Sin (mythology)
Sin (/ˈsiːn/) or Suen (Akkadian: 𒀭𒂗𒍪, dEN.ZU[1]) also known as Nanna (Sumerian: 𒀭𒋀𒆠 DŠEŠ.KI, DNANNA[2]) is the Mesopotamian god representing the moon. While these two names originate in two different languages, respectively Akkadian and Sumerian, they were already used interchangeably to refer to one deity in the Early Dynastic period. They were sometimes combined into the double name Nanna-Suen. A third well attested name is Dilimbabbar (𒀭𒀸𒁽𒌓). Additionally, the name of the moon god could be represented by logograms reflecting his lunar character, such as d30 (𒀭𒌍), referring to days in the lunar month or dU4.SAKAR (𒀭𒌓𒊬), derived from a term referring to the crescent. In addition to his astral role, Sin was also closely associated with cattle herding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that he could serve as a judge of the dead in the underworld. A distinct tradition in which he was regarded either as a god of equal status as the usual heads of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Enlil and Anu, or as a king of the gods in his own right, is also attested, though it only had limited recognition. In Mesopotamian art, his symbol was the crescent. When depicted anthropomorphically, he typically either wore headwear decorated with it or held a staff topped with it, though on kudurru the crescent alone serves as a representation of him. He was also associated with boats.
This article is about the Mesopotamian deity. For the general theological concept, see Sin.
The goddess Ningal was regarded as Sin's wife. Their best attested children are Inanna (Ishtar) and Utu (Shamash), though other deities, for example Ningublaga or Numushda, could be regarded as members of their family too. Sin was also believed to have an attendant deity (sukkal), Alammuš, and various courtiers, such as Nineigara, Ninurima and Nimintabba. He was also associated with other lunar gods, such as Hurrian Kušuḫ or Ugaritic Yarikh.
The main cult center of Sin was Ur. He was already associated with this city in the Early Dynastic period, and was recognized as its tutelary deity and divine ruler. His temple located there was known under the ceremonial name Ekišnugal, and through its history it was rebuilt by multiple Mesopotamian rulers. Ur was also the residence of the en priestesses of Nanna, the most famous of whom was Enheduanna. Furthermore, from the Old Babylonian period onward he was also closely associated with Harran. The importance of this city as his cult center grew in the first millennium BCE, as reflected in Neo-Hittite, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian sources. Sin's temple survived in later periods as well, under Achaemenid, Seleucid and Roman rule. Sin was also worshiped in many other cities in Mesopotamia. Temples dedicated to him existed for example in Tutub, which early on was considered another of his major cult centers, as well as in Urum, Babylon, Uruk, Nippur and Assur. The extent to which beliefs pertaining to him influenced the Sabians, a religious community who lived in Harran after the Muslim conquest of the Levant, is disputed.
Associations with other deities[edit]
Parents and siblings[edit]
Enlil and Ninlil were usually regarded as Sin's parents.[90] It has been argued that an Early Dynastic text from Abu Salabikh already refers to Enlil and Ninlil as his parents, though an alternate view is that he oldest certain evidence only goes back to the reign of Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur.[91] It has been argued that in this period he might have started to be viewed as a son of Enlil for political reasons.[92] The compilers of the god list An = Anum apparently did not acknowledge this tradition directly, as in contrast with Ninurta Sin does not appear in the section focused on Enlil and his family.[91] However, his status as his son is seemingly reflected in the epithets Dumununna, "son of the prince", and Dumugi, "noble son".[93] Sin is also kept separate from Enlil in the Old Babylonian forerunner of this text, which has been argued to be a reflection of an earlier tradition in which they were not viewed as son and father.[94] While references to Anu being the father of Sin are also known, they are most likely metaphorical, and do not represent a distinct genealogical tradition.[90]
In the myth Enlil and Ninlil Sin's brothers are Nergal, Ninazu and Enbilulu, though the latter two gods were commonly regarded as sons of different parents instead.[90] Enbilulu in particular is not attested as a son of Enlil and Ninlil in any other sources.[95] Based on their shared status as sons of Enlil Sin and Nergal were sometimes referred to as the "big twins", and in this context were identified with Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea.[96] The connection between Lugal-Irra and Sin seemingly depended on the latter's occasional role as a judge in the underworld.[97] An astronomical text equates the pair Sin and Nergal with Latarak and Lulal, but this attestation is unparalleled in other sources.[98]
Wife and children[edit]
Sin's wife was Ningal.[9] They are already attested as a couple in Early Dynastic sources,[99] and they were consistently paired with each other in all regions of Mesopotamia.[100] Derivatives of Ningal were associated with local moon gods in the Ugaritic, Hurrian and Hittite pantheons.[9] However, the old proposal that Hurrians, and by extension Hittites and inhabitants of Ugarit, received her from Harran is regarded as unproven, as she does not appear in association with this city in any sources from the second millennium BCE.[101] She is also absent from Luwian sources pertaining to the worship of Sin of Harran in the first millennium BCE.[102]
The best attested children of Sin were Utu (Shamash) and Inanna (Ishtar).[9] The connection between these three deities depended on their shared astral character, with Sin representing the moon and his children, who could be identified as twins - the sun and Venus.[103] Numerous instances of Inanna being directly referred to as his oldest daughter are known.[104] While alternate traditions about her parentage are attested, it is agreed they were less significant[105] and ultimately she was most commonly recognized as a daughter of Sin and Ningal.[106] It has been pointed out that apparent references to Anu being her father instead might only designate him as an ancestor.[104] Similarly to how Sin was referred as the "great boat of heaven" (dmá-gul-la-an-na),[91] his son was the "small boat of heaven" (dmá-bàn-da-an-na), which reflected his subordinate status.[107] These titles additionally reflected the Mesopotamian belief that the moon was larger than the sun.[108] As an extension of her marriage to the sun god, the dawn goddess Aya was regarded as a daughter-in-law of Sin, as reflected by her common epithet kallatum.[109]
Further attested children of Sin include the goddesses Amarazu and Amaraḫea, known from the god list An = Anum, Ningublaga (the city god of Kiabrig) and Numushda (the city god of Kazallu).[9] Ningublaga's connection with the moon god is well attested in god lists (An = Anum, the Weidner god list, the Nippur god list) and other sources, one example being the formula "servant of Sin and Ningublaga," known from an Old Babylonian cylinder seal.[110] While he was not always explicitly identified as his son, with such references lacking for example from An = Anum, direct statements confirming the existence of such a tradition have been identified in an inscription of Abisare of Larsa and in a hymn dedicated to Ningublaga's temple in Kiabrig.[9] Designating Numushda as a son of Sin was likely meant to be a way to assimilate him into the pantheon of lower Mesopotamia, and might be based on perceived similarity to Ningublaga.[111] The tradition according to which he was a son of the moon god is absent from sources from the third millennium BCE.[112] Additionally, a single literary text calls Numushda a son of Enki, rather than Sin and Ningal.[113] Amarazu and Amaraḫea are overall sparsely attested, and despite their status as Sin's daughters in god lists and the incantation series Udug Hul there is no evidence they were worshiped alongside him in Ur.[114] The reason behind the association between these two goddesses and the moon god is unknown.[115]
While references to Ninegal as a daughter of Sin are known, in this context the name is treated as an epithet of Inanna, and there is no evidence Ninegal understood as a distinct goddess was associated with him in any way.[116] Another deity associated with Ishtar who was sometimes described as daughter of Sin was the love goddess Nanaya.[117] However, this tradition seems to stem from the close connection between Nanaya and Inanna, as for example the Hymn to the City of Arbela in a passage focused on Ishtar of Arbela refers to Nanaya as a daughter of Sin, but also syncretises her with the goddess being praised.[118] Sources where Nanaya's father is instead either Anu or Urash (the male tutelary god of Dilbat, rather than the earth goddess of the same name) are known too.[119] Only in Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period she was regarded as a daughter of Sin.[120] A god list from Nineveh might indicate that she was viewed as a daughter of the moon god specifically when she was counted among deities belonging to the entourage of Enlil.[121] A further goddess related to Inanna, Annunitum, could similarly be addressed as a daughter of Sin, though this tradition is only preserved in inscriptions of Nabonidus documenting the repair of her temple in Sippar.[122] Due to identification with Inanna, the Hurrian and Elamite goddess Pinikir is referred to as a daughter of Sin and Ningal in a text written in Akkadian but found in a corpus of Hurro-Hittite rituals.[123]
In a single Maqlû incantation, Manzat, the goddess of the rainbow, appears as the sister of Shamash, and by extension as daughter of his parents, Sin and Ningal.[124]
A tradition according to which Ninazu was a son of Sin is also known.[90] Frans Wiggermann proposes that the occasional association between these two gods might have reflected the dependence of Enegi, Ninazu's cult center, on nearby Ur.[125]
In the first millennium BCE a tradition according to which Nuska was a son of Sin developed in Harran.[126] Manfred Krebernik suggests that it might have reflected Aramaic influence and that it resulted from a connection between Sin, Nuska and hitherto unknown deities worshiped by this group.[9]
While assertions that Ishkur was regarded as a further son of Sin can be found in older literature, no primary sources confirm the existence of such a tradition.[127]
Court[edit]
Sin's sukkal (attendant deity) was Alammuš.[9] He and Ningublaga were often associated with each other and could be even referred to as twin brothers.[128] Manfred Krebernik notes that this might indicate that he was also viewed as a son of the moon god.[9] However, no direct evidence supporting this notion has been identified, and therefore whether he was ever regarded as a child of Sin remains impossible to ascertain.[129] Alammuš also possessed his own attendant, Urugal.[130]
In the Old Babylonian forerunner of An = Anum, Nindara is listed among the deities belonging to the entourage of Sin.[41] This god was originally worshiped as the husband of Nanshe in the state of Lagash in the Early Dynastic period.[131] In An = Anum itself he and Sin are directly identified with each other (tablet III, line 65), and the lines following this statement list Nanshe and their children.[41] However, there is no evidence that this equation was responsible for the lack of references to Nindara in the Sealand archives, as Nanshe was not worshiped in association with Sin in this context.[132] Nin-MAR.KI, who was traditionally regarded as Nanshe's daughter, is also placed in the section of An = Anum dedicated to Sin, though according to Walther Sallaberger her presence there might reflect her well attested association with cattle, which she shared with the moon god.[133] Further members of his entourage include deities such as Nineigara, referred to his "lady of the treasury" (nin-èrim, Akkadian bēlet išitti) and "obedient housekeeper"(munus-agrig šu-dim4-ma, Akkadian abarakkatu saniqtu),[134] Nimintabba,[135] and Ninurima.[136] In medical texts, the demon Bennu, responsible for causing epilepsy, is described as his "deputy" (šanê) as well.[137]
In An = Anum Suzianna and Ninimma, both usually regarded as courtiers of Enlil, are also identified as Sin's nurses.[90]