25 Facts About Lisin

Lisin was a Mesopotamian deity initially regarded as a goddess and addressed as ama, "mother," who later came to be regarded as a god and developed an association with fire.

The initial cult center of Lisin is uncertain, with locations such as Abu Salabikh, Adab and Kesh being often proposed.

Lisin is attested in texts from various cities, including Umma, Lagash, Nippur and Meturan.

Only a single literary text focused on Lisin is known, a lament in which she mourns the death of one of her sons, for which she blames her mother Ninhursag.

Lisin is addressed as ama, "mother," in one of the Early Dynastic Zame Hymns.

The fact that in Old Babylonian god lists Lisin precedes Ninsikila might have influenced the reinterpretation of their gender.

However, Paul Delnero states that a fragment of a single lament in which Lisin is male is known.

Lisin is treated as a female deity in Udug Hul, a corpus of incantations which remained in circulation until the end of the use of cuneiform in Mesopotamia.

The fact that an esoteric text which equates deities with various materials and objects assigns "white fumes" to Lisin is presumed to depend on a similar invented etymology.

In incantations, Lisin could be associated with a variety of other materials, including hulu and kibritu, both presumed to be minerals, horn of the gazelle, and medicinal plants ninu, azupiru, and sahlu.

However, for unknown reasons in the Old Babylonian forerunner of the god list An = Anum Lisin appears separately from the section dedicated to Ninhursag and her family.

Lisin's spouse was Ninsikila, and eight children are assigned to them in the god list An = Anum: KU-anna, KU-kita, KU-ta-abzu, KU-kita-abzu, Irhangul, Kitus-Kes, Lalanna and Urnunta-ea.

In literary texts portraying her as a mourning goddess, Lisin could be equated with other similar deities.

The male form of Lisin could be sometimes treated as comparable to Ninurta, or alternatively as one of the members of his entourage or one of his deified weapons.

In ritual texts from the first millennium BCE, Lisin appears as a member of the household of Nanaya of Eursaba alongside deities such as Qibi-dumqi and Usur-amassu.

Oldest known attestations of Lisin have been identified in texts from Abu Salabikh.

Lisin argued that it can be assumed Lisin was the city goddess of this site in the Early Dynastic period based on her position as the final deity mentioned in the Zame Hymns.

The fact a month named after Lisin, ezem-li9-si4, is attested in texts from Tell al-Wilayah has been used to argue this site corresponds to Kesh.

Furthermore, at one point a man bearing the theophoric name Ur-Lisin served as the governor of this city.

Lisin is present in the Nippur god list, in which she occurs between Uttu and Alammus.

However, according to Gabriella Spada it is possible that Lisin is female in this text.

Lisin appears in a legal text from the reign of the same king which might be an example of a so-called "temple loan", as it presents her as the creditor who borrowed a certain amount of silver to two people.

Texts focused on Lisin have been found during the excavations in Meturan, and according to Antoine Cavigneaux and Farouk Al-Rawi might indicate the existence of a local cult dedicated to her in this city in the Old Babylonian period.

Since the Meturan copy of has been found in a house whose inhabitant, a certain Belsunu, had relatives bearing theophoric names invoking Lisin, it is possible the text was connected to the active worship of this goddess.

Lisin is referenced in a single line of the lament Egime and Lulil, which describes her as a mourning goddess.