[7] Sporadically it could be prefixed with the sign NIN,[2] with the variant form Nin-Aya attested in a dedicatory inscription of Manishtushu[8] and in an offering list from Mari.
[14][a] The name Sherida appears for the last time in cultic context in sources from Sippar and Larsa from the Old Babylonian period.
[18] Due to similarity of the names Sudaĝ and Sud, the tutelary goddess of Shuruppak equated with Ninlil, the latter appears in the role Ishum's mother in a single myth.
[25] In the oldest available sources her name was written as dnin-kar, while dnin-kár(-ra) first attested in the Ur III period is presumed to be a later variant.
[27] However, later on in a translation of the text he prepared in collaboration with Jan Lisman the corresponding passage has been interpreted as a reference to a "quay (kar) of Ningal" instead.
[7] This function is also well attested for other spouses of popular deities, such as Ninmug and Shala, the wives of Ishum and Adad, as well as for Inanna's sukkal Ninshubur.
[36] The astronomical compendium MUL.APIN states that Aya was associated with the constellation Ewe,[37] typically represented by the sumerogram mulU8, though a source referring to it with the phonetic Akkadian translation, mulImmertu, is known too.
[41] On seals from Sippar she was often depicted wearing a type of garment which exposed her right breast, meant to emphasize her qualities as a charming and attractive bride.
[42] As the wife of Shamash, Aya was regarded as the daughter-in-law of his parents Suen and Ningal and sister-in-law of his sister Ishtar.
[1] A trilingual Sumero-Hurro-Ugaritic edition of the Weidner god list from Ugarit attests the equivalence between Shamash (Utu), Šimige and the local sun goddess Shapash (Šapšu).
[45] A single god list dated to the Middle Babylonian period or later equates Lahar with Aya and explains that the former should be understood as "Aya as the goddess of caring for things" (da-a šá ku-né-e), though Wilfred G. Lambert noted this equation is unusual, as Lahar was consistently regarded as male otherwise, and the evidence for connections between both goddesses and mortal women with herding sheep, a sphere of life he was associated with, is limited.
[50] In legal texts, Aya often appears as a divine witness alongside her husband, their daughter Mamu and Shamash's sukkal Bunene.
[8] Hammurabi of Babylon referred to himself as the "beloved of Aya" in an inscription[52] commemorating the construction of new walls of Sippar in the twenty fifth year of his reign.
[53] It has also been noted that the Naditu community from this city were particularly closely associated with Aya, as evidenced by the fact that they addressed her as their mistress, commonly took theophoric names invoking her, and exclusively swore oaths by her.
[57] Naditu lived in a building referred to as gagûm, conventionally translated as "cloister,"[56] and Tonia Sharlach notes they can be compared to medieval Christian nuns.
[58] They are sometimes described as "priestesses" in modern literature, but while it is well attested that they were considered to be dedicated to a specific deity, there is little evidence for their involvement in religious activities other than personal prayer, and it is not impossible they were understood as a fully separate social class.
[59] It has been argued that in contrast with her position in Sippar, Aya was less prominent in the other city associated with Shamash, Larsa, where she does not appear in official lists of offerings.
[72] She is one of the Hurrian deities depicted in the Yazılıkaya sanctuary, where a relief of her can be seen in a procession of goddesses, between Nikkal and a figure who might represent Šauška.
[76] According to Kamran Vincent Zand, this term should be understood as a designation of the Middle Euphrates in this context, and is the westernmost area mentioned.
[79] Ninsun states that the optimal time for Aya to appeal to her husband is right after sunset, when he returns home from his daily journey.