Lahmu, the protective spirit from Nineveh, 900-612 BCE, Mesopotamia. British Museum. Laḫmu (𒀭 𒌓𒈬 or 𒀭𒈛𒈬, d laḫ-mu, lit. 'hairy one') is a class of apotropaic creatures from Mesopotamian mythology. While the name has its origin in a Semitic language, Lahmu was present in Sumerian sources in pre- Sargonic times already. [1]

Lahmu and Lahamu, in Mesopotamian mythology, twin deities, the first gods to be born from the chaos that was created by the merging of Apsu (the watery deep beneath the earth) and Tiamat (the personification of the salt waters); this is described in the Babylonian mythological text Enuma elish (c. 12th century bc).

Lahmu, often depicted as a protective figure, guards the sacred temple doors of Abzu in Eridu, symbolizing his divine role in cosmic order. Their presence in both textual and artistic depictions deepens our understanding of these gods.

May 22, 2024 · Lahmu and Lahamu were the first-born deities in Mesopotamian mythology, emerging from the primordial waters of Tiamat and Apsu. They were the progenitors of the subsequent generations of gods, including Anshar and Kishar, representing the celestial heavens and the earthly firmament.

Lahamu (𒀭𒆷𒄩𒈬, d la-ḫa-mu) was a minor figure in some variants of Mesopotamian cosmology, the feminine counterpart of Lahmu. In some god lists she was one of the ancestors of Anu. [1] [2] In Enuma Elish she is the first-born daughter of Tiamat and Abzu.

Lahmu was said to be a primordial being who was one of the earliest deities in Akkadian and Babylonian traditions. Akkadian refers to a culture that emerged in Mesopotamia during the third millennium BCE. The belief system included many deities, most of whom were later diffused into Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian culture.

Jun 29, 2015 · Lahmu is an Akkadian deity, the mythological first-born son of Apsu and Tiamat. With his sister Lahamu, they were the parents of Anshar and Kishar, the father of the sky and the mother of the earth, who begat the first gods. Lahmu is depicted as a snake, or as a bearded man with six hair curls.

Dec 20, 2024 · In this text, Lahamu is described as one of the primordial gods, born from the chaotic waters known as Abzu (freshwater) and Tiamat (saltwater). This cosmic pairing illustrates the duality of nature, where Lahamu represents the balance between opposing forces.

Even though they were not gods and their names were not frequently spelled with the dingir sign denoting divinity, Lahmu was typically thought of as the servants of gods, particularly Enki, the deity of water, and subsequently his son Marduk, the tutelary god of Babylon.

Laḫmu (𒀭 𒌓𒈬 or 𒀭𒈛𒈬, d laḫ-mu, lit. 'hairy one') is a class of apotropaic creatures from Mesopotamian mythology. While the name has its origin in a Semitic language, Lahmu was present in Sumerian sources in pre- Sargonic times already. [1] Lahmu, the protective spirit from Nineveh, 900-612 BCE, Mesopotamia. British Museum.