The Mesopotamian sun god Šamaš, known as Utu in Sumerian, brought light and warmth to the land, enabling fertility. At sunrise, Šamaš was believed to emerge from his underground sleeping chamber to travel across the sky, and he oversaw everything during the day. As the ultimate observer, he also became the arbiter of truth and justice, giving him an important role in confirming treaties and oaths. He also played an important if morally ambiguous role as the patron of the hero Gilgamesh.
The Illuminating Sun
The 2nd-millennium BC Sumerian Hymn of Uti describes the sun god’s shining appearance and powers of judgment by saying his “radiance spreads out like a net over the world.”
Another hymn describes him as the “illuminator of all,” which allows him to see the truth in trials. He was the supreme judge (Dayyānu) from whom no one could hide.
Every morning, twin gatekeepers unlocked the massive gates of the eastern mountains of Mount Mashu, and Šamaš stepped forth, wielding a notched, curved pruning-saw to slice his way through the morning horizon and disperse the shadows.
Another prayer recited at sunset describes Šamaš as returning to his dwelling at the end of the day, passing through the gates of Kur. He is saluted by his gatekeeper, who opens the door to his chambers, where he settles down to a dinner cooked by his wife Aya.
In some versions, he spent his night in the netherworld, bringing light and judgment to the ghosts of the dead and drinking water libations poured by the living for the deceased.
As the god of truth and justice, Šamaš was the arbiter of treaties and oaths. His name survives in many texts regarding business transactions.
God of Divination
Šamaš played an important role in sacrificial divination rituals known as extispicy. This was a form of divination that saw the king receive answers from the gods to specific questions about matters of state. The king’s diviners, called bārû, asked the gods to write the answers to questions in the liver of a sheep, which they then read by examining the entrails. The Mesopotamians produced extensive literature on the practice.
As the god of truth and justice, Šamaš was asked to give the correct answer. In a prayer from the late second millennium BC, a diviner asks Šamaš to “let there be truth” in his interpretation of the omens.
Around 350 divination queries and reports referencing Šamaš survive from the Neo-Assyrian royal court, including those by the famous kings Esarhaddon (681-669 BC) and Assurbanipal (669-631 BC) about rebellions, illnesses, and the loyalty of subordinates.
Protector Against the Dark
Šamaš also played an important protective role, with texts showing that he was invoked for assistance against evil and curses.
As an extension of this, he assisted people on their journey from the realm of the living to the dead, protecting them against the many dangers along the way. The passage was believed to lie on the horizon in the extreme west of the world, so, where the sun sets.
Patron of Gilgamesh
One of the most important stories about Utu describes him as the patron of the hero Gilgamesh. But Gilgamesh might not fulfil modern heroic standards. He was a demigod for whom his kingdom of Uruk was too small, so he abused his people and went about building his legend in the hope of gaining immortality.
One quest he embarked on for this purpose was to travel to the Cedar Forest, the home of the gods untouched by man, and kill Humbaba, the monstrous guardian of the forest appointed by Enlil.
While most versions of the story say he did this because he was bored or arrogant, some later versions suggest that this was a task assigned to him by Utu due to his hatred of Humbaba, whom he may have considered the darkness to his light. Some versions say that it was Utu who gave Gilgamesh his restless heart, and so his divine mother Ninsun demanded that he protect Gilgamesh on this dangerous and foolish quest.
As Gilgamesh travels to the Cedar Forest, Utu gives him prophetic dreams, which paralyze Gilgamesh with dread. But Gilgamesh’s friend and companion Enkidu interprets them as confirming that Gilgamesh will be successful.
When Gilgamesh finally confronts Humbaba, he has seven powerful divine aura cloaks that make him almost indestructible. In some versions of the story, Gilgamesh tricks Humbaba into taking them off, and then overpowers him. In other versions, Utu must intervene with a mighty wind that incapacitates Humbaba, allowing Gilgamesh to overpower him.
While Utu is satisfied with the results, Enlil is understandably upset at the death of his guardian. This is made worse when Gilgamesh presents Humbaba’s head to Enlil as a votive offering. As a result, the gods send the Bull of Heaven to destroy Uruk, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu cut out the bull’s heart and present it to Utu as an offering. After this, the gods kill Enkidu, leaving Gilgamesh alone.
Still on the quest for immortality, Utu warns Gilgamesh that his quest is hopeless, but still allows him to pass the deadly scorpion men who guard the twin peaks of Mount Mashu to pass through the underworld and visit the orchard of the gods.
Divine Lineage
In Sumerian tradition, Utu was the son of the moon god Nanna-Suen, suggesting he was “born of darkness.” The Mesopotamian calendar was lunar; therefore it was logical that the sun was the child of the moon. He was also the twin brother of Inanna, a goddess of love and war associated with the evening star Venus. In Akkadian tradition, Šamaš was sometimes the son of Enu, and sometimes Elil. His wife was Aya, the goddess of the dawn. They had children including Kittu (cosmic order) and Misharu (justice).
Šamaš had a minister called Bunene who drove his fiery chariot and was sometimes thought to be his son. Bunene was worshipped in his own right, especially at Sippar and Uru in the Old Babylonian Period (early 2nd millennium BC).
Symbolism and Iconography
From the Akkadian period (2334-2154 BC) through to the Neo-Babylonian period (262-539 BC), Šamaš was represented by the solar disc. It usually took the form of a four-pointed star with curved lines emerging between each point. In the Neo-Assyrian period (911-609 BC), he was sometimes represented as a winged solar disc.
Anthropomorphic depictions of Šamaš survive on cylinder seals, where he is sometimes shown seated and surrounded by worshippers with sun rays emanating from his shoulders.
An image of Šamaš appears on the law stele of King Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC). Here he presents Hammurabi with the tools needed to govern justly: a measuring rod and rope. This shows his ability to measure accurately and fairly.
Cult Centers
Šamaš had major cult centers at Larsa and Sippar, each of which had a great ziggurat called E-babbar, meaning “house of shining light.” Larsa was in lower Sumer, and he was prominent there from at least the 2nd millennium BC. Sippar was in the north and was one of the most important administrative centers in Babylonia.
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