Pentacle/Pentagram + Madness on 4 Winds

Hey thanks! Anything on religious use beyond that?

Also note the 5 pointed star appearing on Marduk's garment.

img123.imageshack.us/my.php?image=24750494wu8.jpg

> to protect the person in every direction, the original Sumer was actually gods <

Not Sumerian, but rather Middle/Neo-Assyrian.

Three texts, Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works, p. 75:

...] The South wind which served Ea.
...] The East wind which served Enlil.
...] The North wind which served Adad and Ninurta.
...] The West wind which served Anu.

--

The South wind: Ea, father of the gods.
The East wind: Enlil, lord of all.
The North wind: Ninlil, lady of breezes.
The West wind: Anu, father of the gods.

--

Receive, South wind, beloved of Ea!
Ditto North wind, beloved of Sin!
Receive, East wind, beloved of Anu!
Ditto West wind, beloved of Ea and Anu!

---

The four winds represent the four cardinal points, of course. The idea that the winds can be beneficial or harmful is an early one, as the Sumerian proverbs demonstrate. ETCSL 6.1.04 lines 11-13:

The north wind is a satisfying wind; the south wind is harmful (?) to man.
The east wind is a rain-bearing wind; the west wind is greater than those who live there.
The east wind is a wind of prosperity, the friend of Naram-Suen.

Taking a closer look at the East and North winds of the second example:

^IMkur-ra ^den-líl bēl gim-ri^šá-a-ri
IMsi-sá ^dnin-líl bēlet za-qí-qí

The East wind: Enlil, lord of all.
The North wind: Ninlil, lady of breezes.


Here Enlil is described as bēl gimri "lord of totality," and gimri is glossed with šāru "wind." Livingstone explains (p. 76):

In the second line of the second example the meaning of šá-a-ri is doubtful. Epithets and descriptions of Enlil in religious literature do not regard him as controller of winds, but do allude to him as lord of "totality", Akkadian gimru. It therefore seems probable that bēl gimri is here "lord of totality", and that šá-a-ri is not šāru, "wind", but entered the textual tradition at some stage as a gloss on šár, in some meanings a Sumerian equivalent of gimru. This interpretation is supported by the fact that šá-a-ri is omitted from one of the manuscripts, K 8397; whether TIM 9 60 read šá-a-ri is uncertain because the right hand edge of the column is not preserved.

However I find it peculiar that Livingstone does not read šāru, since just a couple of pages earlier he cites a text that supports the relation of šāru with the East wind:

A section in a late text associates Anu, Ea, and Enlil with fire, water, and wind, respectively:

Girra: Anu: fire. Primeval: Ea: water.
(IM^tu.hur.sag: ^den-líl: šá-a-ri)
East wind: Enlil: wind. According to a learned commentary.

. . . A variant in another text, about winds and gods (see p. 76) suggests that gimru, Sumerian šár, may supply the connection with šāru, "wind".

And we note the meaning of the name En-lil₂, "Lord of Wind." Thus I see no problem in associating wind with totality.


The description of Ninlil in relation to the North wind is quite interesting: bēlet za-qí-qí "Lady of zaqīqu." Livingstone reads zaqīqu as breeze, though typically zaqīqu is read as "spirit," especially appearing as the soul of mankind, as a dream god, and as a wind demon.

It is in my opinion that the East and North winds in this text represent a dichotomy between the Lord of Wind and his Queen:
- Enlil, the lord of totality, as the macrocosmic wind
- Ninlil, the lady of zaqīqu, as the microcosmic wind

Madness:



Wonderful reading! I have very much enjoyed your reflections here, particularly the insights into the south wind, preference for zaqiqu as `spirt`, and the this description: `"- Enlil, the lord of totality, as the macrocosmic wind- Ninlil, the lady of zaqīqu, as the microcosmic wind" - Beautiful! References to Izr`el very nice as well. Thanks very much mein fruend

The four directions are depicted on Early Dynastic cosmic maps.

F. Wiggermann, "Scenes from the Shadow Side," in Mesopotamian Poetic Language. CM 6.

Fig. 2:
img24.imageshack.us/my.php?image=65801996.jpg
cdli.ucla.edu/search/result.pt?id_text=P010672

Early Dynastic III map from Fara.
Drawn four times is the sign ašag_x (GANA₂) "field." In the centre the sign kur, of which Wiggermann says is "undoubtedly referring to the city of Nippur and the Ekur, "Mountain House", whence Enlil, surnamed the "Great Mountain" (^dkur-gal), rules his human subjects." Four rivers are drawn, surrounding the world.*
On the other side of the tablet is a list of professional names, representing the "community of mankind."

*Wiggermann also points to a Late Babylonian "map of the world" tablet, in which the main continent is surrounded by ^id₂marratu "ocean" (and strangely written with the id₂ "river" determinative). For an analysis of the Late Babylonian tablet, see W. Horowitz, Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography, pp. 20-42.


Fig. 3:
img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=35650917.jpg
[See Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh. OIP 99, p. 31 fig. 29]

Early Dynastic III abstract map from Abu Salabikh.
Wiggermann believes this to be an abstract version of the cosmic geography, since the other side contains the same list of professional names as on the Fara tablet. This map shows a cross design, pointing to the four directions.


Fig. 5a and 5b:
img11.imageshack.us/my.php?image=39374961.jpg
img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=76685455.jpg
[See Ur Excavations Vol. 3, plate 21 no. 393, and plate 30 no. 518]

Early Dynastic I (5a) and III (5b) "Wheel of Four Figures."
Wiggermann says "That the wheel-of-four-figures which occurs all through the third and well into the second millennium denotes the four quarters of the inhabited world is highly likely, but cannot easily be proven." Apparently the figures in the wheel are (at least recognisable since OB period) the lahmu, who hold "each other and Heaven and Earth."

The four winds also have a demonic character, as in the Utukku Lemnutu series (tablet 12):

(Marduk describes to his father)
24. The south wind, when it blows, dizzies people with dust.
25. The north wind when mightily blowing splits open the broad land.
26. The east wind, which has caused the rain above to rain down its lightning, makes a man's body waste away.
27. The west wind is evil,* tirelessly brings devastation to the arallû-plains.

* Sumerian: 'destructive.'

Thank you for the article. Yes Horowitz describes the same thing, that the most common winds in Mesopotamia are the northwest and southeast winds, which are not true north, south, east or west (p. 196).


--
[Horowitz = Mesopotamian Cosmic Geography]

In my earlier posts I was unsure as to why Anu was associated with the West wind, but I think I have a reliable answer to this.

The list of winds typically begin with the South (Ea) and finish with the West (Anu). In fact they are numbered as so in ancient texts (Horowitz p. 197; also see table 2 in the article af linked to above):

IM.1 = šu-u-tu 'south wind'
IM.2 = [i]l-ta-nu 'north wind'
IM.3 = šá-du-u 'east wind'
IM.4 = a-mur-ru 'west wind'

We can think of the winds as circular (reading counter-clockwise); that the Mesopotamians thought as such is discussed by Horowitz (p. 206), he examines a late Babylonian flake which shows a square (listing the four winds) enclosed by a circle, which "suggests that the winds blew in a circular region," and he cites texts which state (e.g.) kippat šār erbetti "circle of the four winds."

Beginning with the South wind, rotating to the East, then North, and arriving at the West (and presumably returning back to the South again in eternal rotation*).


So, the reason why Anu is of the West is because he is the beginning and the end (alpha and omega; 1 and 60). Through this idea he is mystically equated with his son Ea (on this point see Parpola, JNES 52 pp. 184, 190-191, n. 89), and I believe that the four winds reflect this thought:
- In the second example (reply #6 above) both Ea and Anu are described as abi ilāni^meš "father of the gods," which implies that not only are the first and the last the very same power (since logically there can only be one supreme father, not two), but also that this generative power ("father") ultimately returns to itself in the end.
- In the third example, both Ea and Anu are associated with the West wind, again demonstrating this mystical equation of the two gods.

The West is the most appropriate destination to represent this, since it is where the sun sets - the sun journeys back to where it came from, the Great Mother, and is reborn again in the East - similarly, the circle of winds is completed with Anu, the end, and returns to where it began, with Ea the father.


* Like a snake biting its own tail, which is probably not too far off the mark, as I mentioned in the snake thread that the world was conceived as being surrounded by the great snake (Nirah or Tiamat).

Is it, you'll have to explain, I know next to nothing about Greek geometry.


I'm finding hardly any discussion at all on the Mesopotamian pentagram. Legrain (reply #3 above) affirms that it represents the four cardinal points.


But so far the only other discussion that I am aware of is in an old article, Babyloniaca XIV, "Le Pentagramme pythagoricien, sa diffusion, son employ dans le syllabaire cuneiforme."

It's in French so I can't read it, shame because it seems to be the most comprehensive examination of the UB sign available. Well it has a figure showing UB at different time periods.


I'm also seeing a complete lack of the appearance of the pentagram in iconography after the Sumerian period (Marduk's garment is the only late example that I can think of).

I needed Walt Disney to explain the Pythagorean pentagram to me.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT_Bxgah9zc

Enjoy.

UPDATING:






On the pool the resources thread, recently, Madness has asked about Wiggermann and academia.edu:


"These are a list of Wiggermann's articles that are downloadable?

vu-nl.academia.edu/FransWiggermann/Papers"



I can answer that yes, the link you mention is a variation of the site academic.edu . It is in fact totally separate from facebook and also with a totally different focus - though the mechanics of the site are similar.

I have mixed feelings about it - on the one hand I am happy that there is a place in which one can easily find students and scholars in the field if there is some desire to do that. On the other hand I am frustrated that the public is not able to join (you need a university email address), and to download the many paper floating around, as they have the hardest time getting this material anyway!

What is different than facebook is that there is much more of a work orientated feel to the place - you don't "add friends" here - instead, to connect to other peoples profiles, you "follow" their work. There are no games or social gimmicks of any sort. For the most part, people don't seem to interact much other than downloading each others papers etc. I would think even someone of your persistently serious demeanor may make use of it?



Anyway, yes I hadn't noticed Wiggermann's profile but there are tons of great papers. Here is a list of them, if anyone reading this wants any of these, contact me:


Wein, Weib und Gesang in een Midden-Assyrische nederzetting aan de Balikh
in Phoenix no. 56 1-2, 2010.



La Fortresse de Tell Sabi Abyad
with P. Akkermans, in 'Archéologia' no. 358 (July-August) 1999.


Archaeology, Near Eastern Studies, Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Ancient Near East, and Assyriology


Lamastu, dochter van Anu
in M. Stol (ed.), Zwangerschap en Geboorte bij de babyloniers en in de Bijbel, Mededelingen van het Vooraziatische genootschap Ex Oriente Lux 23, 1983


History, Iconography, Assyriology, Ancient Near East, and Near Eastern Archaeology


On BIN SAR DADME, The "Anzu-myth"
Van Driel, Krispijn, Stol and Veenhof (eds.), ZIKIR SUMIM, Assyriological Studies presented to F. R. Kraus., Brill, Leiden 1982



Assyriology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Mesopotamian Religions, and Mesopotamia History


Agriculture in the Northern Balikh Valley: The Case of Middle Assyrian Tell Sabi Abyad
in R. M. Jas (ed.), Rainfall and Agriculture in Northern Mesopotamia (MOS Studies 3), Istanbul 2000




Archaeology, Near Eastern Archaeology, Ancient Near East, Near Eastern Studies, and Ancient Near East (Archaeology)


Tišpak, his seal and the dragon mušḥuššu
in Haex, Curvers and Akkermans (eds.), To the Euphrates and Beyond: Archaeological Studies in Honour of Maurits N. van Loon. Rotterdam 1989



Archaeology, History, Assyriology, Iconography, and Ancient Near East



Extensions of and contradictions to dr. Porada's Lecture
in Porada, Man and Images in the Ancient Near East, Wakefield / London 1996

Archaeology, Iconography, Assyriology, History, and Near Eastern Archaeology


Mythical Foundations of Nature
in D. Meijer (ed.), Natural Phenomena, Their Meaning, Depiction and Description in the Ancient Near East. Amsterdam 1992


History, Near Eastern Archaeology, Ancient Near East, and Assyriology


Magic in History. A Theoretical Perspective, and its Application to Ancient Mesopotamia
with W. van Binsbergen. in Abusch and Van der Toorn (eds.), Mesopotamian Magic (Ancient Magic and Divination 1), Styx Publ., Groningen 1999



Assyriology, Iconography, History, Archaeology, and Ancient Near East



Transtigridian Snake Gods
in Finkel and Geller (eds.), Sumerian Gods and Their Representations (Cuneiform Monographs 7), Styx Publ. Groningen, 1997


Some Demons of Time and their Functions in Mesopotamian Iconography
in Groneberg, Brigitte; , Spieckermann, Hermann; , and Weiershäuser, Frauke (eds.),Die Welt der Götterbilder, Berlin, New York (Walter de Gruyter) 2007



Iconography, Assyriology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, and Archaeology


Dogs, Pigs, Lamastu and the Breat-Feading of Animals by Women
in Shehata e.a. (eds), Von Goettern und Menschen (Fs. Groneberg), Brill (Leiden) 2010


Iconography, Mesopotamian Archaeology, Assyriology, and Archaeology



Duplicating Akkadian Magic
M. Geller and F. Wiggermann, in R. J. van der Spek e.a. (eds), Studies in Ancient Near Eastern World View and Society (FS Marten Stol), Bethesda: CDL Press, 2008


A Babylonian Scholar in Assur
in R. J. van der Spek e.a. (eds), Studies in Ancient Near Eastern World View and Society (FS Marten Stol), Bethesda: CDL Press, 2008



The Four Winds and the Origins of Pazuza
in 'Das geistigen Erfassen der Welt im alten Orient' (eds. Hazenbos, Zgoll, Wilcke), Wiesbaden 2007


Iconography, Assyriology, Mesopotamian Archaeology, and Archaeology


Scenes From the Shadow Side
in Vogelzang and Vanstiphout (eds.), Mesopotamian Poetic Language (Cuneiform Monographs 6), Styx Publ., Groningen 1996



Cuneiform texts from Tell Sabi Abyad related to Pottery
Appendix in K. Duistermaat, 'The Pots and Potters of Assyria Technology and Organisation of Production, Ceramic Sequence and Vessel Function at Late Bronze Age Tell sabi Abyad, Syria.' Leiden, 2008

Archaeology and Mesopotamian Archaeology


Exit Talim!
in Jaarbericht Ex Oriente Lux (JEOL) 27, 1981-1982



The Staff of Ninsuburra
in Jaarbericht ex Oriente Lux (JEOL) 29, 1985-1986


Iconography, Ancient Near East, Ancient Near East (Archaeology), Near Eastern Archaeology, and Assyriology
Seen by:


The Image of Dumuzi
in Gazing on the Deep: Ancient Near Eastern and Other Studies in Honor of Tzvi Abusch, eds. J. Stackert, B. N. Porter, D. P. Wright (2010)



Babylonian Prophylactic Figures: the Ritual Texts



Some Demons of Time and Their Functions In Mesopotamian Iconography


Götterbilder In Der Welt Des Vorderen Orients Angelika Berlejung Die Reduktion Von Komplexität. Das Theologische Profil Einer Gottheit Und Seine Umsetzung In Der …






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So you are astute as always in pinpointng the one on the 4 Winds and Pazazu - I will download and send it your way promptly. I had seen article that somewhere and have been fascinated by its premise. In fact, I had taken this note from the volume "Sumerian Gods and their Representations" , the contribution "Myths in Mesopotamian Art" by Anthony Green... as a prelude to Wiggermann's article, Green calls Pazazu "king of the evil wind demons" :


"...similarly, Pazazu, son of the god Hanbi and king of the evil wind-demons, is represented by a large number of stone, copper and clay figurines - head or full figure - which may be inscribed with incantations giving his name."



y:

In reference to the cross as a solar symbol in reply #19.
In the PSD you'll find the term ašme meaning 'sun-disk ornament' (made of gold, silver or bronze) and 'radiance'. The beauty of this sign is that it is made up of aš - being a single stroke and me - a 'T'-shaped sign. You put them together and get a cross

The article by Wiggermann on the 4 winds and the origins of Pazuzu explains the conception of the 4 winds in Mesopotamian thought from about the 2nd millennium on (methinks) pretty good. I have a powerpoint presentation on it for class, if someone wants to avoid reading the article (which he, I might add, presented at the COST 31 meeting in Vienna. I made him coffee and shared an, uhm, cigarette with him. *proudness*)


Edit: I heart academia.edu. It is amazing how many articles one get and how good one can network with people in the same field of work as oneself. I prefer it to any other 'social platform' I've ever encountered, exactly because it is nothing but an information-sharing network. <3

In all the ETCSL texts I've explored the north wind is mir (except in the Proverbs: collection 4: c.6.1.04)

DUN3gunugunu; Borger: MIR



An axe is aga also written by MIR which archaic sign is:



or



The double axe is an omnipresent hieroglyph of the Minoan civilization and in general it's very common in the Bronze Age cultures.







The most ancient depictions of the double axe known to me are these archaic seal-impressions from Ur I've attached below.