NINURTA

[Mesopotamian] The Sumero-Babylonian god of rain, fertility, war, thunderstorms, wells, canals, floods, the plough and the South Wind. His name means "lord of the earth" and mankind owed to him the fertile fields and the healthy live-stock. He is a son of Enlil, and his wife is Gula. When the Tablets of Destiny were stolen by the storm-bird Zu he managed to retrieve them. As the 'great hunter' is related to Nimrod, as mentioned in Genesis 10: 8-12. The city of Nippur (ca. 100 km. south of Babylon) was the center of his cult. Ninurta is often confused with Ningirsu, the god of the city of Girsu, and who is probably the earlier form of Ninurta. According to one poem he once dammed up the bitter waters of the underworld and conquered various monsters.