Lulal

In Sumerian mythology, Lulal, inscribed dlú.làl in cuneiform,[1] is the younger son of Inanna. He was the patron deity of Bad-tibira while his older brother, Shara was located at neighboring Umma. The E.muš-kalamma, main temple of Bad-tibira, originally dedicated to Dumuzi when it was built, was later re-dedicated to Lulal when Inanna appointed him god of the city.[2]

The 1st Dynasty of Isin king Ur-du-kuga built a temple to him in Dul-edena, which was probably his cultic city.[3]

In the second and first millennium BC, Lulal evolved into an anthropomorphic god used on protective amulets, figurines and exorcists’ paraphernalia used in apotropaic rituals, such as Šurpu and Maqlu, usually displayed alongside Ugallu, “Big Weather Beast”, the lion-headed demon,[4] or with his monstrous alter-ego Lātarāk.[5]:56 The é.še.numun, “House of Barleycorn”, temple was dedicated to him as “divine cowherd” in Apak, according to a Neo-Babylonian temple list from Sippar.[5]:53

References

  1. ↑ W. G. Lambert (1990). "Lulal/Lātarāk". In D. O. Edzard. Reallexikon Der Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie: Libanukasabas – Medizin. Walter De Gruyter. pp. 163–164.
  2. ↑ Piotr Michalowski (1989). The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur. Eisenbrauns. p. 86.
  3. ↑ Douglas Frayne (1990). Old Babylonian Period (2003-1595 B.C.): Early Periods, Volume 4 (RIM The Royal Inscriptions of Mesopotamia). University of Toronto Press. p. 96.
  4. ↑ Martin Stol (2000). Birth in Babylonia and the Bible: Its Mediterranean setting. Brill Academic Publishers. p. 247.
  5. 1 2 A. R. George (1993). House Most High: The Temples of Ancient Mesopotamia. Eisenbrauns.


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