Nabu - 'the Winged Dragon' ... 'he who was called' - Lord of The Wrtten Word; Divine Scribe; Wilder of the wand of divination; Opener of the wells; Far traveller.
Nabu is a Babylonian god, the son of Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum, and grand-son of Ea. The etymology of his name is disputed: could be derived from nb´ or to call, announce, meaning something like "He who has been Called", or it could be from ne/abu, for shining, brilliant, or from a quite different unknown old-Syrian root. His power over human existence is immense, because he engraves the destiny of each person, as the Gods have decided, on the tablets of sacred record. Thus, he has the power to increase or diminish, at will, the length of human life. His symbols are the clay/stone tablet with the writing stylo, and his sacred animal is the winged dragon who was initially his fathers. He wears a horned cap, and stands with hands clasped, in the ancient gesture of priesthood
Originally, Nabu was a West Semitic deity, mentioned among the Ebla gods. By the beginning of the second millennium BCE, the Amorites had introduced him to Mesopotamia, probably at the same time as Marduk. The two gods continued to have close connections throughout their history (well into the Persian period and beyond). While Marduk became Babylon´s main deity, Nabu resided in nearby Borsippa in his temple E-zida. He was first called the "scribe and minister of Marduk", later assimilated as Marduk´s beloved son from Sarpanitum, Marduk´s consort. Nabu is accorded the office of patron of the scribes, taking over from the Sumerian goddess Nisaba. His consort is Tashmetum, whose name derives from the Akkadian "shamu", meaning something like "the granting of requests", thus being a merciful mediator, protector against evil and goddess of love and potency. Astronomically, Tashmetum is identified with the sign of Capricorn. It is important nevertheless to point out that in Sumer the goddess of writing was Nisaba/Nidaba, not Nabu. Thus, He represents a futher stage of perception of knowledge.
(Gateways of Babylon)
