Bau (goddess) in the context of "Mesopotamian goddess"

Kish (Sumerian: Kiš; transliteration: Kiš; cuneiform: 𒆧𒆠; Akkadian: Kiššatu, near modern Tell al-Uhaymir) is an important archaeological site in Babil Governorate (Iraq), located 80 km (50 mi) south of Baghdad and 12 km (7.5 mi) east of the ancient city of Babylon. The Ubaid period site of Ras al-Amiyah is 8 km (5.0 mi) away. It was occupied from the Ubaid period to the Hellenistic period. In Early Dynastic times the city's patron deity was Ishtar with her consort Ea. Her temple, at Tell Ingharra, was (E)-hursag-kalama. By Old Babylonian times the patron deities had become Zababa, along with his consort, the goddess Bau and Istar. His temple Emeteursag (later Ekišiba) was at Uhaimir.

Zababa (𒀭𒍝𒂷𒂷, za-ba₄-ba₄, /ˈzɑːbɑːbɑː/) was a Mesopotamian god. He was the tutelary deity of the city of Kish and was regarded as a god of war. He was initially seen as a son of Enlil, though in Assyria during the reign of Sennacherib, he started to be viewed as a son of Ashur instead. The goddess Bau came to be viewed as his wife after her introduction to Kish in the Old Babylonian period.

The worship of Zababa is first documented in sources from the Early Dynastic period, including texts from both Kish and other cities in Mesopotamia, for example the Zame Hymns from Abu Salabikh. His importance declined in the Sargonic and Ur III period, but he regained a more prominent position in the Old Babylonian period. Through the first millennium BCE he was worshiped both in Babylonia and in Assyria.

Gula (Sumerian: "the great") was a Mesopotamian goddess of medicine, portrayed as a divine physician and midwife. Over the course of the second and first millennia BCE, she became one of the main deities of the Mesopotamian pantheon, and eventually started to be viewed as the second highest ranked goddess after Ishtar. She was associated with dogs, and could be depicted alongside these animals, for example on kudurru (inscribed boundary stones), and receive figurines representing them as votive offerings.

While Gula was initially regarded as unmarried, in the Kassite period she came to be associated with Ninurta. In Babylon his role could also be fulfilled by Mandanu, while the god list An = Anum links Gula with Pabilsag and Abu. The circle of deities closely associated with her also included Damu and Gunura, who eventually started to be regarded as her children, as well as her sukkal (divine attendant) Urmašum, who might have been imagined as a dog-like being. Through various syncretic processes she could be equated with other goddesses of similar character, including Ninisina, Ninkarrak, Nintinugga, Bau and Meme, though all of them were originally separate, and with the exception of the last of them did not entirely cease to be worshiped separately, even though their individual cults did decline. A well known composition dedicated to describing Gula's syncretic associations is the Gula Hymn of Bulluṭsa-rabi, which seemingly was copied by Mesopotamian practitioners of medicine during their formal training.

Ninisina (Sumerian: "Mistress of Isin") was a Mesopotamian goddess who served as the tutelary deity of the city of Isin. She was considered a healing deity. She was believed to be skilled in the medical arts, and could be described as a divine physician or midwife. As an extension of her medical role, she was also believed to be capable of expelling various demons. Her symbols included dogs, commonly associated with healing goddesses in Mesopotamia, as well as tools and garments associated with practitioners of medicine.

While Ninisina was initially considered to be an unmarried and childless goddess, the god Pabilsag eventually came to be viewed as her husband. Her children were Damu and Gunura, like her considered to be healing deities, as well as Šumaḫ, who also served as her sukkal, a type of divine attendant. Further members of her court included Ninarali, a goddess associated with the underworld, harpist goddesses Ninigizibara and Ninḫinuna, and sometimes Ninshubur. Ninisina also developed associations with various other goddesses of similar character, including Ninkarrak, Gula and Nintinugga. However, while they were often considered analogous, they originated in different areas of Mesopotamia and their individual traits differed. A further goddess connected with her was Bau, who might have developed into a healing goddess because of the association between them. For political reasons, Ninisina also acquired some traits originally belonging to Inanna when the kings of Isin lost control over the cult center of the latter goddess, Uruk.