Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

Trash_Panda_Leaves t1_ja4ofy8 wrote

It says Ningrisu is specifically springtime thunder- is there anyone who has and sources or more detail on that? Why spring specifically- was there other thunder gods for different seasons?

273

darwinfish86 t1_ja5uohh wrote

In Sumerian mythology Ningursu's father was the storm god Enlil, so that is likely the connection. That said many of these deities shifted names and roles over the two thousand years or so that they were actively worshipped, and often took on different meanings in different places at different times.

The gods had a lot of overlap in responsibilities; it was not at all like a Dungeons & Dragons pantheon where every deity had a set and specific set of duties and powers. Gods could be as broad and seemingly universal as Enlil (god of storms) or Inanna (goddess of love and war), or they could have very narrow associations, like Enbilulu, god of irrigation. Some gods were servants or family members of other gods, like Ninshubur, Inanna's personal servant/vizier.

Some gods lost their original identity and became syncretized with another deity, like Asaruludu, who was originally the city of Kuara's patron deity but later became merely one of the fifty names of Marduk, patron god of the city of Babylon.

The religion of Sumeria and Mesopotamia is fascinating and deep. I just got interested in it myself when I started building a D&D campaign set in the ancient bronze age. I went down that rabbit hole and still haven't crawled out of it.

Ancient polytheistic religions didn't really work the way movies, pop culture, video games, and fantasy has keyed us to understand them. For a really in-depth overview of how ancient polytheism worked I'd highly recommend A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry: Practical Polytheism, a blog by a professional historian.

257

seansy5000 t1_ja6juy9 wrote

Has to be one of the best titles for a blog I’ve ever seen.

Edit: changed book to blog

39

ibetthisistaken5190 t1_ja6tdry wrote

> titles for a book

In the spirit of unmitigated pedantry, I feel I should tell you it’s a blog.

59

seansy5000 t1_ja7i0zx wrote

Dear lord, of course. Thanks for the heads up!

13

I_am_oneiros t1_ja7lwo2 wrote

The blog is incredible. It lines up very neatly with the Hindu religious experience.

For example, you have old Gods (devas e.g. Indra who are the primary Gods in the Rigveda), the all powerful Gods (e.g. Vishnu who form the primary pantheon today), local Gods (e.g. specific to one village), situational Gods (e.g. for spring harvest), and deified humans e.g. Rama. The Brahmins are the priestly caste and Hinduism is heavy on rituals.

This in a living breathing religion which varies from place to place is quite a fascinating thing.

7

monsantobreath t1_ja506qj wrote

Pure amateur musings here.

Perhaps because thunder in spring means heavy nourishing rainfall. Thunder in fall is less nice?

112

r-reading-my-comment t1_ja5asaw wrote

Wasn’t Iraq’s seasonal rainfall dangerous and likely to cause floods? The floods brought nourishment, but also death and destruction.

16

Yadobler t1_ja64pn7 wrote

If iraq was like the Asian monsoon countries, then it's the late summer / autumn rains that cause flooding. Springtime tends to be dry and rainfall is appreciated in the spring where it's getting hot

#---------

In southern India, tamil agricultural culture have the following warning: never get married in the month of Aadi

Aadi is about mid July - mid August. Because usually newly weds will consummate on the first night, and a baby comes in end April.

End April is considered the driest weeks. It's spring, not summer, but it's not Monsoon season. Unlike the summer months where rain comes and you have a generally hot and wet season, springtime is dry and having a baby means being tight on well water - bad for the newborn and the new mother.

#---------

Crops that tamil farmers grow, usually rice and sorghum, are usually planted in August (the same Aadi month, also why they say not to marry in Aadi because everyone's busy planting crops). The Monsoon comes and the floodplains are great for the crops that bathe in water. Then they are harvested in January, it's also when Thai pongal is celebrated to thank the weather gods and plowing bulls for the good harvest

#----------

So if an agricultural civilisation living in a place that sees no snow is praying for springtime rainfall, it's probably 2 things:

  1. they need the water for crops that they can't plant after spring

  2. they need the water because all the wells dried up

#---------

This is my educated guess from inductive reasoning of agricultural culture. Take it with a pinch of salt

18

TheMelm t1_ja694n7 wrote

Heh you forget how differently people experience something like spring. In Alberta spring is when all the snow starts melting so you get tons of water coming in from the mountains along with rain and everything turns into a swamp. We call it spring breakup when the roads get too muddy and you can't move oil rigs and machinery for a few weeks so work stops.

2

nonosnoooo t1_ja7kjqe wrote

You missed the part where they said if a bunch of people who never see snow are praying for springtime rainfall - Iraq and southern India don’t get break up lol

Break up is not just about the snow melting in some places, it’s also the frost coming out of the ground

6

TheMelm t1_ja7la0x wrote

Nah I saw they knew about it the you who was forgetting wasn't them it was a general everyone. And if you really made me think about it I'm sure I'd have figured out places without snow have very different springs just not something you think about often. And yeah I know, lots of sites are winter access only for that reason they're basically a swamp when its above freezing.

−1

Nonskew2 t1_ja6mquk wrote

Yes, spring. Before extensive irrigation the rivers would flood and bring nourishing silt, somewhat like the Nile in Egypt but with destructive flooding. I should not just say the rainy season but when warming melting snow in mountains to the north.

1

Oak_Woman t1_ja5ur6d wrote

I swear I've read somewhere that certain cultures didn't sow seeds before the first thunderstorm of the year. Or maybe it was from a gardening group I'm a part of? Either way, that might be your answer. Thunderstorms indicate warm air and a season change, meaning it's finally safe to plant.

20

Trash_Panda_Leaves t1_ja5weuf wrote

Ooh if that's true that makes a lot of sense. I've never really seen any discourse about this so that's why I asked. Do you know if there was anywhere specific you may have found that information?

4

Yadobler t1_ja65ibj wrote

I don't know about these folks but for tamil folks, traditionally the end of July is when they start sowing rice and other crops, before the autumn Monsoon. Then they harvest in January (they don't experience snow in winter, just strong winds)

Springtime was also the driest months, so much so that folks don't marry and consummate in July-August so that they don't give birth at late April where it's hot enough to dry up wells, but not the season for rain clouds and thunderstorms

#-------

So I'd assume if they were praying for springtime rain, it was because of the dry weather, or they needed to plant crops and couldn't wait till late summer.

7

I-do-the-art t1_ja6tcm3 wrote

My guess would be that it’s because thunderstorms are more common / violent during spring in a lot of areas.

4

Devil-sAdvocate t1_ja5hbmt wrote

> The Sumerians were possibly the oldest civilization in the world and the first to establish religion and a code of law.

Other firsts include: invented the first form of writing, the first known number system with place value was the Mesopotamian base 60 system, the first to develop the turning wheel- which is a device which allowed them to mass-produce pottery, and they invented the plow.

204

be0wulfe t1_ja5och7 wrote

Base 60!?

I gotta read up more on this... Why base 60?

47

HermanCainsGhost t1_ja5qxjz wrote

Because 60 has a LOT of factors that can go into it.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15... etc

It's the reason why there are 60 minutes in an hour (and ultimately why there are 60 seconds in a minute, though that's a later development). It's also ultimately why we have 24 hours in a day (they had 12 for daylight hours, which ALSO has a lot of factors, it was eventually doubled).

A lot of time keeping stuff is due to them

139

AppleDane t1_ja7twnl wrote

The 12 hour clock was more due to having 1 hour of dawn and 1 hour of twilight. Night wasn't counted as "time", so they had 10 hours of effective time.

6

dreadcain t1_ja8e9n2 wrote

Source?

1

AppleDane t1_ja8g2mo wrote

I have to give up on finding any. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I remember this from either a documentary on TV or some article I read.

Everyone points to the babylonian number system, so I'm doubting myself too. Maybe I misremember this, or it was a later invention.

0

Devil-sAdvocate t1_ja5zdba wrote

Likely finger counting. The base 60 system likely originated from ancient peoples using the digits on one hand to count.

With the left hand, the left thumb counts up to 3 knuckles on each finger for a total of 12. Then with the right hand, the right thumb counts each additional finger as +12. Five multiplied by 12 equals 60.

65

False798 t1_ja60yxd wrote

what

Am I going to learn about expanded edition finger counting on reddit

38

2Twospark t1_ja6v31v wrote

That's how I first learnt about it.

Use your thumb to point/count your other joints in the fingers (including the base) and you can count to 12 on one hand. If you do the same with your other hand you're able to count up to 144 with just two hands.

:O

14

bestoboy t1_ja7estu wrote

how do you get to 144? Isn't it 60 on each hand?

2

firala t1_ja7qh4d wrote

12*12 == 144

I assume you multiply the two hand values when you are using two.

1

neokraken17 t1_ja7epn0 wrote

Counting 12-15 per hand was how I grew up learning, I thought this was the way everyone did it?

2

False798 t1_ja867it wrote

My education experience in the US was only 5 for each hand - I resent not learning about this for so long because I definitely could've used it countless times.

Time to build muscle memory...

1

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5nqqy wrote

Many scholars actually argue for simultaneous evolution of both Egypt and Mesopotamia and no Mesopotamia had contemporaries so they weren't the first at all to have a religion which is absolutely absurd to say.But there is evidence for a divergent evolution especially when it comes to writing between Mesopotamia and Egypt. I keep bringing up Egypt because it's the oldest contemporary civilization to Mesopotamia

25

Devil-sAdvocate t1_ja5zkr5 wrote

I thought archaeological evidence shows cuneiform dates back to at least 3500 BCE while hieroglyphs date back to around 3100.

18

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5zw6h wrote

I'm not a scholar in these fields but I do try to keep up with the latest developments in this debate

−6

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5ztbn wrote

All of that is based on old dating and I don't know how it's evidence anymore than it is guessing.

−7

Pademelon1 t1_ja5zqqu wrote

The Indus Valley was also contemporaneous

14

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja601lb wrote

Absolutely and we still don't know how to read the Indus script but it doesn't help that some scholars argue that the Indus script isn't a script at all which opens a can of worms in that debate

14

thestoplereffect t1_ja64goi wrote

If it's not a script what could it be?

3

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja6hppo wrote

I don't know but this is the same problem with the script of the Vinca culture which predates Mesopotamia.Some scholars say it's a script and other's say it's not

8

vmp916 t1_ja6juw7 wrote

How came some say it’s a script while others say it’s not? A representation of a spoken language which in modern day would be script but back then it could mean representation of sounds or meanings behind sounds. How is that not a script?

3

Flammenschwert t1_ja80dob wrote

There's kind of a big muddy area between abstract symbols and a full on script, which is specifically symbols representing spoken language. They may have had symbolic meaning without directly standing in for language. For an example in the modern world, a roadsign indicating a turn has symbolic meaning, but that doesn't make it a script. The Nike logo definitely stands for a particular meaning, but it's not part of a script either. It's unknown whether or not the Indus Valley script is a proper script or if it has non-language symbolic meaning.

1

assassinshogun307 t1_ja5q6l5 wrote

>the first to develop the turning wheel- which is a device which allowed them to mass-produce pottery

I misread this as mass-produce poetry and I spend half a minute trying to figure out how a turning wheel could make people come up with multiple poems lol

12

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5nv76 wrote

Also another error is attributing writing to Mesopotamia first

−8

peteroh9 t1_ja5sjjk wrote

You need to explain that because actual writing absolutely originated in Mesopotamia.

16

tanksforlooking t1_ja5ynfw wrote

Can you explain?

6

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5zhx2 wrote

As I've said above watch the video but to give you a bit of context the idea that cuneiform came first or influenced hieroglyphics isn't widely accepted among all scholarship like it was decades ago.The most likely scenario is that the two evolved independently as they're very different and even if cuneiform evolved first it definitely didn't influence hieroglyphics much at all.Even the kingship in Mesopotamia was very different from the Pharaoh's of Egypt for a few reasons. Lastly if I'm not mistaken Egyptian civilization sprang up fully formed first while Mesopotamia was still in warring city states

−1

khinzaw t1_ja61lna wrote

None of this means cuneiform didn't come first. Scholarly consensus is that it did, but the degree to which it influenced the development of hieroglyphics is debated but consensus is leaning towards that hieroglyphics are independently formed with the most influence cuneiform could have had being stimulating the formation of a writing system if even that. This is because the oldest known hieroglyphics are younger than cuneiform but seem to have no connection whatsoever to it.

17

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja62bcr wrote

Scholarship used to say cuneiform is about 300 years older than hieroglyphics supposedly but I fail to see how they came to these dates and timelines

−3

hereforstories8 t1_ja6l4ud wrote

Not going to argue the points here, but typically “I fail to see/don’t think/understand . . .” is not a good argument.

16

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja7kay1 wrote

Typically not understanding that many dates in ancient timeliness are not set in stone and speculative is a good place to start

1

hereforstories8 t1_ja9wit1 wrote

Well understanding where you fail to understand is a good place to start.

0

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja9z308 wrote

Understanding that most timelines are guessing is a great place to start and don't get me started on radio carbon dating

0

khinzaw t1_ja63k1w wrote

Because the oldest known cuneiform is dated to be older than the oldest known hieroglyphics. The earliest Cuneiform is dated back to around 3500 BCE while the earliest Hieroglyphics are dated to around 3400-3200 BCE. Both have some amount of proto-language going earlier but it is unclear how developed they were.

Additionally, Sumerian script has a long evolutionary history that goes back to 8000 BCE that can be traced, while hieroglyphics seem to have sprung into use comparitively suddenly. This is why some scholars say that even if hieroglyphics are a fully independent system, it is possible cuneiform still stimulated that creation of a writing system.

14

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja61xic wrote

There is no evidence cuneiform influenced hieroglyphics why do you all keep parroting outdated scholarship??Yeah that's my whole point both consensus and evidence are now saying both scripts developed independently this is obvious

−5

khinzaw t1_ja622lt wrote

>There is no evidence cuneiform influenced hieroglyphics

I didn't say there was.

Your original argument was that it was wrong to say Cuneiform developed first, but then your argument for that was that hieroglyphics developed independently which does not say anything about whether Cuneiform develpped first

18

Devil-sAdvocate t1_ja5zeys wrote

How is that?

5

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja5zpzk wrote

How is what?Are you going to be obtuse and refuse to watch the video?

−7

Devil-sAdvocate t1_ja5ztty wrote

Link a peer reviewed scientific written paper, anyone can make a random video.

10

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja6078g wrote

What?If your going to discuss an academic level YouTube channel then we have nothing further to discuss and peer review means absolutely nothing

−4

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja60fbc wrote

You're going to parrot peer review yet more than a few scientific studies and papers have exposed the flaws in it and argue it's ineffective nature.

Do you want those studies or papers too?

−10

MisterFistYourSister t1_ja6bl7q wrote

Why does your video carry more weight than peer review?

9

ManannanMacLir74 t1_ja6hwvc wrote

Peer review isn't really reliable but it's still used so why would I refer back to a flawed method?

−4

TheNext8thEmperor t1_ja3vpxu wrote

Cool I wonder which one?

54

LieverRoodDanRechts t1_ja40hwt wrote

“The temple, referred to in ancient inscriptions as Enninu or the "White Thunderbird," housed the sacred statue of the hero thunder god Ningirsu, one of the most important gods of the Sumerian pantheon.”

138

random2187 t1_ja4z3of wrote

The actual translation from the inscriptions on foundation bricks and nails is “e-ninnu-an-im-mi^mushen -babbar-babbar-ra-ne” where e is temple, ninny is fifty, an-im-mi^mushen is the anzu bird (associated with storms and chaos), babbar is white, and ra-ne are grammatical elements meaning his. So the name of the temple literally translates to “his temple of fifty white anzu birds.” But that’s kind of a mouthful so most people just use enninu which is the temple-fifty portion or call it the white thunderbird temple which is the anzu-babbar part. Currently in grad school learning Sumerian and we got to hold and translate some of the foundation pegs with that inscription!

93

jamesp420 t1_ja59sac wrote

That is super cool. Thats also a really cool temple name. It's astonishing to me that after all this time, Sumerian can still be taught, learned and read. I truly wish I had known about this kind of thing when deciding my life trajectory as a teen. Do the inscriptions have any more information about the god? I've read a bit on Sumerian history and mythology, but I don't recall seeing much of anything about Ningirsu.

19

random2187 t1_ja5eihl wrote

I mean the only reason we can translate it is because the Akkadians (who really started migrating into the region from the Levant ~2300 BCE) made these long lexical lists so that they could learn Sumerian too. We were able to decipher Akkadian and then Akkadian allowed us to decipher Sumerian, though there's still a lot of work to do/being done and our understanding of Sumerian is far from perfect.

There's definitely a lot of information on the gods including their myths, how they were worshiped, what purviews and symbols they were associated with, though not from the foundation deposits I'm talking about. Those are really basic and the one I'm referencing just reads "For Ningirsu, strong hero of Enlil, Gudea, lord of Lagas, has made the old things appear splendidly, he has built his temple-of-fifty-white-anzu-birds for him, he has returned it to its place for him." If you're interested in Ningirsu's association with the anzu bird, and his epithet hero of Enlil, and really his main myth, here's a half way decent translation https://www.gatewaystobabylon.com/myths/texts/retellings/theftdestiny.htm

22

psycholepzy t1_ja5ggzm wrote

Is "Gudea" with a hard or soft G?

5

random2187 t1_ja5hoit wrote

We really can't say since there's no way to know how the original speakers pronounced things. We can somewhat confidently restore what Akkadian sounded like due to comparative semetic studies and their syllabic spelling in writing. However, Sumerian is a language isolate with no known related languages for comparison, their spelling was mostly logographic (think chinese, a single symbol representing an idea), and the only way we know the associated sounds is through Akkadian who didn't have the same sounds to be able to accurately represent how Sumerian was pronounced. For example it's believed that Sumerian had several o sounds that Akkadian is simply unable to render, and instead get represented as the same u sounds despite the variety that originally existed. You'll usually hear it pronounced with a soft g today but that has nothing to do with how it was originally pronounced

20

psycholepzy t1_ja5mo3l wrote

Might it be related to "Judea"?

I'm barely a hobbyist, but I have fallen in love with the etymology of religious words, place names, and iconography. It would be wild to find connections between Hadad or Baal and an equivalent Sumerian/Akkadian diety.

False etymologies and debunkings notwithstanding, it's an area that really excites me.

5

random2187 t1_ja5vqum wrote

That’s a really cool idea but the connection would be really tenuous. Gudea was a single Sumerian king who ruled in Mesopotamia in the 22nd or 21st century and while Mesopotamia did have contact with the Levant for a long time, the name Judah which is the root of Judea is first attested in the Iron Age after the Bronze Age collapse, around the 7th or 8th century BCE. So different cultures and a long time span separating them

11

jamesp420 t1_ja5hk5a wrote

I guess it's no small blessing that we have those Akkadian translations then. They sound like something akin to a Mesopotamian "Rosetta Stone" in function. And awesome, thank you! I'm slightly familiar with Enlil at least, though only in passing, as well as the Anzu, but I don't know this story. Much appreciated.

3

Itsamesolairo t1_ja5tqpo wrote

> who really started migrating into the region from the Levant ~2300 BCE

I think you're getting them mixed up with the Amorites here.

While calling anything "Akkadian" pre-Sargon is arguably problematic, we have texts from Mesopotamia in Old Akkadian dating as far back as the 25th century, and Sargon (who was native to Mesopotamia) founded the Akkadian Empire around 2334 BCE.

Furthermore, AFAIK, there's no indication that speakers of old Akkadian originated in the Levant. I'm fairly certain the dominant theory is that they were native to Mesopotamia, while the Amorites did immigrate to Mesopotamia from the Levant.

2

random2187 t1_ja60ow9 wrote

Just trying to keep the narrative simple, yes there’s Akkadians in Mesopotamia before then but they’re not really in southern Mesopotamia where Sumerian was spoken. I said ~2300 BCE because it depends on what chronology you use, 2334 - 2279 BCE is the middle chronology dates given for Sargons reign but that can vary my +- a century so I tend to give rough centuries for events. You’re right that saying they migrated from the levant is probably a misnomer and I was just basing that on Akkadian being a semetic language, I’m not as deep into the anthropological or linguistic side of scholarship so migration theories aren’t my strong suit. And I should clarify that I’m saying Akkadian presence because it’s only after the rise of the Akkadian empire that semetic speaking people become a strong presence in southern Mesopotamia, whether that’s a migration of them or locals adopting their cultural practices is still up for debate among scholars.

Amorites are arguably first attested in the Ebla archive from the ED period though that’s northern Mesopotamia, and in southern Mesopotamia Naram-Sin claims to have fought Amorites on one of his campaigns. It isn’t until the Ur III period in the 22nd and 21st century, after the 2300 date I gave, that we have evidence of Amorites integrating into Southern Mesopotamia, and of course the famous wall to repel the Amorites

1

mindless_chooth t1_ja4rs5a wrote

Any relation to Indira, God of Thunder in vedas?

6

random2187 t1_ja50fv2 wrote

Probably not since the Sumerian pantheon is from well before Indo-European migration which spread the those figures throughout Eurasia, though there are synchronisms later in Mesopotamia history and at least one inscription which directly invoked Agni. There’s also a very loose theory that Harappan/Indus River Valley Civilization and the Sumerians were related, though there is no real evidence to back this up as of yet. There’s currently an ancient dna project testing if the IRVC and Sumerians shared ancestry, and if that’s confirmed then there is a possibility of synchronisms

12

SolomonBlack t1_ja5k92q wrote

Indus River isn’t known to be Indo-European though. So any connection to the Vedas would likely be syncretic too.

2

random2187 t1_ja5khae wrote

You’re right, sorry I didn’t mean to imply that IRVC = Indo European but I see that’s how it comes across in my comment

1

[deleted] t1_ja4sfnk wrote

[deleted]

−3

foospork t1_ja4zzr9 wrote

I browse reddit on mobile. Most of these articles are unreadable on mobile.

I assume a lot of folks are like me and hope that some kind computer user has scraped the article into the comments.

Of course, everyone should have the sense to refrain from commenting when they have no knowledge of what’s actually in the article.

4

me_irl_irl_irl_irl t1_ja5fv6c wrote

I honestly wonder how much random religious stuff we'll keep randomly discovering. Throughout civilization it seems we've just always searched for some explanation of nature, and these are the ways it manifested. Probably many more weird ancient religious tributes that have no link to modern religion that are yet to be discovered

25

Fallingdamage t1_ja7vqif wrote

I always wonder what history will look like for future humans.

500-10,000 years after we're done blowing ourselves and our planet to bits, the next great civilization on this planet will assume the 20th century was where it all started since there wont be anything left of the past not already dug up, sold to antiquity dealers or pulverized/defaced for developments or religion. Even the bones of dinosaurs have been largely dug up and cataloged already. We're finding less and less ancient history every year.

Without the vast knowledge we've gained by basically disturbing history, what will our future selves even think about earths history?

3

Bucket_of_Nipples t1_ja875qb wrote

I think we need someone a lot closer to the subject than me to say for sure, but, as I understand it, paleontology and archeology have seen a huge explosion of investment and discovery in the last few decades. With new technology and new ways of finding things, we're still digging into history and learning things never before known. Like this site, and dozens more in the Amazon, the Sahara, etc.

I think you make very good points. I think we may find ourselves in that position someday. But, I also don't think we've reached the bottom of that barrel yet. The easy stuff just laying exposed on the ground? Mostly, sure, I suppose. But there's just so much more.

I think?

1

Icy-Conflict6671 t1_ja513gz wrote

Thats cool af. Wonder what kind of ancient relics lay inside

19

AbazabaYouMyOnlyFren t1_ja5lou3 wrote

Is it Crom?

I mean, it should be.

5

peteroh9 t1_ja5sp0u wrote

It would make more sense for it to be Bruce.

−2

ayavara t1_ja4ks1h wrote

Thank you for this

4

Thrannn t1_ja6nsd1 wrote

Everytime i read about sumerians it breaks my heart to think about all the culture we have lost.

They were much more developed than many people think. Its like looking at an old world that we lost

4

Unicorny_as_funk t1_ja5mkry wrote

Very interesting. Wish the article hadn’t ended so abruptly.

3

5feng t1_ja6buq2 wrote

Indra is the thunder god worship in india and india and iran share something from old times this could be the common link between these ancient cultures.

2

MeatballDom t1_ja4vfdh wrote

This isn't 4chan. Stop with the lazy edgelord trolling

1

Elipses_ t1_ja7gw19 wrote

Huh. Neat.

Hopefully, no group Palmyras this.

0

thatirishguy0 t1_ja5mjv7 wrote

This is amazing. The fact yha5bwe are still finding out about their civilization and finding their remains.

−4

NO_SPACE_B4_COMMA t1_ja5pujd wrote

Seven shadows cast. Seven fates foretold. Yet at the end of the broken path lies death, and death alone!

−8

14th_Eagle t1_ja4yndy wrote

Is this at all related to the PIE Skyfather?

−9

foul_dwimmerlaik t1_ja52nxe wrote

No, the Sumerians were not at all Indo-European.

23

14th_Eagle t1_ja7pjyk wrote

I know they weren't, but I'm asking if there's ever been any hypothesized contact that would have influenced either religion

1

Fanfics t1_ja5vesn wrote

why is livescience.com calling this thunder god "mighty" lmao, did they do a study? How are they quantifying that? Is there another thunder god that isn't mighty that we might mix them up with?

−18

jonwinegar t1_ja76hkr wrote

Its a purposefully misleading title to make you think Ancient Iraqis worshiped Thor.

4

[deleted] t1_ja4j9d4 wrote

[deleted]

−29

get_rhythm t1_ja4l4de wrote

I think most cultures with pantheons had a thunder God, right? Pretty much any type of weather phenomenon usually had an associated God.

52

AlpineCorbett t1_ja4y7t1 wrote

When you don't understand electromagnetic forces but you do know the sky lights up and screams at you sometimes, well that's a good basis for a deity. Most ancient cultures have one.

23

IAmtheHullabaloo t1_ja506w2 wrote

And there is the Angry Eye Ball in the sky. You can't even look at it.

6

AlpineCorbett t1_ja51959 wrote

Extremely eldritch.

Gives life, blinds you by looking at it, tears your skin apart on a molecular level, unaware of our existence....

7

Muggaraffin t1_ja5572g wrote

It is weird to think what people must have made of the sun back then, or even just a few centuries back. Before they even understood the concept of space, and instead just knew of the 'above us'. And like you said, angry eye ball. Just some large bright white hole in the sky that hurts to look at. Imagining a kind of Sauron figure makes total sense :/

6

Gloomy_Possession-69 t1_ja4u7dv wrote

You've got your timelines quite mixed!

The first evidence of the Sumerian religion is about 6500 years old. The first evidence of the old Norse religion is about 2500 years old. However...

From what I understand, you can trace the origins of Thor to the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) mythology, to the hammer-wielding lightning and thunder god Perkwunos, which also is about 6500 years old.

Despite this, it is currently widely believed that Sumeria and PIE did not mix mythologies, so the connection between their thunder gods is not there (at least according to our current understanding).

27

Scalpaldr t1_ja4s3q8 wrote

Well seeing as the Sumerians are about six or seven THOUSAND years older than the Norse I think we can presume their thunder god doesn't trace back to Thor.

11

Muggaraffin t1_ja55ili wrote

Honestly, as cool as Nordic mythology is, lately I've found Sumerian and Mesopotamian mythology far more interesting (or equally as interesting at least). I really recommend reading up on it, it's good fun

9

foul_dwimmerlaik t1_ja52rtd wrote

It's "Sumer," not "Sumeria." And the S is pronounced as an "Sh."

−3