Nanshe is an active goddess in old Mesopotamia. Deity of sea water, fresh water, marshes and the animals of these environments, she also rules the practice of oneiromancy or dream interpretation.
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Nanshe also has certain community duties including a role as goddess of justice. She's a patron deity of social welfare and of some administrative functions.
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Nanshe loves water be it salt or fresh. She cares for the reeds of the marsh, the birds who nest there and the abundant fish. She's a friend of frogs, ducks and even water rats. She tends the brackish regions and harmonizes the ecology.
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She guards the coasts and those who inhabit the wild watery places. In this she takes the aspect of an elemental nature spirit, like the later Greek naiads and the nixies of Europe. She can also cultivate an abundance of fish to ensure a good catch for the fisher's nets.
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She's also a deity of dreams and dream interpretation or oneiromancy, as water relates to intuition and the subconscious workings of the mind. In representations she's often surrounded by birds, fish or flowing streams of water.
Her father is Enki, Sumerian god of water, wisdom or knowledge, crafts and creation. He's later known as Ea, and is a consort of Inanna in Kish. He's one of the Old Gods and his worship spreads throughout Mesopotamia.
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Nanshe's mother, Mesopotamian goddess Damgalnuna or Damkina, is a deity associated with ritual purification. She can also intercede with Enki on behalf of mortal supplicants. In myth she's compared to Ninhursag the great mother mountain goddess.
She's also depicted among a procession of Goddesses in a rock carving at the Yazılıkaya sanctuary by Hattusa, Anatolia, making it clear Damgalnuna is more than a local goddess.
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Nanshe is sister to the popular patron deity Ninurta (Ningirsu). Her husband, Nindara, is a minor god whose worship is solely in connection to that of Nanshe. Her major cult center is Tell Zurghul (Nina, Sirara), part of the temple complex at Lagash. Her official symbols are birds and fish.
She's the subject of various literary works. Nanshe and the Birds explores the relation with her symbolic animal, the "u5 bird". The species is identified variously as goose, cormorant, gull, pelican and swan. In the myth Enki and Ninhursag, she appears as one of the deities created by Ninhursag to cure Enki's illness.
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Her deific duties in justice, social welfare and administration reflect a modern world, one where laws are made and lawbreakers punished. The disadvantaged can receive help from the state.
The sick and elderly are given care. Nanshe is divine protector and benefactor of disadvantaged groups such as orphans, widows or people belonging to indebted households.
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Administration is central, with governing bodies and distinct courts of law. There are no lawyers in ancient Mesopotamia. The people plead their cases to government authorities, who make the decisions.
The infamous Law Code of Hammurabi, Babylon, appears 1792 - 1750 BCE. It's inscribed on a black marble stone stela though much of the inscription is worn down. The stele is placed in the middle of the city so it can be read by all.
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Unfortunately those who can read make up only ten percent of the population. Punishment often involves chopping off one or more of the miscreant's body parts. Nonetheless the Code remains one of the earliest standards of law, equity and punishment.
Lawyers don't appear until the Roman Empire, founded c. 8th century BCE, and then they're known as orators. They're permitted to speak in the context of helping a friend, but aren't (officially) allowed to charge a fee.
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Nanshe's evolution as a goddess reflects social changes and matters of importance in the kingdom. She's known as a compassionate deity.
Prayers, praise and sacrifice are given to her for the fertility and bounty of the flowing waters and seas. She can be invoked in oaths and for guidance or assistance with justice and administration.
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