Dictionary Of God And Godedesses

UTU 331SYNONYMS ŠAMAŠ (Akkadian).CENTER(S) OF CULT Sippar.ART REFERENCES plaques, votive stelae and glyptics.LITERARY SOURCES various creation epics andother texts.Utu is the power of sunlight and, in a socialcontext, of justice and the implementation of law.He is the son of the moon god NANNA and thegoddess NINLIL. His brother and sister are IŠKURand INANA. He rises “in the mountains of theeast” and sets “in the mountans of the west.” Heis usually depicted wearing a horned helmet andcarrying a saw-edged weapon not unlike a pruningsaw, which it is thought he has used to cutthrough the side of a mountain from which heemerges, symbolizing the dawn. He may alsocarry a mace and stand with one foot on themountain.