Anu

Anu, the god of the sky in many cultures of the ancient Near East, was the creator god in the Near Eastern pantheon. He was father of the gods as well as of demons and evil spirits. He led a trio of gods that included Enlil, god of the sea, and Ea, god of storms or war. According to one tradition, he was married to Uras, the earth goddess. Sumerian* mythology said he was the husband of Nintu; the Babylonians* gave him Antu for a wife.

The Babylonians revered Anu as the ancestor of kings, the main creative force in the universe, and the ruler of destiny. The Sumerian equivalent of Anu, known as An, dates back to at least 3000 B.C. Despite his importance, Anu plays only a small part in Near Eastern mythology and is rarely pictured in works of art. Sometimes he appears as a bull or as a man with bull's horns, which suggests that he was at one time a god of herders.

See also DEVILS AND DEMONS; ENLIL; PERSIAN MYTHOLOGY; SEMITIC MYTHOLOGY.