Mesopotamian Mythology · deity

An (the heavens)

also: Anu · Anu (Akkadian) · An (Sumerian)

deitythe skythe heavensthe supreme god (Sumerian period)king of the godsattested

The sky god, the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon; 'An' means 'sky/heaven'. In the Akkadian period he is called Anu. Father of Enlil and (in some accounts) Enki.

The account

Who they are

'An' (Sumerian; 'Anu' in Akkadian) is the sky god, the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon [S5][S6]. 'An' means 'sky' or 'heaven' — the god is the sky itself, the highest of the three cosmic regions (heaven, earth, underworld) [S5]. In the Sumerian period, An was the head of the pantheon; in the Akkadian and Babylonian periods, his supremacy was increasingly ceded to Enlil (and later Marduk) [S1][S6]. An's symbol is the star (the five-pointed star) and his animal is the bull [S5][S6]. An's consort is Antu (Sumerian; 'Anatum' in some accounts) [S5]. An is the father of Enlil (the air/storm god) and, in some accounts, Enki (the freshwater god) [S5]. The 'An' is also a title: the 'An' is the divine, the 'godhead' itself [S5].

Worth knowing

The sky god, the supreme deity of the Sumerian pantheon [S5].
'An' means 'sky/heaven' — the god is the sky itself [S5].
His symbol is the star; his animal is the bull [S5][S6].
Father of Enlil (and, in some accounts, Enki) [S5].

Uncertainties & variants

An's supremacy 'declines' over time: Sumerian (supreme) → Akkadian (Enlil rises) → Babylonian (Marduk rises). This is a political/theological development, not a mythic event [S1][S6].

Relationships (4)

Connections

Family & kinship

PARENT_OFEnlil — An (with Ki) is the parent of Enlil.[S5]

PARENT_OFEnki (Ea) — An (with Ki) is the parent of Enki (in some accounts).[S5]

Partners

PARTNER_OFKi (the earth) — An (the sky) and Ki (the earth) are the first pair (the 'parents' of the world).[S5]

PARTNER_OFAntu (Anatum) — An and Antu (Anatum) are a 'pair'.[S5]

Local graph

Their corner of the divine world

View

hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side

Overlays

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Myths featuring An (the heavens)

2 stories

The Enuma Elish (the Babylonian Creation Epic)

The Enuma Elish is the great Babylonian creation epic, the 'New Year' (Akitu) festival text. In it, the gods (the 'Apsu' and the 'Tiamat' generations) are in conflict; the young gods (led by Marduk) are chosen to fight Tiamat. Marduk slays Tiamat with his bow, net, and 'rakasu' winds, splits her body in two to make the sky (upper half) and the earth (lower half), and from Kingu's blood (Tiamat's general) creates humanity. Marduk takes the 'Tablet of Destinies' and becomes the king of the gods [S1].

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The Sumerian Creation (An and Ki)

In Sumerian cosmology, An (the sky) and Ki (the earth) are the first pair — the 'parents' of the world. From their union (or from the separation of heaven and earth), the gods and the world emerge [S5]. The 'Apsu' (the fresh water) and the 'Tiamat' (the salt water) are the two primeval waters [S5].

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