Category موضوعي
Deities and divine councils
Divine names, attributes, roles and relationships in specific sources.
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Illustration
Concept
Igigi
Collective divine name in Akkadian sources, attested from the Old Babylonian period; its relationship to Anunnaki varies by text.
Labour, revolt and human creation at the opening of Atrahasis, as summarized by ORACC’s Igigi entry. Modern literary-context diagram, not historical events or fixed membership
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Illustration
Concept
God lists
Texts collecting divine names for preservation, teaching and classification, with varying theological organization.
First six names in SF 1 according to CDLI’s current reading. Modern transliterated-name diagram, not a photograph or copy of the tablet’s signs; order applies to this witness
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Illustration
Concept
Anunna / Anunnaki
Collective designation for gods in Mesopotamian texts, with variable scope and membership; earliest known attestations belong to the late third millennium BCE.
Two textual uses of Anuna: the land of Lagash in Gudea’s cylinder, and seven judges in Inanna’s Descent. Modern diagram, not divine images or a fixed membership count
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Original photograph
Deity
Enki
Mesopotamian deity associated with deep fresh water, wisdom and Eridu, known as Ea in Akkadian tradition. The earliest preserved written mention does not date his cult’s origin or identify Ubaid Eridu’s deity.
Cylinder seal and modern impression showing Enki/Ea; Louvre MNB 1905, Akkadian period, 2340–2200 BCE. Later than the Ubaid, not an image identifying early Eridu’s deity
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Concept
Monotheism
Belief in a single God as the only deity, rather than merely the highest among several gods.
Modern conceptual diagram: a single symbol illustrates the sole deity in the definition of monotheism. It is neither the historical symbol of a particular religion nor a sequence of religious development
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Allah
The Arabic name for God, used before Islam and in several Arabic-speaking religious traditions.
‘الله’ and Allāh in a modern typographic illustration. The written name does not depict the deity; this graphic is not evidence dating its pre-Islamic use
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Illustration
Deity
Yahweh
The divine proper name written YHWH in the Hebrew Bible.
The four Hebrew letters יהוה (YHWH) in a modern typographic illustration. A presentation of the written name, not a depiction of the deity or a reproduction of a particular ancient inscription
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Concept
High god
A deity with a senior position among other gods; this does not itself mean monotheism.
Tablet of a hymn to Marduk, The Met 86.11.313; first millennium BCE, in Sumerian with Akkadian translation. A textual example of a deity’s exaltation, not proof of monotheism or a universal model of the high god
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Illustration
Concept
Divine council
A representation of divine beings acting as an assembly with authority and differentiated roles.
Modern conceptual diagram of assembly and interaction among council members. It reconstructs neither a historical council nor the number or appearance of its deities; divine councils must be read from their texts
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Concept
Pantheon
The set of deities associated with a religious tradition, including their roles and relationships.
Meli-Shipak’s kudurru, Louvre SB 23, bears the symbols of Ishtar, Shamash, and Sin above a presentation scene. A Babylonian example of multiple divine symbols, not a depiction of Ugarit’s divine council
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Original photograph
Deity
El at Ugarit
A deity prominent in West Semitic traditions, especially as head of the divine family in Ugaritic texts.
Ugaritic tablet from the Baal Cycle, ca. 1400–1200 BCE; Louvre, AO 16640. It provides the mythological textual context in which El is studied, rather than a portrait of him or verification of his name on this face
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