Ninĝidru
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Ninĝidru (dNin-PA; alternatively read Ninĝešduru[1]) was a Mesopotamian goddess who most likely represented a deified scepter. She played a role in coronation rituals. She often appears in association with Ninmena, who represented the deified crown. A recently published hymn additionally attests that she was the sukkal (attendant deity) of Sud, the tutelary goddess of Shuruppak.
The theonym referring to a deified scepter was written as dNin-PA in cuneiform.[2] The sign PA was read as ĝidru in Sumerian and ḫaṭṭum in Akkadian, and it was the most commonly used logogram representing a scepter.[3] Both elements of the name could be prefaced by the dingir sign, a determinative used to designate names of deities, which indicates that the object itself, rather than just the goddess representing it, was viewed as divine.[4] Other deities possibly also personifying scepters are known from Mesopotamian texts, for example PA-Igidu and PA.KAL from Girsu.[4] It is presumed that Ninĝidru due to her character played a role in coronation rituals.[5]
Doubts have been expressed in the past over whether Ninĝidru is the correct reading of the name,[2] but this transcription or variants of it have been employed in recent publications by various authors.[6][7][5] Christopher Metcalf accepts it as a plausible option, though he notes that a second possible reading is Ninĝešduru.[1] Antonie Cavigneaux and Manfred Krebernik have originally raised objections to the reading Ninĝidru based on the spelling dNin-PA-da, which according to them is more likely to be read as Ninḫada or even Bēlat-ḫaṭṭa.[2] However, Armando Bramanti more recently concluded that this spelling is uncommon, and does not necessarily represent the same word as the sign PA on its own usually does, which makes ĝidru the most plausible option in most cases.[8]
The Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie entry written by Cavigneaux and Krebernik considers Ninĝidru to be female,[2] and this assumption is also accepted by other authors.[6][7] An alternate view, originally proposed by Harriet Martin, is that the deity was male and should be understood as analogous to Nuska.[9] More recently Metcalf in his commentary on a hymn focused on the deities of Shuruppak refers to Ninĝidru as male as well.[1] However, Jeremiah Peterson in his review of the translation calls her a goddess.[5]