Nintinugga was a Mesopotamian goddess associated with medicine and cleansing.
12 Facts About Nintinugga
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Nintinugga was associated with Enlil and Ninlil, and was worshiped in their temples, though houses of worship dedicated only to her are attested.
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Nintinugga's name is conventionally translated from Sumerian as "Mistress who revives the dead".
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Possibly due to the meaning of her name, Nintinugga was connected to the underworld.
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Nintinugga was invoked against the demon Asag, as relayed in the texts Letter-Prayer of Inanaka and A Dog for Nintinugga.
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Nintinugga was believed to possess dogs of her own, and a text from the Ur III period relays that a throne decorated with two of these animals was prepared for her in Ur.
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However, while a degree of interchangeability is attested, Nintinugga was usually regarded as distinct from the other similar goddesses.
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For example, while Nintinugga was associated with Nippur, Ninisina was the goddess of Isin, Gula most likely originated in Umma, and Ninkarrak was worshiped in Sippar.
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The cult of Nintinugga was centered in Nippur, as already attested in sources from the Early Dynastic period.
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Nintinugga had her own temple in Nippur, possibly named Eurusaga, "the foremost city," though it is left nameless in the Ur III sources.
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Outside Nippur, worship of Nintinugga is attested in texts from Ur and Isin.
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The cult of Nintinugga lost importance after the Old Babylonian period.