Nabu

Nabu was the god of wisdom and writing in the ancient Near Eastern lands of Babylonia* and Assyria*. His cult was introduced to Babylonia shortly after 2000 B.C., and he became known as the son of Marduk, patron god of the city of Babylon*.

cult group bound together by devotion to a particular person, belief, or god

patron special guardian, protector, or supporter

Nabu later became one of the principal gods in Assyria. He even surpassed Marduk in popularity, perhaps because of Marduk's association with Babylonia, which was Assyria's rival. The Assyrians addressed many prayers and inscriptions to Nabu and named children after him. As god of writing and scribes, Nabu was the keeper of the Tablets of Destiny, in which the fate of humankind was recorded. In addition, he was sometimes worshiped as a fertility god and as a god of water.

See also MARDUK; SEMITIC MYTHOLOGY.

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