The Obituary
Shamash, called Utu by the Sumerians, was the Mesopotamian sun god and supreme arbiter of justice, truth and divination, worshipped chiefly at Sippar and Larsa. Crossing the heavens daily, he was thought to witness every human act, making him the divine judge and guarantor of oaths; on Hammurabi’s law-stele he hands the king the emblems of justice. Venerated for nearly three thousand years across Mesopotamia, his cult dwindled under the empires that succeeded Babylon and ceased in the early centuries CE. The all-seeing judge was at last forgotten by those he once watched.
Worth remembering
- Crossing the sky each day, he saw all human deeds and so became the divine judge of right and wrong and the patron of oaths and law.
- On the famous stele of Hammurabi, Shamash is shown enthroned, handing the symbols of kingship and justice to the Babylonian king.
Sources
- Utu (Akkadian Shamash) was the Mesopotamian sun god and god of justice, truth and divination, with cult centers at Sippar and Larsa. Wikipedia
- Shamash is depicted handing the laws to King Hammurabi at the top of the Code of Hammurabi stele. World History Encyclopedia
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.