Anshar
Encyclopedia
In Akkadian mythology, Anshar (also spelled Anshur), which means "sky pivot" or "sky axle", is a sky
Sky
The sky is the part of the atmosphere or outer space visible from the surface of any astronomical object. It is difficult to define precisely for several reasons. During daylight, the sky of Earth has the appearance of a pale blue surface because the air scatters the sunlight. The sky is sometimes...

 god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

. He is the husband of his sister Kishar
Kishar
In the Akkadian epic Enuma Elish, Kishar is the daughter of Lahmu and Lahamu, the first children of Tiamat and Apsu. She is the female principle, sister and wife of Anshar, the male principle, and the mother of Anu...

. They might both represent heaven (an) and earth (ki). Both are the second generation of gods; their parents being the serpents Lahmu
Lahmu
' is a deity from Akkadian mythology.- Mythology :Lahmu, "Hairy" is the name of a protective and beneficent deity is a first-born son of Apsu and Tiamat. He and his sister are the parents of Anshar and Kishar, the sky father and earth mother, who birthed the gods of the Mesopotamian Pantheon...

 and Lahamu
Lahamu
Lahamu was the first-born daughter of Tiamat and Apsu in Akkadian mythology. With her brother Lahmu she is the mother of Anshar and Kishar, who were in turn parents of the first gods. Lahamu is sometimes seen as a serpent, and sometimes as a woman with a red sash and six curls on her head. It is...

 and grandparents Tiamat
Tiamat
In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water,...

 and Apsu. In their turn they are the parents of Anu
Anu
In Sumerian mythology, Anu was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, Consort of Antu, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as...

 another sky god. During the reign of Sargon II
Sargon II
Sargon II was an Assyrian king. Sargon II became co-regent with Shalmaneser V in 722 BC, and became the sole ruler of the kingdom of Assyria in 722 BC after the death of Shalmaneser V. It is not clear whether he was the son of Tiglath-Pileser III or a usurper unrelated to the royal family...

, Assyrians started to identify Anshar with their Assur in order to let him star in their version of Enuma Elish
Enûma Elish
The is the Babylonian creation myth . It was recovered by Austen Henry Layard in 1849 in the ruined Library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh , and published by George Smith in 1876.The Enûma Eliš has about a thousand lines and is recorded in Old Babylonian on seven clay tablets, each holding...

. In this mythology Anshar's spouse was Ninlil
Ninlil
In Sumerian religion, Ninlil , also called Sud, in Assyrian called Mullitu, is the consort goddess of Enlil. Her parentage is variously described. Most commonly she is called the daughter of Haia and Nunbarsegunu...

.

If this name /Anšar/ be derived from */Anśar/, then is may be relatable to hieroglyphic Egyptian /NṬR/ 'god', since hieroglyphic Egyptian /Ṭ/ may be etymological */Ś/.
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