The Gods of Sumer: The Anunnaki and the Igigi

As with many Sumerian terms, the term “Anunnaki” is self-explanatory. The word Anunnaki is read as “^da-nun-na-ke4-ne” in Sumerian. The meaning of the term can be derived from the meaning of the individual syllables:

• The superscript d at the beginning of the word stands for the divine determinative diĝir (𒀭). As a rule, this symbol is not read. However, it must be taken into account in order to understand the meaning of the term. In this case, the symbol refers to the sky god “An” or, alternatively, the sky of the gods.
• The syllable “a” refers to a life-giving substance. As a rule, this refers to water, but in this case it refers to the seed of An.
• The syllable “nun” means “exalted.” So the whole term refers to the exalted seed of An.
• The syllable “na” expresses belonging to the situation just described.
• The ending ke4-ne denotes the plural.

The term “^da-nun-na” thus means “he who sprang from the exalted seed of An.” The Anunnaki are thus those who sprang from the exalted seed of An. One could also say: The Anunnaki are the members of the exalted civilization of An. According to the definition, membership in the Anunnaki is hereditary and unchangeable: a god whose parents belong to the Anunnaki also belongs to this group from birth. Later admission to this circle is not possible.

Although the term, according to its definition, encompasses all members of the civilization of An, in the myths and in the rest of this text it refers primarily only to those deities who actively guide the fate of the Earth and determine the destiny of humans.

In addition to the Anunnaki, there is a second group of gods: the Igigi. While the term “Igigi” is only directly attested in Akkadian-Babylonian texts, Sumerian sources use paraphrases such as:

• “diĝir-šeš” (the divine brothers)
• “^dnun-gal-e-ne” (the exalted great ones)

The second term is particularly revealing: it is structurally similar to the term for the Anunnaki, but omits any reference to biological descent from An. This underscores the fundamental difference between the two groups of gods—the Anunnaki are defined by their kinship with An, the Igigi by their lack of kinship with him.

The Anunnaki are the supreme gods of the Sumerian pantheon and play a central role in Mesopotamian mythology. As the highest decision-makers, they determine the destinies of humans, watch over the order of the world, and guide the development of human civilization. They are distinguished particularly by two central characteristics: immortality and omniscience.

Their immortality is explicitly addressed in the myth “Enki and Ereshkigal,” when Enki states:

“Until now I have not thought about death. I knew that it is something that happens to the living, to humans, plants and animals alike, but not to the Anunnaki.”

The omniscience of the Anunnaki becomes particularly clear in the myth “Nanna and Ningal,” where they are described as “the great gods who know everything.” This omniscience also shows itself in practical situations, such as when Ningal and Nanna tried to keep their love secret:

“Suddenly Ningal understood everything and her face became even hotter. Nothing that happened in all worlds could the great gods not know. They knew about Nanna and her.”

Distinction from Other Divine Beings

The Anunnaki are clearly to be distinguished from the Igigi, another group of divine beings. While the Anunnaki are the supreme decision-makers and determine the fundamental goals, the Igigi were subordinated to them and responsible for the practical execution of divine tasks. This is clearly expressed in the Atrahasis Epic: The Anunnaki let the Igigi bear the workload.

The Most Important Anunnaki

The Anunnaki can be divided into two levels. The uppermost level includes the original Anunnaki, who already existed before the founding of Sumerian civilization and who embody the fundamental order of the world: An as sky god, Ninhursag as earth mother, Enlil as lord of the air, Enki as lord of fresh water and wisdom, and Ereshkigal as ruler of the underworld. These gods are named in the Atrahasis Epic as the gods who make the most important decisions. An exception here is Ereshkigal, who although she has the status of an Anunnaki, does not guide the destinies of the living, but is responsible for the fates of human souls in the underworld.

The second level includes significant descendants of the first level: Nanna (son of Enlil), as well as Inanna and Utu (children of Nanna). Each of these gods has specific tasks in guiding human destinies: Nanna gives the moon its mythological properties that can help believers achieve prosperity. Inanna directly influences the rulers of Sumer, while Utu as god of justice travels daily with the sun across the sky and thereby observes everything that humans do — a manifestation of the Anunnaki’s omniscience.

Besides these, there are other Anunnaki who are less prominent in the myths, such as Ningikuga, the goddess of reeds and mother of Ningal.

Core Tasks of the Anunnaki

The main tasks of the Anunnaki are described in various myths. In the myth “Nanna and Ningal,” they are characterized as

“the guardians of the land, the protectors of order and balance, the spiritual nourishment for all living things.”

This central role is also emphasized in the myth “Enki and the World Order”: “House Sumer, may the Anunnaki gods guide the destinies in your midst.” Particularly important is their role as fate-determiners, which is highlighted in both the “Atrahasis Epic” and the “Etana Myth.”

The Anunnaki thereby take on diverse tasks for the functioning of the world: They ensure the fertility of the land and the reproduction of all living beings. In social terms, they are responsible for the transmission of knowledge and craft skills, and the preservation of order through jurisprudence. To fulfill their tasks, they use special divine powers (Me), with which they influence human behavior and thus lay the foundation of human civilization. They also intervene directly in political decisions by installing kings and regulating relations between cities.

The Anunnaki thus embody a complex image of gods: As creators and protectors, but also as strict guardians of order, they use their omniscience and immortality to actively intervene in human affairs and guide the destinies of civilization.

Basic Concept of Age Representation

The Anunnaki are consistently portrayed in human form in Sumerian myths — as young or old men and women who eat, drink, love, and quarrel. For a deeper understanding of the myths, it is therefore important to know at what human age one should imagine the respective gods during certain events. The most important clues for this are provided by the genealogy of the gods and the dating of the actions of the myths in which they were born. In this way, the mythological age of the gods can be approximately converted into human years.

Here an important distinction must be made: If, for example, the god An is estimated to be 85 years old around 2000 BC, this means that one should imagine him as an 85-year-old man in myths whose action takes place at this time. However, this does not mean that he was actually born 85 years earlier.

Peculiarities of Divine Aging

Since the Anunnaki, unlike humans, are immortal, a conversion to human age is only possible under a special assumption: The older a god becomes, the more slowly he ages. This slowed aging leads to the age differences between the gods decreasing over time. While the gods around 5000 BC still represent clearly different age stages, the age differences of the same gods around 2000 BC already appear noticeably smaller.

The Age Curves of the Gods

The gods of the uppermost level — An, Ninhursag, Enlil, Enki, and Ereshkigal — are portrayed as mature personalities from the beginning of mythological chronology. Their age curves begin at about 20-35 years and slowly rise over the millennia to 75-85 years.

The gods of the second level appear later in mythology. Nanna, Enlil’s son, is initially portrayed as a young man and develops from about 20 to 65 years. His children Inanna and Utu appear even later in the myths and accordingly remain the youngest of the Anunnaki.

Ninurta was also included in the graph. Ninurta is not an Anunnaki, but an Igigi. Since in Sumerian mythology a high age is equated with high status and Ninurta as an Igigi cannot achieve as high a status as the Anunnaki, he remains younger: his age curve runs flatter.

Mythological Discontinuities

A remarkable discontinuity is shown by the age curve of the god Marduk, who although not an Anunnaki, appears important for understanding mythological development. His curve shows a dramatic jump around 1700 BC, which coincides with the appearance of the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish. In this text, Marduk is attributed a central role in the creation story, whereby his mythological age was suddenly significantly corrected upward.