Ninsun

Ninsun
Goddess of wild cows, mother of Gilgamesh
Relief with an inscription mentioning Ninsun. Louvre Museum.
Other names	Ninsumuna
Major cult center	KI.KALki, Uruk, Ur, Lagash
Abode	Egalmah in Uruk (according to Epic of Gilgamesh)
Animals	wild cow
Personal information
Parents	Anu and Urash (possibly)[1][2]
Consort	Lugalbanda
Children	Gilgamesh ten other children, including Šilamkurra Dumuzid (occasionally, through conflation with Duttur)

Ninsun (also called Ninsumun, cuneiform: 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒄢 ^dNIN.SUMUN_2; Sumerian: Nin-sumun(ak) "lady of the wild cows"^[3]) was a Mesopotamian goddess. She is best known as the mother of the hero Gilgamesh and wife of deified legendary king Lugalbanda, and appears in this role in most versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh. She was associated with Uruk, where she lives in this composition, but she was also worshiped in other cities of ancient Mesopotamia, such as Nippur and Ur, and her main cult center was the settlement KI.KAL^ki.

The degree of Ninsun's involvement in Gilgamesh's life varies between various versions of the Epic. She only plays an active role in the so-called "Standard Babylonian" version, in which she advises her son and interprets his dreams, petitions the sun god Shamash to protect him, and accepts Enkidu as a member of her family. In the Old Babylonian version her role is passive, with her actions being merely briefly discussed by Shamhat, while a Hittite translation of the text omits her altogether. She is additionally present in older Sumerian compositions, including Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven, as well as a poorly preserved and very early myth describing her first meeting with Lugalbanda and their marriage.

Kings from the Third Dynasty of Ur regarded Ninsun as their divine mother, and Gilgamesh as their brother, most likely to legitimize their claim to rule over Mesopotamia. Ur-Nammu and Shulgi both left behind inscriptions attesting their personal devotion to this goddess, and a prince only known from a single attestation bore the theophoric name Puzur-Ninsun.

The god list An = Anum mentions multiple children of Ninsun and her husband Lugalbanda separately from Gilgamesh. A sparsely attested tradition additionally regarded her as the mother of the dying god Dumuzi, indicating a degree of conflation with his usual mother Duttur. She could also be equated with the medicine goddess Gula, especially in syncretic hymns.