Determinative in the context of "Dingir"

A phonogram or phonograph (from Ancient Greek phōnḗ 'sound' + grắphō 'writing') is a basic unit of writing (or grapheme) that represents a sound used when speaking a particular language, like a phoneme or syllable. For example, in the English word high, ⟨igh⟩ is a grapheme representing the phoneme /aɪ/—while ⟨igh⟩ is written using three letters potentially treated as distinct in other contexts, they cannot be analyzed separately in this case, as the intended sound is only indicated when read as a single unit. While the word phoneme refers to the sound itself, phonogram instead refers to the written representation of the sound.

A writing system that consists of phonograms shows phonography, and can be called phonographic. Phonograms are contrasted with logograms, graphemes that represent units of meaning like words, morphemes, and determinatives (silent characters used to mark semantic categories).

Sîn-lēqi-unninni (Akkadian: 𒁹𒀭𒌍𒋾𒀀𒅆 30-TI-ER₂) was a mašmaššu who lived in Mesopotamia, probably in the period between 1300 BC and 1000 BC. He is traditionally thought to have compiled the best-preserved version of the Epic of Gilgamesh. His name is listed in the text itself, which was unorthodox for works written in cuneiform. His version is known by its incipit, or first line "ša nagba īmuru" ("He who saw the deep" or "The one who saw the Abyss"). The extent to which his version is different from earlier texts is unknown; Andrew R. George argues that Sîn-lēqi-unninni "gave [The Epic of Gilgamesh] its final, fixed form". Tigay acknowledges that Sîn-lēqi-unninni shifted "Gilgamesh's greatness from deeds to the acquisition of knowledge". At time it was also known as "Gilgamesh series" (iškar Gilgāmeš).

The prologue features the only instance of first person narration by Sîn-lēqi-unninni. His version includes Utnapishtim's story of the Flood in tablet XI and, in tablet XII, the Sumerian Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld.

The Cedar Forest (𒄑𒂞𒄑𒌁giš eren giš tir) is the glorious realm of the gods of Mesopotamian mythology. It is guarded by the demigod Humbaba and was once entered by the hero Gilgamesh who dared cut down cedar trees from its virgin stands during his quest for fame. The Cedar Forest is described in Tablets 4–6 of the Epic of Gilgamesh. Earlier descriptions come from the Ur III poem Gilgamesh and Huwawa.

The Sumerian poems of his deeds say that Gilgamesh traveled east, presumably, to the Zagros Mountains of Iran (ancient Elam) to the cedar forest, yet the later more extensive Babylonian examples place the cedar forests west in Lebanon.

Humbaba (Ḫumbaba; 𒄷𒌝𒁀𒁀, Ḫumbāba, with an optional determinative 𒀭), originally known as Ḫuwawa in Sumerian (𒄷𒉿𒉿, Ḫuwāwa), was a figure in Mesopotamian mythology. The origin and meaning of his name are unknown. He was portrayed as an anthropomorphic figure comparable to an ogre or giant. He is best known from Sumerian and Akkadian narratives focused on the hero Gilgamesh, including short compositions belonging to the curriculum of scribal schools, various versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and several Hurrian and Hittite adaptations. He is invariably portrayed as the inhabitant or guardian of the cedar forest, to which Gilgamesh ventures with his companion Enkidu. The subsequent encounter leads to the death of Humbaba, which provokes the anger of the gods. Humbaba is also attested in other works of Mesopotamian literature. Multiple depictions of him have also been identified, including combat scenes and apotropaic clay heads.

It has been suggested that the iconography of Humbaba influenced depictions of the gorgons in Greece, in particular scenes of Perseus slaying Medusa with the help of Athena. A late derivative of Humbaba also seems to be found in both Jewish and Manichaean versions of the Book of Giants, where one of the eponymous beings is referred to as Ḥôbabiš, Ḥôbabis or Ḥōbāīš. While it is agreed the name is derived from his own, the context in which it appears shows no similarity to known myths involving him. Traces of Ḥôbabiš have also been identified in a number of later works belonging to Islamic tradition, such as religious polemics. A number of connections have also been proposed between Humbaba and figures such as Kombabos from the works of Lucian or biblical Hobab, but they are not regarded as plausible.

Cuneiform KI (Borger 2003 nr. 737; U+121A0 𒆠) is the sign for "earth". It is also read as GI₅, GUNNI (=KI.NE) "hearth", KARAŠ (=KI.KAL.BAD) "encampment, army", KISLAḪ (=KI.UD) "threshing floor", and SUR₇ (=KI.GAG). In Akkadian orthography, it functions as a determiner for toponyms and has the syllabic values gi, ge, qi, and qe. Besides its phonetic value it also serves as determiner or "Sumerogram" marking placenames.

As a determiner, KI corresponds to Akkadian itti,

Anzû, also known as Zû and Imdugud (Sumerian: 𒀭𒅎𒂂 im.dugud), is a demon in several Mesopotamian religions. He was conceived by the cosmic freshwater ocean Abzu and mother Earth Mami, or as son of Siris. In Babylonian myths Anzû was depicted as a massive bird - also as an eagle with lion head - who can breathe fire and water. This narrative seems to refer to much earlier Sumerian myths, in which he appears as a half-human storm bird who stole the tablet of destiny, challenging Enlil's power over his organisation of different gods that provided Mesopotamia with agriculture (cf. the Flood epic Athrahasis).

Stephanie Dalley, in Myths from Mesopotamia, writes that the Epic of Anzu itself "is principally known in two versions: an Old Babylonian version of the early second millennium [BC], giving the hero as Ningirsu; and 'The Standard Babylonian' version, dating to the first millennium BC, which appears to be the most quoted version, with the hero as Ninurta". However, the Anzu character does not appear as often in some other writings, as noted below.