Shala
Shala is a goddess from Sumerian mythology, recognized as the deity of grain and compassion. While she is considered a lesser goddess, Shala played a significant role in agricultural fertility, believed to ensure good harvests for the people of Mesopotamia, particularly in the Sumer region. In various myths, she is depicted as the wife of either the fertility god Dagon or the storm god Adad (Ishkur), reflecting the diverse interpretations of gods across different city-states in ancient Mesopotamia. Shala is often represented holding an ear of grain and has associations with the constellation Virgo, where she symbolizes the harvest period.
The origins of her name may trace back to the Hurrian language, hinting at her integration into Sumerian beliefs from neighboring cultures. Shala's worship included temples dedicated to Adad, especially in regions like Babylon and Ashur. Despite her lesser status, she gained importance as the worship of Adad grew, and her legacy continued as she was eventually merged with other deities, influencing later figures such as Demeter in Greek mythology and Ceres in Roman mythology. Modern astronomy honors her with a mountain named Shala Mons on Venus, reflecting her enduring connection to agriculture and celestial symbolism.
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Subject Terms
Shala
Symbol: ear of grain; harvest; double-headed mace; lion-headed dragon
Culture: Sumerian, ancient Mesopotamia
Overview
Shala is the goddess of grain and compassion in Sumerian mythology. Shala was a lesser goddess and little detail is known about her. She was primarily associated with being the companion of one of two powerful Mesopotamian gods. Depending on the specific culture, Shala was either the wife of the fertility god, Dagon, or the storm god, Adad. Shala was believed to have power over the fertility of crops and was responsible for providing a good harvest. She eventually became associated with the constellation Virgo, and modern astronomers have named a mountain on Venus after her.
In Mythology
The ancient region of Mesopotamia was not a unified land. It was a collection of individual city-states, each with its own government, culture, language, and laws. The people of Mesopotamia worshiped many of the same gods, but those gods varied in name and importance from city-state to city-state. A god or goddess viewed as the dominant deity in one region may be known by a different name and be of lesser status in another.
Shala was worshiped as the goddess of grain by the people of Sumer, a region in southern Mesopotamia. Her position as a deity who was responsible for providing the people with a good harvest also earned her the title of goddess of compassion. Shala is most often depicted holding an ear of grain. In some portrayals, she is shown carrying a double-headed mace or a scimitar. She has also been associated with the image of a lion-headed dragon.
Shala was one of two goddesses associated with the constellation Virgo, a large star pattern prominent in spring and summer. The western half of Virgo was said to represent the goddess Erua, the wife of Babylon’s supreme deity, Marduk. Erua was seen as holding a frond of a date palm in her hand. This section of the constellation rose earlier in the year and coincided with the ripening of dates.
The eastern half of the constellation rose later during the time when grains were ready to be harvested. This section was called the “furrow” and represented Shala carrying a stalk of grain in her hand. The constellation’s connection to Shala and the harvest carried over into later mythologies where it was also associated with a goddess of grain. The name of Virgo’s brightest star, Spica, means “ear of grain” in Latin.
In the early belief systems of central and northern Mesopotamia, Shala was said to be the wife of the god Dagon. Dagon was considered a god of grain and fertility and was also believed to be able to control the weather. In the religions of Sumer and the city-state of Akkad, Shala was the wife of a powerful storm god. The Sumerians named the god Ishkur, while the Akkadians called him Adad.
Adad was seen as both the beneficial bringer of rain and the destructive creator of storms. Some images of Adad include a representation of a nude goddess holding lightning bolts and surrounded by rain. However, archaeologists are unsure if this was a depiction of Shala. Adad was symbolically connected to a bull, or a lion-headed dragon, which could also explain its link to Shala. Eventually, characteristics of the god Dagon became associated with Adad and the two deities were merged into one figure.
Origins & Cults
Shala’s mythological origins are unknown. The name Shala does not seem to come from the languages of Akkad or Sumer. Some archaeologists believe that she may have been a goddess worshiped by the Hurrians, a people from northern Mesopotamia and Anatolia. This idea is based on the theory that the name Shala grew from the Hurrian word šāla, meaning “daughter.”
Because Mesopotamian cultures respected the deities of foreign cultures, Shala may have been absorbed into the religious beliefs of Sumer. Some early lists of Sumerian deities connect the god Ishkur with the goddess Medimša. This may have just been another name for Shala, or Shala may have replaced Medimša as Ishkur’s wife.
Mesopotamian cultures depicted its gods and goddesses as wearing horned caps. The caps could have as many as seven horns that stood as a symbol of that deity’s power. Many images of Shala portray her without a cap or head covering, suggesting that she held a lower place in the Mesopotamian hierarchy of deities.
Shala was worshiped at temples dedicated to Adad in the regions around Babylon and the city-state of Ashur, the home of the Assyrian Empire. A temple named é-dur-kù was dedicated to her in Karkara, a town in southern Mesopotamia. Though Shala was never a major deity, she gained importance as Adad rose in stature. Inscriptions made during the reign of the Assyrian king Sin-Shar-Ishkun in the seventh century BCE refer to Shala as the “powerful wife of Adad” who protected the lives of the people.
Under the rule of the Seleucids, a Greek empire established in 312 BCE by one of Alexander the Great’s former generals, Adad and Shala were mentioned in printers’ marks on written texts. The marks asked for the deities’ protection of the scholarly works. Statues of Shala were also included in New Year’s celebrations. To the ancient Mesopotamians, the deities themselves were believed to reside inside their statues.
As the ancient Mesopotamian cultures began to fade or were absorbed into other empires, the region’s gods and goddesses changed as well. Shala and Erua were combined into one figure and eventually evolved into Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest, agriculture, and fertility. In Roman mythology, Demeter was known as Ceres. Both Demeter and Ceres were depicted as holding a stalk of grain or wheat. The Greeks and Romans also associated the goddesses with the constellation of Virgo. In the modern era, astronomers have given the name Shala Mons to a 56-mile (90-kilometer) wide mountain on Venus.
Bibliography
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