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Sin (mythology)
*Sin* (Akkadian
Akkadian language
*Akkadian* or *Assyrian-Babylonian* is a Semitic language that was
spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language,
it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient
Sumerian language, an unrelated language isolate....
: *Sīn*, *Suen*; Sumerian
Sumerian language
*Sumerian* was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern
Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. It was gradually
replaced by Akkadian language as a spoken language somewhere around the
turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC , but continued to be used as
a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia...
: *Nanna*, "illuminator") is a Sumer
Sumer
*Sumer* was a civilization and a historical region located in Southern
Iraq , known as the Cradle of civilization. It lasted from the first
settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period through the Uruk period and the
Dynastic periods until the rise of Babylon in the early 2nd millennium
BC....
ian god of the moon
Lunar deity
In mythology, a *lunar deity* is a god or goddess associated with or
symbolizing the moon: see moon . These deities can have a variety of
functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often
related to or an enemy of the solar deity....
in Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology
*Mesopotamian mythology* is the collective name given to Sumerian,
Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq....
. He is the son of Enlil
Enlil
*Enlil* , was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in
ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Canaanite and other Mesopotamian
clay and stone tablets....
and Ninlil
Ninlil
In Sumerian mythology, *Ninlil* , first called *Sud*, in Assyrian called
/Mullitu/, is the consort goddess of Enlil. Her parentage is variously
described....
. His sacred city was Ur
Ur
*Ur* is modern *Tell el-Mukayyar*, Iraq, and was a city in ancient
Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on
the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland....
.
a's chief sanctuary at Ur was named /E-gish-shir-gal/ ("house of the
great light"). Sin (later to be equated with Nanna) had a sanctuary at
Harran
Harran
*Harran*, also known as *Carrhae*, is a district of Sanliurfa Province
in the southeast of Turkey.A very ancient city which was a major
Mesopotamian commercial, cultural, and religious center, Harran is a
valuable archaeological site....
named /E-khul-khul/ ("house of joys"). On cylinder seal
Cylinder seal
A *cylinder seal* is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story', used in
ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface,
generally wet clay....
s, he is represented as an old man with a flowing beard
Beard
A *beard* is the hair that grows on a person's chin, cheeks, neck, and
the area above the upper lip. Typically, only males going through
puberty, or post-pubescent males are able to grow beards....
and the crescent as his symbol.
Encyclopedia
*Sin* (Akkadian
Akkadian language
*Akkadian* or *Assyrian-Babylonian* is a Semitic language that was
spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language,
it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient
Sumerian language, an unrelated language isolate....
: *Sīn*, *Suen*; Sumerian
Sumerian language
*Sumerian* was the language of ancient Sumer, spoken in Southern
Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. It was gradually
replaced by Akkadian language as a spoken language somewhere around the
turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC , but continued to be used as
a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia...
: *Nanna*, "illuminator") is a Sumer
Sumer
*Sumer* was a civilization and a historical region located in Southern
Iraq , known as the Cradle of civilization. It lasted from the first
settlement of Eridu in the Ubaid period through the Uruk period and the
Dynastic periods until the rise of Babylon in the early 2nd millennium
BC....
ian god of the moon
Lunar deity
In mythology, a *lunar deity* is a god or goddess associated with or
symbolizing the moon: see moon . These deities can have a variety of
functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often
related to or an enemy of the solar deity....
in Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology
*Mesopotamian mythology* is the collective name given to Sumerian,
Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq....
. He is the son of Enlil
Enlil
*Enlil* , was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in
ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Canaanite and other Mesopotamian
clay and stone tablets....
and Ninlil
Ninlil
In Sumerian mythology, *Ninlil* , first called *Sud*, in Assyrian called
/Mullitu/, is the consort goddess of Enlil. Her parentage is variously
described....
. His sacred city was Ur
Ur
*Ur* is modern *Tell el-Mukayyar*, Iraq, and was a city in ancient
Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on
the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland....
.
Background
Nanna's chief sanctuary at Ur was named /E-gish-shir-gal/ ("house of the
great light"). Sin (later to be equated with Nanna) had a sanctuary at
Harran
Harran
*Harran*, also known as *Carrhae*, is a district of Sanliurfa Province
in the southeast of Turkey.A very ancient city which was a major
Mesopotamian commercial, cultural, and religious center, Harran is a
valuable archaeological site....
named /E-khul-khul/ ("house of joys"). On cylinder seal
Cylinder seal
A *cylinder seal* is a cylinder engraved with a 'picture story', used in
ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dimensional surface,
generally wet clay....
s, he is represented as an old man with a flowing beard
Beard
A *beard* is the hair that grows on a person's chin, cheeks, neck, and
the area above the upper lip. Typically, only males going through
puberty, or post-pubescent males are able to grow beards....
and the crescent as his symbol. In the astral-theological system he is
represented by the number 30 and the moon, symbolic of the moon's
crescent that often appears next to him in Mesopotamian cylinder seals.
This number probably refers to the average number of days (correctly
around 29.53) in a lunar month
Lunation
*Lunation* is the mean time for one lunar phase cycle . It is on
average 29.530589 days, or 29 d 12 h 44 min 3 s. The length of this
cycle is linked to many phenomena in nature....
, as measured between successive new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the *new moon* is the lunar phase that
occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies
between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in Conjunction with the Sun
as seen from Earth....
s.
The "wisdom" personified by the moon-god is likewise an expression of
the science of astrology
Astrology
*Astrology* is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold
that the relative positions of astronomical object and related details
can provide useful information about personality, human affairs, and
other terrestrial matters....
, in which the observation of the moon's phases is so important a
factor. The tendency to centralize the powers of the universe leads to
the establishment of the doctrine of a triad consisting of Sin, Shamash
Shamash
*Shamash* was the common Akkadian language name of the Solar deity and
god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Mesopotamian
mythology Utu....
, and Ishtar
Ishtar
*Ishtar* is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Mesopotamian
mythology Inanna and to the cognate northwest Semitic goddess Astarte....
, respectively personifying the moon
Moon
The *Moon* is Earth's only natural satellite and the List of natural
satellites by diameter satellite in the Solar System. The average
centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is km, about thirty
times the diameter of the Earth....
, the sun
Sun
The *Sun* , a G V star, is the star at the center of the Solar System.
The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for
about 98.6% of the Solar System's mass....
, and the planet Venus
Venus
*Venus* is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7
Earth days. The planet is named after Venus , the Roman mythology
goddess of love....
.
He was named Sin in Babylonia
Babylonia
*Babylonia* was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin.
Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the
territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
and Assyria
Assyria
*Assyria* was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in
Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in
history....
, and was also worshipped in Harran
Harran
*Harran*, also known as *Carrhae*, is a district of Sanliurfa Province
in the southeast of Turkey.A very ancient city which was a major
Mesopotamian commercial, cultural, and religious center, Harran is a
valuable archaeological site....
. Sin had a beard made of lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli
*Lapis lazuli* is a semi-precious stone prized since antiquity for its
intense blue color.Lapis lazuli has been mined in the Badakhshan
province of Afghanistan for 6,500 years, and trade in the stone is
ancient enough for lapis jewelry to have been found at Predynastic
Egyptian sites, and lapis beads at neolithic burials in Mehrgarh, the C...
and rode on a winged bull
Cattle
*Cattle*, colloquially referred to as *cows*, are domestication
ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They
are raised as livestock for meat , dairy products , leather and as draft
animals ....
. His wife was Ningal
Ningal
*Ningal* , in Sumerian mythology was a goddess of reeds, daughter of
Enki and Ningikurga and the consort of the moon god Sin by whom she bore
Utu the son god, Inanna, and in some texts, Ishkur....
("Great Lady"), who bore him Utu
Utu
*Utu* is the Sumerian language for "Sun". The Sumerian cuneiform
character is encoded in Unicode at U+12313 .In Sumerian mythology, *Utu*
is the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal....
("Sun") and Inanna
Inanna
*Inanna* ; ) is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and
warfare.Alternative Sumerian names include /Innin/, /Ennin/, /Ninnin/,
/Ninni/, /Ninanna/, /Ninnar/, /Innina/, /Ennina/, /Irnina/, /Innini/,
/Nana/ and /Nin/, commonly derived from an earlier /Nin-ana/ "lady of
the sky", although Gelb presented th...
(Inanna is recognized as being the Sumerian
Sumerian
*Sumerian* may refer to:*Sumerian language*Cuneiform script*Sumer,
including**History of Sumer**Sumerian architecture**Mesopotamian
mythology...
name for Ishtar). His symbols are the crescent moon, the bull (through
his father, Enlil
Enlil
*Enlil* , was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in
ancient Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Canaanite and other Mesopotamian
clay and stone tablets....
, "Bull of Heaven"), and the tripod (which may be a lamp-stand).
An important Sumerian text ("Enlil and Ninlil") tells of the descent of
Enlil and Ninlil (pregnant with Nanna/Suen) into the underworld
Underworld
In the study of mythology and religion, the *underworld* is a generic
term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to
any place to which newly the dead souls go....
. There, three "substitutions" are given to allow the ascent of
Nanna/Suen. The story shows some similarities to the text known as "The
Descent of Inanna"
Inanna
*Inanna* ; ) is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility, and
warfare.Alternative Sumerian names include /Innin/, /Ennin/, /Ninnin/,
/Ninni/, /Ninanna/, /Ninnar/, /Innina/, /Ennina/, /Irnina/, /Innini/,
/Nana/ and /Nin/, commonly derived from an earlier /Nin-ana/ "lady of
the sky", although Gelb presented th...
.
Seats of Sin's worship
The two chief seats of Sin's worship were Ur
Ur
*Ur* is modern *Tell el-Mukayyar*, Iraq, and was a city in ancient
Sumer. Once a coastal city near the mouth of the then Euphrates river on
the Persian Gulf, Ur is now well inland....
in the south, and Harran
Harran
*Harran*, also known as *Carrhae*, is a district of Sanliurfa Province
in the southeast of Turkey.A very ancient city which was a major
Mesopotamian commercial, cultural, and religious center, Harran is a
valuable archaeological site....
to the north. The cult
Cult
This article does not discuss "cult" in the original sense of
"veneration" or "religious practice"; for that usage see Cult . See Cult
for more meanings of the term "cult"....
of Sin spread to other centers, and temples of the moon-god are found
in all the large cities of Babylonia
Babylonia
*Babylonia* was a state in Lower Mesopotamia , Babylon as its franklin.
Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the
territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad....
and Assyria
Assyria
*Assyria* was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in
Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in
history....
.
He is commonly designated as /En-zu/, or "lord of wisdom." During the
period (c.2600-2400 BC) that Ur exercised a large measure of supremacy
over the Euphrates
Euphrates
The *Euphrates* is the western of the two great rivers that define
Mesopotamia which flows from Anatolia....
valley, Sin was naturally regarded as the head of the pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A *pantheon* is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic
religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, /Economy and Society/
discusses the link between a pantheon of gods and the development of
monotheism....
. It is to this period that we must trace such designations of Sin as
"father of the gods", "chief of the gods", "creator of all things", and
the like.
See also
* Religion of the Ancient Near East
* Ancient Semitic religion
* Great Ziggurat of Ur
Great Ziggurat of Ur
The *Ziggurat* was dedicated to the moon god Nanna in the Sumerian
city of Ur in ancient Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq, near
Nasiriyah south of Baghdad....
* Biblical Mount Sinai
Biblical Mount Sinai
The *Biblical Mount Sinai* is an ambiguously located mountain at
which the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given
to Moses by Tetragrammaton....
, possibly named after the god
Footnotes
External links
* Tamara M. Green, /The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions
of Harran/. E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1992, 232 pages. ISBN 9004095136