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THE TELLING NAME OF THE SUMERIAN GOD ISIMU THE MESOPOTAMIAN JANUS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 October 2022

Jan Keetman
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Abstract

In this article the name of the Sumerian god Isimu is analysed as “who brings the shoots forth” and explained by the chthonic character of his master Enki. Investigated is as well the ratio behind the complex writing of his name and the names of other servants of Enki. Beside this it is shown that Isimu must have been known at least since the time of the archaic texts from Ur. There was also another Janus like mythical being, the male and female Ara, at one point identified with Isimu.

الخلاصة: في هذه المقالة ، تم تحليل اسم الإله السومري إيسيمو على أنه "نبعة نامية" أو "ما يجعل النبتة تنمو" ويتم شرحه من خلال شخصية العالم السفلي لسيده إنكي Enki. كما تم تحليل النسبة المتحكمة بالكتابة المعقدة لإسمه وأسماء الخدم الآخرين لإنكي. بالإضافة إلى ذلك ، يتضح أن أيسيمو لابد وأن كان معروفًا على الأقل منذ زمن النصوص القديمة من أور.

كان هناك كائن أسطوري آخر يشبه جانوس ، الذكر والأنثى آرا ، الذي تم تحديده في وقت ما مع أيسيمو Isimu. نوقشت إمكانية . تصوير آرا وليس إيسيمو على جرتين يرجع تاريخهما إلى الأسرات المبكرة الأول والثاني .

Type
Research Article
Information
IRAQ , Volume 84 , December 2022 , pp. 141 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute for the Study of Iraq 2022

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Footnotes

Editor: For abbreviations see https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/abbreviations. Photographs of many of the tablets referred to in this article can be found on the CDLI website.

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