Difference between revisions of "Shamash" - New World Encyclopedia
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In Canaan, ''Shemesh'' (Hebrew: שמש), also Shapesh (Hebrew: שפש), or Shapshu, was the Canaanite goddess of the sun, daughter of [[El]] and [[Asherah]]. She was known as "torch of the gods" and is considered an important deity in Canaanite pantheon. Her main temple was probably housed near modern Beit Shemesh, originally named after the deity. | In Canaan, ''Shemesh'' (Hebrew: שמש), also Shapesh (Hebrew: שפש), or Shapshu, was the Canaanite goddess of the sun, daughter of [[El]] and [[Asherah]]. She was known as "torch of the gods" and is considered an important deity in Canaanite pantheon. Her main temple was probably housed near modern Beit Shemesh, originally named after the deity. | ||
| − | In the [[Epic of Ba'al]], Shemesh helps the goddess [[Anat]] bury and mourn Baal after he is killed by Mot, the [[god]] of death. She then stops shining, but is persuaded to shine once again by Anat. | + | In the [[Epic of Ba'al]], Shemesh appears several times as El's messenger. She plays a more active role when she helps the goddess [[Anat]] bury and mourn [[Baal]], the god of rainstorms and fertility, after he is killed by [[Mot]], the desert [[god]] of death. She then stops shining, but is persuaded to shine once again by Anat. After Anat defeats Mot in battle, Shemesh descends to the [[Underworld]] and retrieves Baal's body, allowing his resurrection and the eventual return of spring. In the final battle between Ba'al and Mot, she declares to Mot that El has given his support to Baal, a threat which ends the battle and signals spring's return. |
| − | + | In the Hebrew Bible, worshiping Sehemsh is forbidden and is theoretically punishable by stoning, although it is doubtful that this was widely enforced. Worshiping Shemesh was said to include bowing to the east, in the direction of the sun, as well as rituals related to horses and chariots which were associated with her as with the Mesopotamian Shamash. The combined worship of Shemesh and Ba'al was said to feature an altar with sun-like shapes. King Josiah was also said to have abolished sun worship, although the prophet Ezekiel claims that it was still prominent in his day, even in the Temple of Jerusalem itself. | |
| − | In the | ||
== Shamash in Judaism == | == Shamash in Judaism == | ||
Revision as of 20:32, 31 December 2008
In Mesopotamian religion Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the sun god and god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu.
Shamash was the son of the moon god Sin (known as Nanna in Sumerian), and thus the brother of the goddess Ishtar (Sumerian: Inanna), who represented the great "star" of Venus. In early inscriptions, Shamash’s consort was the goddess Aya, whose role was gradually merged with that of Ishtar. In later Babylonian astral mythology, Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar formed a major triad of divinities, which still today plays an important role in astrological systems, though under different names.
In addition to being the god of the sun, Shamash was also a god of justice. In some cases, he was seen as the governing the entire universe and was depicted, often with a sun-disk, as a king on his royal throne his staff and signet ring.
Shamash is depicted as overcoming darkness and death. Like the later Apollo, he made his daily journey through the heavens either on horseback, in a chariot, or on a boat. His main cult center in Sumer was the city of Larsa, and in Akkad his main temple was in Sippar.
History and meaning
The name Shamash simply means "sun." Both in early and in late inscriptions Shamash is designated as the "offspring of Nanna," the moon-god. In the Mesopotamian pantheon, Nanna (known as Sin in Akkadian) generally takes precedence of Shamash, since the Moon was both the basis of the calendar and long associated with cattle, which formed an important basis of the Mesopotamian economy of the area from nomadic times. As farming came to the fore the sun god came to play and increasing role.
The two chief centers of sun-worship in Babylonia were Sippar, represented by the mounds at Abu Habba, and Larsa, represented by the modern Senkerah. At both places, the chief sanctuary bore the name E-barra (or E-babbara) meaning " Shining House" in allusion to the brilliance of Shamash. The temple at Sippar was the most famous, but temples to Shamash were erected in all large population centers, including Babylon, Ur, Mari, Nippur, and Nineveh.
In the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel to the forest of Lebanon and slay the forest guardian Humbaba, each morning they pray and make libation to Shamash in the direction of the rising sun to ensure their safe travels.
In inscriptions, the attribute most commonly associated with Shamash is justice. Just as the sun disperses darkness, so Shamash brings wrong and injustice to light. King Ur-Engur of the Ur dynasty (c. 2600 B.C.E.) declared that he rendered decisions "according to the just laws of Shamash." Hammurabi attributed to Shamash the inspiration that led him to gather the existing laws and legal procedures into his famous code. In the design accompanying the code, the Hammurabi is represented in an attitude of adoration before Shamash as the embodiment of the idea of justice.
Shamash was also regarded also as a god who released sufferers from the grasp of the demons. The sick man, therefore, appealed to Shamash as the god who can be depended upon to help those who are suffering unjustly. This aspect of Shamash is vividly brought out in hymns addressed to him, which are consider among the finest productions in the entire realm of Babylonian literature.
Scholars believe that the tradition of Shamash-worship at Sippar and Larsa eventually overshadowed earlier local sun-deity traditions elsewhere and led to the absorption of these deities by the predominating cult of Shamash. In the mature Babylonian pantheon these minor sun-gods became attendants that in Shamash's service. Included among them are his attendants Kettu ("justice"), Mesharu ("right"), and Bunene, his chariot driver, whose consort is Atgi-makh. Other sun deities such as Ninurta and Nergal, the patron deities of other important centers, retained their independent existences as certain phases of the sun, with Ninurta becoming the god of the morning and springtime, and Nergal the god of the noon and the summer solstice.
Together with Nanna-Sin and Ishtar, Shamash for a triad of gods which completed the even more cosmic trinity of Anu, Enlil and Ea, represent the heavens, earth and water, respectively. The three powers of Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar symbolized three great forces of nature: the sun, the moon, and the morning star. Ishtar also represented love and fertility, and thus the earth. At times instead of Ishtar we find Adad, the storm-god, as the third person of this triad, and it may be that these two sets of triads represent the doctrines of two different schools of theological thought in Babylonia which were subsequently harmonized by the recognition of a group consisting of all four deities. To the West, in Canaan, Shamash became known by the name Shemesh and took on a feminine character with Baal-Hadad playing the predominant role. (see below)
The consort of Shamash was known as Aya. She is, however, rarely mentioned in the inscriptions except in combination with Shamash.
Shamash in Canaanite tradition
In Canaan, Shemesh (Hebrew: שמש), also Shapesh (Hebrew: שפש), or Shapshu, was the Canaanite goddess of the sun, daughter of El and Asherah. She was known as "torch of the gods" and is considered an important deity in Canaanite pantheon. Her main temple was probably housed near modern Beit Shemesh, originally named after the deity.
In the Epic of Ba'al, Shemesh appears several times as El's messenger. She plays a more active role when she helps the goddess Anat bury and mourn Baal, the god of rainstorms and fertility, after he is killed by Mot, the desert god of death. She then stops shining, but is persuaded to shine once again by Anat. After Anat defeats Mot in battle, Shemesh descends to the Underworld and retrieves Baal's body, allowing his resurrection and the eventual return of spring. In the final battle between Ba'al and Mot, she declares to Mot that El has given his support to Baal, a threat which ends the battle and signals spring's return.
In the Hebrew Bible, worshiping Sehemsh is forbidden and is theoretically punishable by stoning, although it is doubtful that this was widely enforced. Worshiping Shemesh was said to include bowing to the east, in the direction of the sun, as well as rituals related to horses and chariots which were associated with her as with the Mesopotamian Shamash. The combined worship of Shemesh and Ba'al was said to feature an altar with sun-like shapes. King Josiah was also said to have abolished sun worship, although the prophet Ezekiel claims that it was still prominent in his day, even in the Temple of Jerusalem itself.
Shamash in Judaism
In Mishnaic Hebrew the verb-root for "to serve" is שמש, and the noun-form "servant" is pronounced shamash. The Hanukkah menorah has an extra light, called the shamash, which is used to light the eight proper lights. The shamash is set off from the other lights, so as not to be mistaken for one of their number.
In Yiddish, a shammesh or shammess is an attendant, caretaker, custodian, or synagogue janitor. The slang term "shamus" for a private detective derives from this usage.[1]
The Hebrew words which express the concept of "servant" are entirely unrelated to the Akkadian theophoric name "Shamash" but are loanwords from the ancient Egyptian "sh-m-s" which originally meant "follower" in either a religious or a military sense.
This is the glyph used to represent the Egyptian word for follower - shemes (Gardiner Signlist code T18).
See also
- The Utukku
- Samson
- Bull man
Notes
- ↑ Macquarie Dictionary
External links
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