DUMUZI

Real Name: Dumuzi (His original Sumerian name; translates into "true son.")

Occupation: Sentry to Allatum, god of regeneration and rebirth, Tutelary god of Bad-tibirah

Legal Status: Citizen of Kurnugi

Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Tammuz except as a mythological deity.

Other Aliases: Tammuz (Babylonian), Damu (Hattic), Hedammu (Hittite), Ama'usumgal ("Mother is a Heavenly Dragon," Aramic), "Adonis," "Osiris

Place of Birth: Unrevealed, possibly Erech (Uruk), Sumeria (now part of modern Iraq)

Marital Status: Single

Known Relatives: Ninurta (father), Gatumdug (mother), Dagon, Baal, Martu, Nergal (uncles), Inanna (aunt, possible wife), Gestinanna (sister, alias Beletseri), Martu (brother-in-law/uncle),  Mamitu, Ishaia, Papaia (nieces), Shamash, Nanna (cousins)

Group AffiliationsThe Gods of Mesopotamia

Base of Operations: Allatum, formerly Celestial Dilmun

First Appearance: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Episode: "Descent"

History: Dumuzi is a member of the Anunnaki, an extra-dimensional race of beings who were worshipped as gods by the people of Ancient Sumeria and Babylon. On of the most loved goddesses of the Anunnaki was the goddess Ishtar, known as Inanna to the Sumerians. Ishtar took Dumuzi to be her lover, although they may have been much more than just lovers and may have been husband and wife. Dumuzi was abducted to the underworld by the goddess Eriskegal, the goddess of the dead and ruler of the realm of Allatum, an extra-dimensional realm set aside for the shades (spirits) of their worshippers. Eriskegal hated Ishtar for being the most favored among the gods, and when Ishtar traveled to Allatum to free Dumuzi, Eriskegal forced her to leave an article of clothing at each of the nine gates of the underworld in order to humiliate her. Eriskegal imprisoned Ishtar in the underworld, but she was freed by the god, Dagon, then known as Enlil. Ishtar petitioned the gods for the release of Dumuzi from the underworld, but eventually it was required that he had to live one half of the year under servitude to Eriskegal by standing guard at the gates of Allatum. Dumuzi spent half the year in Allatum and the other half on Earth with Ishtar.

Dumuzi was one of the more important gods of the Sumerian Empire, his worship continued by the Babylonians as the god Tammuz. Eventually, worship of the Anunnaki waned under the presence of the Olympian gods of the invading Greeks and Romans. They honored Dumuzi by worshipping him under the name Adonis, the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite, taken from the Phoenicians. During the rule of Caesar, Hercules invaded Allatum looking for the spirit of his friend, Iolaus,  and briefly clashed with Dumuzi.

The Egyptians considered Dumuzi a foreign version of Osiris, the chieftain of the Egyptian gods once slain by the god, Seth, and later restored to life. Dumuzi's modern activities are unrevealed. 

Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 425 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Black

Strength Level: Dumuzi possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift (press) 35 tons under optimal conditions.

Known Superhuman Powers: Dumuzi possesses the conventional physical attributes of the Anunnaki or Mesopotamian gods. Like all of the Anunnaki, he is extremely long-lived, but he is not immortal like the Olympian gods. He has aged at am exceptionally slow rate since reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for a god of significant power, such as Anu, Ea or Enlil or for a number of Mesopotamian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Dumuzi also possesses superhuman strength and his Anunnaki metabolism provides him with far greater than human endurance in all physical activities. (Anunnaki flesh and bone is about three times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman strength and weight of the Mesopotamian gods.) 

Dumuzi has limited mystical powers. He has extensive clairvoyant prowess, able to perceive information that occurs within his proximity or that which would involve him. His extra-sensory powers are not on the level of such gods as Zeus or Heimdall

Abilities: Dumuzi is an excellent warrior trained in armed and unarmed combat; his expertise allowing him to hold his own against Hercules.

Comments: Dumuzi has not appeared in the Marvel or DC Universes; a Hyborian god named Tammuz appeared in Conan the Barbarian #30, but this may not be the Sumerian god.

Dumuzi was played by Aussie actor Antonio Te Maioka, in the Fifth Season episode, "Descent," of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."

Clarifications: Tammuz is not to be confused with:  

Last updated: 06/08/08

 

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