Editing Ninhursag (section)

==Iconography==
Ninhursag was commonly depicted seated upon or near mountains,{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=991}} her hair sometimes in an [[omega]] shape and at times wearing a horned head-dress and tiered skirt. In a rectangular framed plaque from pre-Sargonic Girsu, the goddess seated upon "scale like" mountains is determined to be Ninhursag.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=991}} Here she wears a crown that is more flat without horns, and has hair in an [[omega]] like shape.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=991}} In another depiction, she is seated upon mountains and also has a mountain on her horned crown.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=992}} Here she wears a tiered robe.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=992}} She was identified as the female figure standing behind her son Ninurta on a fragment of the [[Stele of the Vultures]].{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=1000}}

Another symbol of hers was Deer, both male and female.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=991}} Studies on a plaque from Mari have identified the stone as being a representation of her.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=980}}{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=138}} The stone likely represents both a face and the naked female form.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=984}} A notable feature of the plaque is the area below the 'nose area' where ten stags stand eating plants on opposite sides of the face.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=986}} There is another group of five animals under the nose, which are suspected to be birds.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=987}} In a frieze recovered from the same Mari temple, two stags flank an Igmud-eagle, the symbol of her son Ninurta.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=996}} There are a number of other images with this eagle as well (such as the vase in the gallery below), where deer, ibexes or gazelles are present to represent Ninhursag.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=996}}

According to Johanna Stuckey, her symbol, resembling the Greek letter ''omega'' [[Ω]], has been depicted in art from approximately [[3000 BC]], although more generally from the early [[second millennium BC]]. It appears on some [[boundary stone]]s ([[kudurru]]) on the upper tier, indicating her importance. The omega symbol is associated with the Egyptian cow goddess [[Hathor]], and may represent a stylized womb.{{sfnp|Stuckey|2006}} Joan Goodnick Westenholz and Julia M. Asher-Greve argue that the symbol should be interpreted as a schematic representation of a woman's hair rather than the shape of an uterus.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=247}} They tentatively propose an identification with [[Nanaya]] rather than Ninhursag as well.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=247}}

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="4">
File:British Museum Middle east 14022019 Panel Imdugud 2500 BC 3640.jpg|Mari temple frieze: containing symbols of Ninhursag and her son Ninurta.
File:Vase dedicated to Ningirsu by Entemena-AO 2674-IMG 9137.JPG|The Silver vase of En-temena, which was dedicated to Ningirsu.
File:Entemena vase motif.jpg|Detail on the En-temena vase - the stags here likely represent Ninhursag, with the lions greeting them in a friendly way by licking their cheeks, rather than attacking them.{{sfn | Steinkeller | 2019 | p=1000}}
File:Stele of Vultures detail 03 reverse.jpg|This is the fragment of the Vulture Stele that (likely) contains Ninhursag.
</gallery>