Sin (mythology)

Impression of the cylinder seal of Ḫašḫamer, patesi (high priest) of Sin at Iškun-Sin, ca. 2100 B.C.E. The seated figure is probably Ur-Nammu, bestowing the governorship on Ḫašḫamer who is led before him by a lamma. Sin himself is present in the form of a crescent.

Sin (Akkadian: Sîn, Suen; Sumerian:Nanna) is a Sumerian god in Mesopotamian mythology. He is the god of the moon and the son of Enlil and Ninlil. His sacred city was Ur. The name Nanna is Sumerian for "illuminator."

Background

Sin's chief sanctuary at Ur was named E-gish-shir-gal ("house of the great light"). His sanctuary at Harran was named E-khul-khul ("house of joys"). On cylinder seals, he is represented as an old man with a flowing beard with the crescent as his symbol. In the later astral-theological system he is represented by the number 30 and the moon, often in crescent form. This number probably refers to the average number of days in a lunar month, as measured between successive new moons.

One of Nanna's attributes is wisdom, especially expressed in the science of astrology, in which the observation of the moon's phases was an important a factor. The centralizing tendency in Mesopotamian religion led to his incorporation in the divine triad consisting of Sin, Shamash, and Ishtar, respectively personifying the moon, the sun, and the planet Venus.

Known as Nanna in Sumer, he was named Sin in Babylonia and Assyria, and was also worshiped in Harran. In his anthropomorphized form, Sin had a beard made of lapis lazuli and rode on a winged bull. His wife was Ningal ("Great Lady"), who bore him Utu ("Sun") and Inanna (the Sumerian name for Ishtar). In art, his symbols are the crescent moon, the bull (through his father, Enlil, "Bull of Heaven"), and the tripod.

An important Sumerian text ("Enlil and Ninlil") tells of the descent of Enlil and Ninlil (pregnant with Nanna/Suen) into the underworld. There, three "substitutions" are given to allow the ascent of Nanna/Suen. The story shows some similarities to the text known as "The Descent of Inanna."

Seats of Sin's worship

The two chief seats of Sin's worship were Ur in the south, and Harran to the north. The cult of Sin spread to other centers, and temples of the moon-god are found in all the large cities of Babylonia and Assyria.

He is commonly designated as En-zu, or "lord of wisdom." During the period (c.2600-2400 B.C.E.) that Ur exercised a large measure of supremacy over the Euphrates valley, Sin was naturally regarded as the head of the pantheon. It is to this period that we must trace such designations of Sin as "father of the gods," "chief of the gods," "creator of all things," and the like.

See also

• Religion of the Ancient Near East
• Ancient Semitic religion
• Great Ziggurat of Ur

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Tamara M. Green, The City of the Moon God: Religious Traditions of Harran. E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1992, 232 pages. ISBN 9004095136

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