Nisaba
Sign in to saveAlso known as Nanibgal, Nidaba
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Sumerian texts end with the doxology "praise to Nisaba" as a result. She declined after the Old Babylonian period due to the rise of the new scribe god, Nabu, though she did not fully vanish from Mesopotamian religion and attestations from as late as the neo-Babylonian period are known.
Key facts
- Deity.type
- Mesopotamian
- Deity.name
- Nisaba
- Deity.deity_of
- Goddess of writing, accounting, surveying and grain
- Deity.image
- File:Sumerian_goddess_Nisaba,_the_name_of_Entemena_is_inscribed,_c._2430_BC,_from_Southern_Mesopotamia,_Iraq.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Fragment of a vase, likely from Girsu, with a depiction of a goddess often identified as Nisaba in modern scholarship
- Deity.other_names
- Nanibgal, Nunbarshegunu
- Deity.symbol
- lapis lazuli tablet, golden stylus
- Deity.children
- Sud (Ninlil)
- Deity.cult_center
- Eresh, later Nippur
- Deity.consort
- Ḫaya
- Deity.affiliation
- The court of Enlil
- Deity.equivalent1_type
- Babylonian
- Deity.equivalent1
- Nabu
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- Sumerian goddess Nisaba, the name of Entemena is inscribed, c. 2430 BC, from Southern Mesopotamia, Iraq.jpg
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Name
- Epithets
- Functions
- Iconography
- Association with other deities
- Family and court
- Nisaba and Nabu
- <sup>d</sup>NISABA as logographic writing of other deities' names
- Worship
- Mythology
- Unicode for the cuneiform sign NAGA
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Nisaba was the Mesopotamian goddess of writing and grain. She is one of the oldest Sumerian deities attested in writing, and remained prominent through many periods of Mesopotamian history. She was commonly worshiped by scribes, and numerous Sumerian texts end with the doxology "praise to Nisaba" as a result. She declined after the Old Babylonian period due to the rise of the new scribe god, Nabu, though she did not fully vanish from Mesopotamian religion and attestations from as late as the neo-Babylonian period are known.
In myths and god lists, she was a part of the circle of Enlil, alongside her husband Haya. In the myth Enlil and Sud she plays an important role due to being the mother of the eponymous deity. Enlil seeks her permission to marry Sud with the help of his sukkal (attedant deity) Nuska. Both this narrative and other sources attest that she and her daughter were regarded as very close.