Ninlil was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of Enlil. She shared many of his functions, especially the responsibility for declaring destinies, and like him was regarded as a senior deity and head of the pantheon. She is also well attested as the mother of his children, such as the underworld god Nergal, the moon god Nanna or the warrior god Ninurta. She was chiefly worshiped in Nippur and nearby Tummal alongside Enlil, and multiple temples and shrines dedicated to her are attested in textual sources from these cities. In the first millennium BCE she was also introduced to Ḫursaĝkalamma near Kish, where she was worshiped alongside the goddess Bizilla, who was likely her sukkal.
Ruins of a temple at the site of ancient Nippur (Tell Nuffar), one of the cities associated with Ninlil
Drawing of an impression of a cylinder seal of Bur-Suen, a king whose devotion to Sud is mentioned in a hymn dedicated to her.
Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Babylonian national god Marduk.
Statuette of Enlil sitting on his throne from the site of Nippur, dated to 1800–1600 BC, now on display in the Iraq Museum
Modern photograph of the ruins of the Ekur temple at Nippur
Cuneiform inscription on a diorite mortar from Nippur stating that this was an offering from Gudea to Enlil (c. 2144–2124 BC)
Gudea dedication tablet to God Ningirsu: "For Ningirsu, Enlil's mighty warrior, his Master, Gudea, ensi of Lagash"