TYPE: Vegetation Goddess
ORIGIN: Mesopotamia, (Sumerian and Babylonian-Akkadian)
Minor deity probably known to the Sumerians from 3500 BCE or earlier. She is concerned with the abundance of grain in the fields, sent as it protectress by the gods Enlil and Enki. According to creation accounts, she and the cattle god Lahur were first intended to serve the needs of the Annunaki, the celestial children of An, but when the heavenly creatures were found unable to make use of their products, humankind was created to provide an outlet for their services.
ATTRIBUTES: ears of grain sprouting from her shoulders.