Utu (Shamash)
Utu
6
DEITY · Fire
PWR9
Rare
GRD4
The sun god, the god of justice and the 'light' that reveals the truth; in Akkadian he is called Shamash. The sun-god travels through the underworld by night (the 'journey of the sun through the Duat' equivalent).[S2] [S5] [S6]
The Divine Atlas
Fire · mesopotamian pantheon
DA-MES-010
PRINT SHEET · DA-MES-010 · Utu (Shamash) (Fire, Rare)
Trim at the inner crop marks · keep the 3 mm bleed when printing · full profile at the deity page
About this card
'Utu' (Sumerian; 'Shamash' in Akkadian) is the sun god, the god of justice and the 'light' that reveals the truth [S5][S6]. The sun-god travels across the sky by day and through the underworld by night (the 'journey of the sun') [S5]. Utu is the god of justice: he 'sees' all, and his light reveals the truth [S5]. In the 'Utnapishtim' flood-story and other texts, Utu is a 'judge' who sees the wickedness of humanity [S2]. Utu is the brother of Inanna (Ishtar) [S5]. Utu's 'justice' role makes him the patron of the oaths and the courts [S5].
the sun-discthe 'saw' (the sun's disc as a saw that cuts through the night)