Preparing comparison data...
Both are associated with prophecy and divine knowledge
Greek Pantheon
tradition
Mesopotamian Pantheon
sun, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, archery
domains
moon, time, wisdom, cattle
lyre, bow and arrow, laurel wreath, sun, raven
symbols
crescent moon, bull, lapis lazuli beard
Phoebus, Phoebus Apollo
also called
Nanna, Nannar, Suen
The atlas records no shared domain or symbol between them. What connects them is elsewhere: Both are associated with prophecy and divine knowledge
Apollo (Greek) alone
sun, music, poetry, prophecy, healing, archery
Sin alone
moon, time, wisdom, cattle
Apollo (Greek)
Cult sites: Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, Sacred island and temples of Delos, Temple of Apollo at Didyma.
Festivals: Pythian Games, Thargelia, Karneia (Sparta).
Delphi's oracle and the Pythian contest made him the public voice of the gods. Purification, plague, and the lyre sit in the same precinct. A boy-god of light is a later polish; the working cult is prophecy and katharsis.
Sin
Cult sites: Great Ziggurat of Ur, Harran in the later period.
Festivals: Ur's moon festivals; Nanna's boat processions.
The moon at Ur, with priestesses in the giparu. Nabonidus still cared in the sixth century BCE. Silver, cattle, and the month.
Greek Pantheon
God of sun, music, poetry, prophecy, and healing. Twin brother of Artemis, patron of the Muses and leader of the nine sisters.
Apollo is the ideal of the *kouros* (beardless youth), representing light, harmony, and reason. He is the master of the lyre and the leader of the Muses.
Read the full Apollo entryMesopotamian Pantheon
The moon god and lord of the night sky. Sin is the father of the sun god Shamash and the goddess Inanna, and the keeper of time through the lunar calendar.
Sin was born to Enlil and Ninlil in the underworld under unusual circumstances. After Enlil was banished to the underworld for ravishing Ninlil, she followed him and gave birth to Nanna/Sin there. Through clever deception, Sin was allowed to ascend to the sky, where he became the moon.
Sin is the great moon god of Mesopotamia, father of the sun and stars. In Mesopotamian astral hierarchy, the moon held precedence over the sun, as the moon's phases provided the basis for the calendar and the measurement of time. Sin's waxing and waning represented the cosmic rhythm that governed agriculture, religion, and commerce.
Read the full Sin entry