7/27/2019 Dagan (god)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dagan-god 1/3

Dagan (god)

Male deity of a possibly West Semitic origin with a focus on the Middle and Upper Euphrates,most commonly attested in Mesopotamia in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE.

Functions

In Mesopotamia Dagan is associated with the Middle Euphrates, in particular the cities of Tuttuland Terqa. References to Dagan in some of the Akkadian royal inscriptions have been thought tosuggest a military role for this deity, but his appearance in these texts at the time of certain battlesmay relate more to his association with the wester n regions in which these conflicts occurred.Dagan appears rarely in Mesopotamian mythology, he is mentioned in connection with the senior deity An in the Old Babylonian (early 2nd millennium BCE) versions of the myth of  Anzu, and inthe Neo-Assyrian (early 1st millennium BCE) version he makes a speech recounting the deedsof Ninurta (Crowell 2001: 39-40). In other cases Dagan is said to keep with him the sevenchildren of the underworld god Enmešarra, and this netherworld aspect to Dagan is possiblysupported by the temple built by Šamši-Adad I (ca. 1808-1776 BCE) at Terqa called the é-kisiga

"temple of the funerary offerings" (Black and Green 1998: 56). The lack of wider mythologicalreferences, however, makes any discussion of his function difficult.

In the Syro-Mesopotamian areas, Dagan's functions are uncertain (Feliu 2003: 216-217). Hisassociation with funerary sacrifices at Mari and Ugarit is still contested (Crowell 2001: 60-61).Mythological attestations of Dagan from Ugarit are few, and this has limited analysis (Crowell2001: 44-45). A possible etymology of the name Dagan from the West Semitic/Ugaritic root dgn,which can be translated as 'grain', and the Hebrew dÄgÅn, an archaic word for 'grain' (Black andGreen 1998: 56), has tempted some scholars to assume that he played a role invegetation/fertility, which might be confirmed by his son's, the West Semitic deity Ba'al, role as avegetation deity (Black and Green 1998: 56). A 4th century AD tradition which places Dagan as a

fish deity is erroneous (Black and Green 1998: 56).

Divine Genealogy and Syncretisms

There is no evidence for the parents or creation of Dagan. In some traditions the spouse of Dagan was Šalaša, in others Išhara (Black and Green 1998: 56). While Dagan is recorded as thefather of the west Semitic deity Ba'al at Ugarit, Ba'al is also known as the son of El, and somescholars, therefore, have suggested a syncretism of Dagan and El (Dietrich 1976: 1.2 I 18-19 and1.3 IV 48-53). Others have suggested a link in function and syncretism between Dagan and Ba'al- both having the attributes of a 'storm god' or a link to vegetation (Crowell 2001: 64). Pantheons

should not be viewed as static or monolithic; the city of Ugarit was cosmopolitan, complex andinteractive, and the Ugaritic pantheon necessarily should be understood as highly complex withmultiple and competing rituals, myths and comprehensions (Crowell 2001: 63-64).

Cult Places

There is a suggestion of a temple of Dagan and Išhara at Nippur in the Ur III period (Hilgert 1994:1 and 38), while a dedicatory inscription of the Isin king Ur-dukuga (1830-1828 BCE) mentions atemple of Dagan in Isin in southern Mesopotamia (Crowell 2001: 39). Further west a temple of Dagan dating to the second millennium at Mari is now thought to be that of the deity Itur-Mer, butthe temple at Terqa built by Šamši-Adad (1808-1776 BCE) is of Dagan, and another temple to

Dagan is believed to have existed at Emar (Crowell 2001: 41-44). Attempts have been made toattribute temples in the Levant to Dagan, but such suggestions are only based on Biblicalliterature, and the temple at Ugarit once considered to have been associated with Dagan hasbeen reinterpreted as that of El (Crowell 2001: 44-50).

7/27/2019 Dagan (god)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dagan-god 2/3

Time Periods Attested

In Mesopotamia the earliest textual references to Dagan come from the Royal Inscriptions of Sargon (2334-2279 BCE) and Naram-Sin (2254-2218 BCE). From this period Dagan alsoappears as a theophoric element TT in personal names, e.g., Pu-Dagan, on the Maništušu(2269-2255 BCE) Obelisk (Crowell 2001: 35). In the Ur III period (2112-2004 BCE), the personalname evidence increases across Mesopotamia, and is prevalent in the Middle Euphrates region(Singer 2000: 221; Crowell 2001: 63-64). Dagan was an important deity in this period, he

appears in the contemporary god and offering lists, and is commonly attested in the records fromPuzriš-Dagan (the administrative hub of the Ur III period located near Nippur) and at Nippur itself (Crowell 2001: 36). In some texts, Dagan appears in close association with Babati, the uncle of Šu-Suen (the fourth Ur III king 2037-2029 BCE), clearly highlighting the importance of this deityto the Ur III ruling family (Hilgert 1994: 36). Moreover, Waetzoldt has suggested that there was agradual increase over time in the social status of the bearers of names associated with Dagan(Pettinato and Waetzoldt 1985: 254). This importance continues in the early second millennium,with Dagan included in the royal names of the period, and in the praise li terature of Iddin-Dagan(1974-54 BCE) and Išme-Dagan (1953-1935 BCE), kings of Isin, both of whom are referred to asthe sons of Dagan (ETCSL 2.5.3.2: 18, ETCSL 2.5.4.1: 41).

Dagan's relevance to the middle Euphrates is found throughout the 2nd millennium. The Code of Hammurabi (1792-50 BCE) names him as the protector of the people of Tuttul, and many of theindividuals known from this area have names involving the element Dagan (Crowell 2001: 37-39). At Mari in the early second millennium, Dagan appears in a variety of texts, such as in theletters, god and offering lists, and administrative tablets. Yahdun-Lim (ca. 19th century BCE)declares Dagan as the deity who gave him kingship, while Yasmah-Addu (ca. 1795-1776 BCE)describes himself as the "Governor of Dagan" (Crowell 2001: 56).

From later periods of Mesopotamia Dagan is less well attested, but he continues to appear inpersonal names, god and offering lists, and in connection with An, e.g. Aššurbanipal (668-627BCE) describes himself as 'beloved of Anu and Dagan', but the latter may have become afossilised literary phrase (Crowell 2001: 40 and 47). He is still a deity of some consequence,however, for, Dagan makes a speech recounting the deeds of Ninurta in the Neo-Assyrian Mythoof Anzu, and within the temple of  Aššur there was a chapel to Dagan built by Shalmanser V (726-722 BCE) (Crowell 2001: 46-47).

Dagan was thought to have been a prominent deity on the eastern Mediterranean coast. The Amarna letters EA 317 and 318 from the middle of the second millennium BCE, which were oncethought to provide evidence for the worship of Dagan on the eastern Mediterranean, have beenre-evaluated, and are now thought to have originated in eastern Syria (Crowell 2001: 44-50). Theprominence of Dagan on the eastern Mediterranean of the first millennium BCE comes mainlyfrom the Hebrew Bible and the Second Temple l iterature, which associate Dagan (Heb. DÄgÅn)with the temples of the Phil istines. Recent work, however, has suggested that the role andposition of Dagan may not be so definite. While Dagan is mentioned in the pantheon andsacrificial lists from Ugarit (Ras Shamra) and he does occur as a theophoric element in somelocal personal names, he is not well attested in the Levantine mythological literature.

Iconography

 A statue of Dagan is mentioned in the zukru festival at Emar (Crowell 2001: 44-45).

Name and Spellings

In syllabic texts the name of Dagan is usually spelled dDa-gan, but other attested spellingsinclude dDa-ga-an. There have been some suggestions that there may have been logographicwritings for the name of this deity, e.g. dKUR, and dBE, but the reading of these as Dagan is notcertain Crowell 2001: 32 .

7/27/2019 Dagan (god)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dagan-god 3/3