The concept of gods and deities has been an integral part of human history and culture for thousands of years. Determining the absolute oldest god is challenging because the earliest forms of religion and belief systems predate recorded history, leaving us with limited archaeological evidence and speculation. However, some of the oldest known gods come from ancient Mesopotamia.
One contender for the title of the oldest known god is the Sumerian deity Enki (also known as Ea). The Sumerians inhabited ancient Mesopotamia around 4,500 to 4,000 BCE. Enki was considered the god of water, wisdom, and magic. He played a significant role in the Sumerian pantheon and later influenced other nearby cultures like the Akkadians and Babylonians.
Another ancient god is the Sumerian goddess Inanna, also known as Ishtar, who dates back to a similar period. Inanna was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and warfare.
It's essential to recognize that the earliest human belief systems were polytheistic, and various cultures had their pantheons of gods and goddesses. As societies evolved, the gods and the ways they were worshiped changed, and new religious ideas and mythologies emerged. Archaeologists and historians continually uncover new evidence, so our understanding of early religious beliefs may continue to evolve in the future.