Lugal-irra (𒀭𒈗𒄊𒊏) and Meslamta-ea (𒀭𒈩𒇴𒋫𒌓𒁺𒀀) were a pair of Mesopotamian gods who typically appear together in cuneiform texts and were described as the "divine twins" (Maštabba). They were regarded as warrior gods and as protectors of doors, possibly due to their role as the gatekeepers of the underworld. In Mesopotamian astronomy they came to be associated with a pair of stars known as the "Great Twins", Alpha Geminorum and Beta Geminorum. They were both closely associated with Nergal, and could be either regarded as members of his court or equated with him. Their cult centers were Kisiga and Dūrum. While no major sanctuaries dedicated to them are attested elsewhere, they were nonetheless worshiped in multiple other cities.
Names Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea usually appear together in Mesopotamian texts. Typically Lugal-irra was followed by Meslamta-ea, though instances of the order being reversed are known too. While attestations of Lugal-irra without Meslamta-ea are known, they are considered unusual.
Lugalirra Lugal-irra's name was most commonly written in cuneiform as dLugal-GÌR-ra. It can be romanized as Lugalirra as well. It has Sumerian origin and can be translated as "the strong lord". The variant Lugal-girra, dLugal-gír-ra, reflects a late reinterpretation of the name as "lord of the dagger" and is no longer considered an indication that dLugal-GÌR-ra was ever read as Lugal-girra. Despite the phonetic similarity, the second half of Lugal-irra's name is most likely unrelated to the theonym Erra (variant: Irra), and its Akkadian translation was gašru according to lexical lists.
Meslamtaea The most common spelling of Meslamta-ea's name in cuneiform was dMes-lam-ta-è(-a). It can be romanized as Meslamtaea as well. It can be translated as "he who came out of Meslam" or "he who comes out of Meslam". Meslam is well attested as the name, or element of the name, of multiple temples of Nergal and related deities, with the most famous of them, the E-Meslam, being located in Kutha.
dMAŠ.TAB.BA and analogous terms The term Maštabba, dMaš-tab-ba, is a Sumerian phrase meaning "the divine twins", derived from the regular term for twins. As a theonym is first attested in an offering list from Mari from the Šakkanakku period, where it occurs between Nisaba and dBa-AḪ (the deified Balikh River), and in a contemporary texts from Sippar known from a Neo-Babylonian copy where this pair is placed between dÍD (deified river or river ordeal) and Ištaran. It could function as an epithet of Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea. The pair could also be referred to with the Sumerian phrase dingir-min-a-bi, "the twin gods", a synonym of the theonym Maštabba.
Character and iconography Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea were regarded as warrior deities. In early sources from the end of the Ur III period both of them were associated with judgment, especially with river ordeal. They were also regarded as guardians of doorways. The incantation series Maqlû describes them as “guard-gods who tear out the heart and compress the kidneys”. Typically Lugal-irra was associated with the right side and Meslamta-ea with the left. It has been argued that this role reflected their status as gatekeepers of the underworld, which made it appropriate to also entrust other gates to them. In addition to regularly playing this role in Mesopotamian sources, in a single case Lugal-irra is also attested as a protector of doors in a Hittite ritual presumably adapted from a Babylonian original, KBo 15, 2, which prescribes the preparation of a figure representing him for that purpose. Astronomical texts, such as the compendium MUL.APIN, identify Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea with a pair of stars known as the "Great Twins", mulMAŠ.TAB.BA.GAL. It corresponded to Alpha Geminorum and Beta Geminorum. The analogous name "Little Twins" (mulMAŠ.TAB.BA.TUR.TUR) was used to refer to Alammuš and Ningublaga. This pair in turn can be identified as Delta Geminorum and Zeta Geminorum. The text KAR 142, a list of various heptads, lists them alongside five further pairs of such twin deities in addition to the Great Twins and the Little Twins, including the "twins of Papsukkal" (here a constellation corresponding to Orion), Shullat and Hanish, Šarur and Šargaz, mulKU-an-na and mulKU-ki-SIKILlum (possibly related to Lisin and Ninsikila's children KU-anna and KU-kita), and Ninnisig and Erragal. An instruction for the preparation of apotropaic figures states that the representation of Lugal-irra should hold a bow and arrows, while Meslamtaea an axe (in his left hand) and a mace (in his right hand). The terms used, ḫutpalû and zaḫaṭû, more specifically indicate the weapons were a mace with a stone head and a single bladed axe. Furthermore, the statuettes of Meslamta-ea were decorated with "black paste" (IM.GI6, an unidentified substance), and these representing Lugal-irra possibly with a bright pigment. The statuettes wore garments known as tillû and horned headdress. Neo-Assyrian sources indicate that they were buried under entrances to buildings. A hymn refers to Lugal-irra and Meslamta-ea as a pair of ravens, respectively black and white, though the basis for this association is unknown.
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