Ninsun- Mesopotamian GodDeity"The Wild Cow"

The Wild Cow

Ninsun, called Rimat-Ninsun, "the Wild Cow," was a goddess of wisdom and divine insight, wife of the deified king Lugalbanda and mother of Gilgamesh. Through her, Gilgamesh could be described as two-thirds god and one-third human, a formulation that granted him extraordinary strength while binding him to the mortality he could never escape.

Interpreter of Dreams

When Gilgamesh had troubling dreams, a meteor falling from the sky, an axe appearing in the streets of Uruk, objects he felt compelled to love as a wife, he brought them to Ninsun. She read their meaning: a companion was coming, a man of great strength whom Gilgamesh would love and who would never forsake him. Her interpretation foretold the arrival of Enkidu, and it proved exactly right.

Prayer on the Rooftop

Before Gilgamesh departed on his dangerous expedition to the Cedar Forest to slay the guardian Humbaba, Ninsun performed rituals on his behalf. She ascended to the roof of her temple, burned incense to the sun god Shamash, and prayed for her son's protection. Her prayer was no meek petition. She questioned Shamash directly: why had he given Gilgamesh a restless heart that could not be content with ordinary kingship? If the god had planted this impossible ambition, he was responsible for seeing the boy through it. She demanded Shamash watch over Gilgamesh by day and entrust him to the night watchman stars after dark.

The Adoption of Enkidu

Before the two friends set out together, Ninsun performed one more act. She formally adopted Enkidu as her own son, placing a pendant around his neck and committing him to the care of the temple devotees. The wild man born on the steppe became family, not merely Gilgamesh's companion but Ninsun's child. When Enkidu later died, the loss struck not just Gilgamesh but Ninsun: she had lost a son she herself had claimed.