![Shamash, the sun god, rising in the morning from the eastern mountains between (left) Ishtar …[Credits : Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum]](http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/54/2454-004-0482B3DE.jpg)
Shamash, the sun god, rising in the morning from the eastern mountains between (left) Ishtar (Sumerian: Inanna), the goddess of the morning star, and (far left) Ninurta, the god of thunderstorms, with his bow and lion, and (right) Ea (Sumerian: Enki), the god of fresh water, with (far right) his vizier, the two-faced Usmu.
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