Shamash
- This article refers to the Sumerian deity. For other uses, see Utu (disambiguation).
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Utu("Utu, who sheds a wide light) is the Sumerian for "Sun".[1] The Sumerian cuneiform character is encoded in Unicode at U+12313 𒌓 (Borger nr. 381).
In Sumerian mythology, Utu is the son of the moon god Nanna and the goddess Ningal. His brother and sister are Ishkur and Inanna.
Utu is the god of the sun and of justice, and the implementation of law. He is usually depicted as wearing a horned helmet and carrying a saw-edged weapon not unlike a pruning saw, which it is thought he used to cut through the side of a mountain from which he emerges, symbolising the dawn. He may also carry a mace and stand with one foot on the mountain.
He rises in "the mountains of the east" and sets in the "mountains of the west".
Sumerian Utu corresponds to Akkadian Shamash.
Marduk is spelled AMAR.UTU in Sumerian, literally, "the calf of Utu" or "the young bull of the Sun".
References
- ^ Kasak, Enn; Veede, Raul (2001). Mare Kõiva and Andres Kuperjanov (ed.). "Understanding Planets in Ancient Mesopotamia (PDF)" (PDF). Electronic Journal of Folklore. 16. Estonian Literary Museum: 7–35. ISSN 1406-0957.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- Michael Jordon, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002
See also
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