Editing Ninurta (section)

{{Short description|Ancient Mesopotamian god}}
{{About|the Mesopotamian god|the South African genus of lizard|Ninurta coeruleopunctatus}}
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{{Infobox deity
| type = Mesopotamian
| name = Ninurta<br>{{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁}}|label=none}}
| image = Cropped Image of Carving Showing the Mesopotamian God Ninurta.png
| caption = [[Assyria]]n stone relief from the temple of Ninurta at [[Kalhu]], showing the god with his thunderbolts pursuing [[Anzû]], who has stolen the [[Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)|Tablet of Destinies]] from [[Enlil]]'s sanctuary ([[Austen Henry Layard]] ''Monuments of Nineveh'', 2nd Series, 1853)
| parents = [[Enlil]] and [[Ninhursag]] <br> As [[Urash (god)|Urash]], [[Anu|An]]
| deity_of = God of agriculture, hunting, and war
| abode = Eshumesha temple in [[Nippur]]<br/>Later [[Kalhu]], during Assyrian times
| symbol = Plow and perched bird
| consort = ''As Ninurta:'' [[Gula (goddess)|Gula]]<br>''As Ninĝirsu:'' [[Bau (goddess)|Bau]]
| children = 
| planet = [[Saturn]], [[Mercury (planet)|Mercury]]
| mount = Beast with the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion
| equivalent1_type = Caananite
| equivalent1 = [[ʿAṯtar|Attar]]
| equivalent2_type = Eblaite
| equivalent2 = [[Aštabi]]
| equivalent3_type = Roman
| equivalent3 = [[Saturn (god)|Saturn]]
| greek_equivalent = [[Cronus]]
}}

'''Ninurta''' ({{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒀭𒊩𒌆𒅁}}}}: {{Transliteration|Xsux|<sup>[[dingir|D]]</sup>[[NIN (cuneiform)|NIN]].[[Ib (cuneiform)|URTA]]}}, possible meaning "Lord [of] Barley"),{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}} also known as '''Ninĝirsu''' ({{langx|sux|{{cuneiform|𒀭𒎏𒄈𒋢}}}}: {{Transliteration|Xsux|<sup>[[dingir|D]]</sup>[[NIN (cuneiform)|NIN]].[[Girsu|ĜIR<sub>2</sub>.SU]]}}, meaning "Lord [of] [[Girsu]]"),{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=138}} is an [[List of Mesopotamian deities|ancient Mesopotamian god]] associated with farming, healing, hunting, law, scribes, and war who was first worshipped in early [[Sumer]]. In the earliest records, he is a god of agriculture and healing, who cures humans of sicknesses and releases them from the power of [[Demons#Mesopotamia|demon]]s. In later times, as Mesopotamia grew more militarized, he became a warrior deity, though he retained many of his earlier agricultural attributes. He was regarded as the son of the chief god [[Enlil]] and his main [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] center in Sumer was the Eshumesha temple in [[Nippur]]. Ninĝirsu was honored by [[Gudea|King Gudea]] of [[Lagash]] (ruled 2144–2124 BC), who rebuilt Ninĝirsu's temple in Lagash. Later, Ninurta became beloved by the [[Assyria]]ns as a formidable warrior. The Assyrian king [[Ashurnasirpal II]] (ruled 883–859 BC) built a massive temple for him at [[Kalhu]], which became his most important cult center from then on.

In the epic poem ''[[Lugal-e]]'', Ninurta slays the demon [[Asag]] using his talking mace [[Sharur (mythological weapon)|Sharur]] and uses stones to build the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers to make them useful for irrigation. In a poem sometimes referred to as the "Sumerian ''[[Georgics|Georgica]]''", Ninurta provides agricultural advice to farmers. In an Akkadian myth, he was the champion of the gods against the [[Anzû]] bird after it stole the [[Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)|Tablet of Destinies]] from his father Enlil and, in a myth that is alluded to in many works but never fully preserved, he killed a group of warriors known as the "Slain Heroes". His major symbols were a perched bird and a plow.

It has been suggested that Ninurta was the inspiration for the figure of [[Nimrod]], a "mighty hunter" who is mentioned in association with Kalhu in the [[Book of Genesis]], although the view has been disputed.{{sfn|Petrovich|2013|page=273}} He may also be mentioned in the [[Books of Kings|Second Book of Kings]] under the name [[Shendu]].{{efn|{{langx|arc|ܢܝܼܫܪܵܟ݂}}; {{langx|el|Νεσεραχ}}; {{langx|la|Nesroch}}; {{Hebrew Name 1|נִסְרֹךְ}}}} In the nineteenth century, Assyrian stone reliefs of winged, eagle-headed figures from the temple of Ninurta at Kalhu were commonly, but erroneously, identified as "Nisrochs" and they appear in works of [[fantasy literature]] from the time period.