Mīšaru
Mesopotamian god personifying justice / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mīšaru (Misharu), possibly also known as Ili-mīšar, was a Mesopotamian god regarded as the personification of justice, sometimes portrayed as a divine judge. He was regarded as a son of the weather god Adad and his wife Shala. He was often associated with other similar deities, such as Išartu or Kittu. He is first attested in sources from the Ur III period. In the Old Babylonian period, he was regarded as the tutelary deity of Dūr-Rīmuš, a city in the kingdom of Eshnunna. He was also worshiped in other parts of Mesopotamia, for example in Mari, Assur, Babylon, Sippar and in the land of Suhum. In the Seleucid period he was introduced to the pantheon of Uruk.
Mīšaru | |
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Divine personification of justice | |
Major cult center | Dūr-Rīmuš |
Symbol | possibly scales[1] |
Personal information | |
Parents | Adad and Shala |
Siblings | Uṣur-amāssu, Šubanuna, Menunesi, Namašmaš |
Spouse | Išartu |
Equivalents | |
Ugaritic equivalent | Mêšaru |
Phoenician equivalent | Misor |
A deity with a cognate name, Mêšaru, also belonged to the Ugaritic pantheon. It is assumed that like his Mesopotamian counterpart, he was regarded as a divine judge. Further possibly analogous deity, Misor, is also attested in the writings of Philo of Byblos.