Hursag

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Hursag (transcribed cuneiform: ḫur.sag̃) is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain" or "hill".[1][2]

Mountains play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursag.[citation needed]

ḫur.sag̃ is written as a special ligature (PAxGÍN 𒉺𒂅), but sometimes also etymologized as ḪAR.SAG (𒄯𒊕), written with the signs ḪAR "mountain" and SAG "head".[citation needed]

There is a clear association of Ziggurats with mountains. [citation needed] (e₂-ḫar-sag̃ kur.kur-ra "house of the mountain of all lands") was the name of several temples, besides Ekur (É.KUR "the mountain house") at Nippur, and others.[citation needed] Morris Jastrow, Jr. interprets Ḫarsag-Kurkura "the mountains of all lands" as originally referring to the Earth itself, placing the association of specific mountain peaks with the birthplace of the gods in a later period.[citation needed]

Some scholars also identify hursag with an undefined mountain range or strip of raised land outside the plain of Mesopotamia.[3][4]

Notes

  1. ↑ Thorkild Jacobsen; I. Tzvi Abusch (2002). Riches hidden in secret places: ancient Near Eastern studies in memory of Thorkild Jacobsen. Eisenbrauns. pp. 45–. ISBN 978-1-57506-061-3. Retrieved 24 May 2011. 
  2. ↑ "In and Around the Book of Daniel" - Internet Archive
  3. ↑ Richard J. Clifford (1972). The cosmic mountain in Canaan and the Old Testament. Harvard University Press. Retrieved 29 May 2011. 
  4. ↑ M. Mindlin; Markham J. Geller; John E. Wansbrough (1987). Figurative language in the ancient Near East. Psychology Press. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-7286-0141-3. Retrieved 29 May 2011. 

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