Nabu

Nabu (in Biblical Hebrew Nebo נבו) is the Babylonian god of wisdom and writing, worshipped by Babylonians as Marduk and Sarpanitum's son and as Ea's grandson. Nabu's consorts were Tashmetum and Nissaba.

Etymology

Nabu's name is derived from the Semitic root nb´, meaning "to prophesy".

History

Nabu was originally a West Semitic deity from Ebla whose cult was introduced to Mesopotamia by the Amorites after 2000 BC. Nabu was assimilated into Marduk's cult, where he became Marduk's son with Sarpanitum, Marduk's minister, and co-regent of the Mesopotamian pantheon.

Nabu resided in his temple of Ezida in Borsippa and was a prominent deity in Assyria, where several temples were devoted to him. His cult later spread to Egypt and Anatolia due to Aramaic settlers. Nabu became the god of wisdom and writing, taking over the role from the Sumerian goddess Nisaba. Nabu was also the keeper of the Tablets of Destiny, which recorded the fate of mankind. His symbols are the clay tablet and stylus.

Nabu's consorts were the Akkadian goddess Tashmetum and the Assyrian Nissaba. He wears a horned cap, and stands with his hands clasped, in the ancient gesture of priesthood. He rides on a winged dragon known as Sirrush that originally belonged to his father Marduk. During the Babylonian New Year Festival, the cult statue of Nabu was transported from Borsippa to Babylon in order to commune with his father Marduk.

Lords of Chaos and Order

The Lords of Chaos and Lords of Order are complementary groups of supernatural entities with professed godlike powers that appear in DC Comics. They have also been retconned into the histories of Amethyst, Princess of Gemworld, Doctor Fate, Kid Eternity, the Phantom Stranger, Shazam, Hawk and Dove and The Sandman. The first Lord of Order to appear in comics was Nabu in More Fun Comics #67 (May 1941) created by Gardner Fox and Howard Sherman. Nabu's first appearance was later retconned to be in More Fun Comics #55 (May, 1940), where he was inside the helmet, though not explicitly stated in the story. However, the concept of the Lords of Chaos and Order was introduced years later. The term never appears in Golden Age stories.

The War Between Order and Chaos

Chaos and Order have been fighting a never-ending battle for aeons, characterized by an endless cycle of reversals for domination back and forth between the two sides. Originally, the struggle was depicted between Good (Order) and Evil (Chaos). However, later interpretations cast it as a struggle between stagnation (Order) and anarchy (Chaos).

Nabu (disambiguation)

Nabu is the Assyrian and Babylonian god of wisdom and writing.

Nabu may also refer to:

See also