Nikkal | |
---|---|
Spouse of the moon god | |
![]() Nikkal (second from the left) on the Yazılıkaya procession relief[1] | |
Other names | Nikkal-wa-Ib |
Major cult center | Ugarit |
Genealogy | |
Parents |
|
Spouse | |
Children | Sun god of Heaven (in Hittite sources) |
Equivalents | |
Mesopotamian equivalent | Ningal |
Nikkal (logographically dNIN.GAL,[2] alphabetically 𐎐𐎋𐎍 nkl[3]) or Nikkal-wa-Ib (nkl wib[4]) was a goddess worshiped in various areas of the ancient Near East west of Mesopotamia. She was derived from the Mesopotamian goddess Ningal, and like her forerunner was regarded as the spouse of a moon god, whose precise identity varied between locations. While well attested in Hurrian and Hittite sources, as well as in Ugarit, she is largely absent from documents from the western part of ancient Syria.