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Anu, a MythSource painting
Mesopotamian

Anu

Father of the Gods · King of the Gods · Lord of Heaven

01Identity

Anu in Mesopotamian tradition

Anu's authority belongs to the upper heavens, where he is treated as the father of the gods and a figure of divine kingship. The Sumerians called him An, and his cult was especially centred on Uruk, though he was worshipped across the region. Unlike Ouranos, his Greek counterpart, Anu is presented not merely as an ancestral sky-god but as a father figure for the divine assembly.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Anu?

    Anu is a Mesopotamian deity associated with the heavens and sky; divine kingship and authority; the assembly of the gods; the granting of earthly kingship; and divine decrees and destiny.
    Source

    Source

    • The Oxford Companion to World Mythology
    • Babylonian mythology
    • Babylonian Creation Myths
    • Monsters of Greek Mythology, Volume One

  • What is Anu the god of?

    Anu is associated with the heavens and sky; divine kingship and authority; the assembly of the gods; the granting of earthly kingship; and divine decrees and destiny.
    Source

    Source

    • The Oxford Companion to World Mythology
    • Babylonian mythology
    • Babylonian Creation Myths
    • Monsters of Greek Mythology, Volume One

  • What family links are recorded for Anu?

    Father: Anshar, Mother: Kishar, Spouse: Antu, 13 children, 1 sibling.
02Family

Anu’s family, at a glance

AnsharKishar
AnuUrash

with Antu, Inanna, Ki, Ninhursag, Urash

AdadAmurruBauEnlilEreshkigalErraGatumdagGibil
HadadInannaLamashtuNisabaSebitti
03The names

The names Anu answers to

An

Sumerian name meaning Heaven or Sky

SourceThe Oxford Companion to World Mythology

Anum

A variant form of Anu in Akkadian sources

SourceBabylonian Creation Myths

Father of the Gods

Patriarch and progenitor of the divine assembly

SourceBabylonian mythology

King of the Gods

Supreme ruler of the Mesopotamian gods

SourceBabylonian mythology

04The myths

The myths of Anu

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

The Separation of Heaven and Earth

Heaven separated from earth, and earth separated from heaven. In former days, in distant former days, Anu and Ki had remained joined. They had formed a solid mass, yet they had remained two. The early days had brought the established order into being and had carefully nurtured it. Bread had been set in the houses of the land, and bread had been baked in the ovens of the land. The ordered world had waited for its division.

Anu carried heaven away. Enlil carried earth away. Ki went apart from Anu, and the divided realms took their places. The heavens held their ordered place, while the earth became the land that Enlil carried away. After heaven had been separated from earth, and earth had been severed from heaven, the name of mankind was established.

In one telling, heaven and earth separated like a pair of sitting ducks taken by different hunters. Each hunter carried one duck away in the opposite direction. The two parts had once rested together, but they had been taken apart and carried away from each other.

In another telling, Enlil performed the separation alone. He cut heaven apart from earth like joined twins divided by an operation. The severing did not follow a battle. Heaven and earth had already stood joined before Enlil divided them. Their separation opened the ordered world, left heaven above earth, and placed mankind within the established order.

The Separation of Heaven and Earth, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Babylonian Creation MythsT1
  2. 2the ancient sourcesT1

    Quote

    “Heaven and earth, once joined, were separated, with Anu taking heaven and Enlil taking earth, after which mankind's place was established.”

    the ancient sources

  3. 3Babylonian Creation MythsT1

The Birth of Anu

Kishar and Anshar brought Anu forth from the line of the ancient gods. They had followed Lahama and Lahma, an earlier pair, while Mummu had stood at the beginning of the divine succession. Anu emerged from this old order and became its ancestral sky god.

Anu then stood before the younger gods who followed him. Enlil came after Anu. Ea followed Enlil, and Bēl came after Ea. Through Anu, the younger deities belonged to a growing divine family. His birth joined the older gods to the younger gods who later gathered in assembly.

When the gods assembled, they fashioned the heavens and brought living creatures into being. They divided the animals of the steppe from the beings of the cities. They ordered the creatures of creation and gave each group its place. Anu remained at the head of the younger divine line as its ancestral sky god.

The order of the gods continued through him. The younger deities followed the line that had begun with the ancient beings, and the divine family grew as each generation came after the last. Anu stood between the old gods who had preceded him and the younger gods who gathered under his line.

The Birth of Anu, a MythSource painting of the scene

3 sources· checked 2026-08-19

  1. 1Babylonian Creation MythsT1
  2. 2the ancient sourcesT1

    Quote

    “Kishar and Anshar brought Anu forth, after whom came Enlil, Ea and Bēl, and the gods later ordered heaven and living creatures.”

    the ancient sources

  3. 3Babylonian Creation MythsT1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Anu, each on that figure’s page.