Babylonian

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Sin (Nanna)

The Divine Moon - Lord of Wisdom and Time

Sin is the Babylonian moon god, ancient keeper of time, and father of celestial deities. His waxing and waning phases measure the passage of months, regulate festivals, and govern divination. As the luminous boat sailing through night's dark waters, Sin brings wisdom, prophetic dreams, and protection against nocturnal dangers. He is patron of astrology, calendar-keeping, and mystical knowledge.

Attributes & Domains

Sumerian Name

Nanna

Domains

Moon, time, calendar, wisdom, night, dreams, fertility

Symbols

Crescent moon, lunar boat, horned crown

Sacred Animals

Bull (horns resemble crescent moon), cow

Sacred Plants

Date palm, reeds (from which his consort Ningal derives)

Colors

Silver, pale blue, white

Planet

The Moon itself

Number

30 (days of the lunar month)

Mythology & Stories

Sin is one of the most ancient Mesopotamian deities, predating even the rise of Babylon. His worship centered in the city of Ur, where Abraham was said to have lived before his journey to Canaan. As father of Shamash (sun) and Ishtar (Venus), Sin heads the celestial triad governing the visible heavens.

Key Myths:

The Lunar Boat's Journey: Each night, Sin sails across the sky in his boat, a luminous crescent craft navigating the dark waters of heaven. His journey mirrors the sun's daily course but represents the realm of mystery, dreams, and hidden wisdom. The moon's phases reflect his cyclical death and rebirth—waning into darkness, then emerging renewed.
Father of Light-Bearers: Sin fathered Shamash (the sun) and Ishtar (Venus), making him progenitor of the three brightest celestial bodies. This establishes his primacy among astral deities. Ancient texts speak of how he "gave birth" to the sun each day, as dawn follows the moon's nightly vigil.
Keeper of Time and Destiny: Sin's monthly phases regulate all sacred time. The Babylonian month began with the new moon's first crescent visibility. Priests watched for Sin's reappearance to declare the month's start, making him essential to religious and civil life. His regularity made him a symbol of cosmic order and predictability.
The Eclipse Crisis: When lunar eclipses occurred, it was believed demons attacked Sin, attempting to devour him. Priests performed emergency rituals, making loud noises and offering prayers to drive away the demons. The king sometimes underwent substitute king rituals during eclipses, where a commoner temporarily assumed the throne to absorb any evil portended by the eclipse.
Wisdom Keeper: Sin grants prophetic dreams and divinatory knowledge. Astrologers and diviners invoked him to interpret omens. The moon's appearance—color, halos, position relative to stars—provided detailed predictions about coming events.

📚 Primary Sources: Sin (Nanna)

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Enuma Elish:Tablet V:Lines 11-18

"He fashioned stands for the great gods. As for the stars, he set up constellations corresponding to them. He designated the year and marked out its divisions, apportioned three stars each to the twelve months. After he had organized the year, he established the stand of Neberu to fix the stars' intervals. That none should transgress or be slothful, he fixed the stand of Enlil and Ea together with it. He opened great gates in both ribs, made strong the bolt on the left and right. He placed the heights in her belly."

Source: Enuma Elish, Tablet V (c. 1200 BCE) - Marduk organizing celestial time

Ur-Namma Hymn:Lines 1-12

"Nanna, the first-born son of Enlil, the father of the gods, the great lord, who made the good crown to shine, the lord who never changes his promises, who gladdens the heart of An in Ur, who makes decisions correctly, who makes firm the divine ordinances, whose holy commands cannot be turned back, who directs everything and sets everything right, the king, the exuberant one of great stature, clothed in terrifying brilliance, the strong youth with a lapis lazuli beard!"

Source: Hymn to Nanna, Ur-Namma Period (c. 2100 BCE)

Prayer to Sin:Tablet K.2824:Lines 1-10

"Sin, O Nannar, glorified one... Lord, prince of the gods, who alone is supreme in heaven and earth... Father begetter, who looks favorably on all living creatures... Merciful, gracious father, who holds in his hand the life of the whole land... O Lord, your divinity is full of fearsome splendor like the far-off heavens and the broad sea! Creator of the land, founder of shrines, proclaimer of their names! Father begetter, of gods and men!"

Source: Babylonian Prayer to Sin (c. 700 BCE), British Museum Tablet K.2824

Nabonidus Chronicle:Column II:Lines 1-8

"In the third year: Nabonidus entrusted the army to his eldest son, his first born, the troops in the land he ordered under his command. He freed his hand, entrusted the kingship to him, and, himself, he undertook a distant campaign to Tema deep in the west. The gods of Akkad he brought down to Babylon. He made the moon god foremost, and he did not worship Marduk, the king of the gods."

Source: Nabonidus Chronicle (c. 540 BCE) - Last Babylonian king's devotion to Sin

Cylinders of Nabonidus:Cylinder I:Lines 20-28

"Sin, king of the gods of heaven and the netherworld, without whom no city or land can be founded, nor be restored... whose divine ordinances are not alterable, whose command once issued cannot be changed by any of the gods; who chose me, Nabonidus, from among all princes, to restore your great divinity."

Source: Cylinders of Nabonidus (c. 555 BCE), British Museum

Sumerian Hymn:Nanna-Suen's Journey:Lines 40-48

"When you go forth in radiance, the stars return to their dwelling places. At your rising, the black-headed people are prostrate before you. O Nanna, your grandeur fills the wide sea and the land. Your father, enlil the great mountain, begot you in holiness. O Nanna, father Enlil has caused your name to be pronounced in the assembly."

Source: Nanna-Suen's Journey to Nippur, Sumerian Hymn (c. 2100 BCE)

📜 Primary Sources - Cuneiform Texts

Sin appears in ancient Babylonian/Akkadian cuneiform texts. Search the ORACC corpus to explore original texts in transliteration and translation.

🔍 Search "Sin" in Cuneiform Corpus →

Major texts include: Lunar hymns, Nabonidus inscriptions, prayers to Sin

Relationships

Family

Parents: Enlil (air god, king of gods in Sumerian tradition) and Ninlil (grain goddess)
Consort: Ningal (also called Nikkal), "Great Lady," goddess of reeds and marshes
Children: Shamash/Utu (sun god), Ishtar/Inanna (Venus goddess), Ereshkigal (underworld queen)
Siblings: Various agricultural and atmospheric deities

Allies & Associates

Allies: Ea/Enki (wisdom god), Marduk (later supreme god), Enlil (his father)
Devotees: Nabonidus (last Babylonian king, devoted Sin worshipper)
Servants: Astrologers, dream interpreters, calendar priests
Opposed by: Eclipse demons, chaos entities threatening cosmic order

Worship & Rituals

Sacred Sites

Sin's primary temple was the Ekišnugal ("House of the Great Seed") in Ur, one of the oldest and most continuously worshipped sites in Mesopotamia. The temple's ziggurat could be seen for miles across the flat plains. A second major temple stood in Harran in upper Mesopotamia, which remained a center of moon worship into late antiquity. These temples contained astronomical observation platforms for tracking lunar phases.

Festivals

New Moon Festival (Akītu Šarrūti): Celebrated at each month's beginning when the first crescent appeared. Priests scanned the western horizon at sunset for Sin's reemergence, declaring the new month when spotted. This was considered the moon god's "rebirth."
Full Moon Ceremonies: The 15th day of each month, when Sin reached full brightness, featured special offerings and divination rituals. The full moon was seen as Sin in his full power.
Eclipse Rituals: Emergency rites performed during lunar eclipses, including substitute king ceremonies, noise-making to frighten demons, and prayers for Sin's protection.

Offerings

Daily offerings of milk, beer, dates, and bread. Silver vessels (representing moonlight) held offerings. White cattle were especially sacred to Sin, their horns echoing the crescent moon. During new moon festivals, priests offered first fruits of the date harvest. Night-time offerings included burning of sweet-smelling incense and libations poured under moonlight.

Prayers & Invocations

Prayers addressed Sin as "Father Nanna" and "Lord of Destiny." Typical invocations: "O Sin, bright moon, renewer of months, enlightener of darkness, reveal the meaning of dreams!" Calendar priests prayed for clear skies to observe lunar phases. Diviners sought Sin's guidance in interpreting celestial omens. Women prayed to Sin for fertility, linking his monthly renewal with menstrual cycles.

🌙 Sin