Sibitti- Mesopotamian GroupCollective"Seven Gods"
Also known as: Sebetti, Sibittu, and Sebitti
Description
Seven warrior gods rusting from idleness who taunted Erra until he rose in fury and ravaged Babylon. Created by Anu and the earth for the sole purpose of violence, the Sibitti served as both Erra's weapons and his war council, incapable of peace and perpetually hungry for battle.
Mythology & Lore
The Goading of Erra
The Sibitti ("the Seven") were warrior gods created by Anu and the earth, beings of pure martial fury, born for battle and incapable of peace. They served as the weapons and companions of Erra, the god of plague and destruction.
During a long period of cosmic calm, the Sibitti grew restless. Their weapons rusted from disuse. They approached Erra and taunted him: his mace had grown dull and humanity had grown insolent. Was he content to sit idle while the world forgot what a war god could do?
The goading worked. Erra rose from his lethargy and ravaged Babylonia, scattering its people and disrupting the cult of Marduk. The Sibitti accompanied him throughout. Only Ishum, Erra's vizier, eventually found words eloquent enough to calm the war god and halt the devastation.
The Pleiades
The Sibitti were identified with the Pleiades star cluster, their seven points of light visible in the Mesopotamian night sky. Seven-pointed star formations appear on Kassite and Neo-Assyrian boundary stones. Amulets invoked the Sibitti as protective warriors or warded against them as agents of destruction, depending on whether one wanted their violence aimed at enemies or kept away from home.