Ninurta: The Sumerian Hero-God of War
Ninurta (identified with Ningirsu, Pabilsag, and the biblical Nimrod) is the Sumerian and Akkadian hero-god of war, hunting, and the south wind. He first appears in texts in the early 3rd millennium BCE as an agricultural god and local deity of the town of Girsu (as Ningirsu) and the city of Larak (as Pabilsag), both Sumerian communities.
His role as a god of agriculture changed as the cities of Mesopotamia increasingly militarized and began campaigns of conquest, one city against another. Scholar Stephen Bertman writes:
Ninurta began his divine career as a god of irrigation and agriculture. In fact, "The Instruction of Ninurta" is the title of an ancient Sumerian "farmer's almanac." But with the rise of imperialism he was transformed into a young and vigorous god of war.
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Ninurta was the son of Enlil and Ninhursag, but in some stories, Enlil and Ninlil. His wife was Gula, the goddess of healing (though in earlier inscriptions, as Ningirsu, he was married to the goddess Bau (also known as Baba, goddess of dogs, who later becomes Gula).
Although he was chiefly defined by his aggressive nature, he was also associated with healing and protection (hence his association with Gula) and was frequently invoked in magical spells to ward off danger, demons, and disease. He is most often represented as a warrior, sometimes with upraised wings, holding a bow and arrow and carrying his famous mace, Sharur, a weapon capable of speech and reason. In Babylonian art, he stands or runs on the back of a scorpion-tailed lion-beast. Still, as late as circa 1500 BCE, he was still associated with agriculture, growth, and the harvest, depicted as a fully realized individual capable of great deeds but also as flawed as any mortal.
The Assyrian and Neo-Assyrian empires embraced Ninurta as the son of their god Assur, and under the reign of Ashurnasirpal II (884-859 BCE), a great temple and ziggurat were built to the god in Ashurnasirpal II's new city of Kalhu. Seals from this time represent Assur as the winged disc, with Ninurta's name beneath, clearly suggesting the two were regarded as almost equals.
Ninurta was invoked by numerous kingdoms and principalities in ancient Mesopotamia, whether for protection or aid in military matters, from circa 3300 to 612 BCE, when the Neo-Assyrian Empire fell to invaders, and many of their gods fell out of favor. Early in his career, however, he was envisioned as the polar opposite of a war god.
Ninurta's Origin & Significance
The god originated as Ningirsu ("Lord of Girsu") in Sumer, and the earliest texts use this name for the son of Enlil and Ninlil (although one myth suggests he is the son of Enlil and a she-goat). Gudea of Lagash (reign 2144-2124 BCE), noted for his piety and devotion to the gods, dedicated himself to Ningirsu, and Gudea's successor, Ur-Ningursu, would take the god's name to honor him. Gudea is probably best known for the Gudea Cylinders, two terracotta cylinders (dated to circa 2125 BCE) which record his dream in the text known as The Building of Ningirsu's Temple, the longest text in Sumerian yet discovered.
Ningirsu was already recognized as a war god by the 2nd millennium BCE, when he was featured in the Babylonian work The Epic of Anzu. This myth would be revised during the 1st millennium BCE, with Ningirsu's name changed to Ninurta. The god was already known by this later name (whose meaning is unknown) by circa 2600 BCE, and even though Ningirsu would continue to be referenced in Sumer, Ninurta would be the name most Mesopotamians knew and used. Even though he was considered a great warrior-god, champion of the gods, and protector of humanity, Ninurta continued to be associated with agriculture.
The Sumerians are well known for their technological inventions and innovations, and these were notably employed in early agriculture. Orientalist Samuel Noah Kramer writes:
Some of the more far-reaching technological achievements of the Sumerians were connected with irrigation and agruculture. The construction of an intricate system of canals, dikes, weirs, and reservoirs demanded no little engineering skill and knowledge.
Surveys and plans had to be prepared which involved the use of leveling instruments, measuring rods, drawing, and mapping. Farming, too, had become a methodical and complicated technique requiring foresight, diligence, and skill.
It is not surprising, therefore, to find that the Sumerian pedagogues had compiled a "farmer's almanac" that consisted of a series of instructions to guide a farmer throughout his yearly agricultural activities.
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This manual, the world's first farmer's almanac, dates to between 1700 and 1500 BCE and begins almost like a fairy tale with the line, "In days of yore a farmer instructed his son..." and then goes on with practical instruction on how to get the most from the land. The piece goes into details on how to prepare the earth, how to plant the seed, even how to drive away birds, and the proper way to harvest the crop. Throughout the 35 lines of text, it seems as though this advice is being given by a father to his son, but in conclusion, the tablet reads, "These are the instructions of Ninurta, son of Enlil. O Ninurta, trustworthy farmer of Enlil, your praise is good." The farmer's instructions to his son, then, were given divine authority.
Ninurta's power and position in the Mesopotamian pantheon would have lent significant weight to any document attributed to him, and especially so considering he would have had to take time out from heroic feats to offer his suggestions. The myths concerning Ninurta share many characteristics with those of the Babylonian god Marduk and the later Greek hero Heracles (Roman Hercules) in that he triumphs over the forces of chaos and establishes order (like Marduk), but his pride, like Hercules, can sometimes get the better of him.
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⇒ Ninurta: The Sumerian Hero-God of War
