Sarpanit is the Babylonian Goddess of pregnancy. As the consort of Marduk, God of the sun, she is later associated with the moon, as well as all of nature after Marduk rises to prominence. With this change, her name was also changed to reflect her new status—while Sarpanit means “the shining lady,” her new name, Zerbanit, means “she who brings forth the seed.” Sarpanit was also associated with water, which she inherited when the Goddess Erua, also a Goddess of pregnancy, was incorporated into her persona. Sarpanit’s name is also seen as Sarpanitu, Sarpanitum, Zerbanit, Zirbanit, Zerpanit, Zarpanit, Zarpanitu, and Zarpanitum, and epithets for her include “lady of the abyss,” “lady of the deep,” “voice of the deep,” and “mistress of the place where the fish dwell.”

Another myth of Ereshkigal tells of how she came to have a second husband, Nergal, God of war and plague. Nergal was first sent to the Underworld with a message from the other Gods to Ereshkigal. He was so impressed that he petitioned the Gods to let him visit a second time, and the great God Anu warned him not to eat or drink anything in the Underworld and not to get too close to Ereshkigal. However, Ereshkigal seduced Nergal and they stayed in bed for seven days. Nergal then left the Underworld and returned to the heavens. Heartbroken Ereshkigal threatened to raise the dead until they outnumbered the living if the other Gods would not send Nergal back, and he returned to the Underworld and married her.

Ereshkigal’s name, which means “lady of the great earth,” is seen as Erec-kigala, and she was also known as Irkalla, which is another name for the Sumerian Underworld.

Ninhursag was furious with Enki for eating the plants, and she cursed him so that each plant caused a disease in a different part of his body. The other Gods pleaded with Ninhursag to take the curse off Enki, because without his waters, the earth and its people were dying. To cure him of the diseases, Ninhursag gave birth to eight deities—five Goddesses (Ninsutu, Ninkasi, Nanshe, Dazimira, and Ninti) and three Gods (Abu, Nintul, and Enshag). These eight were each able to heal one of Enki’s diseases, and leave him whole and healthy once again.

Ninhursag’s name means “lady of the mountains,” and she was also called Nintu (lady of birth), Ninmenna (lady of the tiara), and Ninmah (exalted lady), although it is likely that these were names of other Goddesses who were later assimilated with Ninhursag. Other names associated with her include Ninmug (lady of the vulva), Ninzinak (lady of the embryo), Ninsigsig (lady of silence), Ninbahar (lady of pottery), Nindim (lady fashioner), Nig-zi-gal-dim-dim-me (fashioner of all things in which there is breath of life), Nagarnam-luulu (carpenter of mankind), Nagar-sa-ga (carpenter of the insides), Tibira-kalam-ma (bronze caster of the nation), Sag-zu-kalam-ma (midwife of the nation), Sag-zu-digir-e-ne (midwife of the Gods), Mud-kes-da (blood-stancher), Ama-dug-bad (mother spreading her legs), Ama-dumu-dumu-ne (mother of all children), and Ama-digir-re-ne-ke (mother of the Gods).

Ninlil is the Sumerian Goddess of the air. She is the daughter to Nisaba, Goddess of writing, accounting, and grain, and Haya, God of storehouses. Ninlil’s name was originally Sud, but was changed to Ninlil when she married Enlil, God of the air. When Enlil first saw Sud, he was overcome by her beauty and begged her parents’ permission to marry her. In one version of the myths, he showered her with gifts and married her properly. In another version, Enlil raped Ninlil and was banished to the underworld. Ninlil followed him there, and gave birth to four sons: Nanna, God of the moon; Nergal, God of death; Ninazu, God of the underworld; and Enbilulu, God of rivers. Ninlil’s name, which means “lady of the air,” is also seen as Ninlilla.

Antu is the Babylonian Goddess of the sky. She is the consort of Anu, God of the sky, and the mother of the Gods Enlil and Ea (Enki in Sumerian). Where Anu’s consort in Sumerian mythology was Ki, a Goddess of the earth, the Babylonians instead gave him a consort who ruled the sky, as he did. Antu’s name is also seen as Antum.

Ki is the Sumerian Goddess of the earth. In Sumerian mythology, she is the daughter of Nammu, Goddess of the primordial sea. In the later Babylonian mythology, she is the daughter of Anshar and Kishar. In either case, she is the sister/wife of Anu, God of the sky, and mother by him of the Anunnaki, including Enlil, God of the air. Ki was eventually supplanted by Ninhursag as the Great Mother. Her name means “earth.”

Lahamu is the Babylonian Goddess of the primeval mud. She and her twin brother/husband, Lahmu, were the first Gods created by the union of Tiamat and Apsu, and they in turn were parents to Kishar and Anshar, whose son Anu becomes the king of the later Gods. Lahamu was depicted either as a serpent or as a woman with six curls on her head, similar to the depiction of Lahmu on the left. Lahamu’s name, which means “the muddy one,” was also seen as Lachamu, Lakhamu, Lamamu, and Lachos.