Ninurta
Though Ninurta was originally worshipped solely as a god of agriculture, in later times, as Mesopotamia became more urban and militarized, he began to be increasingly seen as a warrior deity instead. He became primarily characterized by the aggressive, warlike aspect of his nature.
In later times, Ninurta’s reputation as a fierce warrior made him immensely popular among the Assyrians. In the late second millennium BC, Assyrian kings frequently held names which included the name of Ninurta.
In spite of this, however, he continued to be seen as a healer and protector, and he was commonly invoked in spells to protect against demons, disease, and other dangers. Assyrian stone reliefs from the Kalhu period show Aššur as a winged disc, with Ninurta’s name written beneath it, indicating the two were seen as near-equals.
In artistic representations, Ninurta is shown as a warrior, carrying a bow and arrow and clutching Sharur, his magic talking mace. He sometimes has a set of wings, raised upright, ready to attack. In Babylonian art, he is often shown standing on the back of or riding a beast with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.
Ninurta remained closely associated with agricultural symbolism as late as the middle of the second millennium BC. On kudurrus from the Kassite Period (c. 1600 — c. 1155 BC), a plough is captioned as a symbol of Ninĝirsu. The plough also appears in Neo-Assyrian art, possibly as a symbol of Ninurta. A perched bird is also used as a symbol of Ninurta during the Neo-Assyrian Period.
One speculative hypothesis holds that the winged disc originally symbolized Ninurta during the ninth century BC, but was later transferred to Aššur and the sun-god Shamash. This idea is based on some early representations in which the god on the winged disc appears to have the tail of a bird. Most scholars have rejected this suggestion as unfounded.
Astronomers of the eighth and seventh centuries BC identified Ninurta (or Pabilsaĝ), a tutelary God of the city of Isin, with the constellation Sagittarius. Alternatively, others identified him with the star Sirius, which was known in Akkadian as šukūdu, meaning “arrow”.
The constellation of Canis Major, of which Sirius is the most visible star, was known as qaštu, meaning “bow”, after the bow and arrow Ninurta was believed to carry. In Babylonian times, Ninurta was associated with the planet Saturn, the traditional ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius and exalted in Libra.
Saturn and Jupiter
In classical Roman mythology, Saturn is the god of seeds, crops, and the harvest (agriculture), leader of the titans, father and founder of civilizations, social order, and conformity. The glyph is shaped like a scythe, but it is known as the “crescent below the cross”, whereas Jupiter’s glyph is the “crescent above the cross”.
Saturn is the traditional ruling planet of Capricorn and Aquarius and is exalted in Libra. Mars is the traditional ruling planet of Aries and Scorpio and is exalted in Capricorn while Mercury is the ruling planet of both Virgo and Gemini and is exalted in Virgo and Aquarius. Uranus is the modern ruling planet of Aquarius and is exalted in Scorpio.
Before the discovery of Uranus, Saturn was regarded as the ruling planet of Aquarius alongside Capricorn, which is the preceding sign. Anyway many traditional types of astrologers refer to Saturn as the planetary ruler for both Capricorn and Aquarius.
Jupiter is the traditional ruling planet of Sagittarius and Pisces and it is exalted in Cancer. Neptune is the modern ruling planet of Pisces and is exalted in Leo. Venus is the traditional ruling planet of Libra and Taurus and is exalted in Pisces. The Moon is the ruling planet of Cancer and is exalted in Taurus.
In old opinion Ceres is the ruling planet of Virgo but the majority opinion of modern astrologers denotes Ceres being the ruler for Taurus, however, Ceres is exalted in Virgo. In an updated revision, Taurus is also ruled by Chiron with that very same centaur having an astrological maverick character being a co-ruler to Virgo, and exalted in Sagittarius.
Sagittarius
The text Pabilsag’s Journey to Nibru describes, Pabilsag as journeying to Nippur and presenting the God Enlil with gifts. He was given the epithet of “the wild bull with multicoloured legs”. He is represented in the constellation of Sagittarius.
Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur pulling back a bow. It lies between Scorpius and Ophiuchus to the west and Capricornus and Microscopium to the east. The center of the Milky Way lies in the westernmost part of Sagittarius. On the west side of the constellation, Ptelomy also described the asterism Terebellum consisting of four 4th magnitude stars.
The Sumerian name Pabilsag is composed of two elements – Pabil, meaning ‘elder paternal kinsman’ and Sag, meaning ‘chief, head’. The name may thus be translated as the ‘Forefather’ or ‘Chief Ancestor’. The figure is reminiscent of modern depictions of Sagittarius (Greek: Toxotes, Latin: Sagittarius).
Sagittarius is the ninth astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Sagittarius and spans 240–270th degrees of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between approximately November 23 and December 21.
Sagittarius, the half human and half horse, is the centaur of mythology, the learned healer whose higher intelligence forms a bridge between Earth and Heaven. Also known as the Archer, Sagittarius is represented by the symbol of a bow and arrow.
Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is a stylized arrow. The arrow of this constellation points towards the star Antares, the “heart of the scorpion”, and Sagittarius stands poised to attack should Scorpius ever attack the nearby Hercules, or to avenge Scorpius’s slaying of Orion.
Jupiter is the traditional ruling planet of Sagittarius and Pisces and it is exalted in Cancer. In classical Roman mythology, Jupiter is the ruler of the gods and their guardian and protector, and his symbol is the thunderbolt.
The Romans believed that Jupiter granted them supremacy because they had honored him more than any other people had. Jupiter was “the fount of the auspices upon which the relationship of the city with the gods rested.”
He personified the divine authority of Rome’s highest offices, internal organization, and external relations. His image in the Republican and Imperial Capitol bore regalia associated with Rome’s ancient kings and the highest consular and Imperial honours.
In the same way, the planet Jupiter is the king of the other planets, a giant in size with spectacular, brightly colored clouds and intense storms. Some astronomers believe that it plays an important protecting role in using its massive gravity to capture or expel from the solar system many comets and asteroids that would otherwise threaten Earth and the inner planets.
Jupiter takes 11.9 years to orbit the Sun, spending almost an earth year (361 days) in each sign of the zodiac. Furthermore, Jupiter is usually the fourth-brightest object in the sky (after the Sun, the Moon and Venus).
Astrologically speaking, Jupiter is associated with the principles of growth, expansion, healing, prosperity, good fortune, and miracles. Jupiter governs long distance and foreign travel, big business and wealth, higher education, religion, and the law. It is also associated with the urge for freedom and exploration, as well with gambling and merrymaking.
The 1st-century poet Manilius described Jupiter as temperate and benign, and the greater benefic. It was regarded as warm and moist in nature, and therefore favorable to life. In medicine, Jupiter is associated with the liver, pituitary gland, and the disposition of fats; it governed the sanguine humor.
In modern astrology, Jupiter is the primary native ruler of the ninth house, but traditionally, Jupiter was assigned to both the second and ninth houses: the house of values and the house of beliefs, respectively, and had its joy in the eleventh house of good luck.
Jupiter is associated with Thursday, and in Romance languages, the name for Thursday often comes from Jupiter (e.g., joi in Romanian, jeudi in French, jueves in Spanish, and giovedì in Italian). Thunor, Donar (German, Donnerstag) and Thor are derived from the name of the Germanic god of thunder, Thunraz, equivalent to Jupiter in the interpretatio romana.
The name is derived from Old English Þūnresdæg and Middle English Thuresday (with loss of -n-, first in northern dialects, from influence of Old Norse Þorsdagr) meaning “Thor’s Day”. It was named after the Norse god of Thunder, Thor.
Dante Alighieri associated Jupiter with the liberal art of geometry. In Chinese astrology, Jupiter is ruled by the element wood, which is patient, hard-working, and reliable. In Indian astrology, Jupiter is known as Guru or Brihaspati and is known as the ‘great teacher’.
In ancient Hindu literature Brihaspati is a Vedic era sage who counsels the gods, while in some medieval texts the word refers to the largest planet Jupiter. In medieval mythologies particularly those associated with Hindu astrology, Brihaspati has a second meaning and refers to Jupiter.
It became the root of the word ‘Brihaspativara’ or Thursday in the Hindu calendar. Brihaspati as Jupiter is part of the Navagraha in Hindu zodiac system, considered auspicious and benevolent. The word “Thursday” in the Greco-Roman and other Indo-European calendars is also dedicated to planet Jupiter (god of sky and thunder).
The icon of Brihaspati makes his body golden, with his legs striped blue and his head covered with a halo of moon and stars. He holds different items depending on the region. In Sri Lanka, he holds phallus in two hands, while in other parts of South Asia he holds a container containing soma, sometimes with a tamed tiger. Elsewhere, his icon carries a stick, a lotus and beads.
Bṛhaspati appears in the Rigveda (pre-1000 BCE), such as in the dedications to him in the hymn 50 of Book 4; he is described as a sage born from the first great light, the one who drove away darkness, is bright and pure, and carries a special bow whose string is Rta or “cosmic order” (basis of dharma). His knowledge and character is revered, and he is considered Guru (teacher) by all the Devas.
In the Vedic literature and other ancient texts, sage Brihaspati is also called by other names such as Bramanaspati, Purohita, Angirasa (son of Angiras) and Vyasa; he is sometimes identified with god Agni (fire). His wife is Tara (or goddess who personifies the stars in the sky). In the Mahabharata, the son of Brihaspati named Bharadvaja is the counsellor of the Pandavas.
In medieval mythologies, Tara was abducted by Chandra. Tara bore a son, Budha (planet Mercury). Budha, in puranic Hindu mythology, is also a deity. He is also known as Soumya (lit. son of Moon), Rauhineya and Tunga.
Budha appears as a deity in Indian texts, often as the son of Soma (moon god, Chandra) and Taraka (wife of Bṛhaspati, Jupiter god). The mythology of Budha as a deity is not consistent in Hindu Puranas, and he alternatively is described as the son of goddess Rohini (a daughter of Daksha) and god Soma. By his spouse Ila, Budha had a son, king Pururavas.
One of the earliest mentions of Budha as a celestial body appears in the Vedic text Pancavimsa Brahmana, and it appears in other ancient texts such as the Shatapatha Brahmana as well, but not in the context of astrology. Budha has been linguistically related to Buddha, the founder of Buddhism,though this is controversial.
In the ancient texts, Budha is linked to three steps of the Hindu god Vishnu. Vishnu is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. The “preserver” in the Hindu triad (Trimurti), Vishnu is revered as the supreme being.
In Vaishnavism as identical to the metaphysical concept of Brahman (Atman, the self, or unchanging ultimate reality), and is notable for adopting various incarnations (avatars such as Rama and Krishna) to preserve and protect dharmic principles whenever the world is threatened with evil, chaos, and destructive forces.
Several hymns of the Rigveda repeat the mighty deed of Vishnu called the Trivikrama, which is one of the lasting mythologies in Hinduism since the Vedic times. It is an inspiration for ancient artwork in numerous Hindu temples such as at the Ellora Caves, which depict the Trivikrama legend through the Vamana avatar of Vishnu.
Trivikrama refers to the celebrated three steps or “three strides” of Vishnu. Starting as a small insignificant looking being, Vishnu undertakes a herculean task of establishing his reach and form, then with his first step covers the earth, with second the ether, and the third entire heaven.
The Vishnu Sukta 1.154 of Rigveda says that the first and second of Vishnu’s strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to the mortals and the third is the realm of the immortals. The Trivikrama describing hymns integrate salvific themes, stating Vishnu to symbolize that which is freedom and life.
The Shatapatha Brahmana elaborates this theme of Vishnu, as his herculean effort and sacrifice to create and gain powers that help others, one who realizes and defeats the evil symbolized by the Asuras after they had usurped the three worlds, and thus Vishnu is the savior of the mortals and the immortals (Devas).
Budha’s iconography, according to Roshen Dalal, is as a benevolent but a minor male deity with light yellow colored body (or green), draped into yellow clothes, with a chariot made of air and fire, drawn by eight wind horses. He is also represented holding a scimitar, a club and a shield, riding a winged lion in Bhudhan Temple. In other illustrations, he rides a lion and has four arms.
Budha is the root of the word ‘Budhavara’ or Wednesday in the Hindu calendar. The word “Wednesday” in the Greco-Roman and other Indo-European calendars is also dedicated to planet Mercury (“day of Woden or Oden”). Budha is part of the Navagraha in Hindu zodiac system, considered benevolent, associated with an agile mind and memory.
The name is derived from Old English Wōdnesdæg and Middle English Wednesdei, “day of Woden”, reflecting the pre-Christian religion practiced by the Anglo-Saxons, a variation of the Norse god Odin. In some other languages, such as the French mercredi or Italian mercoledì, the day’s name is a calque of dies Mercurii “day of Mercury”.
In old opinion,Ceres is the ruling planet of Virgo but as more knowledge about the planet’s character has been revealed, the majority opinion of modern astrologers denotes Ceres being the ruler for Taurus, however, Ceres is exalted in Virgo. In an updated revision, Taurus is also ruled by Chiron with that very same centaur having an astrological maverick character being a co-ruler to Virgo, and exalted in Sagittarius.
Along with Aries and Leo, Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon as well as the last of the reproductive trinity. It also follows Gemini and Virgo as third of the mutable signs, which are the signs that feature changeable quality. As an archer, Sagittarius is said never to fail in hitting the mark and this depiction alludes to the power of prophecy, hence, the claim that seers and prophets are born in this sign.
The image of the sign says a lot about his features: he’s able to be extremely violent or wise, brave or mild. When Sagittarius is depicted as an archer, then he is classified as human but when represented as a centaur, he is nonhuman (bestial). However, the classification of the astrological sign as a human or bestial does not carry practical consequences for interpretation.
The Babylonians identified Sagittarius as the god Nergal, a strange centaur-like creature firing an arrow from a bow. It is generally depicted with wings, with two heads, one panther head and one human head, as well as a scorpion’s stinger raised above its more conventional horse’s tail.
In Greek mythology, Sagittarius is usually identified as a centaur: half human, half horse. However, perhaps due to the Greeks’ adoption of the Sumerian constellation, some confusion surrounds the identity of the archer. Some identify Sagittarius as the centaur Chiron, the son of Philyra and Cronus, who was said to have changed himself into a horse to escape his jealous wife, Rhea, and tutor to Jason.
As there are two centaurs in the sky, some identify Chiron with the other constellation, known as Centaurus. Or, as an alternative tradition holds, that Chiron devised the constellations Sagittarius and Centaurus to help guide the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece.
A competing mythological tradition, as espoused by Eratosthenes, identified the Archer not as a centaur but as the satyr Crotus, son of Pan, who Greeks credited with the invention of archery. According to myth, Crotus often went hunting on horseback and lived among the Muses, who requested that Zeus place him in the sky, where he is seen demonstrating archery.
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The national divinity of the Greeks, Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poetry, and more.
He is the son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Seen as the most beautiful god and the ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo is considered to be the most Greek of all gods. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu.
As the patron deity of Delphi (Pythian Apollo), Apollo is an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Apollo is the god who affords help and wards off evil; various epithets call him the “averter of evil”.
Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, and he delivered men from epidemics, yet Apollo is also a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague with his arrows. Apollo is the god of archery and the invention of archery is credited to him and his sister Artemis. He has a golden bow and arrows.
In the late Babylonian astral-theological system Nergal is related to the planet Mars. As a fiery god of destruction and war, Nergal doubtless seemed an appropriate choice for the red planet, and he was equated by the Greeks to the war-god Ares (Latin Mars)—hence the current name of the planet.
Amongst the Hurrians and later Hittites Nergal was known as Aplu, a name derived from the Akkadian Apal Enlil, (Apal being the construct state of Aplu) meaning “the son of Enlil”. Aplu may be related with Apaliunas who is considered to be the Hittite reflex of *Apeljōn, an early form of the name Apollo.
Nergal’s chief temple at Cuthah bore the name Meslam, from which the god receives the designation of Meslamtaeda or Meslamtaea, “the one that rises up from Meslam”. The name Meslamtaeda/Meslamtaea indeed is found as early as the list of gods from Fara while the name Nergal only begins to appear in the Akkadian period.
In Babylonian astronomy, the stars Castor and Pollux were known as the Great Twins. The Twins were regarded as minor gods and were called Meshlamtaea and Lugalirra, meaning respectively ‘The One who has arisen from the Underworld’ and the ‘Mighty King’. Both names can be understood as titles of Nergal, the major Babylonian god of plague and pestilence, who was king of the Underworld.
The Aśvins, or Ashwini Kumaras (“horse possessors”), are twin Vedic gods of medicine in Hindu mythology. Associated with the dawn, they are described as youthful divine twin horsemen in the Rigveda, travelling in a chariot drawn by horses that are never weary.
The twin gods are also referred to as Nā́satyā (possibly “saviours”; a derivate of nasatí, “safe return home”), a name that appears 99 times in the Rigveda. The epithet likely derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *nes-, “to return home (safely)”, with cognates in Avestan Nā̊ŋhaiθya, the name of a demon in the Zoroastrian religious system, in Greek Nestor and in Gothic nasjan (“save, heal”).
The first mention of the Nasatya twins is from the Mitanni documents of the second millennium BCE, where they are invoked in a treaty between Suppiluliuma and Shattiwaza, respectively kings of the Hittites and the Mitanni.
The Master of Animals or Lord of Animals is a motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. It is very widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The Greek god shown as “Master of Animals” is usually Apollo, the god of hunting. Potnia Theron (“Mistress of the Animals”) is used for early Greek depictions of goddesses, usually Artemis, holding animals.
The consort of Pabilsag was the Goddess Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: dNIN.SUMUN2; Sumerian: Nin-sumun(ak) “lady of the wild cows”), identified with the lost city of Larak.According to the ancient Babylonian text, Pabilsag wedded Nininsina near a riverbank and gave birth to Damu, a god of vegetation and rebirth, as a result of the union.
In Sumerian mythology Ninsun is a goddess best known as the mother of the legendary hero Gilgamesh, and as the tutelary goddess of Gudea of Lagash. Her parents are the deities Anu and Uras. Ninsun has also been linked to older deities. She was originally called Gula until her name was later changed to Ninisina. Later, Gula became identified with the Babylonian goddess Nintinugga.
Since the father of Gilgamesh was former king Lugalbanda (“Young/Fierce king”), it stands to reason that Ninsun procreated with Lugalbanda to give birth. She assists her son in his adventure by providing him with the meanings of his dream in the beginning.
Lugalbanda is listed in the Sumerian King List as the second king of Uruk, saying he ruled for 1,200 years, and providing him with the epithet of the Shepherd. His existence and rule, whether a king who historically ruled over Uruk and at what time, is quite uncertain.
Lugalbanda prominently features as the hero of two Sumerian stories dated to the Ur III period (21st century BCE), called by scholars Lugalbanda I (or Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave) and Lugalbanda II (or Lugalbanda and the Anzu Bird). Both are known only in later versions, although there is an Ur III fragment that is quite different from either 18th century version.
These tales are part of a series of stories that describe the conflicts between Enmerkar, king of Unug (Uruk), and Ensuhkeshdanna, lord of Aratta, presumably in the Armenian Highland. Lugalbanda is a soldier in the army of Enmerkar, whose name also appears in the Sumerian King List as the first king of Uruk and predecessor of Lugalbanda.
Mars in culture is about the planet Mars in culture. For example, the planet Mars is named after the Roman god of war Mars. In Babylonian astronomy, the planet was named after Nergal, a son of Enlil and Ninlil, along with Nanna and Ninurta, their deity of fire, war, and destruction, most likely due to the planet’s reddish appearance.
Nergal seems to be in part a solar deity, sometimes identified with Shamash, but only representative of a certain phase of the sun. Portrayed in hymns and myths as a god of war and pestilence, Nergal seems to represent the sun of noontime and of the summer solstice that brings destruction, high summer being the dead season in the Mesopotamian annual cycle.
He has also been called “the king of sunset”. Over time Nergal developed from a war god to a god of the underworld. In the mythology, this occurred when Enlil and Ninlil gave him the underworld.Nergal’s fiery aspect appears in names or epithets such as Lugalgira, Lugal-banda (Nergal as the fighting-cock).
The worship of Nergal does not appear to have spread as widely as that of Ninurta, but in the late Babylonian and early Persian period, syncretism seems to have fused the two divinities, which were invoked together as if they were identical.
In the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh and in earlier Sumerian stories about the hero, the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, calls himself the son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun. In the Gilgamesh and Huwawa tale, the hero consistently uses the assertive phrase: “By the life of my own mother Ninsun and of my father, holy Lugalbanda!”.
In royal hymns of the Ur III period, Ur-Nammu of Ur and his son Shulgi describe Lugalbanda and Ninsun as their holy parents, and in the same context call themselves the brother of Gilgamesh. Sin-Kashid of Uruk also refers to Lugalbanda and Ninsun as his divine parents, and names Lugalbanda as his god.
In Akkadian versions of the epic, Gilgamesh also refers to Lugalbanda as his personal god, and in one episode presents the oil filled horns of the defeated Bull of Heaven “for the anointing of his god Lugalbanda”.