Editing Ninurta (section)

== Mythology ==
=== ''Lugal-e'' ===
Second only to the goddess [[Inanna]], Ninurta probably appears in more myths than any other Mesopotamian deity.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=42–43}} In the Sumerian poem ''[[Lugal-e]]'', also known as ''Ninurta's Exploits'', a demon known as [[Asag]] has been causing sickness and poisoning the rivers.{{sfn|Holland|2009|page=117}} Ninurta confronts Asag, who is protected by an army of stone warriors.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=143}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=68}} Ninurta slays Asag and his armies.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=143}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=68}} Then Ninurta organizes the world,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=143}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}} using the stones from the warriors he has defeated to build the mountains, which he designs so that the streams, lakes and rivers all flow into the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers, making them useful for [[irrigation]] and agriculture.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=143}}{{sfn|Holland|2009|page=117}} Ninurta's mother [[Ninmah]] descends from Heaven to congratulate her son on his victory.{{sfn|Holland|2009|page=117}} Ninurta dedicates the mountain of stone to her and renames her [[Ninhursag]], meaning "Lady of the Mountain".{{sfn|Holland|2009|page=117}} Finally, Ninurta returns home to Nippur, where he is celebrated as a hero.{{sfn|Robson|2015}} This myth combines Ninurta's role as a warrior deity with his role as an agricultural deity.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=143}} The title ''Lugal-e'' means "O king!" and comes from the poem opening phrase in the original Sumerian.{{sfn|Robson|2015}} ''Ninurta's Exploits'' is a modern title assigned to it by scholars.{{sfn|Robson|2015}} The poem was eventually translated into Akkadian after Sumerian became regarded as too difficult to understand.{{sfn|Robson|2015}}

A companion work to the ''Lugal-e'' is ''Angim dimma'', or ''Ninurta's Return to Nippur'',{{sfn|Robson|2015}} which describes Ninurta's return to Nippur after slaying Asag.{{sfn|Robson|2015}} It contains little narrative and is mostly a praise piece, describing Ninurta in larger-than-life terms and comparing him to the god [[Anu|An]].{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=56}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}} ''Angim dimma'' is believed to have originally been written in Sumerian during the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] ({{circa}} 2112 – {{circa}} 2004 BC) or the early [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian Period]] ({{circa}} 1830 – {{circa}} 1531 BC),{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=55}} but the oldest surviving texts of it date to Old Babylonian Period.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=55}} Numerous later versions of the text have also survived.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=55}} It was translated into Akkadian during the [[Kassites|Middle Babylonian Period]] ({{circa}} 1600 — {{circa}} 1155 BC).{{sfn|Robson|2015}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=55}}

=== Anzû myth ===
[[File:Chaos Monster and Sun God.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Ninurta with his thunderbolts pursues [[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)]]

In the Old, Middle, and Late Babylonian myth of ''Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies'', the [[Anzû]] is a giant, monstrous bird.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=52}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=9}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}} Enlil gives Anzû a position as the guardian of his sanctuary,{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=52}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}} but Anzû betrays Enlil and steals the [[Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)|Tablet of Destinies]],{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=52–53}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|pages=9–10}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}} a sacred clay tablet belonging to Enlil that grants him his authority,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=173}} while Enlil is preparing for his bath.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|pages=9–10}} The rivers dry up and the gods are stripped of their powers.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}} The gods send [[Adad]], [[Girra]], and [[Shara (god)|Shara]] to defeat the Anzû,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} but all of them fail.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} Finally, the god [[Enki|Ea]] proposes that the gods should send Ninurta, Enlil's son.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} Ninurta confronts the Anzû and shoots it with his arrows,{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=45}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}} but the Tablet of Destinies has the power to reverse time{{sfn|Robson|2015}} and the Anzû uses this power to make Ninurta's arrows fall apart in midair and revert to their original components.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=45}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}}

Ninurta calls upon the [[south wind]] for aid, which rips the Anzû's wings off.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=45}} The god [[Dagon|Dagan]] announces Ninurta's victory in the assembly of the gods{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} and, as a reward, Ninurta is granted a prominent seat on the council.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}}{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|page=628}} Enlil sends the messenger god [[Birtum|Birdu]] to request Ninurta to return the Tablet of Destinies.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=53–54}} Ninurta's reply to Birdu is fragmentary, but it is possible he may initially refuse to return the Tablet.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=54}} In the end, however, Ninurta does return the Tablet of Destinies to his father.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=10}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=46, 54}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}}{{sfn|Robson|2015}} This story was particularly popular among scholars of the Assyrian royal court.{{sfn|Robson|2015}}

The myth of ''Ninurta and the Turtle'', recorded in UET 6/1 2, is a fragment of what was originally a much longer literary composition.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}} In it, after defeating the Anzû, Ninurta is honored by [[Enki]] in [[Eridu]].{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}} Enki senses his thoughts and creates a giant turtle, which he releases behind Ninurta and which bites the hero's ankle.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=179}} As they struggle, the turtle digs a pit with its claws, which both of them fall into.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=179}} Enki gloats over Ninurta's defeat.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=179}} The end of the story is missing;{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=43–44, 61}} the last legible portion of the account is a lamentation from Ninurta's mother Ninmah, who seems to be considering finding a substitute for her son.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}} According to Charles Penglase, in this account, Enki is clearly intended as the hero and his successful foiling of Ninurta's plot to seize power for himself is intended as a demonstration of Enki's supreme wisdom and cunning.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=61}}

=== Other myths ===
[[File:UrukPlate3000BCE.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Sumerian [[cylinder seal]] impression dating to {{circa}} 3200 BC showing an ''[[Ensi (Sumerian)|ensi]]'' and his acolyte feeding a sacred herd; Ninurta was an agricultural deity and, in a poem known as the "Sumerian ''Georgica''", he offers detailed advice on farming]]

In ''Ninurta's Journey to Eridu'', Ninurta leaves the [[Ekur]] temple in Nippur and travels to the [[Abzu]] in [[Eridu]], led by an unnamed guide.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=52–53, 62}} In Eridu, Ninurta sits in assembly with the gods [[Anu|An]] and [[Enki]]{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} and Enki gives him the ''[[Me (mythology)|me]]'' for life.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53, 63}} The poem ends with Ninurta returning to Nippur.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53, 63}} The account probably deals with a journey in which Ninurta's cult statue was transported from one city to another and the "guide" is the person carrying the cult statue.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=53}} The story closely resembles the other Sumerian myth of ''[[Inanna#Conquests and patronage|Inanna and Enki]]'', in which the goddess Inanna journeys to Eridu and receives the ''mes'' from Enki.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=43}} In a poem known as the "Sumerian ''Georgica''", written sometime between 1700 and 1500 BC, Ninurta delivers detailed advice on agricultural matters,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}}{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|page=627}} including how to plant, tend, and harvest crops, how to prepare fields for planting, and even how to drive birds away from the crops.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}} The poem covers nearly every aspect of farm life throughout the course of the year.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}}

The myth of the ''Slain Heroes'' is alluded to in many texts, but is never preserved in full.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=142}} In this myth, Ninurta must fight a variety of opponents.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=138, 142}} Black and Green describe these opponents as "bizarre minor deities";{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=138}} they include the [[six-headed Wild Ram]], the [[Palm Tree King]], the [[seven-headed serpent]] and the [[Mermaid (Ninurta)|Kulianna the Mermaid (or "fish-woman")]].{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|page=628}} Some of these foes are inanimate objects, such as the [[Magilum boat|Magillum Boat]], which carries the souls of the dead to the Underworld, and the [[strong copper]], which represents a metal that was conceived as precious.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=138}} This story of successive trials and victories may have been the source for the Greek legend of the [[Labours of Heracles|Twelve Labors of Heracles]].{{sfn|van der Toorn|Becking|van der Horst|1999|page=628}}