![]() His special symbol is the four-pointed star set in a disk with flames shooting out from between the star points. A human-headed bull is sometimes with him, or he is attended by servants who open the gates of the dawn. In ancient art, Shamash was usually shown as a disk or wheel, although sometimes he appeared as a king holding a staff of justice and a wheel of truth. Shamash is often shown as an old man with a long beard with sun rays rising from his shoulders, and his foot stepping on a mountain he has just cut with his saw-toothed knife. Shamash was also a symbol of protection from the darkness, which was thought to contain demons or evil spirits. The sun-the symbol of Shamash-was the revealer of secrets and bringer of truth. Light was considered to be the force that revealed all by banishing shadows. To the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, Shamash represented justice. ![]() This suggests that Shamash may have been worshipped prior to the widespread development of agriculture-based culture, at a time when the moon was seen by these ancient people as the ultimate supernatural figure. In the case of the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians, however, the sun god is considered to be a child of the moon. ![]() The moon is often referred to as a child or sister of the sun god. For most societies based upon farming and agriculture, the sun is considered to be the most important element in nature, and is therefore worshipped as the main deity. The relation of Shamash to the other gods in the Assyrian/Babylonian pantheon reflects the type of society in which he was worshipped. In the Babylonian heroic poem Epic of Gilgamesh, Shamash offered the hero help and advice in carrying out a dangerous quest for immortality, or the ability to live forever. In other stories, the god and his sons crossed the sky in a chariot by day and rested in a palace on a mountain at night. As god of the sun, Shamash moved across the sky during the day according to some legends, he also moved through the underworld, or land of the dead, during the night. His wife Aya (meaning “youth”) bore him four sons: Giru (fire), Kittum (truth), Mesharum (justice), and Nusku (light). Shamash was the son of the Akkadian moon god Sin (pronounced SEEN) and the brother of the goddess Ishtar (pronounced ISH-tahr). In addition to these duties, Shamash also aided women in labor, freed captives, and healed the sick. Travellers prayed to him before setting out, as would armies, since Shamash himself travelled across the sky. Those who wished for defense against witchcraft would call on Shamash for help. ![]() Shamash was considered the defender of the poor and the weak, and therefore the enemy of evil. In Babylon those who wished to know the future would call on Shamash, for it was said that his eye could see everything. Nothing could hide from his bright light, which banished darkness and revealed lies. Shamash was responsible for maintaining the order of the universe Hammurabi, the Babylonian king who oversaw the first written code of laws in recorded history, claimed that they were given to him by Shamash. Associated with truth and justice, he was one of the most active gods in the pantheons (collection of recognized gods and goddesses) of ancient Sumer, Babylonia (bab-uh-LOH-nee-uh), and Assyria (uh-SEER-ee-uh). Shamash (also known as Utu in Sumerian) was the sun god in the Akkadian mythology of the ancient Near East. Son of the moon god Sin Character Overview
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