Editing Marduk (section)

== Characteristics ==
[[File:Sirrush.jpg|left|thumb|[[Mušḫuššu]], a dragon-like creature, was associated with Marduk.]]

=== Symbol ===
His symbol is the spade and he is associated with the [[Mušḫuššu]], a dragon-like creature from Mesopotamian mythology.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1992|p=157}}

=== Original role ===
Since sources pertaining to Marduk in the early periods are sparse, Marduk's original role is unknown. However, since Marduk appeared in the Abu Salabikh list behind three minor deities whose names point to a possible connection with the underworld, Johandi suggests that Marduk may have been a minor god connected to the underworld.{{sfn|Johandi|2018|p=552-553}} Similarly, Oshima recently proposed that Marduk may have originally had a role similar to Nergal, which may even explain why the logogram <sup>d</sup>AMAR.UTU is used in Hittite texts to write the name of the god [[Šanta]],{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=47}} who was similar in nature to Nergal.{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=113}} In the earlier forerunners to the Udug Hul where both Marduk and Asalluhi appear together in a passage Marduk, in contrast to Asalluhi, does not help the victim but instead captures him, either because of his powerlessness or because he simply refused to help.{{sfn|Geller|1985|p=15}} Oshima interpreted the passage as supporting the idea that Marduk's original role was illness and death.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=45}} Similarly, in [[Sin-iddinam|Sin-iddinam's]] prayer to [[Ninisina]], Asalluhi (here identified with Marduk) imposing an evil spell on Sin-iddinam (the king of Larsa) causing him to become sick{{sfn|Brisch|2007|p=143}} may reflect that Marduk's power to cause illness extended beyond the dominion of Babylon.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=46}} However Sommerfield, who previously believed that there was little evidence for Marduk being related to magic,{{sfn|Sommerfield|1982|p=16}} more recently suggested that Marduk was originally a god of incantations before his syncretism with [[Asalluhi]].{{sfn|Sommerfield|1987|p=368}} Jacobsen suggests that Marduk was originally a storm god due to the storm imageries in the Enuma Elish, wielding the four winds and storms as weapons, and assigning to himself the rain and clouds that came from Tiamat's corpse.{{sfn|Jacobsen|1968|p=106}} Abusch, citing Jacobsen, also believes that Marduk was a storm god, and may have been associated with water and vegetation before joining the pantheon of Eridu as it is improbable to suppose that all of Marduk's traits with water as being taken from the circle of Enki.{{sfn|Abusch|1999|p=544}} However, there is no other evidence suggesting that Marduk was originally a local storm god, and the usage of wind and storm as weapons are not limited to storm gods. Schwemer points to [[Ninurta]] (who is not a storm god) as the original model for Marduk using storms, winds and floods as weapons.{{Sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=128}} Schwemer also summarizes that although Marduk has characteristics that overlap with the storm god profile, it does not mean that Marduk or other gods in similar position (such as Ninurta, [[Amurru (god)|Martu]], [[Telepinu]] and [[Tishpak]]) are necessarily storm gods.{{sfn|Schwemer|2016|p=70}} Marduk's symbol, the spade, may point to him originally being a god of agriculture, or more likely as a god of canals and by extension fertility.{{sfn|Oshima|2006|p=80}} Unlike Abusch, Oshima believes that Marduk's association with water came from his association with canals. He is depicted as the supplier of water in Prayer to Marduk no.2, dating to the Kassite period, and was praised as the bringer of water from rivers, seasonal floods and rains to the fields.{{sfn|Oshima|2006|p=81}} Various prayers to Marduk refer to his connection with springs and rivers, and [[Ashurbanipal]] applies the epithet "the canal inspector of the heavens and the earth" to Marduk{{sfn|Oshima|2006|p=82}}{{refn|group=lower-alpha|Similar epithets are also attested for [[Teshub]],{{sfn|Hoffner,_Jr.|1998|p=52}} Adad, and Ninurta{{sfn|Pongratz-Leisten|2015|p=261}}}}.

=== Marduk's anger and mercy ===
Sin-iddinam's prayer to Ninisina shares similar motifs with the Prayer to Marduk no.1 and [[Ludlul bel nemeqi]], where Marduk's anger is blamed for some certain ailment affecting the sufferer, and can only be remedied by Marduk having mercy and forgiving them. In the Prayer to Marduk no.1, Marduk is asked to not kill his client,{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=49}} and in Ludlul Marduk is praised for his mercy after forgiving his client.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=51}} As such, some scholars claim that Marduk was being praised for his wrath,{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=50}} and others claim that Marduk comes off as having "unpredictable mood swings.{{sfn|Piccin|Worthington|2015|p=114, citing Spieckermann}}" Lambert also points to one of Marduk's names in the Enuma Elish, Meršakušu ("savage, yet relenting"), suggests that the Babylonians may have stressed Marduk's mercy so he could be less savage,{{sfn|Lambert|1984|p=6}} although Oshima proposes that the Babylonians had to stress both his wrath and mercy to appease him.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=51}} Others believe that the purpose of the poem was to stress that Marduk's true inner quality was mercy and benevolence.{{sfn|Piccin|Worthington|2015|p=116}} The Prayer to Marduk no.2, on the other hand, praises Marduk's power to heal, which may have been as a result of syncretism with Asalluhi.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=62}}

=== Connections to the River Ordeal ===
Due to being the son of Ea, Marduk had connections with the River Ordeal.{{sfn|Soldt|2005|p=127}} Sin-iddinam's prayer to Ninisina also identified [[Idlurugu]] (the river ordeal) as the father of Marduk/Asalluhi, in contrast to the standard genealogy.{{sfn|Oshima|2011|p=45}}

=== Incantations ===
Marduk features in incantations of the Marduk-Ea type formula, in which the god Ea/Enki engages in dialogue with his son Marduk/Asalluhi. The structure of the formula starts with Marduk/Asalluhi noticing a problem and reporting to his father. Ea reassures his son about his knowledge and then proceeds to instruct his son on the procedures.{{sfn|George|2016|p=2}} In later incantations from the First Millenium BC, the priests usually claim to be direct representations of Marduk/Asalluhi, replacing the divine dialogue between father and son,{{sfn|Johandi|2019|p=182}} for example in Marduk's Address to the Demons the priest starts by declaring themselves to be Marduk.{{sfn|Geller|2015|p=15}} In Neo-Assyrian Assyria, Marduk was one of the major gods that incantation-prayers were directed at, with only [[Shamash]] being invoked more than Marduk.{{sfn|Frame|1999|p=15}}
It is difficult to tell if Marduk originally had a role in incantations prior to being identified with Asalluhi.{{sfn|Cunningham|1997|p=114}} Marduk sometimes appears in the Sumerian-Akkadian bilinguals as the Akkadian name for Asalluhi,{{sfn|George|2016|p=2}}{{sfn|Cunningham|1997|p=114-115}} although Marduk and Asalluhi were also attested to appear separately in two different texts, one being the incantation against the evil Udug where Marduk captured the victim instead of helping in contrast to Asalluhi who sought out Enki,{{sfn|Geller|1985|p=15}}{{sfn|Cunningham|1997|p=114}} the other being an incantation against [[Lamashtu]] that listed Marduk and Asalluhi separately as deterrence to the demon.{{sfn|Johandi|2019|p=176}}