16 Facts About Ninsianna

Ninsianna was a Mesopotamian deity considered to be the personification of Venus.

The oldest evidence for the worship of Ninsianna comes from the Ur III period, and includes references to the construction of two temples of this deity.

Ninsianna, the "Red Queen of Heaven," was a divine representation of the planet Venus.

Ninsianna was occasionally associated with haruspicy, like a number of other astral deities.

However, according Westenholz Ninsianna's case is distinct from instances of deities whose gender changed due to syncretism, such as Ninshubur.

Gender of Ninsianna seems to vary based on location as well.

However, some evidence in favor of interpreting specific references to Ninsianna as designating this deity as a god rather than a goddess, for example an inscription of Iddin-Sin of Simurrum, is uncertain, as it is possible that the Akkadian word ilu in such cases might be employed as a gender neutral term, similar to Sumerian dingir.

Ninsianna was considered female in the context of the worship of this deity in Nippur, Isin and Uruk.

Ninsianna was worshiped in various locations in Mesopotamia and is attested for the first time in texts from the Ur III period, such as an inscription of Shulgi pertaining to the construction of a temple for this deity.

The cult of Ninsianna is well attested in the following Isin-Larsa and Old Babylonian periods as well.

Ninsianna was worshiped by the kings of dynasty of Isin, such as Iddin-Dagan.

Ninsianna is mentioned in a curse formula of Iddin-Sin of Simurrum.

Ninsianna, according to Julia M Asher-Greve treated as a goddess in this context, is one of the female deities most commonly mentioned in personal letters from the Old Babylonian period, in which she appears less often than Ishtar, but with comparable frequency to Aya or Gula.

In Old Babylonian sources from the city of Babylon itself Ninsianna is one of best attested goddesses in various documents, next to Ishtar, Inanna of Zabalam, Annunitum and Zarpanit.

However, there is evidence that the feminine form of Ninsianna continued to be worshiped in the Kassite period.

Ninsianna is attested in the description of a parade of deities accompanying Ishtar during a parade celebrating the New Year festival, which involved Nanaya, Ninigizibara, Isartu, Ninmeurur, Ilid-eturra, Sagepada, Ninsun and other goddesses, most of whom are known for association with either Ishtar or the city of Uruk.