An / Anu

Mesopotamian tradition. See the whole pantheon.

Domains
sky, heaven's king
Symbols and attributes
Horned crown
Children
Enlil, Enki / Ea
A chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.
A chaos monster and a sun god, drawn by L. Gruner for A. H. Layard's Monuments of Nineveh.

Key myth

The highest god in the Sumerian pantheon, remote and seldom active. By the first millennium, Enlil and then Marduk took over his leadership.

Primary sources

  • Epic of Gilgamesh VI
  • Enūma Eliš

All sources for the Mesopotamian pantheon

Place in the family graph

Choose a deity to see where it comes from. Dashed lines are links the sources describe that are not parent and child.

NammuApsuTiamatAn / AnuNinhursagEnlilNinlilEnki / EaNinurtaNanna / SinNergalEreshkigalMardukUtu / ShamashInanna / IshtarDumuzi / Tammuz

More traditions

Elsewhere in the world

Deities in other traditions who share a theme with An / Anu: sky, storm and thunder. This is overlap in one area only.

Norse

Thor

thunder, protection of gods and people, strength

Norse

Freyr

peace, fertility, sunshine

Egyptian

Shu

air, sunlight

Egyptian

Tefnut

moisture, the lion's rage

Egyptian

Nut

sky, stars

Egyptian

Seth

storm, desert, chaos

Egyptian

Horus

kingship, sky

Egyptian

Hathor

love, music, joy

Compare across cultures