Ninurta (Supreme God)
Bio
Ninurta is the ancient Mesopotamian god of farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war. The son and heir of the supreme god Enlil, he has the right to Enlil’s throne as the supreme god and ruler of the world if something happens.
Wanting Ninurta to grow up into a fine god, Enlil raises him in a strict manner. He expects him to be powerful, responsible and reliable as his son. Ninurta himself idolizes his father and is ambitious. He wants to please his father by doing his best. However, his thirst for acknowledgement may sometimes get the better of him.
One such occasion is when he succeeded in retrieving Enlil’s stolen Tablet of Destinies from the beast Anzu. Possession of the Tablet would automatically turn one into the supreme god. Ninurta initially decides to keep the Tablet for himself, only to be stopped by his uncle Enki. After Enki talks to him, Ninurta sees that he has made the wrong choice and returns the Tablet to Enlil.
Details
Translation
- Three pairs of horns
- The horns grow from above his ears
- The horns at the bottom curve under his eyes
- The same collar with his father
- Pattern on his shoulder
- Long cloth
- Bangles with a hole
Trivia
- The story of Ninurta keeping the Tablet of Destinies for himself is based on the myth ‘Ninurta and the Turtle’, one of the endings for the ‘Myth of Anzu’.
- In the myth, after defeating Anzu, Ninurta chooses not to return the Tablet, power-hungry and ambitious. Enki is furious. He creates a Turtle that bites Ninurta’s ankle and traps him in a hole. Enki then talks about how low Ninurta has fallen. Ninurta’s mother Ninmah is so ashamed that she thinks of finding a replacement for her son.
Ninurta
