The Moon Watching Over the Sun and Venus: Revisiting the Attributes and Functions of Nanna/Sîn in Mesopotamia

This paper intends to explore the role of the patron god of Ur, Nanna/Sîn,² in the Mesopotamian religious system, by focusing on the relation between his numinous features and those of his divine progeny. Inanna/Ištar and Utu/Šamaš, two of the most influent deities in the “land between the rivers,” shared an astral identity with their divine father, which, in turn, led to multiple associations between them. These were visible not only in their attributes and functions, but also in iconographic depictions.³ Since family ties were a crucial devise for identity and for legitimation in ancient Mesopotamia, we believe there is