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Šulpae

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Šulpae
Astral god associated with disease
Major cult centerKesh
PlanetJupiter
Genealogy
SpouseNinhursag
ChildrenAshgi,Panigingarra,Lisin,Lillu

Šulpaewas aMesopotamian god.Much about his role in Mesopotamian religion remains uncertain, though it is agreed he was an astral deity associated with the planetJupiterand that he could be linked to specific diseases, especiallybennu.He was regarded as the husband ofNinhursag.Among the deities considered to be their children wereAshgi,PanigingarraandLisin.The oldest texts which mention him come from theEarly Dynastic period,when he was worshiped inKesh.He is also attested in documents from other cities, for exampleNippur,AdabandGirsu.Multiple temples dedicated to him are mentioned in known sources, but their respective locations are unknown.

Name

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The earliest attested form of Šulpae's name incuneiformisdŠul-pa-è,already found inEarly Dynastictexts fromFaraandAdab,though it gradually changed todŠul-pa-è-a,which appears in some, though not all, of theOld Babyloniancopies of theKesh Temple Hymn,and most likely became the default in the first millennium BCE, though less common variants are also attested, for exampledŠu-ul-pé.[1]Contrary to assumptions in earlier scholarship, the theonymsdŠul-pa-è-dar-aanddŠul-pa-è-ùtul-aare no longer recognized as variants of his name, and are instead presumed to refer to separate deities.[2]

In addition to the commonromanization"Šulpae",[3][4][5][6]other spellings can also be found inAssyriologicalpublications, for example Šulpa'e (in theReallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie),[1]Šul-pa-eda[7]and Šul-pa-e.[8]

It is agreed that Šulpae's name can be translated fromSumerianas "the youth shining forth" or "the young one shining forth".[1]However,Jeremy Blackand Anthony Green argue that despite the meaning of his name, he was not considered to be a youthful god.[8]

ThetheonymLugaludda (dLugal-ud-da), "lord of the demons," first attested in anUr IIIoffering list fromPuzrish-Dagan,appears as Šulpae's alternate name in the god listAn = Anumand in its Old Babylonian forerunner.[9]

Character

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Šulpae's character is poorly known.[2]The earliest sources do not contain theological information about his position in the pantheon and individual roles.[1]The main sources of information for researchers is a hymn dedicated to him,[2]which was composed in theOld Babylonian period.[1]In addition to detailing his primary functions as an astral deity and a bringer of disease, it describes him fulfilling otherwise unknown roles, including those of a divine warrior and a deity of orchards and wild animals.[2]

As an astral deity, Šulpae was associated withJupiter,and especially with itsheliacal rising.[10]InMesopotamian astronomy,his name was the most common designation for this planet,[11]though it was also associated withMarduk.[12]A single fragmentary list from the Old Babylonian period already places Šulpae next to the deitydUD.AL.TAR, also considered to be a divine representation of Jupiter, which might be tied to his own astral character.[1]A commentary written by Nabû-mušēṣi states that "the Star of Marduk at its appearance is Šulpae; when it rises one double-hour, it is Sagmegar; when it stands in the middle of the sky, it is Nēberu."[13]Another reference to this role is known from theEpic of Erra,in which the eponymous god during his rampage wants to "dim the brilliance of Šulpae and wrench the stars from heaven."[11]

In the role of an agent of disease, Šulpae was commonly linked tobennu,possibly an unidentified "degenerative disease of the brain or spinal cord."[14]It is possible that the reference to him being a "rovingnamtardemon "pertains to this function.[10]Marten Stol argues that it is possible that the birth of a person afflicted by a disease associated with him was considered to be the result of the mother being impregnated through the influence of the planet he represented.[15]

In the poemDeath ofGilgamesh,Šulpae is listed alongsideunderworldgods, such asEreshkigal,Ningishzida,Dimmeku and theancestors of Enlil,but according to Dina Katz he did not belong to this category of deities himself.[16]She points outNinhursag,who also lacked such characteristics, is present in the same passage, and argues that their inclusion might have been the result on relying on a different composition, in which they also occur alongside Enlil's ancestors in a different context.[17]

Associations with other deities

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Šulpae was the husband ofNinhursag,and could be described as her "beloved spouse."[2]This connection is attested in sources pertaining toKesh,[18]such as theKesh Temple Hymn.[2]It is also known that this tradition was followed inNippur.[19]In the Nippur god list, Šulpae is followed by Ninhursag and eight other goddesses of similar character:Nin-dingir-re-e-ne,Ninmah, Nintur,Ninmena,Aruru,Dingirmaḫ,Mama(not to be confused withMammitum) and Belet-ili, though it remains a matter of dispute if at this time they were understood as different names of the same goddess, or as individual though syncretised deities.[20]Dina Katz assumes the view that he was the spouse of Ninhursag originated inAdabas a local tradition.[17]However, Marcos Such-Gutiérrez points out that Šulpae is sparsely attested in sources from this city from the third millennium BCE, and suggests that initially Ashgi was Ninhursag's husband there, but later came to be viewed as her son instead, as attested in the god listAn = Anum.[21]Jeremy Blackand Anthony Green assert that the tradition in which Šulpae was the spouse of Ninhursag contradicts her association withEnkiin myths.[8]However, according toManfred Krebernik[de],it was widespread, while Enki only appears as Ninhursag's husband in the mythEnki and Ninhursag,[22]where she is treated as identical toDamgalnunna,[23]his usual spouse.[24]

In addition to aforementioned Ashgi, deities regarded as the children of Šulpae and Ninhursag includeLisin,[8]Panigingarra[25]and Lillu, possibly identical with the first of these four.[26]

Šulpae was also described asEnlil'sbrother-in-law,and in the hymn dedicated to him he is also his "lord of the banquet table," though this label is not attested elsewhere.[2]

Worship

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Not much is known about the individual aspects of theworship of Šulpae, as religious texts which mention him are often offering lists.[2]He appears in twoEarly Dynasticlists of deities fromFara,which imply that he already received offerings of fish in this period, but he is absent from contemporary texts fromAbu SalabikhandEbla.[1]Most likely, by the middle of the third millennium BCE he became a prominent member of the local pantheon ofKesh.[2]He is also present in a number oftheophoric namesfromAdabfrom between the Early Dynastic andUr IIIperiods, such as Ur-Šulpae.[4]

In the Early Dynastic text corpus from the state ofLagash,Šulpae only occurs in a single theophoric name, Ur-Šulpae.[27]Later on, in the Ur III period, he received offerings inGirsu.[2]A list of rations might indicate that he shared atemplein this city withNinazu.[28]InNippurhe was worshiped in the temple ofNinhursag,as already attested in Ur III sources, and later on, in theOld Babylonian period,inNinurta's sanctuary Ešumeša as well.[2]Further cities where he is attested in at this time includeLarsaandUr.[2]Two seal inscriptions fromSipparmention him and Ninhursag as a pair as well.[29]According to Ran Zadok, he also appears in theophoric names fromSusa.[30]However, Paul Delnero argues that his cult was overall not widespread in the Old Babylonian period.[2]

In theKassite period,Šulpae is attested in the inscriptions on akudurruofNazi-Maruttash.[31]He is also invoked in two theophoric names identified in documents from Nippur.[32]TheCanonical Temple List,most likely composed in the late Kassite period,[33]list a total of ten temples dedicated to him, though their ceremonial names and respective locations are not preserved.[34]The names Eizzišutagga, "house of decorated walls,"[35]and Eḫursagga, "temple of the mountains," occur in another similar document, though no location is given for either of them.[36]A lamentation mentions Etillara, "house which smites the steppe."[37]A further temple the reading of whose name, Ešnam-UD, is partially uncertain, is also only known from a text belonging to this genre,[38]though according toAndrew R. Georgeit might also be present in a poorly preserved section of theCanonical Temple List.[39]

Šulpae is attested in sources from theSeleucidperiod fromUrukas well, though he does not appear in any theophoric names or legal texts, and there is no indication that he was already worshiped there in the precedingNeo-Babylonian period.[40]Julia Krul assumes that his introduction to the local pantheon was tied to his astral role, as a general rise of interest in astral deities can be observed locally in late sources.[41]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgDelnero 2013,p. 284.
  2. ^abcdefghijklmDelnero 2013,p. 285.
  3. ^Katz 2003,p. 306.
  4. ^abSuch-Gutiérrez 2005,p. 34.
  5. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 80.
  6. ^Krul 2018,p. 67.
  7. ^Black 2006,p. 368.
  8. ^abcdBlack & Green 1992,p. 173.
  9. ^Lambert 1987,p. 153.
  10. ^abDelnero 2013,pp. 285–286.
  11. ^abCooley 2008,p. 186.
  12. ^Cooley 2008,p. 179.
  13. ^Wee 2016,p. 156.
  14. ^Delnero 2013,p. 286.
  15. ^Stol 2000,p. 167.
  16. ^Katz 2003,pp. 366–367.
  17. ^abKatz 2003,p. 367.
  18. ^Black 2006,p. 371.
  19. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 59.
  20. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 87.
  21. ^Such-Gutiérrez 2005,p. 6.
  22. ^Krebernik 1997,p. 508.
  23. ^Krebernik 1997,p. 515.
  24. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,pp. 49–50.
  25. ^Krebernik 2005,p. 326.
  26. ^Katz 2003,p. 205.
  27. ^Selz 1995,p. 277.
  28. ^Katz 2003,p. 432.
  29. ^Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013,p. 257.
  30. ^Zadok 2018,p. 150.
  31. ^Lambert 2013,p. 220.
  32. ^Bartelmus 2017,p. 311.
  33. ^George 1993,p. 6.
  34. ^George 1993,p. 170.
  35. ^George 1993,p. 107.
  36. ^George 1993,p. 100.
  37. ^George 1993,p. 150.
  38. ^George 1993,p. 85.
  39. ^George 1993,p. 25.
  40. ^Krul 2018,p. 72.
  41. ^Krul 2018,p. 75.

Bibliography

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