Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

ITZAM NA 143cuneiform texts includingThe Descent of Ištar, Gilgameš and Etana; templehymns.LITERARY SOURCESIštar is probably the most significant and influentialof all ancient Near Eastern goddesses. She isthe counterpart of, and largely takes over from,the Sumerian Inana. She is the daughter, in separatetraditions, of the moon god SIN and of thegod of heaven ANU. She is generally depicted withwings and with weapon cases at her shoulders.She may carry a ceremonial double-headed macescimitarembellished with lion heads and is frequentlyaccompanied by a lion. She is symbolizedby an eight-pointed star.In Egypt she was revered as a goddess of healing.There is evidence from the el-Amarna lettersthat Amenhotep III, who apparently sufferedfrom severe tooth abscesses, was loaned a statueof Ištar from Nineveh in the hopes that its curativepowers might help his suffering.IštaranLocal god. Mesopotamian (Sumerian). The tutelarygod of the city of Der, east of the river Tigrisin northern Babylonia. Also GUSILIM.IstenCreator god. Pre-Christian Hungarian. Accordingto tradition, his sacred animal, the eagle,guided the Hungarian people to their homeland.Other attributes include arrow, horse phallus andtree.the gods in war as a herald but was nonethelessgenerally regarded as benevolent. Known particularlyfrom the Babylonian legend of Erra andIšum. Also ENDURSAGA.IsvaraEpithet of the god ŠIVA. Hindu (Puranic). In Sanskritdesignated the “supreme god who rules theuniverse.” The generic title of a Hindu’s personalhigh god. In Buddhism the name of a YAKSAattending the eleventh tirthankara.ItondeGod of death. Mongo and Nkundo [centralDemocratic Republic of Congo, Africa]. Heconsumes rats as food and is also the god ofhunters in the dark jungle forests. Described inthe Epic of Lianja as the first man to die whosespirit reincarnated at the instant of death, intohis son LIANJA. He possesses a bell with magicalproperties, the elefo, by which he predictswhere death will strike.Itzam CabChthonic earth god. Mayan (classical Mesoamerican)[Mexico]. The earth aspect of the creatorgod ITZAM NA. He is also a god of fire, andhearthstones are called “head of Itzam Cab.”Sticks of firewood are his thighs, flames histongue and the pot resting on the fire his liver. Inhis vegetation aspect he is depicted with leaves ofmaize sprouting from his head.IšumMinor god. Mesopotamian (Babylonian-Akkadian). The brother of ŠAMAŠ, the sun god,and an attendant of the plague god ERRA. He mayhave been a god of fire and, according to texts, ledITZAM NA (iguana house)ORIGIN Mayan (classical Mesoamerican) [Mexico].Creator god.KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP circa AD 300 untilcirca AD 900.