About this belief system
Akkadian refers to a culture that emerged in Mesopotamia during the third millennium BCE. The belief system included many deities, most of whom were later diffused into Sumerian, Babylonian, and Assyrian culture.
Parent belief system
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Mesopotamian Culture · PolytheisticHeads up. Akkadian Culture belongs to a parent belief system on the basis of shared myths and deities.Mesopotamian religion broadly included cultures in the ancient near east: Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria, and others. These cultures shared highly diffused customs, deities, and myths from ca. 3000 BCE - 400 CE. Many deities were diffused from one culture into another, with the result that religious beliefs were consistent and coherent. Around 400 CE, Christianity and other Abrahamic religions became more widely practiced. Mesopotamian cultures also gave rise to many chief features observed in the...
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Top myths
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| Epic of Gilgamesh (SBV) | |
| Prestige, Hero myth | |
| Unknown author | |
| Read myth | |
Top deities
Akkadian myths: A-Z
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Epic of Gilgamesh (SBV) Prestige, Hero myth
Nuthsell
Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk and has a track record of terrorizing his own people. The people cry out to the supreme deity Anu, who creates a twin of Gilgamesh named Enkidu. Enkidu sets out for Gilgamesh, finds him, and they become friends after a brawl. The two journey together, whereby Enkidu dies. Gilgamesh tries to become an immortal with the help of a plant, but fails. The story ends with Gilgamesh realizing that his destiny is to be a good king to his people.
Akkadian deities: A-Z
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Ishtar Akkadian
Ištar was a Mesopotamian deity worshiped in Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria. She was often associated with war, sex, and desire.
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Lahamu Akkadian
Lahamu was said to be the sister of Lahmu in Akkadian traditions. Also, she was associated with creation and being the parent of Anšar and Kišar.
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Lahmu Akkadian
Lahmu was said to be a primordial being who was one of the earliest deities in Akkadian and Babylonian traditions.
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Nergal Akkadian
Nergal (Sumerian: 𒀭𒄊𒀕𒃲) was a southern Mesopotamian deity associated with death and the netherworld.
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Šamaš Akkadian
Šamaš was an important solar deity in Akkadian traditions who was known as Utu in Sumerian.
Cite this page
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Akkadian." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 01 Feb. 2019, omnika.org/stable/257. Accessed 6 Mar. 2026.
OMNIKA (2019, February 01). Akkadian. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/257
OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. "Akkadian." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created February 01, 2019. Accessed March 6, 2026. https://omnika.org/stable/257.
