Turtledove
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Aedonniss
Deity
Fictional Work
Story: "The Mrem Go West"
God of: The land
Type of Appearance: Referenced
Spouse: Aedonniss

Assirra, goddess of the land, was the wife of Aedonniss, lord of the sky and primary god in Mrem theology. The Great Flood was seen as a contract between Aedonniss and Assirra to curb the power of the Liskash (who were enslaving the Mrem) by dividing the continents. Many Mrem died in the Flood, but this was seen as an option preferable to seeing the entire species enslaved.

Assirra was considered to be a much more personal and approachable deity than her husband. Rather than addressing prayers directly to Aedonniss, the Mrem prayed to Assirra to intervene with Aedonniss on their behalf.

Literary comment

Aedonniss and Assirra appear to be based partly on Adonai and Asherah, a pair of deities from the polytheist religions of certain Semitic tribes in the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE. This religion ultimately lost out to the One God of Judaism, but is remembered in popular culture as the story of Adonis and Venus, a Roman story loosely adapted from the Semitic myth.

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