Aya

Anunnaki deity, goddess of dawn, consort of Shamash, associated with light and love.

Core Themes

• Dawn and divine partnership.
• Linked to Heavenly Deities.

Related Concepts & Sources

Shamash (consort), Babylonian Mythology (context), Inanna (similar deity)

Scholarly entry: Šerida/Aya (goddess), Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses (Oracc, University of Pennsylvania).

Attestations in Cuneiform Corpora

• Corpus of Ancient Mesopotamian Scholarship
• Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
• Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (search)

References

• Beaulieu, P.-A. 1989. The Reign of Nabonidus, King of Babylon, 556-539 B.C. New Haven; London: Yale University Press.
• Black, J., & Green, A. 1998. Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. An Illustrated Dictionary , 2nd ed. London: British Museum Press. Online via Google Books [http://tiny.cc/ibiob] (preview only).
• Galter, H. D. 1999. 2nd ed. "Aya." In K. van der Toorn et al. (eds.), Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible . Leiden; Boston; Köln: Brill. Online via Google Books [http://tiny.cc/ujp8d] (preview only).
• George, A.R. 2003. The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic: Introduction, Critical Edition and Cuneiform Texts . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Harris, R. 1977. "Notes on the slave names of Old Babylonian Sippar." Journal of Cuneiform Studies 29 : 46-51. Available online via JSTOR [http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360003] (subscription required).
• Krebernik, M. 2009-10. "Šer(i)da" In Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 12 , pp. 394-395. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Leichty, E., J.J. Finkelstein, & C.B.F. Walker 1988. Catalogue of the Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum, Volume VIII: Tablets from Sippar 3 . London: British Museum Publications.