Nungal | |
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Goddess of prisons | |
A tablet with part of the hymn to Nungal inscribed. Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago | |
Other names | Manungal |
Major cult center | Nippur |
Genealogy | |
Parents | Ereshkigal and Anu |
Consort | Birtum |
Children | Dullum |
Equivalents | |
Dilbat equivalent | Ninegal |
Nungal (Sumerian: 𒀭𒎏𒃲 dNun-gal, "great princess"), also known as Manungal and possibly Bēlet-balāṭi, was the Mesopotamian goddess of prisons, sometimes also associated with the underworld. She was worshiped especially in the Ur III period in cities such as Nippur, Lagash and Ur.
Her husband was Birtum, and she was regarded as a courtier and daughter in law Enlil. Texts also associate her with deities such as Ereshkigal, Nintinugga and Ninkasi.
Much of the available information about her role in Mesopotamian beliefs comes from a Sumerian hymn which was a part of the scribal curriculum in the Old Babylonian period.