Talk:Ninhursag

Needs work

This article needs considerable work. -- Zoe is ninhursag also ninlil/nilina/mylita.they are both described as mother of nergal.is she also ereskigal.they both married nergal.this would make her sister of ishtar.[jonny]

Information

Ninhursag means : queen of the mountains.
Ninmah means : the exalted lady.
Nintu means : the lady who gave birth.
source : http://www.faqs.org/faqs/mythology/assyrbabyl-faq/

Nin does not mean queen, but rather "Lady" or "Woman" Ninkur whould be lady of the mountain, Ninhursag means "Lady of the Sacred Mountain" (The Kur was the mound of Eridu!)John D. Croft 16:30, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

The sign NIN has two readings, one plain old nin, which does mean (as you say) lady (as the equivalent of lord, not as a genteel woman), but the second reading, eresh, does indeed mean queen. So, for example, the Netherworld ruling deity Ereshkigal is actually spelled with the signs NIN-KI-GAL. Such ambiguity, naturally, affords a lot of interpretive space. However, if someone wants to read NIN as queen, then they have to transliterate it eresh. Thus, if Ninhursag were to be taken as meaning Queen of the Mountain Range, the name would have to be read Ereshhursag, which no scholar has ever done, or ever argued for. Also, hursag is a compound; both signs together mean mountain, or perhaps mountain range. In any case, it's a smaller mountain than a kur. Halloran (Sumerian Lexicon) takes it as hill-country, mountainous region. -Mother of Otherness 08:22, 7 August 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mother of Otherness (talk • contribs)

Contradicts itself

The article seems to contradict itself. It says that Ninhursag is also Ki, but that Ninhursag is Ki's daughter. Can someone clarify this? —Lowellian (talk) 06:26, August 9, 2005 (UTC)

I axed that sentence as I couldn't make it out even without its external contradictions. If the original contributor wishes to add it back I have no problem, but they may want to word that section differently. 68.39.174.238 02:26, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Not Enki's Wife

I thought Ninhursag was NOT Enki's/Ea's wife, but his Maitresse. They brought forth Ninti (who is believed to be Eve). Enki was officially married with Ninki/Damkina, and they brought forth Marduk. Ki was a name of Ninhursag, which means earth/life and is found later in the asian Khi and Chi (power of life) and Ninhursag means so much as the first mother or mothergoddess. Ninhursag was also Enlil's maitresse at a later time, and they brought forth Ninurta/Ningirsu. Enlil was officially Ninlil's husband. (okdewit@gmail.com)

Damkina is a shortened Akkadian form of Damgulnana, "Great spouse of heaven" which WAS a name given to Ninhursag. So Ninhursag was Enki's wife (She shared the sacred Kur with him, as she, like Enki, had a temple at Eridu).John D. Croft 16:27, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

her mother nammu was originally called ki, and her grand mother before that[kishar].ki may be an inherited title.[jonny] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.66.20.58 (talk) 07:09, 1 June 2010 (UTC)

Another contradiction

"In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag (NIN.ḪURSAG 𒊩𒌆𒉺𒂅) was the earth and mother goddess"

"Temple hymn sources identify her as the 'true and great lady of heaven'"

How can the Earth goddess be the Lady of Sky?