Abzu | |
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Genealogy | |
Consort | Tiamat |
Children | Kingu (Babylonian religion), Lahamu, Lahmu, Anu (Sumerian religion) |
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Ancient Mesopotamian religion |
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The Abzu or Apsu (Sumerian: 𒀊𒍪 abzu; Akkadian: 𒀊𒍪 apsû), also called engur (Cuneiform:𒇉, LAGAB×HAL; Sumerian: engur; Akkadian: engurru—lit. ab='water' zu='deep', recorded in Greek as Ἀπασών Apasṓn[1]), is the name for fresh water from underground aquifers which was given a religious fertilising quality in ancient near eastern cosmology, including Sumerian and Akkadian mythology. Lakes, springs, rivers, wells, and other sources of fresh water were thought to draw their water from the abzu. In Mesopotamian mythology, it is referred to as the primeval sea below the void space of the underworld (Kur) and the earth (Ma) above.