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Male deity of a possibly West Semitic origin with a focus on the Middle and Upper Euphrates, most commonly attested in Mesopotamia in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE.
Functions
In Mesopotamia Dagan is associated with the Middle Euphrates, in particular the cities of Tuttul and Terqa. References to Dagan in some of the Akkadian royal inscriptions have been thought to suggest a military role for this deity, but his appearance in these texts at the time of certain battles may relate more to his association with the western regions in which these conflicts occurred. Dagan appears rarely in Mesopotamian mythology, he is mentioned in connection with the senior deity An in the Old Babylonian (early 2nd millennium BCE) versions of the myth of Anzu, and in the Neo-Assyrian (early 1st millennium BCE) version he makes a speech recounting the deeds of Ninurta (Crowell 2001: 39-40). In other cases Dagan is said to keep with him the seven children of the underworld god Enmearra, and this netherworld aspect to Dagan is possibly supported by the temple built by ami-Adad I (ca. 1808-1776 BCE) at Terqa called the -kisiga "temple of the funerary offerings" (Black and Green 1998: 56). The lack of wider mythological references, however, makes any discussion of his function difficult. In the Syro-Mesopotamian areas, Dagan's functions are uncertain (Feliu 2003: 216-217). His association with funerary sacrifices at Mari and Ugarit is still contested (Crowell 2001: 60-61). Mythological attestations of Dagan from Ugarit are few, and this has limited analysis (Crowell 2001: 44-45). A possible etymology of the name Dagan from the West Semitic/Ugaritic root dgn, which can be translated as 'grain', and the Hebrew dgn, an archaic word for 'grain' (Black and Green 1998: 56), has tempted some scholars to assume that he played a role in vegetation/fertility, which might be confirmed by his son's, the West Semitic deity Ba'al, role as a vegetation deity (Black and Green 1998: 56). A 4th century AD tradition which places Dagan as a fish deity is erroneous (Black and Green 1998: 56).
Cult Places
There is a suggestion of a temple of Dagan and Ihara at Nippur in the Ur III period (Hilgert 1994: 1 and 38), while a dedicatory inscription of the Isin king Ur-dukuga (1830-1828 BCE) mentions a temple of Dagan in Isin in southern Mesopotamia (Crowell 2001: 39). Further west a temple of Dagan dating to the second millennium at Mari is now thought to be that of the deity Itur-Mer, but the temple at Terqa built by ami-Adad (1808-1776 BCE) is of Dagan, and another temple to Dagan is believed to have existed at Emar (Crowell 2001: 41-44). Attempts have been made to attribute temples in the Levant to Dagan, but such suggestions are only based on Biblical literature, and the temple at Ugarit once considered to have been associated with Dagan has been reinterpreted as that of El (Crowell 2001: 44-50).
Iconography
A statue of Dagan is mentioned in the zukru festival at Emar (Crowell 2001: 44-45).