Katz assumes the view that he was the spouse of Ninhursag originated in Adab as a local tradition. However, Marcos Such-Gutiérrez points out that Šulpae is sparsely attested in sources from this city from the third millennium BCE, and suggests that initially Ashgi was Ninhursag s husban dthere, but later came to be viewed as her son instead, as attested in the god list An = Anum. Jeremy Black and Anthony Green assert that the tradition in which Šulpae was the spouse of Ninhursag contradicts her association with Enki in myths. However, according to Mandred Krebernik, it was widespread, while Enki only appears as Ninhursag's husband in the myth Enki and Ninhursag, where she is treated as identical to Damgalnunna, his usual spouse. In addition to aforementioned Ashgi, deities regarded as the children of Šulpae and Ninhursag include Lisin, Panigingarra and Lillu, possibly identical with the first of these four. Šulpae was also described as Enlil's brother-in-law, and in the hymn dedicated to him he is also his "lord of the banquet table," though this label is not attested elsewhere. Worship Not much is known about the individual aspects of theworship of Šulpae, as religious texts which mention him are often offering lists. He appears in two Early Dynastic lists of deities from Fara, which imply that he already received offerings of fish in this period, but he is absent from contemporary texts from Abu Salabikh and Ebla. Most likely, by the middle of the third millennium BCE he became a prominent member of the local pantheon of Kesh. He is also present in a number of theophoric names from Adab from between the Early Dynastic and Ur III periods, such as Ur-Šulpae. In the Early Dynastic text corpus from the state of Lagash, Šulpae only occurs in a single theophoric name, Ur-Šulpae. Later on, in the Ur III period, he received offerings in Girsu. A list of rations might indicate that he shared a temple in this city with Ninazu. In Nippur he was worshiped in the temple of Ninhursag, as already attested in Ur III sources, and later on, in the Old Babylonian period, in Ninurta's sanctuary Ešumeša as well. Further cities where he is attested in at this time include Larsa and Ur. Two seal inscriptions from Sippar mention him and Ninhursag as a pair as well. According to Ran Zadok, he also appears in theophoric names