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( Ninurta)
Ninurta (Nin Ur Lord of the Earth/Plough) in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Nippur, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical. In older transliteration the name is rendered Ninib and in early commentary he was sometimes portrayed as a solar deity. In Nippur, Ninurta was worshiped as part of a triad of deities including his father, Enlil and his mother, Ninlil. In variant mythology, his mother is said to be the deity Ninhursag. Ninurta often appears holding a bow and arrow, a sickle sword, or a mace named Sharur Sharur is capable of speech in the Sumerian legend "Deeds and Exploits of Ninurta" and can take the form of a winged lion and may represent an archetype for the later Shedu. In another legend, Ninurta battles a birdlike monster called Imdugud (Akkadian Anzu); a Babylonian version relates how the monster Anzu steals the Tablets of Destiny which Enlil requires to maintain his rule. Ninurta slays each of the monsters later known as the "Slain Heroes" (the Dragon, the Gypsum, the Palm Tree King, Lord Saman-ana, the bison-beast, the scorpion-man, the seven-headed serpent), and finally Anzu is eventually killed by Ninurta who delivers the Tablet to his father, Enlil.
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