REALMS archive of entities

Utu

deity sky Sumerian single tradition · 14

Utu is the sun god who raised Humbaba after he never knew his parents. Humbaba addresses Utu, lamenting that he never knew his parents and was instead raised by the sun god himself and by the mountains.

↻ synthesized from 14 sources

When

First attested
3000 BCE
Attested period
-3000 – 2020
Historical notes
Appears in Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets.

Relationships

teacher of
Humbaba
co occurs with
Nergal, Bau, Ningirsu, Nanshe, Igalim, Shulshaga, Gatumdug, Dumuzi-abzu, Nin-MAR.KI, Hendursaga, Nindara, Ningishzida, Nina, Anunnaki, Ningublaga, Numushda, Alammuš, Kušuḫ, Yarikh, Nineigara, Ninurima, Nimintabba, Ea, Suen, Mamud, Eyan, Kothar-wa-Khasis, Lahar, Shapshu, Shapash, Adad, Ishtaran, Enmeduranki, Enmesharra, Lugalbanda, Šimige, Ḫepat, Nikkal, Ayu-Ikalti, Šauška, Aya, Ningal, Tiwaz, Bunene, Lipparuma, Mišaru, Dumuzid, Ninshubur, Lulal, Ereshkigal, galla, Sirtur, Geshtinanna, Geshtindudu, Bel, An, Sin, Enki, Enlil, Anu, Shara
sibling of
Inanna, Ninhursag, Manzat, Pinikir, Ištar
parent of
Marduk, Kittum, Mamu, Ishum
consort of
Aya, Sherida
syncretized with
Shamash, Šimige, Šapšu, Shimige, Amna, Karkara, Nimindu, Si'e, Ṣalam, U'e
allied with
Gilgamesh, Belili, Dumuzi, Idlurugu
child of
Nanna, Sin, Ningal
manifested by
Shamash

Expand to full subgraph →

Mentioned by

and 3 more

Sources

wikipedia (14)
  1. Humbaba
  2. Dumuzi-abzu
  3. Marduk
  4. Anunnaki
  5. Aya (goddess)
  6. Shams (deity)
  7. Shapshu
  8. Shamash
  9. Šimige
  10. Sin (mythology)
  11. Sacred prostitution
  12. Dumuzid
  13. Geshtinanna
  14. Gilgamesh

Source passages

“He first addresses Utu, lamenting that he never knew his parents and was instead raised by the sun god himself and by the mountains, and then Gilgamesh, who at first takes pity on him.”

#8429 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“Other deities invoked in it are Anu, Enlil, Ninhursag, Enki, Sin, Ningirsu, Nanshe, Nindara, Gatumdug, Bau, Inanna, Utu, Hendursaga, Igalim and Shulshaga.”

#11000 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“The etymology for the name Marduk is generally understood to be derived from damar-utu-(a)k, meaning "bull-calf of Utu". Sommerfield suggests this is used to explain the name Marduk in the Enuma Elish as "He is the 'son of the sun' of the gods, radiant is he."”

#11980 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001

“This group of deities probably included the "seven gods who decree": An, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Inanna. Utu was believed to be the sun.”

#14893 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5

“A trilingual Sumero-Hurro-Ugaritic edition of the Weidner god list from Ugarit attests the equivalence between Shamash (Utu), Šimige and the local sun goddess Šapšu.”

#15776 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5