Home›Sumerian Deities›Historicity›Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBrowse ByNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingThis page groups deities by whether their existence in belief is considered fully mythological, debated, or grounded in a historical cult that can be traced. Wikipedia defines historicity as "the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction." Browsing this way helps a visitor separate gods with a documented historical cult from ones known only through later literary retelling.FactsLearn MoreNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsAttestationEra of AttestationWell-attestedDivine names appear in the archaic tablets of Uruk from about 3200 BCE. God-lists and literary texts follow from the mid-third millennium, and Sumerian religious texts were still being copied on cuneiform tablets in the first century CE. 2Veneration TodayWell-attestedThe cult ended with the cuneiform culture that carried it; no continuous worship survives. 2OverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe gods of southern Mesopotamia in the third and early second millennia BCE, recorded in the oldest religious literature in the world. The Sumerian pantheon is the substrate of the later Babylonian and Assyrian one: many of the same powers recur under Akkadian names, and the entries record the correspondence rather than duplicating the god. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1Learn MoreThe gods of Sumer This group gathers the deities of Sumer, the earliest urban civilisation of southern Mesopotamia and the source of the oldest written religious literature in the world. The Sumerian pantheon underlies the later Babylonian and Assyrian gods, who often are the same powers under Akkadian names. The browser will find the sky-god An, the air-god Enlil, the wisdom-god Enki, the great goddess Inanna (later Ishtar), the moon-god Nanna and the sun-god Utu. These figures appear in some of humanity's first recorded myths, including the descent of Inanna and the flood story that stands behind later versions. The entries note the Sumerian-to-Akkadian correspondences.Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingFilter Results9 entriesPlanetary FaceAllNeptune (1)Sun (1)Uranus (1)Child OfAllAnu (1)Ninhursag (1)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (9)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (1)The Creator (1)The Hero (1)The Lover (1)The Magician (1)The Ruler (1)The Sage (1)Veneration StatusAllHistorically attested; no continuous cult (9)Era Attested Start YearAll-2900 (1)-2600 (5)-2500 (1)-2100 (2)Worshipped InAllMesopotamian Religion (7)Domain / FunctionAllAgriculture and harvest (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Creation and cosmogony (2)Earth (1)Fertility and generation (1)Herds and pastoralism (2)Justice, law and oaths (1)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Magic and sorcery (1)Motherhood (1)Mountains (1)Prophecy and divination (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sky (1)Stars and planets (1)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (1)The underworld (1)Wind (1)Wine and intoxication (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllAndrogynous / dual-gendered (1)Female (2)Male (6)PantheonAllSumerian (7)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 9AnuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingDumuziNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingDumuzidNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingEnkiNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingEnlilNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingNinhursagNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingNinkasiNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingNinsiannaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingUtuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingSources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddessestier 1Nicole Brisch (ed.), Oracc / Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus, University of Pennsylvania, 2011IntroductionView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.