In Akkadian, Aya (Aia) means Dawn. She personifies the light and life of first rays of the Sun. In some cultures the Dawn deities are worshipped even ahead of Solar Deities, because they foretell the coming of the Sun.
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Without the Dawn, there is no Sun. In veneration, the Venus Dawn Star or Lucifer (light-bearer) might also be praised. The Dawn Goddess is one of the most important of the Proto-Indo-European Gods. Due to her solar association she can also create a fiery manifestation.
See: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest
Aya has several name versions including Ayu-Ikalti, Nin-Aya, Sherida, Ninkar, Sudaĝ and Sudgan. Her centers of worship are Sippar and Larsa in what is now central Iraq. Her consort is Shamash, equated with Utu, an ancient God of the Sun.
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Aya features prominently in Mesopotamian god lists or kaluti, sometimes under more than one name or aspect. Another reference to Aya is Sherida, a Sumerian equivalent. She's also attested as Sudaĝ, meaning "golden yellow shine" or "golden yellow shining rock/metal".
The name Ninkar is sometimes given to her, but it's thought Ninkar could be a separate deity, a Goddess of Daylight. Aya is considered to embody morning light and the rising sun, and is also called 'morning-maker'.
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In Mesopotamian art she's depicted as charming, beautiful and sensual, usually in frontal view rather than profile. She's also called kallatum, meaning bride or daughter-in-law, and considered a Divine Bride.
It means she's wed to a powerful divinity - Shamash the Sun God, whose twin sister is Inanna (Ishtar) - and as such she's seen as a patron of brides. Aya brings blessings of beginnings.
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In this capacity, in depictions her right breast is traditionally exposed by the style of her garment, a symbol of bridal charm and attraction. Other sensual goddesses such as Inanna and Annunitum can be clad the same way.
Worship of Aya goes back to the 30th century BCE or the Mesopotamian Early Dynastic Period. She's especially popular in the Old Babylonian Period c. 1900 - 1600 BCE, mentioned in personal letters second only to Ishtar.
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She also flourishes as a personal tutelary deity, especially for women. While in some cultures women connect naturally with the Moon Goddess, in Mesopotamia the Moon Deity is a man. Most women would feel more empathy with other female figures, such as the Goddess of the Dawn. She greets us every day.
With the right motivation (offerings, praise hymns, incantations) Aya can intercede on a supplicant's behalf with her husband Shamash. In Sippar, she and Shamash are worshipped as the Divine Couple. The mythical mountain Buduhudug, where the sun sets, is called "the entrance of Shamash to Aya" (nēreb dŠamaš <ana> dAya).
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Here the Divine Couple can reunite each day after Shamash finishes his journey through the sky. Aya and Shamash have a strong and loving relationship, unlike some other deities who are known for extramaritial sexual exploits to the distress of the spouse.
It's also believed the best time to ask Aya for an intercession with Shamash is in the evening when his solar work is done. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the mother of Gilgamesh prays to Aya to intercede with Shamash for the safety of her son.
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In an inscription, King Hammurabi of Babylon calls himself the "beloved of Aya". King Samsu-iluna of the Amorites calls himself the "beloved of Aya and Shamash." Both Kings are industrious, renovating cities and building fortifications.
Among the Hurrians, Aya is incorporated into temple worship and included in kaluti. She's part of the court of Hepat, the beloved Sun Goddess of Aleppo.
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She's also shown behind Shaushka (Šauška) the Great Goddess in a procession of goddesses at the worship site Yazılıkaya in Anatolia or modern day Turkey. On one god list, she appears as "Aya the Goddess of caring for things."
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