Belet-Ili

Akkadian name ("Mistress of the Gods") for the Mesopotamian mother goddess corresponding to Sumerian Ninhursag (Ninmah/Nintur), invoked as the divine midwife who shapes humankind from clay in the Atra-Hasis Epic.

Core Themes

• Maternal creation of humanity from clay mixed with divine blood (Creation of Humanity).
• Lamentation over the destruction of her human offspring during the Great Flood.

Related Concepts & Sources

Ninhursag (Sumerian counterpart), Enki (partner in creation), Atra-Hasis Epic (creation and flood narrative), Creation of Humanity (theme)

Assyriological Record

Oracc AMGG Entry

Mother Goddess (Ninmah, Nintud/r, Belet-ili)

Authority

University of Pennsylvania (Oracc)

Cuneiform Corpora

3 attested

Bibliography

6 citations

Scholarly entry: Mother Goddess (Ninmah, Nintud/r, Belet-ili), Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses (Oracc, University of Pennsylvania).

Attestations in Cuneiform Corpora

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

References

• Cavigneaux, A. and Krebernik, M. 1998-2001c. "Nintur." In Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 9 , pp. 507-508. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Heimpel 1998-2001b
• Jacobsen, T. 1973. "Notes on Nintur." Orientalia 42 : 274-298.
• Krebernik, M. 1993-98a. "Muttergöttin. A.I. In Mesopotamien." In Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8 , pp. 502-515. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Seidl, U. 1993-98. "Muttergöttin. B. Ikonographie." In Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie 8 , p. 519. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Stol, M. 2000. Birth in Babylonia and in the Bible. Cuneiform Monographs, 14. Groningen: Styx.