Marduk

Marduk (; cuneiform: 𒀭𒀫𒌓 dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: amar utu.k "calf of the sun; solar calf"; Hebrew: מְרֹדַךְ, Modern: Merōdaḵ, Tiberian: Mərōḏaḵ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia, patron deity of Babylon. First sparsely attested in the 3rd millennium BC, Marduk slowly rose to prominence before being enshrined as leader of the Mesopotamian pantheon under Nebuchadnezzar I in the 2nd millennium BC. In Babylon, Marduk was worshipped in the Esagila temple. Believed to have originated as an underworld god, a storm god or an agriculture deity, Marduk came to be worshipped as a god of creation, justice, water, agriculture, magic and medicine. His symbol was the spade and he was associated with the Mušḫuššu. By the 1st millennium BC, Marduk had become astrologically associated with the planet Jupiter. He was a prominent figure in Babylonian cosmology, especially in the Enūma Eliš creation myth. The deity had many epithets and around 50 symbolic names, which include "highest in the house of gods", "king of the gods of heaven and earth", "omniscient one", "giver of life", "the creator of the Annunaki" and "creator of mankind". These were not just titles, but statements about Marduk's theological supremacy and his role as the cosmic ruler and divine counsellor.