An (mythology)

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In Sumerian mythology, An was the god whose name was synonymous with the sun's zenith, or heaven. He was the oldest god in the Sumerian pantheon, and part of a triad including Enlil, god of the earth and Enki, god of the watery deep. He was called Anu by the Akkadians, rulers of Mesopotamia after the conquest of Sumer in 2334 BCE by King Sargon of Akkad.

In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians, Anu (see also An) was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as soldiers to destroy the wicked. He was the father of the Anunnaku (also spelled Anunnaki). In art he was sometimes depicted as a jackal. His attribute was the royal tiara, most times decorated with two pairs of bull horns.

Contents 1 Hurrian religion 2 Sitchin's opinions 3 See also 3.1 References

Hurrian religion

In Hurrian mythology, Anu was the progenitor of all gods. His son Kumarbi bit off his genitals and spat out three deities, one of whom, Teshub, later deposed Kumarbi.

Sitchin's opinions

According to the theories which Zecharia Sitchin expounded in his Earth Chronicles series, the wife of Anu was a fertility goddess and the mother of the gods; her cult was centered in Munster.

See also

• Bull of Heaven

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "An_(mythology)" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_(mythology), used under the GNU Free Documentation License