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Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: SCY-SHA |
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SHAMASH, or AMAS , the common name of the sun-god in Babylonia and Assyria. The name signifies perhaps " servitor," and would thus point to a secondary position occupied at one time by this deity. Both in early and in late
inscriptions Shamash is designated as the " offspring of Nannar," i.e. of the moon-god, and since, in an enumeration of the pantheon, Sin generally takes precedence of Shamash, it is in relationship, presumably, to the moon-god that the sun-god appears as the dependent power. Such a supposition would accord with the prominence acquired by the moon in the calendar and in astrological calculations, as well as with the fact pointed out (see SIN) that the moon-cult belongs to the nomadic and therefore earlier, stage of civilization, whereas the sun-god rises to full importance only after the agricultural stage has been reached. The two chief
worship in Babylonia were Sippara (Sippar), represented by the mounds at Abu Habba, and Larsa, represented by the modern Senkerah. At both places the chief
house
The attribute most commonly associated with Shamash is justice. Just as the sun disperses darkness, so Shamash brings wrong and injustice to light. Khammurabi attributes to Shamash the inspiration that led him to gather the existing laws and legal procedures into a code, and in the design accompanying the code the king represents himself in an attitude of adoration before Shamash as the embodiment of the idea of justice. Several centuries before Khammurabi, Ur-Engur of the Ur dynasty (c. 2600 B.C.) declared that he rendered decisions " according to the just laws of Shamash." It was a logical consequence of this conception of the sun-god that he was regarded also as the one who released the sufferer from the grasp of the demons. The sick man, therefore, appeals to Shamash as the god who can be depended upon to help those who are suffering unjustly. This aspect of the sun-god is vividly brought out in the hymns addressed to him, which are, therefore, among the finest productions in the entire realm of Babylonian literature. It is evident from the material at our disposal that the Shamash cults at Sippara and Larsa so overshadowed local sun-deities elsewhere as to lead to an absorption of the minor deities by the predominating one. In the systematized pantheon these minor sun-gods become attendants that do his service. Such are Bunene, spoken of as his chariot driver, whose consort is Atgimakh, Kettu (" justice ") and Mesharu (" right "), who are introduced as ,servitors of Shamash. Other sun-deities, as Ninib (q.v.) and Nergal (q.v.), the patron deities of important centres, retained their independent existence as certain phases of the sun, Ninib becoming the sun-god of the morning and of the spring time, and Nergal the sun-god of the noon
Together with Sin and Ishtar, Shamash forms a second triad by the side of Anu, Bel and Ea. The three powers, Sin, Shamash , and Ishtar (q.v.), symbolized the three great
The consort of Shamash was known as A. She, however, is rarely mentioned in the inscriptions except in combination with Shamash. (M. JA.)End of Article: SHAMASH, or AMAS If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
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