Ninlil

Sumerian deity

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About this deity

Ninlil (Sumerian: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆤) was a second generation Sumerian deity who is said to be the wife of Enlil. She was associated with being an air goddess.

ninlil-and-enlil-brick-panel
enlil-ninlil-terracotta-molded-brick-photo
Sourcewikimedia.orgRetrieval date06/07/2020
Sourcewikimedia.orgRetrieval date06/07/2020
MediumPrint sketchOrientationFrontImage date2011CreatorPaul BedsonSource notes"Drawing of Enlil and Ninlil taken from a mural decoration of Susa. Lord Enlil (with hooves and horns of the Bull God) and the Lady Ninlil. Second half of the 2nd millenium BC, Louvre, Paris. Baked bricks, height 54 inches."
MediumMolded brickMaterialTerracottaOrientationFrontImage datePost-1949Source notes"Bull-man protecting a palmtree, female(?) deity (partially destroyed, reconstructed), panel of molded bricks. Terracotta, middle 12th century BC. Found at the Tell of the Apadana in Susa. The inscription running along the central band record that Shilhak-Inshushinak made a statue of brick for the exterior chapel of Inshushinak." Current location: Department of Oriental Antiquities, Sully, ground floor, room 10; Accession number: Sb 14390 & Sb 14391; Credit line: Excavated by Roland de Mecquenem, 1913–1921.

Also known as

NinlilSud (disputed)𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆤 (Sumerian cuneiform)μυλιττα (Greek)μολις (Greek)mlš (transliterated Old Aramaic)Mulliltu (transliterated Akkadian)Mullissu (transliterated Akkadian)Mylitta (transliterated Akkadian)"Lady of the wind""Lady of the open field""Air goddess"

Parent belief system

  • Sumerian Religion · Polytheistic · 7 myths
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    Sumerian religion refers to spiritual beliefs practiced from ca. 4500-1900 BCE in Mesopotamia, or modern-day southern Iraq. Many deities were diffused into other Mesopotamian cultures.
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Top myths

According to Jeremy Black, Ninlil may have been represented by a lion.[1]

Notes

1.
🡩Black and Green, Gods, Demons, and Symbols, 140-141.

Mythological stories including Ninlil

Cite this page

MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Ninlil." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 08 Aug. 2019, omnika.org/stable/254. Accessed 12 May. 2024.

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APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2019, August 08). Ninlil. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/254

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CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Ninlil." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created August 08, 2019. Accessed May 12, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/254.

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Bibliography

Black, Jeremy, and Anthony Green. Gods, Demons, and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary. Illustrations by Tessa Rickards. London, United Kingdom: The British Museum Press, 1992.
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Fast facts

Basics
Sumerian Belief system
location_city Nippur Cult city

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