Asag
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In the Sumerian mythological poem Lugal-e, Asag or Azag (Sumerian:đđș Script error: No such module "lang".; Akkadian: asakku[1]) is a monstrous demon. In the poem, his power is so hideous that it makes fish to boil alive in the rivers.Template:Sfnq
Mythology
The Asag is generally identified as a hideous demon or "chaos-monster".Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. In the Lugal-e, he is described as the offspring of the sky god An and the earth goddess Ki.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
The demon is associated with the mountains; he mated with the kur (mountains) to produce a brood of "stone" offspring which formed an army of allies.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. He was vanquished by the heroic deity Ninurta (or Ningirsu), using Sharur, his enchanted talking mace, after seeking the counsel of his father, the god Enlil. In another version of the myth, the Asag is defeated by Adad (IĆĄkur).Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
Scholars interpret the defeat of the Asag and his stone allies by Ninurta as a mythological expression of the anxiety felt by the inhabitants of the Mesopotamian plain regarding the inhabitants of the Zagros Mountains.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
Artistic representation
The battle between the god and the monster may be depicted on the large stone reliefs erected by Ashurnasirpal II (9th century BC) in the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu (Nimrud). These reliefs show a god wielding thunderbolts attacking a lion-dragon beast. A similar scene appears on Neo-Assyrian seals.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
Asakku
The Akkadian name Asakku is used by researchers as either a synonym of AsagLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found. or a variation in the form of multiple spirits. In magical texts and incantations, the asakku is a demon who attacks humans, specifically by causing "head fevers".Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
In a separate tradition, the "Seven Asakku" (or Eight) are a specific group of demons who are the offspring of An. Like the Sumerian Asag, they are said to have been defeated by Ninurta.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Footnotes/anchor_id_list' not found.
References
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Båcksay, Andrås; Niederreiter, Zoltån (2022). "'You Write (This Incantation) on a Cylindrical Amulet, Place (It) around His Neck and He Will Get Well!" Clay Cylindrical Amulets Inscribed with Incantations, Tools for Medical-Magical Rituals.'". Le Journal des Médecines Cunéiformes. 40: 20.
Sources
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Bane, T. (2014). Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures. McFarland Myth and Legend Encyclopedias. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7864-8894-0. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992). "Asag (Asakku)". Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary. London: The British Museum Press. pp. 35â36. ISBN 0-7141-1705-6.
- Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wiggermann, F.A.M. (1992). Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts. Cuneiform monographs. STYX & PP Publications. ISBN 978-90-72371-52-2. Retrieved 2025-02-18.
External links
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