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Igigi/Igigu (a group of gods)

This Semitic term describes a group of possibly seven or eight gods. It is likely that the godMarduk was one of them, but the total membership in this group is unclear and likely changedover time.

Functions

Like the term Anunna, the term Igigu is equally complicated and in need of a comprehensive newstudy. Igigu, which is likely of Semitic origin, indicates a group of gods in the Mesopotamianpantheon. It is, however, not entirely clear what distinguishes the Igigu from the Anunna.

The story of  Atrahasis, the Babylonian story of the Flood and a precursor to the flood story in theGilgameš Epic (Tablet XI), offers some evidence on the relationship between the Annunaki andthe Igigu. The poem begins with the lines "When the gods like men bore the work and sufferedthe toil, the toil of the gods was great, the work was heavy, the distress was much" (lines 1-4)(Lambert and Millard 1999 [1969]: 43). The composition continues: "The Seven great Anunnaki

were making the Igigu suffer the work" (lines 5-6) (Lambert and Millard 1969 [1999]: 43). Whatfollows is partly fragmentary, but seems to indicate that the Igigu gods did not want to work anymore and therefore the Anunnaki had to find a solution. Ultimately, this led to the creation of humans, who from then on had to bear the gods' work. In this story it appears that the Igigu weresubordinate to the Anunnaki (von Soden 1989: 341-2). It is unclear which deities were includedin the Igigu group.

In the prologue to the famous Code of Hammurabi it is indicated that the Anunnaki elevated thegod Marduk among the Igigu gods (for a translation see Roth 1997: 76-142; also see von Soden1966: 144), but it is difficult to assess the significance of this passage.

Some mythological texts, such as the Anz u myth, speak of an assembly of the Igigu gods, butwhether this might be an institutionalized assembly, as suggested by Kienast 1965: 146, remainsdoubtful.

Divine Genealogy and Syncretisms

 As mentioned above, it is not clear how many and which gods belonged to the Igigu, althoughthe god Marduk appears to belong to this group for certain. It is possible that the group includedonly seven (von Soden 1966), eight (Kienast 1965: 144) or ten (Black and Green 1998: 106)gods, but this is uncertain as well.

Other gods who may belong to this group are Ištar , Asarluhi, Naramá¹£it, Ninurta, Nuska, andŠamaš (Kienast 1965: 149). Some gods seem to belong to both the Anunnaki and the Igigu(Kienast 1965: 152), yet more research is needed to gain a better understanding of this situationin the first millennium BCE.

Cult Place(s)

We currently know of no cult places for the Igigu. Kienast (1965; 1976-80) has repeatedlysuggested that the Igigu are only attested in literary and mythological texts. However, von Soden(1966) has brought forth some evidence that might indicate that there are very few theophoric

personal names TT which invoke the Igigu, thus offering some evidence for their veneration.

Time Periods Attested

The term Igigu is first attested in texts from the Old Babylonian period (Kienast 1976-80: 40; von

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Soden 1989: 340) and only occurs in Akkadian contexts (Edzard 1976-80: 37). A Sumerianlogographic equivalent of the term Igigu is nun-gal-e-ne, to be translated as "the greatprinces/sovereigns." This term is mentioned in a literary text that has been ascribed to theprincess Enheduanna, daughter of king Sargon, the founder of the Old Akkadian dynasty (InanaC , ETCSL 4.7.3 l. 2). This particular composition is only attested in Old Babylonian manuscriptsand it is unclear whether an older date can be proven. According to Edzard (1976-80: 39) it ispossible that nun-gal-e-ne was originally an epithet of the Anunna gods that later becameidentified with the Igigu under influence from Akkadian.

The Igigu and Anunnaki are frequently attested in literary, mythological, and religious(incantations and prayers) texts until the end of the cuneiform tradition. The Igigu are mentioned,among others, in the Anzu myth (Foster 2005: 555-578), in EnÄma eliš TT  (Foster 2005: 436-486), and the Erra poem (Foster 2005: 880-913), all of which are attested in manuscripts of thefirst millennium BCE.

 

Iconography

Because this term describes a group of gods, there are no known images of the Igigu.

Name and Spellings

The etymology of this term is unclear. It has been suggested the term is of Old Akkadian (Kienast1965: 157; 1976-80: 40) or of (Old) Amorite (von Soden 1966: 144) or possibly Arabic origins(von Soden 1989: 340). For the various spellings see Kienast 1965: 142.

Written forms:logographic: dnun gal-e-ne, dnun-gal-meš;

syllabic and pseudo-logographic: i-gi-gu, i-gi-gi ,d

i-gi4-gi4,d

i-gi4-gi4-ne, i-gi4-gu,d

í-gì-gì (thelatter appears first in ninth century BCE);cryptographic: dgéš-u

Normalized forms:Igigu, Igigi