, after the ritual, it would be distributed among his priests.Шаблон:Sfn These priests were also responsible for changing the cult statue's clothing.Шаблон:Sfn
The Sumerians envisioned Enlil as a benevolent, fatherly deity, who watches over humanity and cares for their well-being.Шаблон:Sfn One Sumerian hymn describes Enlil as so glorious that even the other gods could not look upon him.Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn The same hymn also states that, without Enlil, civilization could not exist.Шаблон:Sfn Enlil's epithets include titles such as "the Great Mountain" and "King of the Foreign Lands".Шаблон:Snf Enlil is also sometimes described as a "raging storm", a "wild bull", and a "merchant".Шаблон:Snf The Mesopotamians envisioned him as a creator, a father, a king, and the supreme lord of the universe.Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn He was also known as "Nunamnir"Шаблон:Snf and is referred to in at least one text as the "East Wind and North Wind".Шаблон:Snf
Kings regarded Enlil as a model ruler and sought to emulate his example.Шаблон:Snf Enlil was said to be supremely justШаблон:Sfn and intolerant towards evil.Шаблон:Sfn Rulers from all over Sumer would travel to Enlil's temple in Nippur to be legitimized.Шаблон:Snf They would return Enlil's favor by devoting lands and precious objects to his temple as offerings.Шаблон:Snf Nippur was the only Sumerian city-state that never built a palace;Шаблон:Sfn this was intended to symbolize the city's importance as the center of the cult of Enlil by showing that Enlil himself was the city's king.Шаблон:Sfn Even during the Babylonian Period, when Marduk had superseded Enlil as the supreme god, Babylonian kings still traveled to the holy city of Nippur to seek recognition of their right to rule.Шаблон:Snf
Enlil first rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC, when the importance of the god An began to wane.Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn During this time period, Enlil and An are frequently invoked together in inscriptions.Шаблон:Snf Enlil remained the supreme god in Mesopotamia throughout the Amorite Period,Шаблон:Snf with Amorite monarchs proclaiming Enlil as the source of their legitimacy.Шаблон:Snf Enlil's importance began to wane after the Babylonian king Hammurabi conquered Sumer.Шаблон:Snf The Babylonians worshipped Enlil under the name "Elil"Шаблон:Snf and the Hurrians syncretized him with their own god Kumarbi.Шаблон:Snf In one Hurrian ritual, Enlil and Apantu are invoked as "the father and mother of Išḫara".Шаблон:Sfn Enlil is also invoked alongside Ninlil as a member of "the mighty and firmly established gods".Шаблон:Sfn
During the Kassite Period (Шаблон:Circa 1592–1155 BC), Nippur briefly managed to regain influence in the region and Enlil rose to prominence once again.Шаблон:Snf From around 1300 BC onwards, Enlil was syncretized with the Assyrian national god Aššur,Шаблон:Snf who was the most important deity in the Assyrian pantheon.Шаблон:Snf Then, in 1230 BC, the Elamites attacked Nippur and the city fell into decline, taking the cult of Enlil along with it.Шаблон:Snf Approximately one hundred years later, Enlil's role as the head of the pantheon was given to Marduk, the national god of the Babylonians.Шаблон:Snf
Iconography
Enlil was represented by the symbol of a horned cap, which consisted of up to seven superimposed pairs of ox-horns.Шаблон:Sfn Such crowns were an important symbol of divinity;Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn gods had been shown wearing them ever since the third millennium BC.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
The Sumerians had a complex numerological system, in which certain numbers were believed to hold special ritual significance.Шаблон:Sfn Within this system, Enlil was associated with the number fifty, which was considered sacred to him.Шаблон:Snf Enlil was part of a triad of deities, which also included An and Enki.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn These three deities together were the embodiment of all the fixed stars in the night sky.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The path of Enlil's celestial orbit was a continuous, symmetrical circle around the north celestial pole,Шаблон:Sfn but those of An and Enki were believed to intersect at various points.Шаблон:Sfn Enlil was associated with the constellation Boötes.Шаблон:Sfn
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),Шаблон:Snf which briefly describes the process of creation: originally, there was only Nammu, the primeval sea.Шаблон:Sfn Then, Nammu gave birth to An, the sky, and Ki, the earth.Шаблон:Snf An and Ki mated with each other, causing Ki to give birth to Enlil.Шаблон:Snf Enlil separated An from Ki and carried off the earth as his domain, while An carried off the sky.Шаблон:Snf Enlil marries his mother, Ki, and from this union all the plant and animal life on earth is produced.[6]
Enlil and Ninlil (ETCSL 1.2.1) is a nearly complete 152-line Sumerian poem describing the affair between Enlil and the goddess Ninlil.Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Snf First, Ninlil's mother Nunbarshegunu instructs Ninlil to go bathe in the river.Шаблон:Snf Ninlil goes to the river, where Enlil seduces her and impregnates her with their son, the moon-god Nanna.Шаблон:Snf Because of this, Enlil is banished to Kur, the Sumerian underworld.Шаблон:Snf Ninlil follows Enlil to the underworld, where he impersonates the "man of the gate".Шаблон:Snf Ninlil demands to know where Enlil has gone, but Enlil, still impersonating the gatekeeper, refuses to answer.Шаблон:Snf He then seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with Nergal, the god of death.Шаблон:Snf The same scenario repeats, only this time Enlil instead impersonates the "man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring river"; once again, he seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with the god Ninazu.Шаблон:Snf Finally, Enlil impersonates the "man of the boat"; once again, he seduces Ninlil and impregnates her with Enbilulu, the "inspector of the canals".Шаблон:Snf
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,Шаблон:Snf but it is also, to some extent, a coming-of-age story describing Enlil and Ninlil's emergence from adolescence into adulthood.Шаблон:Sfn 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!"Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Snf
Flood myth
In the Sumerian version of the flood story (ETCSL 1.7.4), the causes of the flood are unclear because the portion of the tablet recording the beginning of the story has been destroyed.Шаблон:Snf Somehow, a mortal known as Ziusudra manages to survive the flood, likely through the help of the god Enki.Шаблон:Snf The tablet begins in the middle of the description of the flood.Шаблон:Snf The flood lasts for seven days and seven nights before it subsides.Шаблон:Snf Then, Utu, the god of the Sun, emerges.Шаблон:Snf Ziusudra opens a window in the side of the boat and falls down prostrate before the god.Шаблон:Snf Next, he sacrifices an ox and a sheep in honor of Utu.Шаблон:Snf At this point, the text breaks off again.Шаблон:Snf When it picks back up, Enlil and An are in the midst of declaring Ziusudra immortal as an honor for having managed to survive the flood. The remaining portion of the tablet after this point is destroyed.Шаблон:Snf
In the later Akkadian version of the flood story, recorded in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enlil actually causes the flood,Шаблон:Snf seeking to annihilate every living thing on earth because the humans, who are vastly overpopulated, make too much noise and prevent him from sleeping.Шаблон:Snf In this version of the story, the hero is Utnapishtim,Шаблон:Snf who is warned ahead of time by Ea, the Babylonian equivalent of Enki, that the flood is coming.Шаблон:Snf The flood lasts for seven days; when it ends, Ishtar, who had mourned the destruction of humanity,Шаблон:Snf promises Utnapishtim that Enlil will never cause a flood again.Шаблон:Snf When Enlil sees that Utnapishtim and his family have survived, he is outraged,Шаблон:Snf 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.Шаблон:Snf Enlil goes into the boat; Utnapishtim and his wife bow before him.Шаблон:Snf Enlil, now appeased, grants Utnapishtim immortality as a reward for his loyalty to the gods.Шаблон:Snf
Chief god and arbitrator
Шаблон:Rquote A nearly complete 108-line poem from the Early Dynastic Period (Шаблон:Circa 2900–2350 BC) describes Enlil's invention of the mattock,Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn a key agricultural pick, hoe, ax, or digging tool of the Sumerians.Шаблон:SnfШаблон:Sfn In the poem, Enlil conjures the mattock into existence and decrees its fate.Шаблон:Snf The mattock is described as gloriously beautiful; it is made of pure gold and its head is carved from lapis lazuli.Шаблон:Snf Enlil gives the tool over to the humans, who use it to build cities,Шаблон:Snf subjugate their people,Шаблон:Snf and pull up weeds.Шаблон:Snf Enlil was believed to aid in the growth of plants.Шаблон:Snf
The Sumerian poem Enlil Chooses the Farmer–God (ETCSL 5.3.3) describes how Enlil, hoping "to establish abundance and prosperity", creates two gods Emesh and Enten, a shepherd and a farmer, respectively.Шаблон:Snf The two gods argue and Emesh lays claim to Enten's position.Шаблон:Snf They take the dispute before Enlil, who rules in favor of Enten;Шаблон:Snf the two gods rejoice and reconcile.Шаблон:Snf
Ninurta myths
In the Sumerian poem Lugale (ETCSL 1.6.2), Enlil gives advice to his son, the god Ninurta, advising him on a strategy to slay the demon Asag.Шаблон:Snf This advice is relayed to Ninurta by way of Sharur, his enchanted talking mace, which had been sent by Ninurta to the realm of the gods to seek counsel from Enlil directly.Шаблон:Snf
In the Old, Middle, and Late Babylonian myth of Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies, the Anzû, a giant, monstrous bird,Шаблон:Snf betrays Enlil and steals the Tablet of Destinies,Шаблон:Snf a sacred clay tablet belonging to Enlil that grants him his authority,Шаблон:Snf while Enlil is preparing for a bath.Шаблон:Snf The rivers dry up and the gods are stripped of their powers.Шаблон:Snf The gods send Adad, Girra, and Shara to defeat the Anzû,Шаблон:Snf but all of them fail.Шаблон:Snf Finally, Ea proposes that the gods should send Ninurta, Enlil's son.Шаблон:Snf Ninurta successfully defeats the Anzû and returns the Tablet of Destinies to his father.Шаблон:Snf As a reward, Ninurta is granted a prominent seat on the council of the gods.Шаблон:Snf
War of the gods
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.Шаблон:Sfn The disturbance causes a flood,Шаблон:Sfn which forces the resident gods of Nippur under the leadership of Enlil to take shelter in the Eshumesha temple to Ninurta.Шаблон:Sfn Enlil is enraged at Marduk's transgression and orders the gods of Eshumesha to take Marduk and the other Anunnaki as prisoners.Шаблон:Sfn The Anunnaki are captured,Шаблон:Sfn but Marduk appoints his front-runner Mushteshirhablim to lead a revolt against the gods of EshumeshaШаблон:Sfn and sends his messenger Neretagmil to alert Nabu, the god of literacy.Шаблон:Sfn When the Eshumesha gods hear Nabu speak, they come out of their temple to search for him.Шаблон:Sfn Marduk defeats the Eshumesha gods and takes 360 of them as prisoners of war, including Enlil himself.Шаблон:Sfn Enlil protests that the Eshumesha gods are innocent,Шаблон:Sfn so Marduk puts them on trial before the Anunnaki.Шаблон:Sfn 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.Шаблон:Sfn
See also
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
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External links
Шаблон:Wikiquote Шаблон:Commons category
- Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Enlil/Ellil (god)
- Gateway to Babylon: "Enlil and Ninlil", trans. Thorkild Jacobsen
- Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: "Enlil and Ninlil" (original Sumerian) and English translation
- Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature: Sumerian Flood myth (original Sumerian) and English translation
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