Anu

Anu, also written Anu or An, is the Mesopotamian sky god and a central figure in Sumerian and Akkadian religion. The name derives from the Sumerian An, meaning “heaven.” In early Mesopotamian belief, Anu personified the heavens as a source of cosmic order and kingship, and he was regarded as the father or patriarch of the gods in the divine assembly.

Family and role: Anu’s consort is Antu, and together they are often described as the progenitors of the Anunnaki, the great family of gods in later texts. Anu holds a position of ultimate authority and is consulted on matters such as kingship and religious rites. He is imagined as dwelling in the heavens and distributing divine power to rulers through oaths, decrees, and the legitimacy of kingship.

Cult and worship: Anu had cults in major Mesopotamian cities such as Uruk, Ur, and Nippur, with temple associations that linked the heavens to divine rule. By the middle to late second millennium BCE, the rise of Marduk and the Babylonian state cult gradually eclipsed Anu’s primacy, though he remained a respected figure within the pantheon and the genealogical tree of the Anunnaki.

Myth and legacy: In Mesopotamian myth, Anu appears in creation and royal literature and in the divine assembly. He is often depicted as a senior member of the divine court, associated with legitimizing kingship and divine authority. The Anunnaki, translated as “offspring of Anu,” are a broad group of deities tied to his line in later traditions. In modern scholarship, Anu is treated as a complex symbol of heaven and the ancient Mesopotamian worldview.