I probably mentioned in a previous post that I’m working my way through Rod and Ring: An Initiation Into a Mesopotamian Mystery Tradition by Samuel David. I just started the second section of the book last month, which is taking me through a journey of meeting seven gods, many of whom I wasn’t previously very familiar with. I mainly worship Inanna, and I am undertaking this initiatory journey to better know the other gods of the pantheon so that I may better understand Inanna. To better acquaint myself with these ancient deities I’m getting to know through this initiatory journey, and to honor them by bringing back awareness to their presence, I am writing an article for each deity as I meet them through the journey. Last month I met the god of fire, Gibil. Here is the article I wrote for him:
Gibil: The Sumerian God of Fire
Gibil is the ancient Sumerian god of fire and light. As a god of fire, he was both feared for the destructive power of fire as well as praised for its benefits to civilization. He was the oppressive heat of the desert in Mesopotamian summer, as well as the creative spark of the fires used by potters in their kilns, bakers in the ovens, and metallurgists in their forges.
Gibil was considered the patron god of metallurgists, as his fire was used to refine metals. He was also praised as a god of kilns and brickwork for the role fire played in the creation process of bricks. Bakers relied on Gibil’s fire to bake their bread. Because of the creative potential fire had for the formation of civilization, Gibil was often called the “founder of cities.” Gibil, with his purifying fires, also played an important role in purification rituals, in which he was commonly invoked alongside other important gods such as Enki/Ea, Marduk, and Utu/Shamash.
This month, I met Ninurta. I am working on his article right now, and will post it here once I finish and the HubPages editors do whatever it is they do before publishing to the niche sites.