Ninazu

Ninazu () was a Mesopotamian god of the underworld of Sumerian origin. He was also associated with snakes and vegetation, and with time acquired the character of a warrior god. He was frequently associated with Ereshkigal, either as a son, husband, or simply as a deity belonging to the same category of underworld gods. His original cult centers were Enegi and Eshnunna, though in the later city he was gradually replaced by a similar god, Tishpak. His cult declined after the Old Babylonian period, though in the city of Ur, where it was introduced from Enegi, he retained a number of worshipers even after the fall of the last Mesopotamian empires. According to Julia M. Asher-Greve, Ninazu was initially considered a "high-ranking local god," similar in rank to Ningirsu. His name has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "lord healer," though he was rarely associated with medicine. It is nonetheless agreed that he could be considered a healing deity. He was regarded as the "king of the snakes" and as such was invoked in incantations against snakebite. Many of such texts were written in Elamite and Hurrian, rather than in Sumerian or Akkadian, even though they originated in Enegi. He was also associated with vegetation and agriculture. It is possible that Ninazu was the oldest Sumerian god of the netherworld, and that he was only overshadowed by Ereshkigal and Nergal in later periods. He was referred to as a "steward of the great earth," "great earth" being a euphemism for the underworld, or as "lord of the underworld," an epithet shared with many deities, including his son Ningishzida, Nergal, Nirah and the primordial deity Enmesharra. Ninazu was also regarded as a warrior deity, especially in Eshnunna. He was both described and possibly depicted as armed with two maces. While no artistic representations of him have been identified with certainty, his symbols mentioned in textual sources include snakes and the "snake-dragon" mushussu. In an Early Dynastic zami hymn he is also compared to a black dog, known from later Mesopotamian incantations and compendiums of omens as a symbol of death.