Care & Feeding of Ancient Gods - Enlil
- Sylvia Rose
- Nov 3, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
An ancient Mesopotamian God, Enlil (Sumerian: Nunamnir) is a powerful deity associated with wind, air, earth and storms. He's the major god of the Sumerian pantheon, a primordial sky father figure also responsible for creating a great flood.
Originally a patron deity of Sumer, Enlil expands his range to other areas as seen in myths of the Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians and Hurrians. His center of power is Nippur in the south central part of today's Iraq.
In Nippur Enlil is worshipped at the Ekur or Duranki temple by 2900 BCE. The name Ekur means 'mountain house', equating with Mount Olympus in later Greek myth.
A mountain house is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the Gods. It's associated with ziggurats and the worship of a primary deity and entourage.
A ziggurat usually has a temple at top, accessible only to priests and priestesses. It's part of a larger temple complex. Scribes, administrators, doctors and religious personnel often dwell in this region.
As specialized Mesopotamian doctors gain prominence, they associate their practice with temples.
The Mountain House functions as a meeting place for the Gods, a popular theme in the days of the ancients. In some myths it's considered to be the place humans were created.
The mountain house is sometimes thought to be built by Enlil himself. It's the mooring rope or connection with cosmic sky, where the Gods dwell in the heavenly mountains, and earth.
In ancient Sumer the Ekur temple is the most sacred of all. A Sumerian hymn dedicated to Enlil says:
Enlil who sits broadly on the white dais, on the lofty dais, who perfects the decrees of power, lordship, and princeship, the earth-gods bow down in fear before him, the heaven-gods humble themselves before him.
According to another hymn the God Enlil is so holy not even other gods can look at him. Enlil emerges into mythology c. 2400 BCE with the rise of Nippur. He's one of the Seven Gods Who Decree, among the most ancient Sumerian gods who are:
An (Anu), Sky God of Heaven
Enlil, Storm & Wind God
Inanna (Ishtar) Goddess Queen of Heaven
Enki, Water & Creation God
Ninhursag, Great Mountain Goddess
Utu (Shamash), God of Justice and the Sun
Utu's father Nanna (Sin), God of the Moon
The Sumerians have a deeply spiritual existence, both in the community and in personal life. They feel it vitally important to serve the gods well. The statue of a god is a representation of the deity, treasured and cared for by the priests.
The body of the God/dess, represented by a statue or figure, is kept scrupulously clean. Workers whitewash or paint the temple regularly.
People leave offerings of food, luxuries, votive figures, precious stones, incense and flowers to Enlil and other deities. Animal sacrifices are plentiful. The temple kitchen prepares food for the Gods.
Many gods enjoy wine, a drink of the elite. In ancient Mesopotamia most people drink beer, mead or cider.
Some Gods eat three or four times a day. Proper food offerings become so important to the people, many are written down as guidelines on god lists or kaluti.
Temple priests are also charged with washing the cult statues and changing the clothing. The God/dess is always finely dressed.
Enlil is seen as a kindly father creator figure who watches over humanity and cares for their well-being. He invents the hoe for farming. An early Sumerian hymn says civilization could not exist without Enlil.
His titles include "the Great Mountain", "King of the Foreign Lands" "Lord of the Winds" and "Supreme Lord of the Universe". He's also called "Nunamnir".
At least one source calls him the "East Wind and North Wind." Enlil may be worshipped in a triad with Enki (water) and Anu (sky).
Kings admire his leadership and model themselves after him. Many make pilgrimages with gifts of precious items and land, to gain legitimacy as rulers. Enlil is known for wisdom, justice and intolerance of evil.
Enlil has a crotchety side. One day the humans are making too much noise and he can't sleep. He causes a drought, hoping to quiet them down. When it doesn't work he calls the disease demon Namtar to spread plague through the mortal realm.
The humans wail all the louder. Frustrated, Enlil summons up all his powers as a storm deity and creates a great flood to cover the known lands. That does it. Finally the humans are quiet, and Enlil gets some sleep.
In 1230 BCE Nippur is sacked by Elamites, a powerful people populating the Persian Gulf area. After the conquest of Nippur, Enlil falls out of favor with the people as a tutelary god. He's soon replaced by the Babylonian national god, Marduk.
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