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Ningishzida

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The Sumerian god Ningizzida accompanied by two gryphons. It is the oldest known image of snakes coiling around an axial rod, dating from before 2000 BCE.

Ningishzida (sum: dnin-ǧiš-zi-da)is an underworld Mesopotamian deity. He is the patron of medicine, and may also be considered a God of nature, as his name in Sumerian means "lord of the good tree". In Sumerian mythology, he appears in Adapa's myth as one of the two guardians of Anu's celestial palace alongside Dumuzi. Sometimes he was depicted as a serpent with a human head. Ningishzida is the son of Ninazu, and is related to Ngeshtin-ana. His wife is either Ninazimua or Dazimua[1]. He was one of the ancestors of Gilgamesh. His symbolic animal is the bashmu dragon, a type of snake with horns. He is also associated with the Hydra constellation. It is not established whether the Ningishida was male or female, although "nin" referred to a female entity in Sumerian.

Ningishzida is the earliest known symbol of snakes twining (some say in copulation) around an axial rod. It predates the Caduceus of Hermes, the Rod of Asclepius and the staff of Moses by more than a thousand years.

In the Louvre, there is a famous green steatite vase carved for king Gudea of Lagash (dated variously 2200–2025 BCE), dedicated by its inscription: "To the god Ningiszida, his god Gudea, Ensi (governor) of Lagash, for the prolongation of his life, has dedicated this".

However, this is not a rule, as the 'nin-' prefix simply implies divinity (as with Ninurta and others)

The Adapa myth mentions Ningizzida and Tammuz (or Dumuzi) and refers to the Serpent God as male.

The Sumerians regarded their deities as dualistic and often had both a male and a female (yin-yang) aspect (as the language itself does not differentiate between masculine and feminine genders, but rather, active and inactive genders).

References

Michael Jordon, Encyclopedia of Gods, Kyle Cathie Limited, 2002

  • The Simon Necronomicon has a version of the myth of the descent of Ishtar, where Ningishzida (here spelled "Ninnghizhidda") appears.
  • The song Defiling the Gates of Ishtar by the death metal band Nile references the myth of the descent of Ishtar and includes quotes from the Simon Necronomicon, including an invocation of "Ninnghizhidda".
  • A German black metal band named Ninnghizhidda existed between 1997 and 2002.
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