Bau (goddess)
Videos
Bau, also read Baba or Babu (cuneiform: 𒀭𒁀𒌑 dBa-U2), was a Mesopotamian goddess. The reading of her name is a subject of debate among researchers, though Bau is considered the conventional spelling today. While initially regarded simply as a life-giving deity, in some cases associated with the creation in mankind, over the course of the third and second millennia BCE she also acquired the role of a healing goddess. She could be described as a divine midwife. In art she could be depicted in the company of waterfowl or scorpions.
Bust of a goddess, perhaps Bau, from Girsu. Louvre Museum.
A seated figurine of Bau from Ur, on display in Iraq Museum.
A tablet mentioning sacrifices made to various gods worshiped in the state of Lagash, including Bau.
Statue of Gudea, a king who elevated the rank of Bau in the local pantheon of Lagash.
Igalim
Videos
Igalim or Igalimma was a Mesopotamian god from the local pantheon of the state of Lagash. He was closely associated with Ningirsu, possibly originating as the personification of the door of his temple, and was regarded as a member of his family. His older brother was Shulshaga and his mother was Bau, as already attested in Early Dynastic sources. Until the end of the Ur III period he was worshiped in Lagash and Girsu, where he had a temple, though he also appears in a number of later texts.
