Artist's depiction of two winged deities that represented Enlil. They are kneeling in front of a sacred tree, often associated with the worship of the Earth god.
Click on image for full size
Windows to the Universe original image
Enlil
Enlil was the Sumerian god of Earth and air. Sumerians were living more than three thousand years ago. He was especially worshipped in the city of Nippur.
Even though Enlil was "the Father of the Gods", he was banished to the world of the dead for doing wrong. Ninlil, his wife, followed him to the underworld. She had her son, the Moon god Sin, there.
They gave their next three children to the gods, so Sin could leave and go up into the night sky.
Shop Windows to the Universe Science Store!
Our
online store includes fun
classroom activities for you and your students.
Issues of NESTA's quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist are also full of classroom activities on different topics in Earth and space science!
You might also be interested in:
Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief god of the Navajo. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. The four main directions are believed to be supported by giants. Each direction has a specific color: white-east;
...more
In Roman and Greek mythology, Amphitrite was a beautiful sea nymph. Poseidon (Neptune), who was the god of the sea and earthquakes, fell in love with her at first sight. Amphitrite did not respond to his
...more
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. To the perfection of her figure and the purity of her features she added an innocent grace. On her sweet face she
...more
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. He was known as the god who could
...more
According to an ancient Greek legend, the figure of a gigantic crab was placed in the nighttime sky by the goddess Hera to form the constellation Cancer. Hera swore to kill Heracles, the most famous Greek
...more
In the Northern Hemisphere sky is the constellation Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. His wife was Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia claimed that she and her daughter Andromeda were more beautiful than the sea nymphs, the
...more
In Navajo mythology, the Milky Way was created by the mischievous god, Coyote. Coyote was very impatient when the Holy People decided to place the stars in the sky. In his anger, he chose to place a red
...more
