The Double-Headed God

(i) Evidence from Cuneiform tablets. JANUS, the double-headed god of the Romans, known to them also as Jupiter, and as such as a descendant of the Greek Zeus, can be traced back by his double head to preclassical times. He was known to the Hittites, who depicted him upon their seals. But the culture revealed by the seals is clearly derivative. Parts of it came from Babylonia, and amongst these imported elements was the double-headed god. He appears on the Sumerian seals. Mythical accounts of the earliest gods of Sumer and of their history show that the god Anshar, or Ashur, was the son of Lakhmu and his wife Lakhamu. He was said to have four ears and four eyes, which suggests the double head.' In the first tablet of The Seven Tablets of Creation it is said that Anshar created Anu, and Anu begat Ea.2 These statements put Anshar amongst the ancestral gods, and also associate him with the city of Ashur. Professor Ungnad has demonstrated that Usmu, the sukkallu of Ea, was two-faced. Usmu has also been identified with the Sumerian god Ara of the gods of Ashur. He took a prominent part in the ritual of the festival of the New Year.3

Ancient history · Art · Cuneiform · Descendant · Literature · Sumerian · Theology · Wife · Ancient Near East History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History · Linguistics and language evolution · Philosophy

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