The Earth and the Heavens that fertilized her with rain were central to the world view of Ancient Oriental agrarian cultures. Their separation marks the beginning of creation (Sumerian ‘Creation of the Hoe’, 6,51ff.; Hittite Kumarbi Myth ( Kumarbi), Ullikummi, Song of) but a link holds them together (Geštinanna, ‘the Heavenly Vine’). The disc of the Earth floats in the freshwater ocean Apsû that is governed by Enki, who in turn lives above the Underworld ( Afterlif…
Cite this page
Pongratz-Leisten, Beate (Tübingen) and
Schlesier, Renate (Paderborn),
“Chthonic deities”, in:
Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry.
Consulted online on 22 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e234190>