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The Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages

Who were the Anunnaki? Mesopotamian Mythology with Dr. Miano.

Mar 20, 2021
08:05

Who were the Anunnaki? From pseudo scientific books to cinema like Ancient Aliens, these mythological figures have claimed a place in the popular imagination but amidst all of the fiction and misinformation we are left wondering who they actually were.


Dr. Miano is here to answer that question as he guides us through the proper context of the Anunnaki, their place in ancient Mesopotamia and the modern fiction that surrounds them. 



Wikipedia Reference Below.



The Anunnaki (also transcribed as Anunaki, Annunaki, Anunna, Ananaki and other variations) are a group of deities who appear in the mythological traditions of the ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians.


Descriptions of how many Anunnaki there were and what role they fulfilled are inconsistent and often contradictory. In the earliest Sumerian writings about them, which come from the Post-Akkadian period, the Anunnaki are the most powerful deities in the pantheon, descendants of An and Ki, the god of the heavens and the goddess of earth, and their primary function is to decree the fate of Sumerians.


In Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld, the Anunnaki are portrayed as seven judges who sit before the throne of Ereshkigal in the Underworld. Later Akkadian texts, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, follow this portrayal. During the Old Babylonian period, the Anunnaki were believed to be the chthonic deities of the Underworld, while the gods of the heavens were known as the Igigi. 


The ancient Hittites identified the Anunnaki as the oldest generation of gods, who had been overthrown and banished to the Underworld by the younger gods. The Anunnaki have featured prominently in modern pseudoarchaeological works, such as the books of Erich von Däniken and Zecharia Sitchin.



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Subscribe to the channel of Dr. Miano at World of Antiquity here:


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC64TYItcUS940vNWhQRnJWg


Follow him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrDavidMiano


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Video Attribution: kristina gaboyan

in 60°C visiting the ziqqurat Chogha Zanbil & The Palace of Susa


The Ancient Middle East Every Year by the awesome Ollie Bye:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oys6EQtpCJk



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