Back to GenesisFiles Library | GenesisFiles Home
Sin
Sin is associated with the Sumerian Moon god. Sumerians were living more than three thousand years ago in Mesopotamia. Sin was worshipped in the city of Ur. The high priest of his temple, chosen from the royal family, was viewed as Sin's spouse. Sin was the descendant of the sky god An. His parents were the air god Enlil and the grain goddess Ninlil. Sin was depicted as a "fierce young bull, thick of horns, perfect of limbs, with a beautiful bird of blue".
The Moon god had several different names that referred to different phases
of the Moon. The name Sin indicated the crescent Moon, Nanna the full Moon,
and Asimbabbar the beginning of each lunar cycle. It is interesting that
today the use of the crescent moon is still seen in symbols throughout the
middle east:
Sin was born from the rape of the grain goddess Ninlil by Enlil. For this
crime, Enlil was banished by the assembly of the gods to live in the underworld.
When Ninlil realized she was pregnant, she decided to follow Enlil to the
world of the dead to let him witness the birth of his child. Unfortunately
the birth of the child in the underworld would have imprisoned him forever
in Hades.
Thus, Enlil and Ninlil copulated three more times to offer the three children
who were going to be born to the infernal deities. At last, their first
child Sin could ascend to the heavens to light the night sky. This myth
related to Sin's birth explains why Sumerians viewed a lunar eclipse as
an attack of demons against the Moon. During the lunar eclipse, Sumerian
kings used to wash themselves believing these rites could bring the purification
of the Moon.
The gensisfiles.com
