Mesopotamian god of the good tree and serpents
Ningishzida
Ningishzida was a Mesopotamian deity linked to vegetation, serpents and the underworld. His name is usually translated as lord of the good tree, and his image as a figure with two serpents rising from his shoulders is among the earliest known symbols of twin serpents.
The myth
According to Mesopotamian tradition, Ningishzida was the son of Ninazu, and he shared many of his father's functions. In myths he usually appears in an underworld setting, where he spent part of each year, like Dumuzi, a journey associated with the seasonal death of vegetation.
In the myth of Adapa and the South Wind he is one of the doorkeepers of the sky god Anu's palace, alongside Dumuzi. Enki advises Adapa to present himself before Anu in mourning and to speak well of the two gods, so that the gatekeepers would plead his case.
The tradition about his wife varies. The god list An = Anum names Azimua and Ekurritum, while at Lagash he was regarded as married to Geshtinanna, who appears on seals beside a mushussu serpent, his symbol.
Worship and religion
His worship is attested from the Early Dynastic III period. His main cult center was Gishbanda, a rural settlement between Lagash and Ur, home to the temple E-Gishbanda. He also had shrines in Lagash, in Girsu, where Gudea regarded him as his personal god, and in Ur and Uruk. As a deity of an extinct religion, he has no living cult.
Legacy
Some scholars suggest that his link to the tree of life may have inspired the serpent of the Garden of Eden, though others connect that serpent to the goddess Tiamat. The constellation Hydra may have served as his astral symbol.
Ancient sources: He appears in administrative texts and god lists from Lagash, Ur and Uruk, and in the myth of Adapa, preserved in cuneiform fragments.