MESLAMTAEA

in Mesopotamian religion, city god of Cuthah in Akkad. His temple in Cuthah was called Emeslam, or Meslam (Luxuriant Mesu Tree). His name, which means He Who Comes Forth from Meslam, perhaps indicates that he was originally a tree god, which would agree with his general chthonian, or underworld, character. He was the son of Enlil, god of the atmosphere, and of Ninlil (Akkadian: Belit), goddess of grain, and he appears in hymns as a warrior similar to the war god Ninurta. Meslamtaea's weapons, however, sometimes seem to be turned against his own people and their herds, when he kills them in great plagues. He seems to have been closely related to or identical with the god Nergal, and, as such, he was ruler of the netherworld and the spouse of its queen, Ereshkigal; this position, however, may not have been original with the god.