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ページの作成:「'''Aya''' (rarely '''Nin-Aya'''){{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=7}} was an Akkadian goddess of dawn, and the wife of Shamash, the sun god. Her Sumerian equivalent…」
'''Aya''' (rarely '''Nin-Aya'''){{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=7}} was an Akkadian goddess of dawn, and the wife of [[Shamash]], the sun god. Her Sumerian equivalent was Sherida, wife of Shamash's equivalent Utu.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}}
== Character ==
Aya's name means [[dawn]] in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=119}} She was associated with morning light and the [[sunrise|rising sun]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} In this role she was called "morning-maker."{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} It has also been suggested that the Sumerian name Sherida was a loan from Akkadian ''šērtum'', "morning."{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} Gebhard Selz notes that this would make her one of the first deities whose name has Akkadian origin to be integrated into the pantheons of Sumerian-speaking areas.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} Other such examples are [[Sin (mythology)|Suen]],{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} a name of the moon god,{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=275}} and [[Ishtaran]], a divine judge.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=155}} Further attested names of the sun god's wife include Ninkar, Sudaĝ and Sudgan.{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=602}}
Her another primary function was that of a divine bride, as exemplified by her epithet ''kallatum'' ("bride," "daughter in law").{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} As Shamash's wife she was regarded as epitome of beauty and charm.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} Shamash and Aya are the divine couple most often invoked together in seal inscriptions from Sippar, followed by [[Adad]] and [[Shala]] and [[Enki]] and [[Damkina]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=257}} Aya was also commonly invoked to intercede with her husband on behalf of human devotees.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=119}} This function is also well attested for other divine spouses, such as [[Ninmug]] and Shala.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=273}} It has also been pointed out that in the case of Inanna, her sukkal [[Ninshubur]] fulfilled a similar role.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=273}}
In art Aya was commonly depicted frontally.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} Many depictions highlighted her beauty and sexual charm.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} On [[Cylinder seal|seals]] from Sippar she was often depicted wearing a type of garment which exposed her right breast, meant to emphasize her qualities as a charming and attractive bride.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} [[Ishtar]] and [[Annunitum]] (who in Sippar functioned as a separate goddess, rather than an epithet) were depicted similarly.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} The existence of an emblem representing Aya is mentioned in texts from Sippar, but no detailed descriptions of it are known.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=264}}
== Association with other deities ==
Aya was regarded as the wife of Shamash, and thus the [[daughter-in-law]] of his parents [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|Suen]] and [[Ningal]] and sister-in-law of [[Ishtar]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} Their daughters were [[Mamu (deity)|Mamu]] (or Mamud), the goddess of dreams{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=262}} and [[Kittum]] ("truth").{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=602}} According to [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] another child of the sun god and his wife was [[Ishum]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=77}} However, due to confusion between Sudaĝ (a title of Aya, "golden glow"{{sfn|Krebernik|2013|p=241-242}}) and Sud (the tutelary goddess of [[Shuruppak]], equated with [[Ninlil]]) the latter appears in the role Ishum's mother in a single myth.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=77}} Manfred Krebernik assumes that Sud and Sudaĝ were only confused with each other rather than conflated or [[Syncretism|syncretised]].{{sfn|Krebernik|2013|p=242}}
A single god list dated to the [[Middle Babylonian period]] or later equates [[Lahar (god)|Lahar]] with Aya and explains that the former should be understood as "Aya as the goddess of of caring for things," ''<sup>d</sup>a-a šá ku-né-e''.{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=523}} This equation is regarded as unusual, as Lahar was consistently regarded as male otherwise, and the evidence for connections between both goddesses and mortal women with herding sheep, a sphere of life Lahar was associated with, is limited.{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=523}}
===Hurrian reception===
Outside Mesopotamia Aya was incorporated into [[Hurrian religion]] under the name "Ayu-Ikalti,"{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=127}} derived from the phrase ''Aya kallatu''.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=10}} In [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] sources she was also viewed as the spouse of a sun god, [[Šimige]].{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=127}} She is one of the Hurrian deities depicted in the [[Yazılıkaya]] sanctuary, where a relief of her can be seen in a procession of goddesses, between [[Nikkal]] and a figure who might represent [[Shaushka]].{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=95}}
A trilingual Sumero-Hurro-[[Ugaritic]] god list from [[Ugarit]] attests the equivalence between Shamash (Utu), Šimige and the local sun goddess [[Shapash]] (Šapšu).{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=176}} Apparently to avoid the implications that Shapash had a wife, the scribes interpreted the name of Aya, present in the Sumerian original, as an unconventional writing of [[Enki|Ea]].{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=180}} Instead of the Hurrian spelling of Aya, the name Eyan corresponds to him in the Hurrian column and Ugaritic one lists the local craftsman god [[Kothar-wa-Khasis]].{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=180}}
== Worship ==
While Aya is overall less well attested in textual records than major goddesses such as Ishtar, [[Nanaya]], [[Ninlil]] or [[Ninisina]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=267}} it is nonetheless assumed that she was a popular target of personal devotion,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=267}} as she appears commonly in personal names and on seals.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} She was worshiped already in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} and appears in texts from [[Ur]], as well as in the [[Abu Salabikh]] and [[Shuruppak|Fara]] god lists.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} The name Sherida is already attested in theophoric names from [[Lagash]] from the same period, such as Ur-Sherida.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} In the Old Babylonian period Aya was one of the most popular goddesses,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} with only Ishtar appearing more often in sources such as personal letters.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=251}}
Ebabbar ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: "Shining white house"{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=255}}), Shamash's temple in Sippar, was the primary center of Aya's cult as well.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=110}} In legal documents from that city, she often appears as a divine witness, alongside her husband, their daughter Mamu and Shamash's ''[[sukkal]]'' [[Bunene]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=257}} the latter two also regarded as a couple.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=260}} [[Manishtushu]] dedicated a mace head to "Nin-Aya" in Sippar.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=64}} [[Samsu-iluna]], one of the Old Babylonian kings, called himself "beloved of Shamash and Aya" and both renovated the Ebabbar and built walls around Sippar.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=256}}
''Naditu'' priestesses from Sippar were particularly closely associated with Aya: they addressed her as their mistress, commonly took theophoric names invoking her, and exclusively swore oaths by her.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=261}} They were a class of women closely associated with Shamash.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=307}} Their existence is particularly well attested in the Old Babylonian period,{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and it has been argued that the institution first developed around 1880 BCE, during the reign of [[Sumu-la-El]] of Babylon.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=70}} ''Naditu'' lived in a building referred to as ''gagûm'', conventionally translated as "[[cloister]],"{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and Tonia Sharlach notes they can be compared to medieval Christian [[nuns]].{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} They are sometimes described as "priestesses" in modern literature, but while it is well attested that they were considered to be dedicated to a specific deity, there is little evidence for their involvement in religious activities other than personal prayer. It is not impossible they were understood as a fully separate social class.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|pp=67-68}} Family background of individual ''naditu'' varied, though they came predominantly from the higher strata of society.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=306}} While many came from families of craftsmen, [[scribes]] or military officials, a number of them were daughters or sisters of kings.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} Both [[Zimri-Lim]] of Mari and Hammurabi of Babylon had ''naditu'' of Shamash among their female family members.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}}
It has been argued Aya was less prominent in the other city associated with Shamash, [[Larsa]], where she doesn't appear in official lists of offerings.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} It is assumed that the Ebabbar in this city was nonetheless regarded as dedicated to her alongside Shamash.{{sfn|George|1993|p=70}} Some references are also present in texts from the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian period]], with one text mentioning the priests from Larsa sent jewelry of Aya and of the "divine daughter of Ebabbar" to [[Uruk]] for repairs.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=59}} References to a "treasury of Shamash and Aya" are known too.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=60}} [[Paul-Alain Beaulieu]] additionally proposes that a goddess only known by the epithet ''Belet Larsa'' ("Lady of Larsa"), who appears in Neo-Babylonian letters, might be Aya.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=58}}
A sanctuary dedicated to Aya, Eidubba ("house of storage bins") also existed in [[Assur]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=103}} A further house of worship dedicated to her, mentioned in the ''Canonical Temple List'', was known as Edimgalanna ("house, great bond of heaven"), but its location is unknown.{{sfn|George|1993|p=75}} In [[Seleucid]] [[Uruk]], she was among the goddesses celebrated during the New Year festival.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=126}}
Aya was also worshiped outside Mesopotamia in [[Mari, Syria|Mari]].{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=236}} She appears in theophoric names of women from this city with comparable frequency to her husband Shamash and [[Dagan (god)|Dagan]], the head god of inland Syria,{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=236}} though less commonly than Annu, Ishtar, [[Ishara]], [[Kakka]] (regarded as a goddess in this city), [[Mami (goddess)|Mamma]] and Admu.{{sfn|Nakata|1995|pp=235-236}} Examples include Aya-lamassi, Aya-ummi and Yatara-Aya.{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=246}}
===Uncertain attestations===
Manfred Krebernik assumes that in texts from [[Ebla]], the name Ninkar refers to the spouse of a sun deity, who he assumed was seen as male in this city.{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=606}} Alfonso Archi instead concludes that the deity was primarily female based on lexical evidence.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}} [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] proposed that Ninkar in Eblaite texts should be interpreted as [[Ninkarrak]] rather than the phonetically similar but more obscure Mesopotamian Ninkar.{{sfn|Westenholz|2010|p=397}} Occasional shortening of Ninkarrak's name to "Ninkar" is known from Mesopotamian sources as well.{{sfn|Westenholz|2010|p=380}} The identification of Eblaite Ninkar with Ninkarrak is also accepted by Archi.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}}
== Mythology ==
Buduhudug, a mythical mountain where the sun was believed to set, was regarded as "the entrance of Shamash to Aya" (''nēreb <sup>d</sup>Šamaš <ana> <sup>d</sup>Aya'') - the place where they were able to reunite each day after Shamash finished his journey through the sky.{{sfn|George|2003|p=863}}{{sfn|Woods|2009|p=187}}
In the "Standard Babylonian" version of the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', [[Ninsun]] during her prayer to Shamash asks Aya three times to intercede on behalf of her son [[Gilgamesh]] to guarantee his safety both during the day and the night.{{sfn|George|2003|pp=459-460}} Ninsun states that the optimal time for Aya to appeal to her husband is right after sunset, when he returns home from his daily journey.{{sfn|George|2003|p=461}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|35em}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7003610| editor1-last=Collins|editor1-first=B. J.|editor2-last=Michalowski|editor2-first=P.|title=Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman|publisher=Lockwood Press|publication-place=Atlanta|year=2013|isbn=978-1-937040-11-6|oclc=882106763}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=Šamagan and the Mules of Ebla. Syrian Gods in Sumerian Disguise|title=Between Syria and the Highlands: studies in honor of Giorgio Buccellati & Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati|url=http://urkesh.org/pages/911-SANEM3.htm|publisher=Arbor Sapientiae editore|publication-place=Rome|year=2019|isbn=88-31341-01-4|oclc=1137837171}}
*{{cite book|last1=Asher-Greve|first1=Julia M.|first2=Joan G.|last2=Westenholz|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf |title=Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources|year=2013|isbn=978-3-7278-1738-0}}
*{{cite journal|last=Beaulieu|first=Paul-Alain|title=Neo-Babylonian Larsa: A Preliminary Study|journal=Orientalia|publisher=GBPress- Gregorian Biblical Press|volume=60|issue=2|year=1991|issn=00305367|jstor=43075908|pages=58–81|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43075908|access-date=2022-02-11}}
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|title=House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake|year=1993|isbn=0-931464-80-3|oclc=27813103}}
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/1603/|title=The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic: introduction, critical edition and cuneiform texts|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=Oxford New York|year=2003|isbn=0-19-814922-0|oclc=51668477}}
*{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Rivkah|title=Ancient Sippar: a Demographic Study of an Old-Babylonian City, 1894-1595 B.C.|publisher=Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut|series=Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul|year=1975|url=https://www.nino-leiden.nl/download/3235|access-date=2022-06-12}}
*{{citation|last=Krebernik|first=Manfred|entry=Sonnengott A. I. In Mesopotamien. Philologisch|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=2011|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#10935|language=de|access-date=2021-08-08}}
*{{citation|last=Krebernik|first=Manfred|entry=Sudaĝ|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=2013|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#11087|language=de|access-date=2021-08-08}}
*{{cite book|last=Lambert|first=Wilfred G.|title=Babylonian creation myths|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake, Indiana|year=2013|isbn=978-1-57506-861-9|oclc=861537250}}
*{{cite journal|last=Nakata|first=Ichiro|title=A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in Old Babylonian Texts from Mari|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/orient1960/30and31/0/30and31_0_234/_article/-char/en| journal=Orient | publisher=The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan | volume=30 and 31|year=1995 | issn=1884-1392 | doi=10.5356/orient1960.30and31.234 | pages=234–253}}
*{{cite book|last=Selz|first=Gebhard|title=Untersuchungen zur Götterwelt des altsumerischen Stadtstaates von Lagaš|url=https://www.academia.edu/1564636|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Museum|publication-place=Philadelphia|year=1995|isbn=978-0-924171-00-0|oclc=33334960|language=de}}
*{{cite book|last=Sharlach|first=Tonia|editor-last=Crawford|editor-first=Harriet E. W.|editor-link=Harriet Crawford|title=Regime change in the ancient Near East and Egypt: from Sargon of Agade to Saddam Hussein|chapter=Social Change and the Transition from the Third Dynasty of Ur to the Old Babylonian Period|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36052472|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=Oxford|date=2007|isbn=0-19-726390-9|oclc=71163766}}
*{{cite book|first=Piotr|last=Taracha|title=Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia |publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009|isbn=978-3447058858}}
*{{cite book|last=Tugendhaft|first=Aaron|editor-last=Grafton|editor-first=Anthony|editor-last2=Most|editor-first2=Glenn W.|title=Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices|chapter=Gods on clay: Ancient Near Eastern scholarly practices and the history of religions|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/28102179|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|publication-place=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9781316226728.009}}
*{{cite book|last=Westenholz|first=Joan G.|title=Von Göttern und Menschen|chapter=Ninkarrak – an Akkadian goddess in Sumerian guise|publisher=BRILL|date=2010| doi=10.1163/9789004187474_020}}
*{{cite journal|last=Woods|first=Christopher|title=At the Edge of the World: Cosmological Conceptions of the Eastern Horizon in Mesopotamia|journal=Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions|volume=9|issue=2|date=2009|issn=1569-2116|doi=10.1163/156921109X12520501747912|pages=183–239|url=https://www.academia.edu/16493674|access-date=2021-08-08}}
{{refend}}
[[Category:メソポタミア神話]]
[[Category:太陽女神]]
== Character ==
Aya's name means [[dawn]] in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=119}} She was associated with morning light and the [[sunrise|rising sun]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} In this role she was called "morning-maker."{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} It has also been suggested that the Sumerian name Sherida was a loan from Akkadian ''šērtum'', "morning."{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} Gebhard Selz notes that this would make her one of the first deities whose name has Akkadian origin to be integrated into the pantheons of Sumerian-speaking areas.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} Other such examples are [[Sin (mythology)|Suen]],{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} a name of the moon god,{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=275}} and [[Ishtaran]], a divine judge.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=155}} Further attested names of the sun god's wife include Ninkar, Sudaĝ and Sudgan.{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=602}}
Her another primary function was that of a divine bride, as exemplified by her epithet ''kallatum'' ("bride," "daughter in law").{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} As Shamash's wife she was regarded as epitome of beauty and charm.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} Shamash and Aya are the divine couple most often invoked together in seal inscriptions from Sippar, followed by [[Adad]] and [[Shala]] and [[Enki]] and [[Damkina]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=257}} Aya was also commonly invoked to intercede with her husband on behalf of human devotees.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=119}} This function is also well attested for other divine spouses, such as [[Ninmug]] and Shala.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=273}} It has also been pointed out that in the case of Inanna, her sukkal [[Ninshubur]] fulfilled a similar role.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=273}}
In art Aya was commonly depicted frontally.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} Many depictions highlighted her beauty and sexual charm.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} On [[Cylinder seal|seals]] from Sippar she was often depicted wearing a type of garment which exposed her right breast, meant to emphasize her qualities as a charming and attractive bride.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} [[Ishtar]] and [[Annunitum]] (who in Sippar functioned as a separate goddess, rather than an epithet) were depicted similarly.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=269}} The existence of an emblem representing Aya is mentioned in texts from Sippar, but no detailed descriptions of it are known.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=264}}
== Association with other deities ==
Aya was regarded as the wife of Shamash, and thus the [[daughter-in-law]] of his parents [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|Suen]] and [[Ningal]] and sister-in-law of [[Ishtar]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} Their daughters were [[Mamu (deity)|Mamu]] (or Mamud), the goddess of dreams{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=262}} and [[Kittum]] ("truth").{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=602}} According to [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] another child of the sun god and his wife was [[Ishum]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=77}} However, due to confusion between Sudaĝ (a title of Aya, "golden glow"{{sfn|Krebernik|2013|p=241-242}}) and Sud (the tutelary goddess of [[Shuruppak]], equated with [[Ninlil]]) the latter appears in the role Ishum's mother in a single myth.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=77}} Manfred Krebernik assumes that Sud and Sudaĝ were only confused with each other rather than conflated or [[Syncretism|syncretised]].{{sfn|Krebernik|2013|p=242}}
A single god list dated to the [[Middle Babylonian period]] or later equates [[Lahar (god)|Lahar]] with Aya and explains that the former should be understood as "Aya as the goddess of of caring for things," ''<sup>d</sup>a-a šá ku-né-e''.{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=523}} This equation is regarded as unusual, as Lahar was consistently regarded as male otherwise, and the evidence for connections between both goddesses and mortal women with herding sheep, a sphere of life Lahar was associated with, is limited.{{sfn|Lambert|2013|p=523}}
===Hurrian reception===
Outside Mesopotamia Aya was incorporated into [[Hurrian religion]] under the name "Ayu-Ikalti,"{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=127}} derived from the phrase ''Aya kallatu''.{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=10}} In [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]] sources she was also viewed as the spouse of a sun god, [[Šimige]].{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=127}} She is one of the Hurrian deities depicted in the [[Yazılıkaya]] sanctuary, where a relief of her can be seen in a procession of goddesses, between [[Nikkal]] and a figure who might represent [[Shaushka]].{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=95}}
A trilingual Sumero-Hurro-[[Ugaritic]] god list from [[Ugarit]] attests the equivalence between Shamash (Utu), Šimige and the local sun goddess [[Shapash]] (Šapšu).{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=176}} Apparently to avoid the implications that Shapash had a wife, the scribes interpreted the name of Aya, present in the Sumerian original, as an unconventional writing of [[Enki|Ea]].{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=180}} Instead of the Hurrian spelling of Aya, the name Eyan corresponds to him in the Hurrian column and Ugaritic one lists the local craftsman god [[Kothar-wa-Khasis]].{{sfn|Tugendhaft|2016|p=180}}
== Worship ==
While Aya is overall less well attested in textual records than major goddesses such as Ishtar, [[Nanaya]], [[Ninlil]] or [[Ninisina]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=267}} it is nonetheless assumed that she was a popular target of personal devotion,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=267}} as she appears commonly in personal names and on seals.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} She was worshiped already in the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} and appears in texts from [[Ur]], as well as in the [[Abu Salabikh]] and [[Shuruppak|Fara]] god lists.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=258}} The name Sherida is already attested in theophoric names from [[Lagash]] from the same period, such as Ur-Sherida.{{sfn|Selz|1995|p=276}} In the Old Babylonian period Aya was one of the most popular goddesses,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} with only Ishtar appearing more often in sources such as personal letters.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=251}}
Ebabbar ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: "Shining white house"{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=255}}), Shamash's temple in Sippar, was the primary center of Aya's cult as well.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=110}} In legal documents from that city, she often appears as a divine witness, alongside her husband, their daughter Mamu and Shamash's ''[[sukkal]]'' [[Bunene]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=257}} the latter two also regarded as a couple.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=260}} [[Manishtushu]] dedicated a mace head to "Nin-Aya" in Sippar.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=64}} [[Samsu-iluna]], one of the Old Babylonian kings, called himself "beloved of Shamash and Aya" and both renovated the Ebabbar and built walls around Sippar.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=256}}
''Naditu'' priestesses from Sippar were particularly closely associated with Aya: they addressed her as their mistress, commonly took theophoric names invoking her, and exclusively swore oaths by her.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=261}} They were a class of women closely associated with Shamash.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=307}} Their existence is particularly well attested in the Old Babylonian period,{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and it has been argued that the institution first developed around 1880 BCE, during the reign of [[Sumu-la-El]] of Babylon.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=70}} ''Naditu'' lived in a building referred to as ''gagûm'', conventionally translated as "[[cloister]],"{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=67}} and Tonia Sharlach notes they can be compared to medieval Christian [[nuns]].{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} They are sometimes described as "priestesses" in modern literature, but while it is well attested that they were considered to be dedicated to a specific deity, there is little evidence for their involvement in religious activities other than personal prayer. It is not impossible they were understood as a fully separate social class.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|pp=67-68}} Family background of individual ''naditu'' varied, though they came predominantly from the higher strata of society.{{sfn|Harris|1975|p=306}} While many came from families of craftsmen, [[scribes]] or military officials, a number of them were daughters or sisters of kings.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}} Both [[Zimri-Lim]] of Mari and Hammurabi of Babylon had ''naditu'' of Shamash among their female family members.{{sfn|Sharlach|2007|p=68}}
It has been argued Aya was less prominent in the other city associated with Shamash, [[Larsa]], where she doesn't appear in official lists of offerings.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=259}} It is assumed that the Ebabbar in this city was nonetheless regarded as dedicated to her alongside Shamash.{{sfn|George|1993|p=70}} Some references are also present in texts from the [[Neo-Babylonian Empire|Neo-Babylonian period]], with one text mentioning the priests from Larsa sent jewelry of Aya and of the "divine daughter of Ebabbar" to [[Uruk]] for repairs.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=59}} References to a "treasury of Shamash and Aya" are known too.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=60}} [[Paul-Alain Beaulieu]] additionally proposes that a goddess only known by the epithet ''Belet Larsa'' ("Lady of Larsa"), who appears in Neo-Babylonian letters, might be Aya.{{sfn|Beaulieu|1991|p=58}}
A sanctuary dedicated to Aya, Eidubba ("house of storage bins") also existed in [[Assur]].{{sfn|George|1993|p=103}} A further house of worship dedicated to her, mentioned in the ''Canonical Temple List'', was known as Edimgalanna ("house, great bond of heaven"), but its location is unknown.{{sfn|George|1993|p=75}} In [[Seleucid]] [[Uruk]], she was among the goddesses celebrated during the New Year festival.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=126}}
Aya was also worshiped outside Mesopotamia in [[Mari, Syria|Mari]].{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=236}} She appears in theophoric names of women from this city with comparable frequency to her husband Shamash and [[Dagan (god)|Dagan]], the head god of inland Syria,{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=236}} though less commonly than Annu, Ishtar, [[Ishara]], [[Kakka]] (regarded as a goddess in this city), [[Mami (goddess)|Mamma]] and Admu.{{sfn|Nakata|1995|pp=235-236}} Examples include Aya-lamassi, Aya-ummi and Yatara-Aya.{{sfn|Nakata|1995|p=246}}
===Uncertain attestations===
Manfred Krebernik assumes that in texts from [[Ebla]], the name Ninkar refers to the spouse of a sun deity, who he assumed was seen as male in this city.{{sfn|Krebernik|2011|p=606}} Alfonso Archi instead concludes that the deity was primarily female based on lexical evidence.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}} [[Joan Goodnick Westenholz]] proposed that Ninkar in Eblaite texts should be interpreted as [[Ninkarrak]] rather than the phonetically similar but more obscure Mesopotamian Ninkar.{{sfn|Westenholz|2010|p=397}} Occasional shortening of Ninkarrak's name to "Ninkar" is known from Mesopotamian sources as well.{{sfn|Westenholz|2010|p=380}} The identification of Eblaite Ninkar with Ninkarrak is also accepted by Archi.{{sfn|Archi|2019|p=43}}
== Mythology ==
Buduhudug, a mythical mountain where the sun was believed to set, was regarded as "the entrance of Shamash to Aya" (''nēreb <sup>d</sup>Šamaš <ana> <sup>d</sup>Aya'') - the place where they were able to reunite each day after Shamash finished his journey through the sky.{{sfn|George|2003|p=863}}{{sfn|Woods|2009|p=187}}
In the "Standard Babylonian" version of the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', [[Ninsun]] during her prayer to Shamash asks Aya three times to intercede on behalf of her son [[Gilgamesh]] to guarantee his safety both during the day and the night.{{sfn|George|2003|pp=459-460}} Ninsun states that the optimal time for Aya to appeal to her husband is right after sunset, when he returns home from his daily journey.{{sfn|George|2003|p=461}}
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
{{refbegin|35em}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7003610| editor1-last=Collins|editor1-first=B. J.|editor2-last=Michalowski|editor2-first=P.|title=Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman|publisher=Lockwood Press|publication-place=Atlanta|year=2013|isbn=978-1-937040-11-6|oclc=882106763}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=Šamagan and the Mules of Ebla. Syrian Gods in Sumerian Disguise|title=Between Syria and the Highlands: studies in honor of Giorgio Buccellati & Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati|url=http://urkesh.org/pages/911-SANEM3.htm|publisher=Arbor Sapientiae editore|publication-place=Rome|year=2019|isbn=88-31341-01-4|oclc=1137837171}}
*{{cite book|last1=Asher-Greve|first1=Julia M.|first2=Joan G.|last2=Westenholz|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf |title=Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources|year=2013|isbn=978-3-7278-1738-0}}
*{{cite journal|last=Beaulieu|first=Paul-Alain|title=Neo-Babylonian Larsa: A Preliminary Study|journal=Orientalia|publisher=GBPress- Gregorian Biblical Press|volume=60|issue=2|year=1991|issn=00305367|jstor=43075908|pages=58–81|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43075908|access-date=2022-02-11}}
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|title=House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake|year=1993|isbn=0-931464-80-3|oclc=27813103}}
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/1603/|title=The Babylonian Gilgamesh epic: introduction, critical edition and cuneiform texts|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=Oxford New York|year=2003|isbn=0-19-814922-0|oclc=51668477}}
*{{cite book|last=Harris|first=Rivkah|title=Ancient Sippar: a Demographic Study of an Old-Babylonian City, 1894-1595 B.C.|publisher=Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut|series=Uitgaven van het Nederlands Historisch-Archaeologisch Instituut te Istanbul|year=1975|url=https://www.nino-leiden.nl/download/3235|access-date=2022-06-12}}
*{{citation|last=Krebernik|first=Manfred|entry=Sonnengott A. I. In Mesopotamien. Philologisch|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=2011|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#10935|language=de|access-date=2021-08-08}}
*{{citation|last=Krebernik|first=Manfred|entry=Sudaĝ|encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|year=2013|entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#11087|language=de|access-date=2021-08-08}}
*{{cite book|last=Lambert|first=Wilfred G.|title=Babylonian creation myths|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake, Indiana|year=2013|isbn=978-1-57506-861-9|oclc=861537250}}
*{{cite journal|last=Nakata|first=Ichiro|title=A Study of Women's Theophoric Personal Names in Old Babylonian Texts from Mari|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/orient1960/30and31/0/30and31_0_234/_article/-char/en| journal=Orient | publisher=The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan | volume=30 and 31|year=1995 | issn=1884-1392 | doi=10.5356/orient1960.30and31.234 | pages=234–253}}
*{{cite book|last=Selz|first=Gebhard|title=Untersuchungen zur Götterwelt des altsumerischen Stadtstaates von Lagaš|url=https://www.academia.edu/1564636|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Museum|publication-place=Philadelphia|year=1995|isbn=978-0-924171-00-0|oclc=33334960|language=de}}
*{{cite book|last=Sharlach|first=Tonia|editor-last=Crawford|editor-first=Harriet E. W.|editor-link=Harriet Crawford|title=Regime change in the ancient Near East and Egypt: from Sargon of Agade to Saddam Hussein|chapter=Social Change and the Transition from the Third Dynasty of Ur to the Old Babylonian Period|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/36052472|publisher=Oxford University Press|publication-place=Oxford|date=2007|isbn=0-19-726390-9|oclc=71163766}}
*{{cite book|first=Piotr|last=Taracha|title=Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia |publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009|isbn=978-3447058858}}
*{{cite book|last=Tugendhaft|first=Aaron|editor-last=Grafton|editor-first=Anthony|editor-last2=Most|editor-first2=Glenn W.|title=Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices|chapter=Gods on clay: Ancient Near Eastern scholarly practices and the history of religions|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/28102179|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|publication-place=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9781316226728.009}}
*{{cite book|last=Westenholz|first=Joan G.|title=Von Göttern und Menschen|chapter=Ninkarrak – an Akkadian goddess in Sumerian guise|publisher=BRILL|date=2010| doi=10.1163/9789004187474_020}}
*{{cite journal|last=Woods|first=Christopher|title=At the Edge of the World: Cosmological Conceptions of the Eastern Horizon in Mesopotamia|journal=Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions|volume=9|issue=2|date=2009|issn=1569-2116|doi=10.1163/156921109X12520501747912|pages=183–239|url=https://www.academia.edu/16493674|access-date=2021-08-08}}
{{refend}}
[[Category:メソポタミア神話]]
[[Category:太陽女神]]
