SUMERIAN GODS AND THEIR REPRESENTATIONS

CUNEIFORM MONOGRAPHS 7

Edited by

T. Abusch, M.l. Geller, Th. P. 1. van den Hout

S. M. Maul and F. A. M. Wiggermann

SIYX
PUBLICATIONS
GRONINGEN
199~
 CUNEIFORM MONOGRAPHS 7

SUMERIAN GODS
AND
THEIR REPRESENTATIONS

LL. Finkel
MJ. Geller

Editors

SIYX
PUBLICATIONS
GRONINGEN
1997
.
 '~.""" "---- ---- ... ,', ..

Copyright 1997 I.L. Finkel and MJ. Geller

Copyright 1997 STYX Publications, Groningen
Introduction
ISBN 90 5693 005 2
ISSN 0929-0052 w.G. Lambert
Sumerian Gc
Dominique Colle
Moon, boats
Gudrun Colbow
More Insight
Second Milh
F.A.M. Wiggerm
Transtigridial
Joan Goodnick 1
Nanaya: Lad
Jerrold S. COOpt
Gendered Se
Jacob Klein
The God Ma
Herman L.J. Va"
Why did Enl
Anthony Green
Myths in Me
Dietz Otto EdzQl
The Names (
Gebhard J. Selz
The holy On
of the proble
Alasdair Livings
STYX Publications
How the con
Postbus 2659
Julian Reade
9704 CR GRONINGEN
Sumerian ori
THE NETHERLANDS
Indices
Tel. # 31 (0)50-5717502
Fax. # 3 J (0)50-5733325
E-mail: styxnl@compuserve.com
 '"BL
((0(5
S'l (p
l'1Q1
TABLE OF CONTENS

Introduction VII-IX

w.G. Lambert
Sumerian Gods: Combining the Evidence of Texts and Art 1-10
Dominique Collon
Moon, boats and battle I L-17
Gudrun Colbow
More Insights into Representations of the Moon God in the Third and
Second Millennium B.C. L9-31
F.A.M. Wiggermann
Transtigridian Snake Gods 33-55
Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Nanaya: Lady of mystery 57-84
Jerrold S. Cooper
Gendered Sexuality in Sumerian Love Poetry 85-97
Jacob Klein
The God Martu in Sumerian Literature 99-116
Herman L.J. Vanstiphout
Why did Enki organize the world? 117-134
Anthony Green
Myths in Mesopotamian Alt 135-158
Dietz Otto Edzard
The Names of the Sumerian Temples 159-165
Gebhard 1. Selz
The holy Drum, the Spear, and the Harp. Towards an understanding
of the problems of deification in the third millennium Mesopotamia 167-213
Alasdair Livingstone
How the common man influences the gods of Sumer 215-220
Julian Reade
Sumerian origins 221-229
Indices 231

v
 INTRODUCTION

A conference was held in the British Museum on 7 April, 1994, jointly sponsored by
the Department of Western Asiatic Antiquities of the British Museum and the Institute
of Jewish Studies, University College London. The conference was held in memory
of Thorkild Jacobsen on the theme of 'Sumerian Gods and their Representations',
and it brought together selected specialists in Mesopotamian philology, literature, and
art history. Nevertheless, a certain irony was apparent to everyone present, that only
one scholar mentioned had managed to research the full breadth of subjects being
presented and discussed, namely Thorkild Jacobsen himself.
One might argue that the field of Assyriology today is too broad and technical
to afford any individual the opportunity to master more than one or two aspects
of an increasingly diverse discipline. The progressive growth of Assyriology since
the Second World War has meant that scholars tend to be either philologists and
grammarians, copyists and text editors, commentators on the literature, historians,
experts on glyptic art, or field archaeologists. Each of these areas of specialisation
is in itself complex, so that it is unusual now for a scholar to master more than one
aspect of Mesopotamian civilization. In Jacobsen's day, things were very different. He
began his career in Copenhagen in 1922 studying Semitic Philology, and came to the
Oriental Institute in Chicago in 1927 after completing his MA. By 1929 Jacobsen had
completed his doctorate at the University of Chicago on a Syriac commentary on the
Book of Job, but he was to wait ten years before publishing two monographs in the
field of Sumerology, namely Cuneiform Texts in the National Museum Copenhagen,
and the Sumerian King List, both of which appeared in 1939. Until that time, Jacobsen
spent the better part of this time as field archeologi'st ahd epigrapher (together with
Henri Frankfort), serving later as director of excavations at Jerwan and Ischaly, and
his publications during much of the 1930's reflected his epigraphic studies of the
Akkadian inscriptions from Eshnunna and the Diyala.
Jacobsen himself fully acknowledged the influence of the interdisciplinary ap-
proach of Frankfort, with whom he jointly organised the conference which later ap-
peared as a collection of articles, The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man (1946),
reprinted later as Before Philosophy (1949). Rudolf Otto's The Idea of the Holy (1943)
further influenced Jacobsen's own idea of the numinous in Mesopotamian religion,
but Jacobsen's explications of the Mesopotamian pantheon also highlighted the con-
nection between the role of the gods and the Mesopotamian regional economies.
Jacobsen may have been responding to the spirit of his own times when he wrote on
'The Assumed Conflict between the Sumerians and Semites in Early Mesopotamian
History' (1939), and during the war years his interdisciplinary interests were stim-
ulated by lectures in the University of Chicago law faculty, a by-product of which
was his article on 'Primitive Democracy in Ancient Mesopotamia' (1943). He further-
more freely acknowledged the profound influt}nce of Arno Poebel's meticulous logic
in explaining Sumerian grammar, and Jacobsen was fond of referring to his article
'About the Sumerian Verb' (1965) as 'Poebelian'. Jacobsen's translations of Sumerian

Vll
literary texts always reflected his own rigorous analysis of Sumerian grammar, as in nally, Julian Rea(
his The Treasures of Darkness (1976) and The Harps that Once ... Sumerian Poetry in Flood Story as ir
Translation (1987). It is noteworthy that Jacobsen's contributions to Sumerology-the ci vilization.
field for which he is today most widely known-followed upon his already substantial Thorkild Jace
work in Semitic philology and field archaeology, as well as his studies on the history bining philology,
of Mesopotamian society and religion. is dedicated to tt
The present volume is something of a combined effort to begin again where
Jacobsen left off. In this vein, the theme of 'Sumerian gods and their representations'
was chosen in order to harmonise the textual descriptions of gods with their images
on seals and reliefs, within the contexts of temples and cults, and as reflected in
the personal religion of the common man. W. G. Lambert cautiously poses the basic
question regarding the representations of Sumerian gods in both text and art. He refers
to the anthropomorphic images of Sumerian gods which can with some certainty
be recognised, such as Dumuzi, Utu, Enkj/Ea, Nissaba (or Ezinu), and ISkur/Adad,
although many more deities depicted on seals remain ambiguous, such as the so-called
'boat god' and the god travelling with him in the boat. The point is further taken up by
Dominique Collon, Gudrun Colbow, and Frans Wiggermann, all of whom discuss the
iconography of the moon god. Collon explores the connection between the moon god
with the representations of the boat god, while Col bow traces the imagery of the moon
god from the Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian periods mostly in connection with
the crescent standard, and Wiggermann relates the boat god to other ophidian deities,
e.g. Tispak, Ninazu, Ningiszida, Ereskigal, Ninmada, IStaran, and Insusinak, who are
all chthonic deities associated with snake imagery (such as Hydra or mushussu).
Several other Sumerian gods feature prominently in this volume. The goddess
Nanaya is fully treated by Joan Westenholz, who argues against the identification
of Nanaya with either IStar or Venus, although the goddess' name and origins re-
main a mystery. Nevertheless, Nanaya's reputation for sensuality associates her with
InnanaiIStar, whose sexuality is taken up by Jerrold Cooper by raising the question
as to whether a 'woman's voice' can be heard in the Inanna-Dumuzi love poems.
Love and marriage is also the predominant theme in Jacob Klein's new edition and
translation of the Sumerian myth of the Marriage of Martu, in which he argues that
the etiological function for the myth was to assimilate the eponymous god of the
Martu (Amorites) into the Sumerian pantheon. Herman Vanstiphout's treatment of the
myth of Enki and the World Order characterises Enki as a cosmic manager, but also
emphasises Enki's use of authority and delegation of authority in organising the cos-
mos. Anthony Green, on the other hand, seeks to find in Mesopotamian art personages
known from literature, such as Etana, Gilgamesh, and the Seven Sages, although he
also reviews the artistic representations of Inanna in the Burney Relief and elsewhere,
as well as Pazuzu and Lamastu.
The cult itself is also relevant to the imagery and presentation of the Sumerian
gods. To this end Dietz Otto Edzard offers further explanations of Sumerian temple
names, noting that most temple names in Mesopotamia were Sumerian rather than
Akkadian. Gebhard Selz presents an encyclopaedic account of divine symbols in tem-
ples, such as the drum, spear, and harp, which had indepedent sacred status. Alasdair
Livingstone's view of hemerologies with the associated ideas of lucky and unlucky
day provides insights into the more personal aspects of Mesopotamian religion. Fi-

Vlll
nally, Julian Reade sees Sumerian origins in both the topography and mythology of the
Flood Story as indications of the role which water played in the origins of Sumerian
civilization.
Thorkild Jacobsen in his latter years advocated an approach to Assyriology com-
bining philology, art history, and social theory as the way forward; the present volume
is dedicated to that ideal.

London, March 1996

IX
 Some general su~
writer to the 21 e
published under t
It was stressed i
in texts needed t
art and texts. Tt
hope that when
some points of c
precarious. This I
next. 'God' has
(1990) 115-130.
aspect of nature
with superhumar
colonies who nc
racial or ethnic '
as to when Sum(
worshipped by t
in any case, we
Sumerian names
adopted by the ~
names were rein1
with non-Sumeri
name, and has
repeated syllable
found outside SL

* This article is of c(
examine con venti om
Most abbreviations f
Berlin = A. Mo
Boehmer = R.I\
of illustration.
Fara = H.P. Ma
number of seal
Morgan = Corp
of the Pierpont

I The Shorter An =
the Old Babylonian
Thorkild Jacobsen common, especially
second - n - may refl<
names of the type 0
 SUMERIAN GODS: COMBINING THE EVIDENCE OF
TEXTS AND ART*

W.C. Lambert

Some general suggestions bearing on the subject of our paper were made by the present
writer to the 21 C Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Rome in J 974 and were
published under the title "Introductory Considerations" in Orientalia 45 (1976) I 1-14.
It was stressed in particular that identifications of figures in art with beings named
in texts needed to be attempted from a background of comprehensive knowledge of
art and texts. The two categories originated from the same culture, and one could
hope that when their respective evidence was synthesised, there would be at least
some points of contact. Identifications of single figures without regard to the rest are
precarious. This principle will be our starting point here, and definitions of terms come
next. 'God' has been defined by the writer in Revue de l'histoire des religions 207
(1990) 115-130. Sumerian gods were supernatural beings, the personifications of some
aspect of nature as then seen or understood, endowed with a human personality, but
with superhuman power. 'Sumerians' were the people living in Sumer or Sumerian
colonies who normally spoke Sumerian, whatever their physical characteristics or
racial or ethnic origins. There is of course the problem that various opinions exist
as to when Sumerian died out as a spoken language. 'Sumerian gods' were the gods
worshipped by the Sumerians, irrespective of their names or their origins (which,
in any case, we rarely know). It is always possible that gods with seemingly good
Sumerian names were originally at home in some other, non-Sumerian culture, were
adopted by the Sumerians before we have any knowledge of them, and their earlier
names were reinterpreted and modified into good Sumerian names. Contrariwise gods
with non-Sumerian names can be good Sumerian gods. Su'en looks like a Semitic
name, and has a corresponding form in South Arabic, and Nanna is in reality a
repeated syllable, like the goddess Baba and the persons Dudu, a type of name also
found outside Sumer and not proven to be linguistically Sumerian. I Sumerian divine

* This article is of course an introductiononly to a vast subject. It is hoped that it will challenge scholars to
examine conventional cliches more critically. Why are deities sprouting barley called deities of vegetation?
Most abbreviations follow CAD, but note:
Berlin = A. Moortgat, Vorderasia/ische Rollsiegel
Boehmer = R.M. Boehmer, Die Elltwicklung del' Glyptik wiihrend del' Akkad-Zeit, cited by number
of illustration.
Fara = H.P. Martin, Fara. A Recolls/ruc/ion of/he Allcien/ Mesopo/alllian Cit" of Shuruppak' cited by
number of seal or impression.
Morgan = CO/pus ofAllciellt Near Eos/ern Seals in Norrh AlI1ericall Collec/ions, J, The Collec/ion
of /he Pierpoll/ Morgall Library, by E. Porada.

I The Shorter An = Anum gives the gloss n a - an - n a to dSES.KI (CT 25 28, K 2115), and there is
the Old Babylonian dlla-an-na (YST XII 231 7l. In the Old Babylonian Diyala region n a - n a is more
common, especially in the place name ds u 1- g i -dSES-KI/n a - n a (RG 3 p. 227). The doubling of the
second - n - may reflect Akkadian word stress. or an assimilation to the Semitic noun /l.al1na(ru). Personal
names of the type Dudu, including no-na itself, are common in Old Akkadian Nuzi (Gazur), see HSS X,
I"

-~- - - -

-- __
-
~-,.....

------
~ -~

W.C. Lambert
s
For "pure" Sum
names also occur outside Sumer, such as Insusinak in Susa and Elam, meaning 'Lord
that a sizable be
of Susa'. This no doubt results from Sumerian cultural influence and does not prove
fine. Thus cylin
that Insusinak is a Sumerian god. With Babylonia the situation is different. In this
because they arE
area of the ancient world there was a general conservatism in religion, and when the
to us. This enab
Sumerian language died out and was replaced by Babylonian for daily use religion
little literature f
did not necessarily change its character. It seems that the same ideology attached
In the most
to the Sumerian sun god Utu as to his Babylonian successor Samas. The matter is
scenes of the pr
of course complicated because Akkadian had been spoken upstream from Sumer for
defender of the
many centuries before spoken Sumerian died out in Sumer, and there was a great deal
from waist to c
of cultural sharing between the two communities. Thus Samas had been worshipped
much longer ga
in Sippar for centuries while Utu was worshipped in Larsa, essentially the same god.
at the front and
In our view the Sumerian gods were from the beginning of our knowledge mainly
is uncertain due
conceived anthropomorphically. The arguments of Spycket and Jacobsen to the con-
seals and sealin
trary we find unconvincing.2 The problem for our investigation then arises that art
kilt seems to b
forms of the time did not allow a differentiation of gods by physical, facial appear-
be taken as a C
ance, as humans distinguish each other. In small-scale art this was simply impossible,
and only one fi
and even in life-size sculpture in the round the varying levels of talent among Sume-
contexts is shov
rian sculptors and the lack of any such tradition rendered this an impossibility. But
arms, frequentl~
gods were differentiated in other ways, which were well understood at the times, but
type is equally
which may present problems for us. The first obstacle for us is the lack of captions
above that, witt
generally in this part of the ancient world. The palace reliefs of some Neo-Assyrian
meant as gods,
kings' palaces do bear genuine captions, explaining what is shown on the slabs, but
one is also a gl
these seem to be an innovation. Captions on a few Babylonian boundary stones do
only rarely elsE
not normally identify the symbol by which they are located, but explain which god
a Fara sealing
it belongs to.3 There is one Babylonian text, probably of Middle Babylonian origin,
shoulders whilE
which describes in words the appearances of 27 deities, mostly minor ones,4 but it is
scenes of this I
virtually no use in trying to identify gods depicted elsewhere in this cultural area. It
the attendants
seems that the motive behind the composition of this text lay in a fascination with a
that the protec
totally unusual group of depictions. For example, it deals with no less than five dif-
more than one
ferent Labmus, not one of which is anything like the Labmu convincingly identified
represents a mi
in Akkadian and other art by F.A.M. Wiggermann.5
Thus direct evidence of the identity of depicted gods in Sumerian art is generally name for this l
names, but so .
not available. But the matter is not beyond hope. The generally illiterate character
A still mor,
of this civilization required visual substitutes for writing for most people. The same
the waist, but b
situation occurred in England when public transport between towns was provided
lacking the hin
by horse-drawn coaches which began and ended their journeys at named inns. The
(fig. 6). The Ie
names, such as "The White Swan" or "The Green Man", were indicated by painted
snakes, rise up
signs showing a white swan or a man in green clothing for the benefit of the illiter-
ate. Similarly in Sumer and later in Babylonia gods were marked by traditional iden-
6 See ED II seals
tification signs that could be recognised by the illiterate majority. of the kilt note e.l
bird's wings, also
7 Passim at Fara.
where Sumerian influence is not to be suspected.
g E.g. Fara 391.
2 See the writer in RHR 207 (1990) 122-125.
9 For the seal se(
3 F.X. Steinmetzer, Die baby/onischen Kudllrru (Grt!nzsleine) als Urkunden(orll1, 119.
similar scene of tl
4 F. Kocher, "Der babylonische Gottertypentext," MIO I (1953) 57-107. Note that due to a printing error
more usual Sumel
the number "27" has fallen out of the rubric. P. 82 line 37 should read: "27 images.
10 This figure dO(
5 "Exit Ta/iml" lEOL 27 (1981-82) 90-105.

2
 Sumerian gods: combining the evidence of texts and art

For "pure" Sumerian art, the oldest evidence is no doubt the best, but it is essential
that a sizable body of material exists, and not simply a few examples, no matter how
fine. Thus cylinder seals offer the best material for study, starting from ED II, both
because they are numerous and because there is a continuous tradition of them known
to us. This enables us to distinguish the normal from the eccentric. But there is very
little literature from the ED II period, and most of that not well understood.
In the most common ED II seal type, the so-called contest scenes, more often
scenes of the protection of domestic animals from attacks of wild felines, a frequent
defender of the domestic animals is shown with a generally human body, but covered
from waist to crotch with what might be a short kilt, and having something like a
much longer garment attached at the waist and falling almost to the feet while open
at the front and covering one leg only (fig. I). The identity of this apparent clothing
is uncertain due to the normal lack of detail in seals of this period, especially the Fara
seals and sealings, also due to variations from seal to seal. In some cases the apparent
kilt seems to be lacking (fig. 2), and the longer item (if it is ever separate) could
be taken as a bird's wings (fig. 3).6 But in ,the contexts the figure is very common
and only one figure seems to be meant. The other most common figure in the same
contexts is shown sideways as a bovine on its hind legs, but acting as a human with its
arms, frequently using a sword against lions (fig. 4).7 A third, somewhat less common,
type is equally bovine, is shown with a body sideways up to the waist, but frontally
above that, with a human face in a bovine head (fig. 5).8 These latter two are obviously
meant as gods, not humans, and from this it must be concluded that the human-looking
one is also a god. Though he is exceedingly common in 'contest scenes', he occurs
only rarely elsewhere, for example in a drinking scene ('banquet') on a seal, and on
a Fara sealing where two such figures are carrying a large jar on a pole over their
shoulders while a third is carrying other items.9 The problem arises here that drinking
scenes of this period are often considered to show human participants, in which case
the attendants would no doubt be human also.lo Despite that problem it still seems
that the protector of the domestic animals in 'contest' scenes is divine, and since
more than one of them appears on some seals (e.g. Fara 227, 229), most probably it
represents a minor god of which a plurality was conceived to exist. Very probably the
name for this being occurs in contemporary or later documents, perhaps in personal
names, but so far the present writer at least is unwilling even to hazard a guess.
A still more distinctive figure in ED 'contest' scenes is composite: human above
the waist, but below the waist instead of two legs there are two lions' bodies joined on,
lacking the hind parts of lions, so that the front parts of the animals reach the ground
(fig. 6). The leonine tails, however, remain, and they, on some occasions made into
snakes, rise up and are held in the human hands. The head of this composite figure

6 See ED II seals passim for this figure. For the kilt note e.g. Fara 232 = Berlin 75 and Fara 240. For lack
of the kilt note e.g. Fara 275 = Berlin 81. The right-hand figure in Morgan 52 could be seen as having a
bird's wings, also the frontally shown example in the lower register of Fara 419 = Berlin 128.
7 Passim at Fara.
8 E.g. Fara 391.
9 For the seal see G. Selz, Die Bankellszene (FAGS I I) no. 46, and for the sealing ibid. no. 48. In the
similar scene of the carrying of a large jar ~n the Khafiij! plaque (PKG XIV pI. 82) the bearers wear the
more usual Sumerian dress.
10 This figure does not occur on the vast majority of wall plaques and seals with drinking scenes.

3
 W.C. Lambert

may have a halo or dots. I I A closely related creature, though less common, has the Many of the ide
same general physique but two bodies of horned animals instead of lions' (Fara 385 been known, so (
(fig. 7)). Still another related creature has the two bovine bodies joined on at the waist, identifications ar
but in the opposite way: the hind parts of the two bovids stand on the ground, and as a mark of di,
they lack foreparts (Fara 392-393). All these are certainly gods and so have no place were concerned
in 'banquet' scenes. There seems to be no textual evidence providing an identification. god Utu/Samas i
With ED III there is at least one figure in 'contest' scenes for which an identifica- is marked in sev
tion can and has been proposed. He is human in form, generally nude and beardless, he holds are the
but with spikey hair (fig. 8). His function is to protect domestic animals from attacks of provided by the
wild.12 H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals p. 59, suggested that Tammuz (Dumuzi) might be rises from the m
so indicated. To save complications we shall deal only with ED III examples. Parallels and on occasion
in ED II are problematical, and the figure generally disappears in Akkadian times, they could in fat
perhaps replaced by the flat-capped hero. Frankfort's arguments were two, though of fighting gods
only adumbrated. We shall elaborate them. First, Dumuzi the shepherd is a very well more than one ~
attested Sumerian god, so depictions of a god warding off lions from attacking flocks some cases indel
or herds might represent him. Secondly, later texts allude to him as the "ever-youthful god GibillGirra
son and lover of the Mother Goddess," so the lack of beard could be meant as a mark rays of Samas 2
of identification. Frankfort was worried that the backwards projection in the second "the shining dis(
argument might result in an anachronism. He wrote in 1939, and was not a cuneiform MDP II pI. 17
scholar. The present writer accepts both arguments, and is less worried about pos- person of Sama~
sible anachronisms. While he would not go so far as T. Jacobsen to press that the period, and in tI
fourth millennium B.C. was the millennium of Tammuz,13 he accepts the picture of of Samas" (sass
Tammuz in second and first millennium copies of Tammuz texts as valid for the third not to have beer
millennium. A. Falkenstein gave the earliest occurrences of the name 'Dumuzi' and behead criminal
other names of his in CRRAI 3 (1954) 42-43, which can now be augmented from, in
particular, the ~alabTkh Zami Hymn naming dama-usum-gal and mentioning 'sheep- Kl+MIN(= tel
pen' (t U r).14 The general conservatism in ancient Mesopotamian religion encourages You are able
one to suppose that the concept of Dumuzi as the youthful lover was not invented after
2000 B.C. Here, then, is an artistic type for which an identification can be suggested. The rising of S
The cultural ferment of the Akkadian dynasty and period resulted in much more mentioned in thl
material of the kind needed for our researches, in particular in the new type of seal R. Borger, lCS
design which centers on a single god, who is identified. This new design was very over the mounta
productive in history, down to the end of the First Dynasty of Babylon, being the refer to his risin
ubiquitous Ur III and Old Babylonian 'presentation' scene (so in American English, EnkilEa is al
'introduction scene' in British English). In the Akkadian period this was not restricted is provided by S
to the arrival of a visitor or two for a god who was at home, it could be a simple In Sumerian and
representation of the god himself with his servants in attendance, or a judgment scene body of water c
before the god. Whatever the scene, the one god is meant as the centre of attention, in such context~
and is meant to be identifiable in most cases, especially with the larger and better temple VI at Er
quality seals. This contrasts with Ur III and Old Babylonian 'presentation' scenes this temple, En]
many of which have anonymous divinities, lacking marks, perhaps intentionally so
that any person could use a given seal and identify the depicted deity as his own god. IS Boehmer 324, th
clad gods carefully
II See, e.g., Fara 386. ders, Girra (?) by fI
12 See, e.g., Morgan 64, 65, 67, 69, 70-73, etc. a mountain while h,
13 The Treasures of Darkness, 21 ff. only, needed for th(
14 OIP 99215-220. 16 Fuad Safar, Moh

4
 Sumerian gods: combining the evidence of texts and art

Many of the identified gods in Akkadian seals of this type are certain, and have long
been known, so our review will concentrate on the date of the evidence from which the
identifications are taken. All gods in Akkadian art normally wear horns on their heads
as a mark of divinity, an indication that the artists, more than in previous centuries,
were concerned to make clear the identities of the figures they were depicting. The sun
god Utu/Samas is perhaps the most frequent god on seals of this kind, and his identity
is marked in several ways. The rays rising from his shoulders and the notched weapon
he holds are the simplest marks of identification, while a contextual identification is
provided by the scene in which two gates are held back by a pair of gods as Samas
rises from the mountain of the east in the morning. While the rays are obvious (fig. 9),
and on occasion also borne by a vizier standing in front of Samas (Boehmer 461 , 486),
they could in fact be confused with similar marks on the bodies of gods in the scenes
of fighting gods, as in e.g. Boehmer 294, 297, 300, 304, 307, 309, cf. 324, where
more than one god may be so marked, and where a vizier is perhaps less likely. In
some cases indeed the marks may represent fire rather than rays of light, IS and the fire
god Gibil/Girra may be meant. The present writer knows no textual mention of the
rays of Samas as symbolic identification marks. The nearest thing is the naming of
"the shining disc of the great judge Samas" (ni-ip-~u nam-ri-ru sa di-qus-gal dsamas:
MDP II pI. 17 iv 12-13). This names the later solar disc, also a substitute for the
person of Samas. The saw of Samas continued in use on seals of the Old Babylonian
period, and in that period three passages in legal texts refer to it by name: "the saw
of Samas" (sassarum sa Samas: CAD sub voce). The purpose of this weapon seems
not to have been explained so far. We suggest it was the tool of the god of justice, to
behead criminals; note a line in a hymn to NabO, known from late copies:

KI+MIN(= tete'e) sa-sar dsamas eli qur-da-me sa-ka-nu SIT 71 24

You are able to impose the saw of Samas on crooks.

The rising of Samas at dawn from the mountain where heaven and earth meet is
mentioned in the bilingual BTt Rimki series, so far only known from late copies, see
R. Borger, lCS 21 (1969) 2 Iff. There is no similar passage referring to his descent
over the mountain of the west at evening, so we take the standard Akkadian scene to
refer to his rising in the east in the morning.
Enki/Ea is an equally obvious god in these Akkadian seals. His own identification
is provided by streams of water flowing from his shoulders, often with associated fish.
In Sumerian and Akkadian texts Enki/Ea is everywhere associated with the ApsO, that
body of water conceived to exist below the earth. Fish are not normally mentioned
in such contexts, but vast quantities of fish remains were found associated with the
temple VI at Eridu (end of Obeid period), presumably offerings to the divine lord of
this temple, Enki.16 The written evidence connecting Enki/Ea with cosmic water is

15 Boehmer 324, though altogether atypical for fighting gods, importantly shows a row of five identically
clad gods carefully differentiated: Samas by rays from his shoulders, Ea by waterstreams from the shoul-
ders. Girra (7) by flames from the lower body, one by holding a fenestrated axe, one by resting a foot on
a mountain while holding a mace and aiming a bow. For the last-mentioned, the bow may be contextual
only, needed for the battle with the bird.
16 Fuad Safar, Mohammad Ali Mustafa and S. Lloyd, Eridu, 107, 110.

5
 w.G. Lambert

mostly found in tablets of the second and first millennia B.C., but the ~alablkh Zami courtier of Enlil
Hymn to him (under the name Nudimmud) mentions the ApsQ: or grain. The f(
seated god of g
ZU.AB ki kur-gallmen-nun an-ki/en dnu-te-mud za-ml The storm 1
ApsO, place of the great mountain, lordly crown of heaven and earth: marked by horn
lord Nudimmud, praise! often accompan
alP 99 47 30-32 thereby he is id
also by the HUI
The identification of the god is also confirmed by his minions. One is plainly iden- lion-griffin, whi
tified, first as a god by the horned tiara he wears, secondly as the vizier of Enki/Ea of Shalmaneser
Isimu/UsmO by his two faces (fig. to), see RIA Isimu. Though the name Isimu occurs an-zi ku-(te)).20
from the Fara tablets and onwards, the identification as vizier of Ea is only formally the lion-griffin
stated in the Middle Babylonian god list An =Anum II 283,17 though the Old Babylo- seals of the An
nian forerunner TeL xv to 98 implies the same by its sequence. The other minions as the symbolic
associated with Enki/Ea in Akkadian seals are the Labmus: nude male divinities with Other stand
triple-stranded belts around their waists and much facial hair, in particular three curls in both ED III
either side of the face. On seals they hold up 'gate-posts' and appear in other cosmic a human-like b
settings (fig. 11), see the writer in Orientalia 54 (1985) 189-202. The Sumerian myth rays suggestive
Enki and the World Order line 186 (ed. C. Benito) mentions the "50 Labmus of the mythology this
ApsO" (I a - b a - mae n g u r - r a 50- b i), a text known from Old Babylonian copies. the night, from
It is one of several passages confirming the association of the Labmus with Enki/Ea. millennium tex
The earliest evidence on this point is Gudea's Cylinder A xxiv 27, see RIA sub voce the ~aHibTkh gl
Labama-Abzu. 98-99, but ap
Other equally conspicuous deities in these Akkadian seals are those of grain or information is I
barley. They are marked by ears of barley sprouting from their bodies, or by ears of 77, with sub-m
barley held in the hand. Often they sit not an a proper stool or chair, but on what is his victory ove
meant as a pile of barley, most commonly indicated by short vertical, horizontal or ferrying of Sar
diagonal strokes (fig. 12). Unfortunately there is more than one such deity. For example Demons a pair
Boehmer no. 541 shows one seated and two standing such gods, while Boehmer no.
538 shows one seated and one standing. When one appears to be female by lack of ana-ku dasc.
a beard, in contrast with bearded deities on the same seal, and the so marked female ana-ku dasc.
is the seated deity, then it may be Nissaba. She is well known in documents of the
second and first millennia B.C. as the goddess of grain. There is the complication that I am Asalll
she is also goddess of writing and the scribal art, but the ~alabTkh Zami Hymn to her, I am Asalll
alP 99 p. 48 89-91, gives the sign for her name three times: in the first line with
determinative for places KI, so referring to her town Eresh, in the third line for her
name Nissaba, so in the second line no doubt alluding to the substance grain. Nothing
in this hymn suggests scribal activity. Unfortunately there is another grain goddess, 18 CT 24 9 35 (= .
written d(SE)+TIR, read EzinaiEzinu in Sumerian, Asnan in Akkadian. Again, most of Ezina, see J. Kr
of our evidence is from second or first millennium documents, but in this case there 19 W.G. Lambert,

is no complication of a second major aspect. She too occurs in the ~alabTkh Zami 20 Iraq 24 (1962)
21 W.G. Lambert,
Hymns, lines 102-103, but the first line is not understood. When the seated grain 22 P. Amiet, La G
deity is female, either Nissaba or Ezina is possible, and the other grain deities in the the lines from the.
scene may be courtiers or family. There is.a male deity Kusu (dk u - s u), but he is a associated plow Sl
with a netherworld
their roots from th
17 24 1644-45 = 29 94. 23 P. Mander, II P

6
 Sumerian gods: combining the evidence of texts and art

courtier of Enlil, not rarely found in incantations, and with no association with barley
or grain. The female Kusu is a name or epithet of Nissaba.18 On this information a
seated god of grain cannot be identified in the Akkadian seals.
The storm god ISkur/ Adad can be identified in the Akkadian seals, his divinity
marked by horns, and riding a lion-griffin, or in a chariot pulled by a lion-griffin. He is
often accompanied by a female divinity, generally nude. She often holds lightning, and
thereby he is identified (fig. 13). She is his wife (or daughter?) Medimsa, later known
also by the Hurrian name Sala(s).19 On some seals he holds up a whip, to drive the
lion-griffin, which is something known textually from Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions
of Shalmaneser III and Adad-nTrari III: "who carries the holy whip" (na-a-si qi/qf-na-
an-zi ku-(te.2o Anatolia of the time of the Assyrian merchant colonies confirms that
the lion-griffin is the symbolic animal of the storm god, in the depictions on cylinder
seals of the Anatolian Group, which have inherited this creature from Akkadian art
as the symbolic animal of a storm god.21
Other standard Akkadian seal scenes are not so easily explicable. The boat god,
in both ED III and Akkadian seals, is obscure. He is a boat whose prow merges into
a human-like body, and paddles the boat. A god is seated inside, once marked with
rays suggestive of the sun god Utu/Samas (fig. 24).22 From general knowledge of
mythology this might be a picture of Samas crossing the lower cosmic water during
the night, from west to east. But who is this boat god? There is in second- and first-
millennium texts a boat god Sirsir, written dBU AB with variants. He also occurs in
BU
the !?alabTkh god list23 and there is a !?alabTkh Zami Hymn to him: alP 99 p. 49,
98-99, but apart from the name the content eludes us. In Middle Babylonian texts
information is more specific. He is the 28th name of Marduk in Enuma Elis VII 70-
77, with sub-name Malab "Sailor". The emphasis of the accompanying words is on
his victory over Tiamat, though 72-73 allude to fanning. But there is no hint of the
ferrying of Samas through the netherworld each night. In Marduk's Address to the
Demons a pair of lines speaks of Marduk as celebrated in upper and lower seas:

ana-ku dasal-lu-hi sa ina ti-amti e-li-ti i-nam-bu-su d sirsir

ana-ku dasal-hi-bi sa ina ti-amti sap-li-ti u-sar-bu-su dla-gu-da
Lines 29-30, cf. AfO 17 (1954/6) 312 10-11
I am Asallubi, whom Sirsir announces in the upper sea,
I am Asallubi, whom Laguda exalts in the lower sea.

18 CT 24935 (= An = Anum [ 285). However, in contexts Kusu used for a goddess is mostly an epithet
of Ezina, see J. Krecher, SUIII. Kull/yrik 132-133.
19 W.G. Lambert, Velas TeSlal11eIlIU;Il, Supp. 40 (1988) 136-137.
20 Iraq 24 (1962) 93 3 and 26 (1985) 125.
21 W.G. Lambert, BSOAS 48 (1985) 446-447.
22 P. Amiet, La G/yplique l1uiSOpOlall1ienne archai"que2, 188-181, pis. 106-109. Amiet prefers to interpret
the lines from the shoulder of Ihe figure in the boat in his no. 1435 as ears of barley. While the frequently
associated plow suggests agriculture, as does En[ima Eli::; VII 72-73 if related, this would only connect
with a netherworld boat and netherworld ';;ater, because plants were thought to obtain nourishment through
their roots from the netherworld. It would not necessarily bear on the passenger in the boat.
23 P. Mander, II Pantheon di Abll-Slilabrkh, 25 48.

7
 w.G. Lambert

The seas here have been understood as cosmic seas, but since Laguda has connections
with the Persian Gulf,24 they would seem to be that and the Mediterranean. Thus noth-
ing of value is contributed to our inquiry. We cannot affirm that the third-millennium
boat god in art is Sirsir, though this is possible.
With yet another common Akkadian seal scene not even a possibility can be given.
The so-called 'winged gate' shows typically a recumbent bull with an oblong structure
on its back and extrusions at the top of each side of this structure. A seated god faces Fig. 1
the bull, and behind is a kneeling or standing god holding the end of a rope attached
to the oblong structure (fig. 15). Neither god has any individual mark of identification,
but the scene is clearly meant to supply this lack. Since no written source known and
understood by us mentions this mythological episode, we are in no position to make
any suggestion even.
The general conclusion is that the identification of figures in 'Sumerian' art is not
always beyond hope, but most of the relevant written sources are of later date, and
have to be handled, as we said at the beginning, from comprehensive knowledge of
both texts and art.

Figures

Fig. 1 Fara 232

Fig. 2 Fara 275 Fig. 3
Fig. 3 Morgan 52
Fig. 4 Fara 231
Fig. 5 Fara 391
Fig. 6 Fara 386
Fig. 7 Fara 385
Fig. 8 Amiet, GMA fig. 1043
Fig. 9 Ward, Seal Cylinders ... 244
Fig. 10 Ward, 294
Fig. 11 Ward, 285
Fig. 12 Ward, 378 Fig. 4
Fig. 13 Ward, 127
Fig. 14 Ward, 108 upper register only
Fig. 15 Ward, 35 I

Fig. 6

24 RIA VI 430-431

8
 Sumerian gods: combining the evidence of texts and art

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Fig. 6 Fig. 7
 W.C. Lambert

Fig. 8 Fig. 9
At the Symp
of meeting s
previously p
Natural Pher
Assyriologiq
at Nippur an
Later I discI
Holzinger ar
to depict the
she worked
mine further
Fig. 10 Fig. 11 Colbow whc
wish to cone
some conne(

The boat go,

The term "b

showing a
figure-head
Fig. 12 Fig. 13 it holds a p
a human-he
and often a
1965, pp. 7'
Steinkel
mythologic:
6), has shO\
occurs on s
represented
this scene.
to "the Su
knobbed ra
he points 0
and the "kl
Fig. 15 notes the I
Fig. 14
association
seals woul

10
 MOON, BOATS AND BATTLE

Dominique Callan

At the Symposium in honour of Thorkild Jacobsen, whom I had the great privilege
of meeting several times, I spoke about the iconography of the moon god. I had
previously presented a paper on the moon god's iconography at a colloquium on
Natural Phenomena in July 1989 (Collon 1992). The next week, at the Rencontre
Assyriologique lnternationale in Ghent, McG. Gibson lectured about his season's finds
at Nippur and included a spectacular cylinder seal depicting the moon god (Fig. 1).
Later I discussed the iconographical implications of this cylinder with E. Braun-
Holzinger and we discovered that many seals which had previously been assumed
to depict the sun god were, in fact, representations of the moon god. Subsequently
she worked up her ideas in an article published in 1993 and I too have developed
mine further (Collon 1995). The topic was also treated at the Symposium by Gudrun
Colbow whose paper is published in the present volume. In this study, therefore, I
wish to concentrate on two iconographic themes which, I had suggested, might have
some connection with the iconography of the moon god.

The boat god scene

The term "boat god" is applied to a group of late Early Dynastic and Akkadian seals
showing a figure seated in a crescent-shaped boat which has an anthropomorphic
figure-head or prow with somewhat crescent-shaped horns on its head; in its hands
it holds a paddle with which it is propelling the boat. Associated with the scene are
a human-headed sphinx-like quadruped (generally leonine), a plough, a large vessel
and often a scorpion (Amiet 1980a, 177-181, Nos 1405-1448, 1493-1506; Boehmer
1965, pp. 79-82, Tf. XL; Figs 2-6).
Steinkeller has stated that, with fifty attestations, "This is by far the most common
mythological scene that is documented on Third millennium seals". Furlong (1987, p.
6), has shown that a third of all Early Dynastic representations of horned head-dresses
occurs on scenes depicting the boat god and it is clear that in these cases deities are
represented. Frankfort (1939, pp. 67-70, 108-10) is ambivalent as to the meaning of
this scene. He describes it under the heading "The Sun-goer and refers throughout
to "the Sun-god's boat", but he then cites a representation of a seated god with
knobbed rays rising from his shoulders and holding a sickle-shaped blade (Fig. 2);
he points out that these "rays" had been interpreted by Mrs. van Buren as vegetation,
and the "knife" could be a sickle, so that this might be a vegetation god. Frankfort
notes the prominence of the moon. and stars in the scene but "an accumulation of
associations with agriculture" inclined him to reject an interpretation whereby such
seals would depict the "journey of the slln during the night" in favour of a chthonic

II
 MOON, BOATS AND BATTLE

Dominique Callan

At the Symposium in honour of Thorkild Jacobsen, whom I had the great privilege
of meeting several times, I spoke about the iconography of the moon god. I had
previously presented a paper on the moon god's iconography at a colloquium on
Natural Phenomena in July 1989 (Coli on 1992). The next week, at the Rencontre
Assyriologique Internationale in Ghent, McG. Gibson lectured about his season's finds
at Nippur and included a spectacular cylinder seal depicting the moon god (Fig. I).
Later I discussed the iconographical implications of this cylinder with E. Braun-
Holzinger and we discovered that many seals which had previously been assumed
to depict the sun god were, in fact, representations of the moon god. Subsequently
she worked up her ideas in an article published in 1993 and I too have developed
mine further (Coli on 1995). The topic was also treated at the Symposium by Gudrun
Col bow whose paper is published in the present volume. In this study, therefore, I
wish to concentrate on two iconographic themes which, I had suggested, might have
some connection with the iconography of the moon god.

The boat god scene

The term "boat god" is applied to a group of late Early Dynastic and Akkadian seals
showing a figure seated in a crescent-shaped boat which has an anthropomorphic
figure-head or prow with somewhat crescent-shaped horns on its head; in its hands
it holds a paddle with which it is propelling the boat. Associated with the scene are
a human-headed sphinx-like quadruped (generally leonine), a plough, a large vessel
and often a scorpion (Amiet 1980a, 177-181, Nos 1405-1448, 1493-1506; Boehmer
1965, pp. 79-82, Tf. XL; Figs 2-6).
Steinkeller has stated that, with fifty attestations, "This is by far the most common
mythological scene that is documented on Third millennium seals". Furlong (1987, p.
6), has shown that a third of all Early Dynastic representations of horned head-dresses
occurs on scenes depicting the boat god and it is clear that in these cases deities are
represented. Frankfort (J 939, pp. 67-70, 108-10) is ambivalent as to the meaning of
this scene. He describes it under the heading "The Sun-gael' and refers throughout
to "the Sun-god's boat", but he then cites a representation of a seated god with
knobbed rays rising from his shoulders and holding a sickle-shaped blade (Fig. 2);
he points out that these "rays" had been interpreted by Mrs. van Buren as vegetation,
and the "knife" could be a sickle, so that this might be a vegetation god. Frankfort
notes the prominence of the moon an.d stars in the scene but "an accumulation of
associations with agriculture" inclined him to reject an interpretation whereby such
seals would depict the "journey of the sun during the night" in favour of a chthonic

11
 Dominique Callan

interpretation: "In view of all these associations the scene seems to have some definite rays are solar de
relationship with the earth's fertility and seems not to depict the sun's diurnal or yearly interpreted as th
voyage". Amiet (1980a, p. 177) draws attention to the serpentine form of the boat and scenes a defeate,
particularly its snake-like stern: "Le corps ophidien indique un caractere chtonien, qui rises behind the
s'accorde bien avec la vegetation evoquee par Ie rameau brandi par Ie dieu et avec the sun god risir
les fiots poissonneux sur lesquels il navigue." Steinkeller, citing a forthcoming study is also shown ri
by D. Frayne, opts for the identification of the boat god's passenger as the sun god see also Fig. 11
and supports his argument by a lengthy discussion of the identity of the sphinx-like the battle betwe(
monster with the EREN+X (Steinkeller 1992, pp. 257-267). also possible to
Proven anced seals with this motif are not from Sumer but are predominantly from moon have, in t
central Mesopotamia (Furlong 1987, p. 6; the Diyala and Hamrin Basins - 14, Kish - such scenes a th
4, and Mari - 3, Ur - 1, Tello? - I,Fara - 2 impressions which would presumably have god placing his
arrived on goods from elsewhere). Steinkeller (1992, pp. 246, 247) has stressed that his arms hangin
"no connections between the mythological motifs and extant Sumerian compositions the other wing-tl
have so far been successfully demonstrated" and that "mythological narrative motifs are, however, m
are exceedingly rare in Sumerian art". However, he makes the point that what he calls p. 46). We need
"The sun-god in his boat" is "the only mythological motif of undeniably narrative Jacobsen and inl
character that can be dated to presargonic times" (Steinkeller 1992, p. 256; but cf. for
example Amiet 1980, No. 1389 in which another presargonic myth is depicted).
Although the cosmic and agricultural connections of the theme seem clear, there Bibliography
are indications that the boat god might be the vehicle of the moon god. First, rays
rising from the shoulder(s) of the passenger god on some examples - both Early Amiet, P., 1980a:
Dynastic and Akkadian (Figs 2 and 6) - are known to be the attribute of the sun god Amiet, P., 1980b
and, as has now been demonstrated (Braun-Holzinger 1993; Collon 1992), of the moon Porada, E., A
Boehmer, R. M.,
god also (see, for example, Fig. II where the sun god with his knife follows the moon
Braun-Holzinger,
god with his mace); it is likely, therefore, that it is one of these two deities which is
lahrtausends
depicted. Secondly, there is the fact of the boat itself: the moon god is associated with
Collon, D., 1992:
a boat both in texts and on seals (Figs 8-10). Thirdly, the horned head-dresses of the their meaninl
boat god and his passenger and attendants are often clearly crescent-shaped (e.g. on Collon, D., 1995:
Fig. 2). Fourthly, a crescent moon or crescent standard are frequently associated with Frankfort, H., 193
the scene (Figs 2-5). I should therefore like to propose that in some, if not all, cases Furlong, 1., 1987:
the journey of the moon god is depicted. The sphinx-like creature, which invariably Arehaeologie
moves in the same direction, might indeed (as proposed by Steinkeller - see above) Gibson, MeG. ane
represent the sun god, and the plough, vessel and scorpion would depict the earth's sition: Repofl
fertility which depends on the orderly succession of day and night. I would further pp. 1-39
Steinkeller, P., 19
like to suggest that the theme of the moon god in a boat might go back to Late Uruk
motifs." Lito
times: a seal from Choga Mish (Fig. 7) shows a figure seated on an bull-shaped throne
pp. 243-75
or attribute animal, he holds a mace and a figure behind him holds a crescent standard.
Later, boat, bull, mace, and crescent are all attributes of the moon god (see Collon,
1995).

The "battle of the gods"

This subject is restricted to transitional Early Dynastic-to-Akkadian and Akkadian

seals (Boehmer 1965, pp. 49-59, Tf. XXV -XXIX). If we admit that not all gods with

12
 Moon, boats and battle

rays are solar deities, then scenes depicting battles involving deities with rays could be
interpreted as the defeat of night by day. It is perhaps significant that in many of the
scenes a defeated god without rays is seated on a mountain. In Mesopotamia, the sun
rises behind the Zagros mountains and this is illustrated in numerous seals depicting
the sun god rising between two mountains. As has been demonstrated, the moon god
is also shown rising between two mountains (Braun-Holzinger L993; Collon 1992;
see also Fig. II where he climbs a mountain). It would therefore be logical to see
the battle between day and night as taking pLace behind the mountains. However, it is
also possible to see the defeated god as a mountain god which both the sun and the
moon have, in turn, to defeat. This would seem the more plausible explanation for
such scenes a those illustrated by Figs LL to L4, and Fig. 11 actually shows the sun
god placing his foot on the shoulder of a defeated god who kneels on one knee with
his arms hanging on either side (note the lion's head emerging from the bottom of
the other wing-topped mountain - perhaps a version of the leonine monster?). There
are, however, many other possible interpretations of such scenes (e.g. Amiet 1980b,
p. 46). We need textual evidence, and scholars to follow in the footsteps of Thorkild
Jacobsen and interpret it for us.

Bibliography

Amiet, P., 1980a: La Glyptique mesopotamienne archa(que, Paris

Amiet, P., 1980b: "The mythological repertory in cylinder seals of the Agade period". In
Porada, E., Ancient art in seals, Princeton, Nl, pp. 35-59
Boehmer, R. M., J 965: Die Entwicklung der Glyptik wiihrend der Akkad-Zeit, Berlin
Braun-Holzinger, E. A., 1993: "Die Ikonographie des Mondgottes in der Glyptik des Ill.
lahrtausends v. Chr.", Zeitschrijt fiir Assyriologie 83, pp. 119-135
Collon, D., 1992: "The Near Eastern moon god". In Meijer, D. 1. W., Natural phenomena,
their meaning, depiction and description in the Ancient Near East, Amsterdam
Collon, D., 1995: s.v. "Mondgott. B", Reallexikon der Assyriologie 8/5-6, pp. 371-6
Frankfort, H., 1939: Cylinder seals, London
Furlong, 1., 1987: Divine headdresses of Mesopotamia in the Early Dynastic period (British
Archaeological Reports International Series 334), Oxford
Gibson, McG. and McMahon, A., 1995: "Investigation of the Early Dynastic-Akkadian tran-
sition: Report of the 18th and 19th seasons of excavation in Area WF, Nippur", Iraq 57,
pp. 1-39
Steinkeller, P., 1992: "Early Semitic literature and third millennium seals with mythological
motifs." Literature and literary language at Ebla (Quaderni di Semitistica 18), Florence,
pp. 243-75

13
 Dominique Collon

Illustrations

With the exception of Fig. I, the drawings are by the author; they are not to scale. The
photographs are I: I except for Fig. II and are reproduced courtesy of the British, Berlin and
Iraq museums respectively.

Figures

Fig. Drawing of one of two seals found in an Akkadian grave at Nippur. Reproduced
with the kind permission of McGuire Gibson and Augusta McMahon (Gibson and
McMahon 1995, Fig. 13: I). The moon god, identified by a crescent on his horned
head-dress, stands between two mountains with a tripod stand before him. Bright
green marble with white veins; 3.2 x 1.9 cm.
Fig. 2 Upper register of an Early Dynastic seal (after Amiet 1980, No. 1435). Berlin VA
2952; shell; 5.05 (total height) x 1.77 cm.
Fig. 3 Upper register of an Early Dynastic seal (after Amiet 1980, No. 1777). Private col-
lection.
Fig. 4 Early Dynastic seal (after Amiet 1980, No. 1780). Louvre AO 18356.
Fig. 5 Late Early Dynastic seal (after Amiet 1980, No. 1440). Pierpont Morgan Library No.
J 26; pinkish marble; 2.2 x 1.6 cm.
Fig. 6 Akkadian seal. British Museum WA 134762; serpentinite; 4.05 x 2.61 cm.
Fig. 7 Late Uruk seal impression on a ball-shaped bulla excavated at Choga Mish (after
Amiet 1980a, No. 1669).
Fig. 8Cappadocian bulla from Killtepe (after N. Ozgilc,: in K. Eillie et al. (eds), Studies ill
honour of Tahsin Ozgii{:, Ankara 1989, Pis 108:4 and 109:4).
Fig. 9 Cappadocian seal. British Museum WA 22963; haematite; 2.1 x 1.4 cm.
Fig. 10 Detail of a Middle Assyrian seal from Samsat (after N. Ozgilc,:, Bel/eten 5 1/200 (1987),
No. 13).
Fig. II Akkadian seal from Ur (PG/699; U.5950). Iraq Museum; dark green stone; 3.6 x 2.4
cm.
Fig. 12 Akkadian seal from Ur. British Museum WA 116586; black and white speckled diorite;
3.64 x 2.42 cm.
Fig. 13 Akkadian seal. Berlin VA 2572; serpentinite; 2.8 x 1.3 cm.
Fig. 14 Akkadian seal (after Boehmer 1965, Abb. 304; Steinkeller 1992, PI. 7 Fig. 3). Louvre
AO 2128; serpentinite; 4.0 x 2.5 cm.

Fig. :

14
 Moon, boats and battle

Fig. 1, 2, 3, 4
 Dominique Callan

\ I

8 9 10

Fig. 6, 7, 7, 8, 9, 10 Fig

16
 Moon, boats and battle

Fig. 11, 12, 13, 14

 MORE INSIGHTS INTO REPRESENTATIONS OF THE MOON
GOD IN THE THIRD AND SECOND MILLENNIUM B.C.'

Gudrun Colbow

Unfortunately I never met the person in whose memory this symposium was held, but
I offer here some remarks on one of his favourite subjects, Sumerian gods.

Introduction

Based on the material collected by E.A. Braun-Holzinger in her article about the
moon god2 and on my own collection of Old Babylonian seals and impressions, a
diachronic summary of the moon god's representations in the late third and the early
second millennium is given here.
J will add some further observations to Braun-Holzinger's ideas about the moon
god in the Early Dynastic and the Akkadian periods.
Furthermore I will try to show that the Neo-Sumerian crescent standard is a true
representative for the moon god in his anthropomorphic forms.
I also will try to sketch the evolution of the moon god's representations in the Old
Babylonian period, because these are rather cursorily treated in Braun-Holzinger's
article.

In contrast to many other gods the moon god is described in cuneiform writing by two
different signs or sign combinations which were meant to express different readings
of his name. The spelling dSES.KI for Nanna, and the spelling dEN.ZU, read Su'en or
in its later form SIn offered two possibilities to the ancient Mesopotamian scribes to
designate the moon god in written documents. Even though Nanna and Su'en appear

, The abbreviations used here are mainly following those given in RIA Bd. 7, (Mtinchen 1987-1990).
The following abbreviations are not listed there: BIA = Institute of Archaeology Bulletin, London; F.
Blocher, Siegelabrollungen BM = F. Blocher, Siegelabrollungen auf fi-uhaLtbabyLonischen Tontafeln ill1
British Museum. Ein Katalog. Mtinchener Vorderasiatische Studien 10, (Mtinchen 1992). B. Buchanan,
Ashmolean I = B. Buchanan, Catalogue of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,
(1966). D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals II = D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British
Museum - Cylinder Seals II, Akkadian - Post Akkadian - Vr III Periods, (London 1982). D. Collon,
BM Cylinder Seals III = D. Collon, Catalogue of the Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum -
CyLinder Seals Ill, IsinlLarsa and Old Babylonian Periods, (London 1986); L. Gailani, Regional Styles
= L. alGailani Werr, Studies in the Chronology and Regional Style of Old Babylonian Cylinder Seals,
BiMes 23, (Malibu 1988); aBO = Orbis biblicus et orientalis, Gottingen/Fribourg; B. Teissier, Marcopoli
Collection = B. Teissier, Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals from the Marcopoli Collection, (Berkeley
1984). I would like to thank Dr. Donald Matthews for his corrections and the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation which has financed a research stay in "Belgium in the course of which this paper was written.
2 E.A. BraunHolzinger, Die Ikonographie des Mondgottes in der Glyptik des III. lahrtausends v. Chr.,
ZA 83 (1993) 119-133.

19
 Gudrun Colbow

servant of thi
side by side in the earliest god-lists,3 the persistence of two different ways of writing
(Fig. 4). Furt
may have promoted a feeling for the complex nature of the moon god.
the first one
her name is r
The Early Dynastic Period different, no (
identify one f
Unfortunately no anthropomorphic representation of the moon god has been handed in the time 01
down to us from the period when this god was first mentioned. On Early Dynastic the same En-j
seals we have a few representations of crescent standards combined with animal com- to whom thei
bat scenes, collected by E.A. Braun-Holzinger.4 One of these scenes originates from Two striki
Nippur,5 and is of particular interest (Fig. 1). It not only presents a crescent standard although the I
beneath an animal combat, but also a scorpion between the struggling animals. The never really 1
difficulty in interpreting such Early Dynastic scenes emerges from the fact that con- gods, since tt
trary to the crescent standard, the scorpion is not known to have been a divine symbol hands.12
at this early period. On the other hand the combination of a crescent standard and a Secondly
scorpion is so frequent on seals and seal impressions from the late third and the early explain the fa
second millennium B.C} that I do not believe this can be coincidence. Apparently is rendered in
then a special connection between the symbol of the crescent standard and that of the The god \
scorpion existed in this early period. Later this relationship seems to have developed crescent stand
into a fixed and well-defined motif within seal designs, especially in those related to the god with
the moon god. of the god WI
standardizatio
scenes and pc
The Akkadian Period the pennant ('
Perhaps tt
Anthropomorphic representations of the moon god with specific attributes appeared
Apart from E
for the first time during the Akkadian Period. As E.A. Braun-Holzinger pointed out,
Sumerian and
at least three different types of illustration existed: 7
Dynasty of U
_ A god wearing a crescent on the top of his crown (Fig. 2);
gives in the J
_ An armed god in ascending posture frequently holding a crescent standard
be true for a;
(Fig. 3); irreversible aJ
_ A god with or without weapons in close proximity to a pennant ("Wimpel")-
period, which
standard (Fig. 4). for one's seal
different icon~
As Braun-Holzinger suggested, the figure's equipment with weapons could signify the
aspect of the moon god as the tutelary god of his town Ur.s It is remarkable that on a
seal owned by a servant of the En-priestess En-men-anna, the god with the crescent 10 Ibid. no. 7.
II According to ,
symbol on his crown is shown9 (Fig. 2), whilst on a second one owned by another as SAL.NUNUZ.
273 Naramstn C
12 Cf. R.M. Boel
13 This is proven
3 R.D. Biggs, Inscriptions from Tell Abu Salabikh, OIP 99 (1974) no. 82-90. P. Mander, II pantheon di
the pennant-stane
Abu $alabrkh, (Neapel 1986), xx. 14 We assume th
4 E.A. Braun-Holzinger, ZA 83 (1993), 120. no evidence whic
5 L. Legrain, The Culture of the Baby/onians in their Seals, PBS 14 (1925) no. 68. 15 Cf. E.A. Brau
6 L. Delaporte, CCL II (1920) Taf. 114, fig. 2a12b; B. Buchanan, Ashmolean I no. 470, no. 473, no. 542; his crown) no. 4
D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals II, no. 362, no. 563. 16 A. Sjoberg, M
7 E.A. Braun-Holzinger, ZA 83 (1993), 120-127. 17 H. Behrens, E
8 [bid., 125. 274.
9 Ibid. no. 2.

20
 More insights into representation of the moon god

servant of this priestess, the god with the pennant ("Wimpel")-standard is depicted 10
(Fig. 4). Furthermore there are significant differences between both seal legends. In
the first one the priestess' genealogy and title are given, whilst in the second only
her name is referred to. In spite of both main figures and the seals in general being
different, no conclusive explanation for these variants can be offered. One can hardly
identify one form as Sin and the other as Nanna, because Sin and Nanna are identical
in the time of Naram-Sin.11 On the other hand it is astonishing that two servants of
the same En-priestess of Nanna chose as seal designs two different types of the god
to whom their mistress was related.
Two striking aspects of the god with the pennant standard must be stressed. Firstly,
although the pennant standard is always depicted in close connection to him, the god
never really takes the pennant standard in his hand. This is unusual for Akkadian
gods, since they, if rendered with an attribute, normally grasp it with their uplifted
hands.12
Secondly the god himself can be depicted as an adorant of another god.13 J cannot
explain the fact that a high-ranked god like himl4 worships another god and therefore
is rendered in an inferior position.
The god with the crescent symbol on the top of his crown and the god with the
crescent standard largely resemble each other. On the basis of the existing evidencel5
the god with the crescent standard can be described as one of the standing variants
of the god with the crescent on the top of his crown. In as far as one can observe
standardization in Akkadian glyptic, both of these figures appear in rather standardized
scenes and positions. The difference between the last-named gods and the god with
the pennant ("Wimpel") standard cannot be understood.
Perhaps the amalgamation of Nanna and Sin began first in the Akkadian period.
Apart from En-men-anna's titles all the other texts pointing to the identity of the
Sumerian and the Akkadian moon god are at the earliest to be dated to the Third
Dynasty of Ur. This is the result of cautiously interpreting the hints which Sjoberg
gives in the introduction to his study about the moon god,16 and the same might
be true for another text published by H. Behrens.17 Hence, in literary sources an
irreversible amalgamation of Sin and Nanna had not developed before the Ur III
period, which could have left for the Akkadian period the possibility of choosing
for one's seal design several different iconographical forms of the moon god, with
different iconological meanings.

10 Ibid. no. 7.
II According to an Old Babylonian copy of an Akkadian votive inscription En - men - a n - n a is described
as SAL.NUNUZ.z1 -dN[annal, DAM-dN[annal, and EN-dEN.z[UI (U. Gelb/B. Kienast, FAOS 7 (1990),
273 Naramsln C 16 II. 6-9).
12 Cf. R.M. Boehmer, EGAZ, passim and D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals II, passim.
13 This is proven by the seal design D. Collon, RIA 8/3-4 cf. Mondgott B Fig. 7, in which the god with
the pennant-standard is depicted together with a weather god adoring a sitting god.
14 We assume that the god with the pennant-standard can be identified with the moon god, and we have
no evidence which contradicts this hypothesis.
15 Cf. E.A. Braun-Holzinger, ZA 83 (1993) no. I - no. 3 (god with a crescent attachment at the top of
his crown) no. 4 - no. 6 (god with crescent standard).
16 A. Sjoberg, Nallna-Su'en in der sumerischen Oberliejerung. I. Teil: Texte. (Uppsala 1960), 10f.
17 H. Behrens, Enlil und Ninlil. Ein sumerischer My/hos aus Nippur. Studia Pohl: Series Maior 8, (1978),
274.

21
 Gudrun Colbow

or two worshipp
The Neo-Sumerian Period
representative of
Dealing with the representations of the moon god in the Neo-Sumerian period E.A. On a calcite
Braun-Holzinger states that figures of armed gods (and even of gods without particular standard, a scorp
attributes) appearing on seals belonging to personnel of the moon god's temple at Ur standard and the
were meant to represent the moon god. On the other hand, the crescent standard the context the s
depicted as an emblemls features the moon god generally as protector of the seal true the whole s,
owner. According to E.A. Braun-Holzinger the crescent standard in this group of embodying the p
glyptic artefacts is furthermore often represented out of context for the respective This type of
seal design. Seal designs showing the crescent standard as a filling element could be Babylonian seal
worshipping a cr
unrelated to the moon god.
In general this might be true, but in my view some of the Neo-Sumerian examples that the seal-owr
cited could modify Braun-Holzinger's hypotheses. Among the seal designs collected 8). Another seal
in her article there are, for instance, three presentation scenes in front of standing inscription,25 and
gods originating from Ur.19 These can be described as processions of worshippers nearby.26
approaching a male divine figure.20 Close to this god appears a crescent standard on a A seal impre:
large pole (Fig. 5). Even though the god in the better preserved designs patently does standard among (
not touch this symbol, the crescent standard can be considered as being his attribute, standards or cres
which characterizes him in some way or another. from Larsa and f
The garment of the god in these Neo-Sumerian illustrations is closed and plain. The above-m
It covers both legs and bears a horizontal fringed hem at its lower edge as its single a divine symbol,
adornment. This resembles the robe worn by the Old Babylonian god with the crescent and Old Babylon
standard, but this type of garment was neither in the Neo-Sumerian period nor in Old ated forms of a I
Babylonian times a type of cloth regularly used for gods. Obviously it was attributed to and because the
certain gods as, for example, the moon god, who was also characterized by the crescent figure type as th<
standard. The same is true for the hairstyle of the gods on the above-mentioned Neo- both sorts of corr
Sumerian seals. It is formed as a horizontal pigtail with bifurcated ends. It is also Most of thes
related to particular gods who occasionally appear, on seals and seal impressions from worshippers facir
the end of the third and the beginning of the second millennium. Like the garment, In my opinion the
the hairstyle is not only attributed to the Neo-Sumerian but also to an Old Babylonian scene before the
form of the god with the crescent standard. Therefore I would assume that gods in
22 Ibid. no. 363.
close connection to a crescent standard, with dress and hairstyle similar to the figures 23 For the bird beino-
on the Neo-Sumerian seals from Ur, might be true representations of the moon god. 14
- D. Collon, EM Cy'"
Furthermore the Neo-Sumerian figures can be regarded as the prototypes of the Old 2S U. Moortgat-Corre
ner Jahrbuch der bild
Babylonian figure of the god with the crescent standard. 26 Up to now the pro
The crescent standard itself is in Neo-Sumerian times often depicted as a mere from the art market w
symbol forming the central element of a seal design, which is composed from two design and because t~
locate them in or arol
figures facing each other and greeting the symbol21 (Fig. 6). Judging from the direction
of the figures and from their greeting gestures made towards the crescent standard ~; ~B;~c1~:;I~~:~,e~
the whole scene can be interpreted as a veneration of the crescent standard by one im Vorderasiatischen
29 Braun-Holzinger's
IS Emblems are objects mounted on poles which occupy the whole height of the seal design. Filling on the observation th
elements take just half of the height. also based on the hyp
19 L. Legrain, UE 10 (1951) no. 511, no. 516, no. 523. god they or their mas
20 This is against the interpretation of L. Legrain,.who thinks the main figure on no. 5 II is a bare-headed and the correctness 0
worshipper and the main figure of no. 524 is probabiy a goddess. of the moon god in ~
21 Cf. Legrain, UE 10 no. 488, no. 489, no. 492, no. 509, no. 510, no. 512 - no. 514, no. 518. E. van can hardly be separatt
Buren, AnOr 21 (1959) no. 81. D. Collon, EM Cylinder Seals II (1982) no. 359 - no. 361. Sin in Neo-Sumerian

22
 More insights into representation of the moon god

\
or two worshippers. Within this scene this symbol can therefore be identified as a
representative of the moon god.
On a calcite seal from Ur only one adorant is depicted in front of a crescent )
standard, a scorpion and a bird22 (Fig. 7). Two of the symbols shown, i.e. the crescent :-
..J t..-"vv'\...
standard and the bird, are representatives of the moon god and his wife.23 In view of )
the context the scorpion might also be the representative of a certain god. If this is
true the whole scene might be interpreted as an adoration of three divine emblems
embodying the persons of the moon god, his wife and a hitherto unidentified god.
This type of illustration continues during the Old Babylonian period. On an Old
Babylonian seal originating from Ur or from its closest environments an adorant is
worshipping a crescent standard set up beside the seal inscription, which informs us
that the seal-owner was a merchant named Adad-bani, the son of Nur-Adad24 (Fig.
8). Another seal from the art market bears the same scene and the same type of
inscription,25 and the profession mentioned suggests that both seals come from Ur or
nearby.26
A seal impression from Sippar dated to the reign of Apil-Sin shows the crescent
standard among other divine symbolsY Combinations of crescent standards and disk
standards or crescent-and-dot standards occur on Old Babylonian terracotta plaques
from Larsa and ASSUr.28
The above-mentioned examples prove that the crescent standard was regarded as
a divine symbol and that acts of venerating it were well represented in Neo-Sumerian
and Old Babylonian seals and seal impressions. Because in Near Eastern art abbrevi-
ated forms of a motif usually bear the same meaning as full length representations,
and because the worshippers on both sides of the crescent standard are of the same
figure type as the single adorant in front of this emblem, there can be no doubt that
both sorts of compositions were meant to represent the same ideas.
Most of these scenes originate from Ur. Seals from other sites depicting two
worshippers facing each other and greeting a crescent standard are not known as yet.
In my opinion these compositions therefore reflect a special local form of the adoration
scene before the moon god.29 A few seals from other sites show two worshippers on

22 Ibid. no. 363.

23 For the bird being a symbol of Ningal see the article of P. Steinkeller, forthcoming.
24 D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals III, no. 623.
25 U. Moortgat-Correns, Altorientalische Rollsiegel in der staat lichen Miinzsammlung in Miinchen. MUnch-
ner lahrbuch der bildenden Kunst, 3. Folge, Vol. VI (1955) no. 9.
26 Up to now the profession dam - gar is only mentioned on seals from Ur, from Sippar or on examples
from the art market without provenance. Because the examples cited above do not bear a North Babylonian
design and because the one in the British Museum was brought in to Woolley's excavation at Ur, I would
locate them in or around Ur.
27 F. Blocher, Siegelabrollungen BM, no. 180.
28 M. Th. BatTelet, BAH 85 (1968) no. 549-552 (Larsa); E. Klengel-Brandt, Die Terrakotlen aus Assllr
im Vorderasiatischen Museum Berlin, (Berlin 1978), no. 773 (Assur).
29 Braun-Holzinger's interpretation of armed gods and of gods without attributes as moon gods are based
on the observation that a god without attributes occurs more often in Ur than in Umma and Lagas. It is
also based on the hypothesis that the temple personnel and their servants prefer to depict on their seals the
god they or their masters are related to. For the Neo-Sumerian period the significance of her observation
and the correctness of this hypothesis has still to be proven. To my mind Neo-Sumerian representations
of the moon god in his anthropomorphic form a;'e so few in number that different iconographical types
can hardly be separated. As I tried to show above, it is likewise impossible to discern the gods Nanna and
SIn in Neo-Sumerian texts. Therefore no identification of the Neo-Sumerian moon god can be offered.

23
 Gudrun Colbow

both sides of a vessel with a plant and a crescent standard close to the vessel, occupying dress this sh:
the full height of the seal design. Because the existing examples from other sites than warrior gods
Ur are very few in number, they may have come to Nippur and Tello as imported not known v
objects with or without their owners.30 A rather
Unfortunately the seal designs showing the worshipping of a crescent standard do god is a gOI
not bear any hint of a possible connection with the cult either of Nanna or of Su'en. garment and
Regarding their dating one cannot expect that there was still a differentiation between seal impress
the two gods. In any case these representations support the fact that the moon god Beneath a w
did not have to be present personally to be worshipped in a cultic context. second one i
This observation is confirmed by textual sources, in which it is evident that the impressions
"weapon" (giStuk u I) and the "emblem" (surinnu) of the moon god were considered as moon god
as his representatives. In the presence of these symbols legally binding juridical acts remains doul
1
were performed as if they were taking place in front of the god's statue itself.3 god is once
added to the
moon god w
The Old Babylonian Period between the
between the
In Old Babylonian glyptic an anthropomorphic figure of a god holding a crescent can likewise
standard in his uplifted hand can be observed. This figure comprises a main type and In this c
several variants. Besides this form there existed another anthropomorphic one with a his left hane
crescent-and-disk-standard as its attribute. Apart from these, symbolic representations (Fig. 13). Af
in the form of a crescent standard (as already cited in the Neo-Sumerian section) can grasps acre:
be demonstrated. late Old Bat
The characteristic feature of the god with the crescent standard is a long plain or are engravec
flounced garment, which covers both legs. Figures of this kind appear on a seal from a rendering as
servant of Bur-Sin of Isin32 (Fig. 9) and on seal impressions from Sippar dating from increase in ~
the reigns of Sin-muballit and of Hammurapi33 (Fig. 10) as well as on seals from the In this c
art market.34 The god usually grasps the crescent standard, and occasionally he wears tioned.44 In I
a crescent-shaped attachment on top of his crown. god. It even
A small variant of this figure wears a slashed skirt instead of the closed dress this context
covering both legs. This garment permits the god's leg to protrude from the skirt. Up Few rene
to now this variant has only been attested on seals from the art market,35 but a dated from the hisl
and provenienced example of the above-named type is preserved on an identical figure
of a god with a crescent on his crown (Fig. 11).36 Because of the modification of the 37 E. Porada, J
38 L. al-Gailan
39 Cf. C. Wild
30 L. Legrain, PBS 14 (1925) no. 169 (Nippur), A. Parrot, Glyptique lIuisopotamienne. Fouilles de Lagash 40 D. Charpin,
(Tello) et de Larsa (Senkereh) (1931-1933), (Paris 1954), no. 42 (Tello). pantheon of Ur
31 Cf. D. Charpin, Le clerge d'Ur au sieC/e d'Hammurabi, (Geneve/Paris 1986), 326f. F. Delitzsch, VS IX belonging to EI
(1909) No. 130 = M. Schorr, UAZP (1913) No. 187, V. Scheil, RA 25 (1928) Text S. 43 Z.4, Finkelstein, 41 B. Buchanar
CT 48 (1968) No.2 = H.M. Klimmel, OLZ 68 (1973) S. 466 Z. I Iff. 42 Cf. Parallels
32 L. al-Gailani, BIA 17 (1980) 39, line 4. E. Klengel-Bral
33 E. Klengel-Brandt, AoF 16 (1989) no. 14b (Sinm, Sippar) and no. 62 (Ham 36, Sippar). 18).
34 L. Delaporte, CCL II (1920), pI. 94 no. 25; H.H. von der Osten, OIP 22 (1934) no. 256; B. Buchanan, 43 Compare fOl
Yale (1981) no. 908. dilana (one fron
35 L. Delaporte, CCL II (1920) A 317; E. van Buren, AnOr 21 (1940) no. 33; O.E. Ravn, Oriental Cylinder the time of San
Seals and Impressions in the Danish National.Museum, (Kopenhagen 1960), no. 63; B Buchanan, Yale even if it is ta
(1981) no. 725 (Babylonian); no. I 100 and no. 1122 (Old Assyrian); D. Collon, EM Cylinder Seals III rari ty of seated
no. 381, B. Teissier, Marcopoli Collection, 198. no. 402 and no. 403 (Old Assyrian). impressions fro
36 L. al-Gailani, Regional Styles, no. 197B (Sinm, Sippar). 44 A. Parrot, M

24
I More insights into representation of the moon god

dress this shape resembles more closely the figures of Samas or of the Old Babylonian
warrior gods than that of the popular moon god with the crescent standard, but it is
not known whether the variant just described is a regional or a chronological one.
A rather remarkable variant of the current Old Babylonian form of the moon
god is a god mounted on crossed bulls. This figure is dressed in a long flounced
garment and holds a crescent standard in its uplifted hand. It is best illustrated by a
seal impression on a Sippar tablet from Samsu-iluna's third regnal year37 (Fig. 12).
Beneath a worshipping scene with the moon god on two crossed bulls there occurs a
second one in front of an unidentified god, and similarly two gods appearing on seal
impressions from Sippar and from an unknown site should perhaps also be identified
as moon gods on bulls.38 Both are marked by a crescent symbol on their crowns, but it
remains doubtful if they are grasping a crescent standard. In these representations the
god is once represented as the counterpart of a nude hero and once as a single figure
added to the motif of a triumphing king in front of !Star. Both contexts would fit the
moon god well. According to Old Babylonian texts there existed a close relationship
between the moon god Sin and his daughter !Star.39 On the other hand connections
between the moon god and Enki/Ea, the god to whom the naked hero is attributed,
can likewise be demonstrated for the Old Babylonian period.4o
In this context the figure of a seated god grasping a short crescent standard in
his left hand and placing his feet on a recumbent bull41 should also be mentioned
(Fig. 13). As with the previously-mentioned figures, this god wears a flounced dress,
grasps a crescent standard, and is attached to a bull. The seal seems to be of a very
late Old Babylonian date because the participants in the libation in front of the god
are engraved in a rich and detailed manner.42 This late date could explain the god's
rendering as a seated figure, because representations of seated figures began to re-
increase in glyptic representations during the reign of Samsu-ditana.43
In this context the Neo-Sumerian wall painting from Mari should also be men-
tioned.44 In my opinion the bull behind the seated moon god is closely related to the
god. It even shares the mountain pattern forming the god's seat. Therefore the bull in
this context might have symbolized a certain aspect of the moon god's personality.
Few renderings which just show crescent standards related to bulls have survived
from the historical periods under consideration. A terracotta relief from Nippur shows

37 E. Porada, lNES 16 (1968), 196, Fig. 5.

38 L. al-Gailani, Regional Styles, no. 236b (Sam 9, Sippar); E. Porada, lCS 4 (1950) 159 Fig. I (Aps).
39 Cf. C. Wilcke, RIA Bd. 5, sub inannal/star A paragraph 8.
40 D. Charpin, Le clerge d' Ur, 343f, cites several texts which describe close connections between the
pantheon of Ur and Eridu during the Old Babylonian period. He also points to the fact that some priests
belonging to Enki of Eridu can be proven as stay'lng in Ur.
41 B. Buchanan, Yale (1981) no. 956 (purchased).
42 Cf. Parallels from the reign of Samsu-ditana: G. Col bow, RA 86 (1992) no. k) I, k)3 (Samsu-ditana 7);
E. Klengel-Brandt, AoF 10 (1983) no. I (Samsll-ditana 24125), no. 2 (Samsu-ditana), no. 25 (Samsu-ditana
18).
43 Compare for instance the number of two seated figures related to the reigns of Ammiditana to Samsu-
ditana (one from his reign) published by G. Colbow (cf. footnote 42) with the number of ten examples from
the time of Samsu-ditana published by E. Klengel-Brandt (cf. footnote 42). These numbers are significant
even if it is taken in consideration that E. Klengel-Brandt presented twice as many impressions. The
rarity of seated figures between Samsu-iluna 'and Samsu-ditana is confirmed by hithero unpublished seal
impressions from Sippar dating to the reigns of Abi-esub, Ammiditana and Ammisaduqa.
44 A. Pan'ot, Mission archeologique de Mari II 3 (1958) Taf. 17.

25
 Gudrun Colbow

a recumbent bull with a crescent or a crescent standard on his back45 (Fig. 14), and Babylonian I
inscribed in the temple facade is an altar with its top formed as a crescent. Another cited by her
Old Babylonian representation of a crescent standard mounted on bulls comes from moon god in
Ur.46 There a libation with a crescent standard as one of the filling motifs occurs above This is proVt
an outstretched nude hero covering the lower part of the design.47 The main scene is carving.53 Rt
accompanied by two crossed bulls supporting another crescent standard. A crescent the last three
standard overlapped by two crossed bulls appears beneath more crescent emblems in and gods she
a minor scale on an Old Babylonian seal.48 These enigmatic scenes cannot as yet be hairstyles ant
explained in detail, but an interpretation as references to the moon god and his cult gods and vic
the moon go
seems plausible.
The examples cited above prove a well-established iconographical connection be- which norm,
tween the moon god and the bull. The examination of different literary sources reveals side and affc
that Nanna/Sin is the only god who is highly praised for the hugeness and beauty of representatio
his herds of cows and oxen.49 Furthermore the moon god is more often addressed in the latest
as a shepherd and protector of cows and oxen than the other high-ranking gods of Babylonian I
Babylonia.50 Therefore the linking of Nanna/Su'en with cows or bulls could have convincing e
been a rather obvious iconographical motif for Old Babylonian artists. The tradi
ued in the K
A figure which closely resembles the moon god holding a crescent standard and from Nippur
standing on plain ground is the figure of a god dressed like him but equipped with Style.55 It sh
a crescent-and-disk-standard. This god, represented only once51 (Fig. 15) wears the - 1360)56 TI
same equipment as the god with the crescent standard and holds the same position with other c
in the seal design. On a few seals and sealings his attribute alone is rendered as an alive in Neo
emblem or as a filling element. The similarity of both gods' symbols suggests that is approxim,
their shapes might represent two closely related gods or even two aspects of the same represented
ments (Fig.
god.
Judging from the picture sketched above for the beginning of the second millen- be identified
nium the god with the crescent standard and his variants might be identified as images
of Sin whose amalgamation with Nanna was obviously completed in Old Babylonian
times. His image was by then that of a god well-established within the pantheon of
52 E.A. Braun-
Babylonia. 53 A single sea
I cannot identify as yet the god with the crescent-and-disk standard, nor can it be of Samsu-ditan
decided with certainty whether the figure represents a particular aspect or a special god and the ad
local form of the moon god, or even another god connected to his circle. style of the ad(
my forthcomin:
In my opinion the iconography of the moon god was fixed during most of the Old 54 I have alrea
Babylonian sea
55 D. Matthew
4S L. Legrain, PBS 16 (1930) no. 244. would not intel
46 L. Legrain, UE 10 (1959) no. 246. crescent standa
47 Another recumbent nude hero in connection with a representation in which crescent standards are 56 As D. Matti
inserted emerges on a seal impression presumably from Sippar. Cf. E. Porada in Weitemeyer, Aspec[s of is rather doubt
Hiring of Workers in [he Sippar regioll in [he Time of Hanunurabi, (Kopenhagen 1962), seal IV. Nippur First K
48 L. Legrain, PBS 14 (1925) no. 282 (purchased). likely than to }
49 A. Sjoberg, Nanna-Su'en, no. I, no. 4, no. 7; M. Hall, lCS 38 (1986) I 52ff. In texts from Syria dated the date of the
to the Late Bronze Age one finds a moon god SaggarlSaggar, whose name may metaphorically recall the I, or to the fou
moon as a bull calf with a crescent of horns. FJ;om an Old Testament passage it may be deduced that this Kadasman- Tuq
god was responsible for the fertility of the cattle; cf. St. Dalley, Iraq 54 (1992) 90. dated to the eil
of the dynasty
50 Cf. footnote 44. 57 U. Seidl, NI
51 F. Blocher, Siegelabrollungen BM, no. 4 (imm., Sippar).

26
I More insights into representation of the moon god

Babylonian period. The moon gods on Braun-Holzinger's seals number 19 and 20,52
cited by her as examples for the wide range of variants in the representation of the
moon god in the Old Babylonian period, are both rather late Old Babylonian in date.
This is proven by the subjects chosen, by the equipment of the figures and by their
carving_53 Regarding the equipment it was a general tendency during the reigns of
the last three Old Babylonian kings that established iconographical types for humans
and gods should begin to disintegrate and adopt new forms.54 The traditional dresses,
hairstyles and headgears marking humans began to be intermingled with those marking
gods and vice versa. Such a development, which was not restricted to the figure of
the moon god, can nevertheless explain a rendering of this god dressed in a short kilt,
which normally is a human dress. The fact that old and new types subsisted side by
side and affected each other, may be the reason for the existence of a wide range of
representations, including the moon god as a sitting figure dressed in a flounced robe,
in the latest phase of the Old Babylonian dynasty. Therefore a date late in the Old
Babylonian period for both images of the moon god cited above seems to be the most
convincing explanation for the different renderings.
The tradition of depicting the moon god as a bearer of a crescent standard contin-
ued in the Kassite period. This is proven by a seal impression on a Kassite document
from Nippur. This impression is attributed by D. Matthews to the central first Kassite
Style.55 It should probably be dated to the 14th century (Kadasman-Enlil 1", ca. 1374
- 1360)56 The tradition of illustrating the moon god with a crescent on his crown,
with other crescent symbols around him and grasping a crescent standard was still
alive in Neo-Assyrian times. This is documented by a stela from Til Barsip57 which
is approximately dated to the reign of Tiglath-Pileser III. The figure of the moon god
represented there is almost overequipped with crescent-shaped standards and adorn-
ments (Fig. 16). In view of the date of this stela I would guess that this figure should
be identified as Sin of Hanan.

52 E.A. Braun-Holzinger, ZA 83 (1993) 134, no. 19, no. 20.

53 A single seated male figure facing an inscription does not emerge in the dated material before the reign
of Samsu-ditana (cf. E. Klengel-Brandt, AoF 10 (1983) no. 14, no. 15, no. 17). The equipment of both the
god and the adorant of OJP 37, no. 68 = Braun-Holzinger, no. 20 shows late attributes. That the cutting
style of the adorant on OIP 37 no. 68 is also a late feature in Old Babylonian glyptics will be shown in
my forthcoming study about the glyptic from Sippar.
54 I have already mentioned this in RA 86 (1992) 156 as one of the results of my study of the late Old
Babylonian seal impressions in the Louvre.
55 D. Matthews, The Kassile Glyplic of Nippur, aBO I 16 (1992) no. 18. In contrast to D. Matthews I
would not interpret the attribute the god is holding in his hand as a crescent-and-disk-standard but as a -
crescent standard which is accompanied by a separate disk above its top.
56 As D. Matthews kindly informed me the date of the impression itself is uncertain. The royal name
is rather doubtfully reconstructed by Lambert (cf. D. Matthews, aBO I 16 (1992) 75). Because the last
Nippur First Kassite impressions are dated to Nazi-Maruttas, an assignment to Kadasman-Enlil I is more
likely than to Kadasman-Enlil II, but an assignment to the second-named cannot be fairly excluded. It is
the date of the tablet, year 18, which generates a rather strong argument for assignment to Kadasman-Enlil
I, or to the fourteenth century in general if the name is not correctly read. As no Kassite ruler following
Kadasman-Turgu up to the end of the Nippur archives reigned more than thirteen years, a sealed tablet
dated to the eighteenth regnal year of a Kassite king should rather belong to the fourteenth century part
of the dynasty than to a later king.
57 U. Seidl, NABU (1993), 85.

27
 Gudrun Colbow

Conclusion

From the earliest historic times on symbolic representations of the moon god exist
in the form of crescent standards. Along with them, but starting a little later, anthro-
pomorphic figures with divine attributes and some pecularities identifying them as
moon gods appear. These are mainly found on seals and seal impressions. From the
Akkadian period on at least two distinct types of anthropomorphic figures could be
proven in each period examined. In spite of the rather varied pictures of the moon god
emerging within one and the same period, a clear identification of the existing shapes
as either Nanna or Sin is impossible. According to written sources the amalgamation
of both gods was taking place from the Akkadian period onwards. Even though this
amalgamation seems to have been a slow process executed in different fields of cul-
ture at different periods, the iconographical types can not be identified with one god
or the other because of the hints of a syncretism of the two gods from the time of Fig. 1
Naram-Sin. Moreover no iconographical feature clearly identifying one figure of the
moon god undoubtedly as Nanna or Sin could be isolated. The different renderings of
the moon god's shape can as yet not be explained satisfactorily, since they perhaps
reveal different local forms or different aspects of the god.
In summary it was verified that the crescent standard was representative of the
moon god. Furthermore it was shown that the motif of its veneration is a local peculi-
arity related to the region of Ur. In addition to that the development of the anthropo-
morphical renderings of the moon god during the Old Babylonian period was sketched
in detail. A widespread Mesopotamian tradition of depicting and venerating the moon
god in different iconographical forms can be established.

Figures Fig. 2

Fig. 1 L. Legrain, PBS 14, no. 68.

Fig. 2 R.M. Boehmer, ECAZ, fig. 725 a - f.
Fig. 3 D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals II, no. 164.
Fig. 4 R.M. Boehmer, ECAZ, fig. 548.
Fig. 5 L. Legrain. U E 10, no. 516.
Fig. 6 L. Legrain, U E 10, no. 512.
Fig. 7 D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals II, no. 363.
Fig. 8 D. Collon, BM Cylinder Seals III, no. 623.
Fig. 9 L. al-Gailani, BLA 17,39,4, Reihe.
Fig. 10 E. Klengel-Brandt, AOF 16, no. 62. Fig. 3
Fig. 11 L. al-Gailani, Regional Styles, no 197B.
Fig. 12 E. Porada, lNES 16, 196 fig. 5.
Fig. 13 B. Buchanan, Yale, no. 9.
Fig. 14 L. Legrain, PBS 16, no. 244.
Fig. 15 F. Blocher, Siegelabrollungen BM, no. 4.
Fig. 16 U. Seidl, NABU 1993, no. 85.

28
 More insights into representations of the moon god

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

29
 Gudrun Colbow

Fig. 12

Fig. 1

Fig. 10 Fig. 11

Fig. 14

30
 More insights into representations of the moon god

Fig. 12 Fig. 13

Fig. 15

Fig. 14
 TRANSTIGRIDIAN SNAKE GODS

F.A.M. Wiggermann

Introduction

In his brief but insightful study on the Sumerian pantheon I Thorkild Jacobsen distin-
guished four groups of gods, each group defined by the nature of the region where
the main cult centres of its members are located. The gods of the southern marshes,
Enki (in Eridu), Asallubi (in Kuara), Dumuziabzu (in Kinunir), Nanse (in Nigin2) and
Ninmarki (in Guabba) represent the powers in the waters, reeds, birds, and fishes. To
the North lie the farming regions whose gods are associated with cereals and agri-
cultural implements, Enlil (in Nippur), NinlillSud3 (in Tummal), Nissaba (in Eres),
Ningirsu (in Girsu), Baba (in Uruku), Ninisina (in Isin), Pabilsag (in Badtibira; later
as husband of Ninisina in lsin), and Meslamtaea (in Kutha). The gods of this groups
are marked by their pronounced fierceness. The gods of the herding regions are sub-
divided into three groups: the southern cowherd's gods, Nanna (in Ur), Ningublaga
(in Kiabrig), Utu (in Larsa and Sippar), Ninsun (in Kulaba), and An (in Uruk); the
central grasslands shepherd's gods, lnanna (in Uruk, Zabalam, and Hursagkalama),
Dumuzi (in Badtibira), Sara (in Umma), and ISkur (in Karkara); and the gods of the
northern ass herders, Ninbursag (in Adab and Kes), her husband Sulpae, and her son
Asgi, 'He of the Testicle' (in Ki-ABki).4
Jacobsen's fourth group consists of Ninazu, his son Ningiszida, and Damu, at
home respectively in Enegi (between Uruk and Ur),5 Gisbanda (in southern Sumer),6
and Girsu-on-the-Euphrates.7 According to Jacobsen the gods of this group "all have
pronounced chthonian character as powers of the Netherworld, and several of them
appear closely connected with trees and vegetation". Tentatively he defines their ter-
ritory as that of date palm cultivation, the southern orchards.
Ninazu, however, the most important god of this group, has another cult centre in

I Thorkild Jacobsen, Mesopotamiall Gods and Pantheolls (1963), republished in W.L. Moran, Toward the
Image of Tal1lmtl~ (TID (1970), 17-38, esp. 21 ff.
2 For the reading of NINA cf. J. Krecher in B. Hruska - G. Komor6czy eds., FS Labor MatOtl,\: II (1978),
53
3 For this goddess cf. W.G. Lambert, JAOS 106 (1983),64-66: NinlillSudlEzina, grain goddess, daughter
of Nissaba (also a grain goddess), and wife of Enid. See also below note 55.
4 Asgi is "king of ki-ASki" in R.D. Biggs, JNES 32 (1973), 26ft'. XI 6' (presargonic riddles from Lagas).
5 D.R. Frayne, The Early Dynastic List of' Geographical Names (1992), 95, A.R. George, HOllse Most
High. The Temple in Anciellt Mesopotamia (1993), no. 392, F. Carroue, ASJ 15 35.
6 Cf. George op. cit. (note 5) no. 408, F. Ci;lrroue, ASJ 15 47f. The lack of reference to this locality in
RGTe shows that Gisbanda is not involved in the economic life of the nation, that it is not really a city
or town, but just a cult centre. See also below notes 67f.
7 Cf. Krecher, FS Matous II 4547

33
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

Esnunna, and belongs, as we will try to show below, to a group of gods at home in basmu.14 EI
the Transtigridian region, rather than in southern Sumer.8 a late AssyJ
Representat
b. Ninl
A subgroup of netherworld deities in An-Anum He is the "1
ways relate!
The canonical godlist An-Anum starts its treatment of death deities in tablet V 213 with dragon is tt
Ereskigal, the queen of the Netherworld.9 It continues with five city gods, Ninazu of defeat of E:
Enegi and Esnunna (V 239), Ningiszida (V 250), Tispak (V 273), Insusinak (V 286), the muslJus:
and IStaran (V 287), all with families and court except Insusinak. The gods that follow His citil
are death gods too, but of a different type, the war gods Lugalgirra and Meslamtaea.lo Diyala regi(
The Old Babylonian forerunner of An-Anum (TeL 15 10) treats Ninazu, Ereskigal the basic id
and Tispak together (400ff.) in netherworld context, but separates Ningiszida from natural outc
his father, and omits Insusinak and IStaran entirely. Tispak, Insusinak and IStaran city; perhap
(followed by Nergal and preceded by Dumuzi, Ninazu and Ningirsu) are grouped in and Ninlil ;
another Old Baby Ionian text, a list of city gods from U r (U ET 6/2 412: 1Iff. ; the names gained imp!
of the cities are broken), and we may justifiably assume that what An-Anum does by in Enegi do
listing these gods together is making explicit pre-existing relations, not creating new early secon,
ones. I I Thus An-Anum defines Ninazu and Ningiszida together with other deities as been impor
a subgroup of netherworld inhabitants. [n order to define this group more closely we The Eal
must set out the traits its individual members hold in common. of Tispak,
Esnunna 01
Traits shared by members of the subgroup son Ningis,
Ninazu's h;
The traits held in common by the members of this group of underworld deities can be
found in the localization of their cities, their functions in the national pantheon, and dUR.GU.LA j
14 See Wigg~
their iconographies. The coherence of the group as a whole helps to decide in certain
the comments
less well documented questions, especially those concerning IStaran and Insusinak. 15 See now A
a. Ereskigal (An-Anum V 213), the queen of the netherworld, rules the dead and Underworld \I
member of Er
has no city on the surface of the earth to call hers. Like Ningiszida she is associated
CADdanninu
with the constellation Hydra (I11UI dMUS) in late astrological texts.12 Fortunately it is de Canaan (I'
known what the Babylonian constellation Hydra looked like: it is a snake drawn out 16 See van D

long, with the forepaws of a lion, no hind-legs, with wings, and with a head compa- (Studies in HI
Calendars of
rable to that of the muslJussu dragon (Fig. 1a). 13 Its Babylonian name was probably belonged to tf
17 M.J. Gellel
18 PBS 1/2 I:
8 For the temples and their locations see in general George op. cit. and Frayne op. cit. (note 5).
19 Cf. van Dij
9 An-Amlin is quoted after the unpublished edition of R.L. Litke (1958).
CRRAl26601
10 For these gods see Lambert RIA 7 (1987), 14311'.
20 The histor:
II [n the Sumerian Temple Hymns, ed. A. Sjoberg, TCS III (1969), Ninazu of Enegi is followed by
8 (1995), 45::
Ningiszida (Hymns 14f.), and Ninazu of Esnunna is preceded by Etm'an (Hymns 33f.); in CT 29 46:3f.
Mesopotamia,
Tispak is followed by (In)susinak (LB list of gods); in An: Anu a ameli (ed. Litke 249ff.) Tispak precedes
Carfign)' 198,
Insusinak, both identified with Ninurta (74f., followed by Nergal); in CT 24 50 BM 47406 Obv. II f.
21 RIA muhu
AN.GAL (a name of Etm'an) follows Tispak. In the Assyrian 1,0d list iltinu lIl11UnUII Off. (sources cf.
22 Wi 'H'err;al
Lambert RIA III 477 8) we find grouped: dDa-mu,dTispak, ... , Nirab, cilstaran.
23 Th:locati(
12 See F. Gassmann, Planetarium Babylonicurn (SL IV/2) (1950) 112f. For the association of Ningiszida
24 Wiggermal
with MUL dMUS see also KAV 218 B iii 7 and VACh 2 Slippl. LXVII 16.
2 25 Wiggermm
13 E. Weidner, Gestirn-Darstellungell auf Babylonischen Tonfafeln (1967) PI. IX-X and 7 with pre-
26 van Dijk, :
vious literature. Caption MUL dMUS. On the back of the Hydra walks a lion, the constellation Leo,
27 J.J.A. van
(MUL dUR.GU.LA); the scene is described in a fragmentary text, Thompson CLBT PI. I I 20 f.: [MULl

34
 Transtigridian snake gods

basmu.14 Ereskigal's messenger, Matum, "Death" (An-Anum V 236) is described in

a late Assyrian text, the Unterweltsvision. He has the head of a mus{]uSu-dragon.15
Representations of Ereskigal or Matum are not known.
b. Ninazu, "Lord Healer", is a son of Ereskigal16 or sometimes her husband.17
He is the "king of the snakes" in Old Babylonian incantations,18 and in several other
ways related to death and the realm of the dead, perhaps at one time as its ruler.19 His
dragon is the mus{]uSu20 which he shares with his son Ningiszida, just as from the
defeat of ESnunna by Hammurabi onwards21 Marduk and his son NabQ would share
the mus{]us.su they took from Tispak, Ninazu's successor as city god of Esnunna.22
His cities are Enegi in southern Sumer,23 and Esnunna, across the Tigris in the
Diyala region. Each cult centre develops the god in its own way, but without obscuring
the basic identity of the two Ninazu's.24 In Esnunna he develops into a war god, the
natural outcome of his relation with death and his role as head-of-state of an important
city; perhaps by way of identification with the model warrior Ninurta25 he adopts Enlil
and Ninlil as parents.26 In his Sumerian cult centre the ophidian traits seem to have
gained importance only late in the third millennium: the ED hymn to Ninazu's temple
in Enegi does not reveal any, and the ophidian lore spreading from this temple in the
early second millennium is written mostly in foreign languages27 and appears to have
been imported.
The Early Dynastic iconography of Ninazu in Esnunna must have been like that
of Tispak, his Akkadian successor, but in an earlier stage of development. Outside
Esnunna one expects his iconography to have developed in step with that of his
son Ningiszida and his successor Tispak, but provenienced objects showing provable
Ninazu's have not been identified.

dUR.GU.LA sa-mi-du 1 [... J MUL dMUS ka-bi-is.

14 See Wigg~rmann, RIA s.v. l11u.fbllifu 6, W.G. Lambert, JAOS 106 (1986), 793, below note 58, and
the comments to Fig. I.
15 See now A. Livingstone, Court Poetry alld Literary Miscellanea (SAA III) (1989), 68ff., no. 32: The
Underworld Vision of an Assyrian Prilzce, Rev. 3; this being does not occur in Mesopotamian art. Another
member of Ereskigal's court that may be a dragon is dDan-ni-na (V 234), a name of the netherworld (cf.
CAD danninll) undoubtedly related to Hebrew and Ugaritic Tnn (cf. G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y Leyendas
de Canaan (1981), 637, and below ad Fig. Ie-h).
16 See van Dijk, SGL II (1960), 71 f., Wiggermann in O.M.e. Haex ed., To the Euphrates and Beyond
(Studies in Honour of M.N. van Loon) (1989), 122, and in general on this god M.E. Cohen, The Cultic
Calendars of the Ancient Near East (1993), 4651'1".Originally Ereskigal was not paired with Nergal, but
belonged to the Ninazu group (van Dijk SGL II 25, Lambert CRRAl26 (1985), 60ff.).
17 M.1. Geller, Forerullners to Udug-bul (1985),36:308.
18 PBS 1/2 131, YOS I I 32:4, 34:4, see van Dijk OrNS 38 (1969), 541 ff.
19 Cf. van Dijk SGL 1172f1'., Cl. Wilcke ZA 73 (1983),49: I If (cf. F.R. Kraus ZA 77 (1987), 96f.), Lambert
CRRA12660ff, Kramer Iraq 22 6414 (in GEN).
20 The history of the mubuu and its association with various gods is described in Wiggermann, RIA
8 (1995), 455-462, S.V. 11'l.UifhulI;see also W.G. Lambert, The HistOJ), of the mll S - h u S in Ancient
Mesopotamia, 87-94 in I 'Animal, I'holllme, Ie dieu dans Ie proche-orient allcien (Actes "du Colloque de
Cartigny 1981) (1985).
21 RIA mllifhu.fu 3.5.
22 Wiggern~ann, FS van Loon (note 16), 120.
23 The location of this cult centre is uncertain, see above note 5.
24 Wiggermann, FS van Loon (note 16), 122.
25 Wiggermann, ibid. 122.
26 van Dijk, SGL II 77f.
27 J.J.A. van Dijk, Early Illcantations and Rituals, YOS XI (1985), 3ff., 7f.

3S
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

Ninazu's dragon, the musfJussu, got its final form during the Old Akkadian period name of th
(Fig. 2d).28 The earlier form, a lion with a snake's tail, is seen on a late Early Dy- The god to
nastic seal of unknown provenience (Fig. 2a). That this being is indeed the musfJussu the vizier (
emerges from a possibly contemporary seal (Moortgat, VAR 147) with the only other Ninazu, wh
representation of a caged god, and with a similar dragon, here with an extremely long revealed by
neck and a snake's head. The god on this dragon is armed with a mace in each hand, obviously s
just like the god on a classical musfJussu on an Akkadian seal from Kish (Boehmer M. Civil w
VA VA 4 Abb. 569). The god on the leonine dragon holds two three-headed maces, m us-am a
forerunners of the later double-headed lion mace held by the god on the musfJussu of snake.
and by a number of other deities.29 Althou~
A more developed form of the musbussu is seen on an Akkadian alabaster relief retains the
group from a private house in ESnunna (Fig. 2b), probably from the chapepo The in fact, not
dragon is scaled and has a snake's head, but the horns are still lacking and the hind- c. Tispc
legs are not yet those of a bird of prey. The gesture made by the crouching figure is a god 0
to the left of the dragon is known from two earlier seals, in both cases involving introductiol
ophidian beings.31 The god on the dragon is scaled, which recalls an Old Babylonian dragon, ane
incantation against snake-bite where the snake is called "green like Tispak" (VAS 17 seem to de
4:2), obviously comparing with his snake's skin. Thus the god on the dragon, whether gods"42 del
Ninazu or Tispak (there is not much difference between the two), was not completely
anthropomorphic. Since the piece was found in a private house, it probably played a road to Huwa
part in the cult of dead ancestors, the typical house cult.32 brother, has tl
A fully-developed snake-dragon is seen on an Akkadian seal dedicated to the god of the mu.fhu,i
here is not na
v

/-ha-um by Be-f{-BAL for his own life and that of his son Ur-Ninazu (Fig. 2c). Just inter pares (rr
as in the case of the lion-griffin (ukadufJfJu)33 the hind-legs are no longer those of a one mother').
lion (p i r i g)34 but have been replaced by the talons of a bird of prey. In view of the Landsberger,
144, W. Hein
reading of wi
28 For the formal development of the dragon see RIA mU!,"Uu.f.fu. = MIN (katte
29 The god with one foot on a 1I1l1.5f]LI.f.fIl,holding a scimitar in one hand and a double lion mace in the op. cit. 489,
other, might be Marduk (RIA mu.fUu{fLl 3.5); the same weapons are held by Meslamtaea on an Ur III seal Wilcke Lugal
(D. Collon, WACS II 471), while on another Ur TIl seal representing the same god (ibid. 470) the double the mountaim
lion mace is replaced by a three-headed mace; the ukaduUULi that holds the double lion mace together with 2), roars (Tie
Meslamtaea on WACS II 471 holds a three headed mace on WACS III 15 (Old Babylonian). The warrior heads) and st
goddess, normally holding the double lion mace, holds a three headed mace on Boehmer UAVA 4 Abb. a temple). He
383 (Akkadian) and on Klengel-Brandt, AoF 16 283 no. 22a (08); the defeated god who on Akkadian Gilgamesh an
seals normally holds a (lowered, broken) mace, holds a three headed mace on P. Amiet, Fig. [lI20 in E. 35 On this se
Porada ed., Ancient Art in Seals (1980) (cf. also Fig 4a); the latest example of the three headed mace I del' Friihdync
am aware of is held by a seated god on a Kassite seal with a prayer to Ninurta (Lambert AID 23 48 Fig. Ningi.fzida 38
2). While on the aforementioned examples the object is certainly a weapon, a similar object held by the . 36 van Dijk, (
boat god of Early Dynastic and Akkadian seals (Amiet, GMA 1777, 1495, 1489) is a stalk of vegetation, region, see al
since it interchanges with objects that cannot be maces (GMA 1421, 1422, 1423, 1499). See also Fig. 37 For this fu
4a below and notes 43f. The two maces of Ninazu are deified as his children dS u 1- a - z i - d a, 'Hero of 38 M. Civil i
the Right Hand', and dS ul-a -g u b - b u, 'Hero of the Left Hand', in An-Anum V 243f.; that the two are loanword, wit
weapons appears from SIT 400: 12f., where they are grouped with Igalima and Sulsagana, the lion and < hubullum (
eagle scimitars of Zababa according to BM 33055 (unp.). 39 Biggs INE
30 Cf. E. Klengel-Brandt, MDOG III (1979), 541'1'.,who also discusses the relief, and suggests a foreign 40 Cf. Wigge

origin. pormorphic E
31 GMA 1247A, Collon, First Impressions (1987) no. 756 (below Fig. 5c). character live
32 Conceivably a domestic version of the important role played by Ninazu in rituals for the royal dead, 41 See in ger

cf. Cohen, Calendars (note 16), 469ff. 42 UR.SAG

33 For this being see Wiggermann, Mesopotamian Protective Spirits (1992), 185, 187f. no. I I. Wiggermann
34 Sumerian pi ri g denotes the lion part of the lIIu.ffJu.f.fu, and I] u - r f - i n ("eagle") the bird part, cf. the 43 See for th
description of the first of the seven warriors (u r- sag) given to Gilgamesh by Utu to assist him on the (holds one), :

36
 Transtigridian snake gods

name of the son (Ur-Ninazu) the god on the dragon is Ninazu rather than Tispak.35
The god to whom the seal is dedicated, l-ba-um, is probably identical with dlp-pu,
the vizier of Ningiszida in An-Anum V 262.36 Here he is apparently the vizier of
Ninazu, who introduces a visitor to his masterY The meaning of the word i-ba-um is
revealed by a vocabulary from Ebla (MEE IV 3S 1:034) where Sumerian m u s - a m a,
obviously some kind of snake, is translated as i-ba-u-um, convincingly connected by
M. Civil with Hebrew 'ej"eh, "viper".38 There is one further attestation of Sumerian
m u s -a m a, in the presargonic riddles from Lagas,39 where it certainly denotes a type
of snake.
Although the god "Viper" of the seal is completely anthropomorphic, his master
retains the ophidian nature of his vizier in the vipers rising from his shoulders. It is,
in fact, not uncommon that the vizier embodies one of the properties of his master.40
c. Tispak, Ninazu's successor in Esnunna from Old Akkadian times onwards,
is a god of foreign origin about whose original character nothing is known. His
introduction in Esnunna is covered by a myth that explains his relation with Ninazu's
dragon, and justifies his ascent to rulership.41 The traits that circumscribe his character
seem to derive mainly from his predecessor Ninazu; like him he is a "warrior of the
gods"42 depicted holding one or two maces43 and later identified with Ninurta.44 Both

road to tIuwawa: dis - it miSe s-g a 1- b i Iiu - P i rig - g a u m bin - b u - r f - i n - n a, "the first one, their big
brother, has the claws of a lion and the talons of an eagle (D.O. Edzard, ZA 81 179:37, 187:59; the s u
of the Il1ll.fbuu recur in an OB incantation, OECT 5 24:4, and in SB KAR 97:9). Although the monster
here is not named but only described, the mllUu.f.fu is definitively expected to occur in this list as primus
inter pares (m u s- u
Iiit - t rlbamu and m u S- sag - k a IIkattillu are listed among his brothers, all 'sons of
one mother'). The mus-sag-kal (cf. AHw and CAD s. v. kaltillu and ~'arJaru), 'Wild Snake' (cf. B.
Landsberger, Die Fauna des Allen Mesopo/amien (1934) 59, CI. Wilcke, Das Lugalbandaepos (1969),
144, W. Heimpel, Tierbilder in der Sunlerischen Lileratur (1968), 489ff., A. Sjoberg, TCS III 142), the
reading of whose name is now ascertained by m u S- sag - k a I-I a (VAS 17 I iv 21) and by dSag-gal
= MIN (kallellum, CT 25 22:40, cf. dSag-kal in CT 24 47 ii 18, and for the omissable m u s Heimpel
op. cit. 489, S. Cohen, Emnerkar and lhe Lord of Aratla (1973), 211), is a (perhaps seven-headed, cf.
Wilcke Lugalbandaepos 94:34, and the comments of Falkowitz, lAOS 103 110) dragon type at home in
the mountains (lnanna and Ebih 84, cf. TCS III 142), who lives underground like roots (Tierbilder 86.1,
2), roars (Tierbilder 86.4, 5, 8'; cf. Wiggermann, FS van Loon 1265 for roaring dragons with leonine
heads) and stickes out his tongue and writhes (Sjoberg AfO 24 38:23, in the description of the bolt of
a temple). He is mentioned in two forerunners of Hh XIV (SLT 51 iii 12, 45 Obv. 8). The variants of
Gilgamesh and Huwawa 41 (ZA 81 180) TE TE ES RU and TE" TE-gunu? [... J imply a different reading.
35 On this seal and its iconographical problems see also E. Braun-Holzinger, Mesopolamische Weihgaben
der Friihdynaslischen bis Altbabylonischen Zeit (1991), 351974, 355 (S 3), and eadem, Der BOle des
Ningizida 38, in B. Hrouda et al. eds., Von Uruk nach Tuttul (FS E. Strommenger) (1991).
'36 van Oijk, OrNS 38 546, Wiggermann, lEaL 29 (1985-86) 1238, Edzard RIA V 287 (GN in the Oiyala
region, see also RGTC 3 129).
37 For this function of the divine vizier see Wiggermann lEaL 29 3-34.
38 M. Civil in L. Cagni ed., II Bilinguismo a Ebla. (1984) 91. Sumerian ama is presumably a Semitic
loanword, with vowel assimilation (* i m a) and m < b between vowels (* i b a), for which cf. b a I b Ux- m u I
< hubuLlum (M. Civil, BiOr 40 564).
39 VBiggs lNES 32 30 x I'.
40 Cf. Wiggermann lEaL 29 22f. with further examples, and below on the viziers of Tispak (anthro-
pormorphic Ba.fmu) and IStat'an (a snake-god who becomes totally anthropomorphic, while his ophidian
character lives on in his vizier, the snake dNirah).
41 See in general on the Labbu-mylh and Tispak Wiggermann FS van Loon 117-133.
42 UR.SAG i-Ii on Akkadian seals showing a god seated on his snake-dragon (UA VA 4 565-567), cf.
Wiggermann FS van Loon 12712
43 See for the mace(s) of the god on the snake-dragon above note 29, and Boehmer UAVA 4 Abb. 568
(holds one), 570 (holds one), Fig. 3a, Fig. 3c, GMA 1392 (one held by servant), UAVA IV Abb. 573 (one

37
 F.A.M. Wigger/nann

gods own a seal belonging to a divine office,4s and both have underworld connections, a seated Ea
although those of Tispak are less explicit.46 the inscripti
Tispak's identity as the god on the snake-dragon/muuuu is established by a he may rem
number of seals mentioning Tispak and showing the god seated on his dragon.47 be adduced
More interesting are two seals inscribed with the names of servants of Tispak48 on a god whos
which the seated god is distinguished by two or three snakes rearing from his feet. Early Dyna
The second of these, published before but left unnoticed (Fig. 4a), is owned by BeIT- another AkJ
bani the gudu-priest of Tispak.49 An unpublished Akkadian seal from the Museum of (Fig. 4b).54
Fine Arts in Boston (Fig. 3c)SO shows the same god with snakes rising from his feet god, this pi
and holding a plough. The plough introduces a new element into the iconography of in that of tt
the dragon god, which is reinforced by three other Akkadian seals and some written From ar
material. The first seal has disappeared, but a modern impression preserved in the among the (
Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem was published by P. Amiet in 1955 (Fig. 3a).sl It shows of agricultu
a divine servant holding a mace, and before him a god, either Ninazu or Tispak, and flax to
seated on a snake-dragon and holding a plough. The second seal is from Esnunna and An-AnUi
owned by a servant of Tispak (Fig. 3b).s2 On this seal three gods are introduced to his counsell
being introd
held by servant, carving knife in the field), Buchanan Yale 454 (one held by servant, carving knife held and it may I
by a lion), Fig. 4a (three headed mace held by fighting god, knife in the field), UAVA IV Abb. 569 (holds the case of
two, one in the field), 572 (holds one, two in the field); see also below notes 44, 55. Ninazu is the "Lord
of the mace" in CT 16 49:300f., (cf. Iraq 42 31: 179; Utukku Lemnutu), and he "deposited his mace in
of the god,
a corner in the Egidda" in LSUr 206 (P. Michalowski, The Lamentation over the Destruction of SlIIlIer still seen at
and Ur (1989), 48). These cases use giSt u k u I, while in the description of Tispak in the GOttert)'pentext sometimes I
(MIO I 78 v 52ff.) hurpata is used (for the identity of this weapon cf. the literature cited in Wiggermann,
Mesopotamian Protective Spirits 38, 61, 102, 128).
seal (Fig. 31
44 CT 2441 :64,258: 15, II :29, AIO 33 27: 149. Tispak standing on defeated enemies: OIP 43242 Fig. 100 The fire
(OB Su-iliya seal); Tispak (or Ninazu) defeating a divine enemy with the assistance of the snake-dragon: seals60 reap
UAVA IV Abb. 35 I.
Insusinak.
45 See Wiggermann FS van Loon 124ff.
46 Tispak is the abarak Tiamtim, "steward of Sea" in an Old Akkadian fragment from Esnunna (A. d. Nin!
Westenholz, AjO 25 (1977) 102); for the conceptual continuity of mountain, sea, and netherworld see
Wiggermann Mesopotamian Protective Spirits I54!'!'., and Scenes .1"0111 the Shadow Side, 207-230 in H. S3 UAVA IV A
Vanstiphout - M. Vogelzang eds., Mesopotamian Poetic Language: Sumerian and Akkadian (1996). 54 H. Pittman
47 See RIA I11U&ussu 3.4: UAVA IV Abb. 565-567, Buchanan Yale 454 (on the basis of the similarity Cherasky (198
to Fig. 4a), SCS 432 (OB; Tispak as city god of Esnunna, seated on a dragon); SCS 709 (OB; Tispak as 55 A further s
city god of Esnunna, dragon heads from his shoulders); Whiting A/O 34 (1987) 35 no. 4 (OB; Tispak as 1294): god ho
city god of Esnunna, seated on a dragon); AI-Gailani JCS 30 62ff. = BiMes 23 9f. and PI. IV/4 (OB). knife and how
48 UAVA IV Abb. 573 owned by U-:e-lIIn/U-Zi-UIII GAL.SUKKAL dTispak (U., chief vizier of Tispak) (for is the plough
the two seals of this person, with different spellings of his name, but with the same title and representation, to NinurtaiNir
see A. Westenholz, ARES I (1988) I05f.19). For the second seal see note 49. OrNS 36 114,
49 MFA 65.1458 (Fig. 4a, Fig. 6b), buff shell, 20.2 x 10 mm, Akkadian. Previously published in exhibition Instructions I(
catalogue The Art of Swner and Akkad, Museum oj' Fine Arts, Boston (1973) no. 19 (John F.X. McKeon). on Akkadian s
Inscription: be-If-ba-ni GUDU4 dTi.spak. note 3), rahter
50 MFA 65.1413 (Fig. 3c, Fig. 6a), black serpentine, 29.5 x 18 mm., Akkadian. Previously unpublished. Abb. 554) sug
The mace held by the servant behind the god's throne is remarkably large, which, however, is balanced by 56 Jacobsen, (
the fact that on this seal contrary to other seals (cL note 43) the servant holds the mace with two hands. 57 TMHNF 3
Another remarkable feature is the fact that the human figure grasps the plough of the god. Wie das Getre
SI P. Amiet, Les Cylindres-sceaux conserves a Jerusalem. 411 IV. - ElI1preil1le de Cylindre Akkadien, RB 58 Cf. Wigger
LXXII (1955); see also P. Amiet, La Representation des Tell1f71essur les Monuments de Mesopot(lll1ie, in: "walTior" is a
Le Temple et Ie Culte, CRRAI 20 (1975) 148f. Inscription: xL.si-hu, DUB.SAR. The two little figures 59 See below
under the inscription remind of the two figures on the left and the right of the god on the stone relief from 60 UAVA IV 5
Esnunna (Fig. 2b). The goddess to the right, pel"haps the god's wife, is seated (Amiet CRRAI 20 148) in 61 Cf. E. Oou
a vaulted cella accessible by a flight of stairs. Babylonian 0,
52 SCS 609 (Boehmer UAVA IV no. 1166); Inscription: be-/{, OUMU KA-su?, D[UB.SIAR, IIjAjRTU w.L. Moran) (
d Ti.{pak, see D.O. Edzard, A/O 22 14 no. 14.1. 62 For syllabi.

38
 Transtigridian snake gods

a seated Ea, the first of them dressed differently and holding a plough. In view of
the inscription, the provenience, and the markedness of the god holding the plough
he may reasonably be assumed to be Tispak. Finally another seal from Esnunna must
be adduced here (Fig. 3d), the one with a dragon-snake ploughing a field, and with
a god whose arm ends in a scorpion.53 This type of Mischwesen was popular in the
Early Dynastic period, but had practically died out in the Akkad period; there is
another Akkadian example, however, again associated with snakes and a snake-god
(Fig. 4b).5.! In view of the provenience, the dragon-snake and the scorpion-handed
god, this ploughing scene belongs in the iconography of Ninazu/Tispak, rather than
in that of the other plough god, NinurtaiNingirsu.55
From an OB year name from Esnunna it is known that there was a bronze plough
among the cultic objects in Tispak's temple.56 Ninazu, Tispak's predecessor, is a god
of agriculture in a Sumerian myth in which he and his brother Ninmada bring grain
and flax to the still barbarous SumeriansY
An-Anum V 278f. lists two ophidian beings in Tispak's court, his vizier Basmu and
his counsellor dU sum - u r - s a g.58 None of the seals, however, that shows a person
being introduced to Tispak by his vizier gives this functionary ophidian characteristics,
and it may be assumed that the situation here is the same as that encountered above in
the case of the vizier of Ninazu: the vizier is a completely anthropomorphic servant
of the god, while the ophidian property of Tispak that gave him his name Basmu is
still seen at the feet and under the throne of his master. Thus we identify the small
sometimes lion-headed snake, as well as the more impressive monster of the plough
seal (Fig. 3d) with the basmu.59
The fire altar that stands before the god on the snake-dragon on four Akkadian
seals60 reappears in front of the gods that we will identify below with IStaran and
Insusinak.
d. Ningiszida,61 "Lord of the True Tree",62 is like his father Ninazu an underworld

53 VAVA IV Abb. 714

54 H. Pittman, Ancient Art in Milliature: Near Eastem Seals from the Collection ol Marlin alld Sarah
Cherasky (1987), 23 Fig. I I.
55 A further seal that belongs to the series of dragon gods holding ploughs is VAR 204 (VAVA IV no.
1294): god holding plough seated on throne of which the back ends in a dragon's head, mace, carving
knife and how in the field (cf. Braun-Holzinger, ZA 83 12927); Akkadian. Ningirsu's symbol on klldllrru's
is the plough (U. Seidl, Die Babvlonische Kudurru-Reliej.,<;2 (1989), 125f. XIV); for textual references
to Ninurta/Ningirsu as farmer: M. Sigrist BM II 142, J. Klein AS} II 38:86 (Eme-Dagan I), Lambert
OrNS 36 114, Sjoberg OrSu 22 121, E. Reiner, BPO 2 81 i 12-18, ii 19-24 (Astrolabe B), Fanller's
Instructiolls 109. The grain goddess to whom the god with the plough is introducedlintroduces himself
on Akkadian seals (e.g. VA VA IV 533, 541) is Ninurta's mother, the grain goddess NinlillSud (see above
note 3), rahter than Nissaba with whom she is generally equated. Braun-Holzinger (ZA 83 129 ad VA VA
Abb. 554) suggests that the Moon God also holds a plough.
56 Jacobsen, alP 43 186.
57 TMHNF 3 5, cf. w. H. Ph. Romer, TVAT Bd. 3/3, Weisheitstexle, Mythell und Epell (1993), 360ff.,
Wie das Getreide nach Sumer kam.
5~ Cf. Wiggermann FS van Loon 121; since basl11u is the Akkadian translation of us u m, and u r - sag
"warrior" is a common epithet for all kinds of monsters, these beings are probably in fact one.
59 See below Fig. I and comments
60 VA VA IV 566, 567, 571, 574.
61 Cf. E. Douglas van Buren, "The God ~ingizzida", Iraq I (1934), 60-89, W.G. Lambert, "A new
Babylonian Descent to the Netherworld", 289-300, in T. Abusch et al. eds., Lingering over Words (FS
w.L. Morall) (1990), A. Falkenstein Anal' 30 (1966), 10Iff., G. Roux RA 55 (1961), 22ff.
62 For syllabic spellings of this name cf. Falkenstein ZA 45 36, Weidner AfK 2 748, Bergmann ZA 56

39
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

god63 and a warrior.64 Gudea (Cyl. B XIII 9) refers to him as din g i r - n u m u n - z i - by the text
z i - d a, "a god of much good progeny",65 which clearly connects him with fertility, deified sna1
following other indications rather vegetable than animal, but perhaps both.66 Gisbanda, In the S
"Young Tree", is a second name of the god in the Nippur God List as well as of his millennium
cult centre, somewhere between Ur and Lagas in southern Sumer.67 In view of its hardly inte~
absence in the economical texts68 this place cannot have been a city or a town like are not onl)
the cult centres of other Sumerian gods. The Temple Hymns call it an "awe-inspiring of gods belt
place, lying in the fields" (s a - tum - mar i-a)69 which suggests a rural setting. Ningiszida
Like Ninazu and Tispak Ningiszida is associated with the snake-dragon, and with and LugalSl
basmuldragon-snakes,70 both well attested iconographically, but passed over in silence Only Insusi
Mesopotam
For eac
28, Durand NabLl I 7; for the genitive cf. Falkenstein AnOr 28 100, TCS III 29: 195, VET 9 204 i (a- it is a piau
t u 5 - a d N i n - g i s - z i - d a - k a); for the form dCis-zi-da in the Adapa Myth see Picchioni, /I Poemello all died for
di Adapa (1981), 118. His wife GestinannaJAzimua is discussed by Lambert op. cit. (n. 61) 298f. (see
also Alster 5 I ff. in F. Johansen, Mesopotamia 6, Carroue OrNS SO I 33ff). For his (bald) vizier Alia see some dispel
E. Braun-Holzinger, "Der Bote des Ningiszida", FS Siroll1111enger (op. cit. note 35) 37-43. more conct'
63 Besides g u _z a -I a - k u r - r a, "chair-bearer of the netherworld" (Lambert op. cit. 2951'., B. Alster, ASl descent to tl
13 90) and "lord of the netherworld" (Lambert op. cit. 296) he is also n a - r i - u n u - g a I-I a, "advisor of
the netherworld" (VET 8 85:2; RTm-Sln); see also Kramer lCS 21 115: 117f. (The Death of Ur-Namma), but also Ni
and Sollberger lAOS 103 315:95 (First Puskin Elegy), Gordon Sumerian Proverbs 1.4, and Jacobsen's of parallels
comments ibid. 449 C ... and to Ningiszida 'Let me live!' one does not say"). Besides the texts used by resurrected
Lambert (op. cit. note 61 296ff.) there is some more Sumerian material concerning Ningiszida, especially
VET 623 and duplicates, TMHNF 4 4 and duplicates, and OECT V 48 (in rev. 2 Dumuzi and Ningiszida that the tim
together; see Lambert op. cit. 298, and also Kramer BASOR 94 8: 13, where they appear side by side as from mid-s
inhabitants of the netherworld). are lamente
64 A. Sjoberg StOr 46 (1975), 30 I :3, 305:8 etc. (Hymns to Ningiszida).
Adapa Lege
65 Jacobsen's translation in The Harps thai Once ... (1987),436.
66 Cf. Roux RA 55 22ff., Lambert op. cit. 300.
67 See above note 6, Lambert op. cit. 297f.
68 Cf. RCTC 1,2 and 3 71 See above
69 TCS III 28: 188; cf. also his epithet en - s a - tum a - gar, "lord of meadows and estates" (TCL IS 25: I,
HWldbuch del'
cf. Lambert op. cit. 296). 72 In the desci
70 See RIA musGussu 3.3, E. Braun-Holzinger, REC 447-LA = Libationsbecher, ZA 79 (1989), 1-7.
and dMUS pn
Braun-Holzinger FS Stromll1enger (op. cit. note 35) 421'. discusses an Ur III seal impression from Tello
association of
owned by the san g a of Ningiszida. According to L. Delaporte's description (ITT IV, L 7158) the god
dNingisda ma~
is seated on a lion accroupi de projil a gauche; this lion might well be a snake-dragon (an example
with some sorl
without wings, as on the Ur III seal from Lagas Delaporte CCL I PI. 5/8 T I II). Braun-Holzinger, ZA 79
73 For the tex t
I f. suggests that the iconography of Ningiszida was imported to Lagas (where the snake-dragon is first
new edition b)
attested on the monuments of Gudea, and very rare) from Esnunna (where snakes and snake-monsters
56-84; Jacobs.
were common). The name of the entwined dragon-snakes (they have teeth) paired with snake-dragons on
Hymnology: T.
Gudea's libation vase (Braun-Holzinger ZA 797 fig. I) has not yet been positively established, but in view
s u
of the common pair m u S - h u slmuJhussu m u s - a - t rlbasmu in the texts (RIA lnushuHu 4, and for
74 Cf. Lamber
All-Anum V 2(
later texts Wiggermann Mes;potamia~l Protective Spirits 143), the latter is the best candidate. Just as in the
V 259 (dLugal
iconography of Tispak discussed above the dragon-snake interchanges in the iconography of Ningiszida
with a normal snake (Delaporte CCL I PI. 5/8 Till), while both co-occur with the snake-dragon (on
75 Also in An-
the libation vase of Gudea and the seal frolll the Louvre mentioned above). A further object that must venerated in G
76 Mourning I
be mentioned here is the unpublished mace head in the Iraq Museum decorated with a winding serpent
and dedicated by Gudea to an unknown god, presumably Ningiszida, cf. Braun-Holzinger, Weihgaben cult centre Gis
(op. cit. note 35) 55 (K 53); like so Illany other objects this mace head may stem from the illegal Ningiszida has
excavation of Ningiszida's temple in Tello (cf. B. Foster and K. Pol inger-Foster, Iraq 40 (1978), 61). k i - s f gin the
Comparable is the mace head dedicated by Nammabani (deity broken), Braun-Holzinger Weihgabell 58 rites" is now t
(K 70). Somewhat different is the mace head decorated with seven winding snakes (BM 113906) published 468f., A. Tsuk
77 VET 6395
by A.M. Bisi, Cai1iers de Byrsa X (1964--65) 31 and PI. IV/3. Similar is the hollow object shaped like a
mace and decorated with four winding snakes (U. 999, Woolley VE VII 182,216 and PI. 92). Finally the 78 Lambert op
presargonic mace head published by P. Amiet in RA 64 (1970), 9-16 is decorated with a dragon-snake 79 Reiner, BP(
biting its own tail, and dedicated to dN i n - [a] - z u. cit. note 76) 3

40
 Transtigridian snake gods

by the texts. Late texts associate him with the constellation Hydra71 and with the
deified snake dNirabllrf!an.72
In the Sumerian lamentation In the Desert by the Early Grass a number of third
millennium cults concerning dying gods of different origin have coalesced into a
hardly integrated whole_73 Among the forms of the dying god bewailed in this text
are not only Dumuzi and the dead kings once identified with him, but also a number
of gods belonging to the subgroup of netherworld gods defined by An-Anum: Ninazu,
Ningiszida and members of his court such as Alia (elsewhere his vizier),74 Allagula,
and Lugalsude,7s and finally a god that does not belong to the Ninazu clan, TStaran.
Only Insusinak is absent, but as an Elamite god he is not expected to figure in a
Mesopotamian ritual.
For each of these gods the reason for his death may be a different one, but
it is a plausible guess that gods linked by family ties and common characteristics
all died for the same reason. For the subgroup presently under discussion there is
some dispersed and disputable information concerning the death of Alia, and some
more concerning Ningiszida.76 Unfortunately the fragmentary myth that treats his
descent to the netherworld77 does not tell us why. Since, however, not only Ningiszida,
but also Ninazu and IStaran have a clear connection with vegetation, and in view
of parallels elsewhere, it can be safely concluded that these gods died and were
resurrected together with the cycles of nature_78 It is in agreement with this assumption
that the time of Ningiszida's absence from earth fell together with that of Dumuzi:
from mid-summer to mid-winter_79 This emerges not only from the fact that they
are lamented together in the Sumerian litanies, but also from the Middle Babylonian
Adapa Legend, in which Adapa is wearing mourning because "in our land two gods

71 See above note 12, and for the astral connections of Ningiszida Lambert op. cit. 297, E.F. Weidner,
Handbuch del' Babylonischen Astronomie (1915), 94.
72 In the description of Babylon II 24 (A.R. George, Babylonian Topographical Texts (1992)) Ningiszida
and dMUS precede Dumuzi and d Usumgallu with d Basmu. Perhaps there is an Ur III reference for the
association of Ningiszida with Irhan, if Delaporte's transcription of L 7767 in fTT IV: I lIIu.~-ga-li:
dNingisda may be corrected to MUS.DIN'.DUB' (no determinative d). [n any case it connects the god
with some sort of snake.
73 For the texts see M.E. Cohen, The Canonical Lamel1fations o/Ancient Mesopotamia (1988) 668-703 (a
new edition by B. Alster is in preparation) and the introduction and translation of Jacobsen in Harps ...
56-84; Jacobsen also discusses the individual dying gods (591'.), for who see also M.E. Cohen, Sumerian
Hymnology: The Eremma (1981), 167f.
74 Cf. Lambert CRRAf 26 (1980), 631'., Braun-Holzinger FS Strom/llenger (op. cit. note 35) 37-43, and
An-Amlin V 263 (dAI-I[a'l]). His epithet lugal-sa-par, "lord of the net", is a separate god in An-Anum
V 259 (dLugal-sa-du6-ku, corrupted, cf. Lambert RIA 7 151).
7S Also in An-AIlUll1 V 265, cf. Lambert RIA 7 152. According to MVN XlII 47 Alia and Lugalsude were
venerated in Gisbanda in the Ur III period, cf. F. Can'oue AS} 15 48 (reading dL u g a I-KA.NE).
76 Mourning rites and procession through the city in Ur III Lagas, cf. Falkenstein AnOr 30 103f.; his
cult centre Gisbanda is a "land of weeping" (cf. Cohen Lamentatiolls (OR' cit. note 73) 684) from which
Ningiszida has disappeared, cf. van Dijk SGL 28615, Radau BE 3011 190. Landsberger's suggestion that
k i - s f g in the Ur III month name k i - s f g - d N in - a - z u is a spelling of k i - s e - g a Ikispu, "mourning
rites" is now generally rejected, cf. M.E. Cohen, The Cu/tic Calendars of the Ancient Near East (1993),
468f., A. Tsukimoto, Untersuchungen zur Totenpjlege (kispu) im alten Mesopotamien (1985), 24106
77 UET 6 395 (OB), treated by Lambert 0li" cit. (note 61).
78 Lambert op. cit. (note 61) 290, 300
79 Reiner, BPO 2 i 38-44, ii 45-50, A. Falkenstein, FS W. Caskel (1968) 96-110, Cohen, Calendars (op.
cit. note 76) 315ff., and below note 87.

41
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

80 The relation
have disappeared", these gods being Dumuzi and Giszida.
e. Ninmada is a brother of Ninazu, and, although treated elsewhere in An-Anum,81 Vultures,91 \\
shares the characteristics of his family: he is the snake charmer of An or Enlil,82 and the lady of
helps his brother Ninazu to bring the grain to Sumer.83 In one manuscript of the foot".92 It is
Nippur god list (SLT 123 iv 20) he replaces Ningiszida (SLT 122 iii 4, 124 iii 26).84 objects, am!
The gods treated up to now all belong to the Ninazu clan. Of the three gods referred to a
that follow two, IStaran and Insusinak, are linked to the Ninazu clan by An-Anum, Snakes guar
while the third, the boat god, is linked to the group by his appearance and by the of them dei
geographical distribution of the seals on which he is depicted. from the Stl:
.f IStaran,85 son of Heaven (An) and Earth (Uras), is the god of Der in the Elamite home in the
86 Once tw
borderland east of Sumer, where the name of his temple is Edimgalkalama. From
the little information we have about his character three traits stand out unequivocally. seen to be rE
In the first place he is one of the dying gods in the Sumerian litanies adduced above. that of dyin
He recurs in this function in a late text from Assur commenting on a ritual taking neighbours
place in mid-summer, in which IStaran, like Dumuzi in other texts, is lamented by his on the chara
sister IStar and taken to her temple where they beat his corpse so that the blood goes established;
down to the underworld.87 In the second place his function as arbitrator and judge is It must I
proverbial in the later part of the third millennium; gods and kings "render justice
like IStaran"88 Finally, IStaran has ophidian traits: the snake Nirab/Irban is his son and Seidl, Die Bab
messenger,89 and a late text even identifies the two.90 two kudurru's
which indicate:
one writhing a
80 Picchioni, Adapa I 16:30.
9, 50) or horni
81 I 346. bottom, contra~
82 Cf. Wiggennann, FS van Loon 122. have the same
83 See note 57. normal snake i
84 A further snake god in the court of Ningiszida is Imina: dMIN(ir'-ni-na).MUS.rx1 (An-AIIUln V 261).
at least the nOI
This is the Akkadian goddess Victory (Jacobsen TIT 34, 3246; CAD imiltu), here as a goddess of death
scratch) on a b
in ophidian form. In the Weidner List she appears in a clear underworld context, preceded by Ereskigal,
of Egyptian Ar
Allatum and lrkalla, and followed in one Ms. by the dragon Dannina (see A. Cavigneaux, Texts from
treated by GJ
Babylon I 90: 127, Weidner AfK 2 73:26f9). She is a manifestation of IStar (cf. A. Deimel, Pantheon no.
Beschwdrunge,
1594, R. Frankena, Takultu 93 no. 86; also of Damkina: cf. E. Reiner, JNES 33 225: II, King BMS 4: I I),
dNirab is the (
and among the terrible powers that accompany Naram-Sj'n in war (GUterbock, AfO 1347:4, OB Naram-Stn
IIIrd millenniu
Epic). In the forerunner of An-Anu/11 (TCL 15 10:351) the wife of Sara, dKLI-mul-mul, is followed by the
second mjllenr
snake dMUSir-ga DlN.DOB(lrban) (cf. McEwan OrNS 52 224), while in the z i - P a incantations (Ebeling
10: 142 and 35
ArOr 21 377 iii 6) the same goddess is followed by dlr-nin, the "guardian of heaven and earth".
be read lrhan
85 For this god see A. Sjoberg, TCS III 130ff., with previous literature, McEwan, OrNS 52 (1983), 221,
10: 142), ci'. W
Frankena, Takultll 88 no. 57, Weidner AfO 9 98-99. The oldest evidence for the ending -11 of the logographic
(OrNS 52 222
spelling dKA.DI is Ent. 28-29 i 10 (i n i m - d K A . D 1- n a - t a), cf. W.G. Lambert, "The Reading of the
dMUS, in both
God Name dKA.DI", ZA 59 (1969), 100-103. Further ED attestations of this god: M. Krebernik, "Die
Gotterlisten aus Fara", ZA 76 (1986), 187 xx 5', A. Alberti, "A Reconstruction of the Abu SalabTkh Fig. 5b resemt
God-List", SEL 2 (1985) 10:154, OIP 328 viii 1-2 (dKA-D1 di nu-m e-kud, "IStaran does not render is not only ass
justice"), D.O. Edzard, ARET V no. 6 xi 4, on which see Lambert JCS 41 (1989),4 (Samas assembles OrNS 52 222,
f d, n a m m a and dKA.DI; Etaran is here associated with two water gods, perhaps in the context of an corresponds to
irh-an, with th
ordeal). As city god of Der: TCS III 131, VET 6 412: 13 (OB God List), R.M. Whiting, AS 22 PI. 27/3
T/~e Amorites L
(OB Seal impression). ZTz-an, Ramm
86 See A.R. George, House Most High (1993), 76 no. 166 90 dMUS = df
87 A. Livingstone, Mystical and Mythological Explal1atol), Works ot Assyrian alld Babylonian Scholars
(1986) I 36ff. ad VAT 10099 (LKA 71), with further information on the Dumuzi rituals.
91 Ean I r. v
88 See the ED attestations cited in note 85, TCS III 130, J. Klein, Fs Sjdbelg 293, W. Heil11pel, JCS
92 Comparabl(
33 96:237 (Nanse Hymn): Istaran l d lis i - s a [k 1 a I a 111-a t i-I a - it m, "lStaran, by whom justice is of IStaran, reVi
executed and exists in the land" (followed by ~ingiszida), and still in L. Cagni, L'Epopea di Erra (1969), 93 See above,
94 AAA 20 PI.
112 iv 65ff. AN.GAL complains that the destruction of his city Der has caused justice to disappear from
Iraq 38 (1976:
the land. 95 An-Anum I
89 The relevant passages are cited by Sjoberg in TCS III 131 (from kudurru's: Scheil MDP II 91:23 =

42
 Transtigridian snake gods

The relation between snakes and justice is clarified by a passage in the Stele of the
Vultures,91 where the one who breaks the oath by Ninki (dNin-ki) is threatened: "may
the lady of the earth (nin-ki-ke4) let a snake from out of the earth bite him in his
foot".92 It is undoubtedly in this function that we find snakes on a large variety of
objects, among them the boundary stones on which they are sometimes explicitly
referred to as "Nirab, the messenger of IStaran",93 and on Neo-Assyrian land grants.94
Snakes guarding doorways are less specialized protectors of divine order; we find one
of them deified as Nirab/Irban, the protective spirit (u dug) of Ekur.95 The passage
from the Stele of the Vultures cited above also reveals that the revenging snake is at
home in the earth, exactly where one expects it.
Once two of IStaran's most salient characteristics, that of judge and snake god, are
seen to be related, it is no longer difficult to connect them with his third characteristic,
that of dying god. Obviously he was a chthonic snake god of the same type as his
neighbours in Esnunna, Ninazu and Tispak. Although the sparse texts informing us
on the character of the god do not reveal an interest in vegetation, the general pattern
established above certainly indicates such an interest.
It must be admitted, however, that one aspect of IStaran' s character does not fit a

Seidl, Die Bahylonischen Kudurru-RelieJs no. 48, King BBSI 36:49 = Seidl Kudurru-Reliej.i no. 67). The
two kudllrru's that mention dMUS in the text only have a normal snake among their representations,
which indicates that the normal snake is dMUS. While in all cases the snake on top of the stone and the
one writhing along its side are normal snakes, the snake at the bottom of the stone is either normal (no.
9, 50) or horned (no. 32, 33, 40, 62, 64). The two types, a normal one on top and a horned one at the
bottom, contrast on the so-called kudurru no. 40, which seems to indicate that the two snake types do not
have the same symbolic function (see fig. Ib) on this stone, but does not exclude the possibility that the
normal snake and the horned snake interchange as symbolic animal of IStaran on the other stones. That
at least the normal snake can be dMUS is also indicated by the snake in Egyptian style (the "horn" is a
scratch) on a brick of Kurigalzu recording the building of the temple of IStaran at Der (S. Smith, Journal
oj Egyptian Archaeology 18 (1932) 28fT.). The snakes dNirah(MUS, MUS.DIN.Dlm etc.) were recently
t;'eated by GJ.P. McEwan, dMUS and Related Matters, OrNS 52 (1983), 215-229, M. Krebernik, Die
Beschworllngen aus Fara and Ehla (1984), 298ff., and P. Steinkeller, FAOS 17 (1989), 244. Apparently
dNirah is the deified snake and dlrhan the deified river Euphrates (represented as a snake), but since in
IIIrd I~illennium texts ciMUS spells'both Nirab and Irban, their early histories remain confused. From the
second millennium onwards dMUS and dMUS ir-ba DIN.DUB contrast (cf. All-Anum. forerunner TCL 15
10: 142 and 352), but with what readings exactly remains undecided, since besides Nirab, ciMUS can still
be read Irban (glosses in Proto-Ea MSL XIV 143: 14', and An-Anum I 274, corresponding to TCL XV
10: 142), cf. W.G. Lambert, BSOAS 48 (1985), 44446 The Sumerian literary passages cited by McEwan
(OrNS 52 222) compare the cord of a door (Gudea Cyl. A XXVII I) and Enki's rudder (EJN 86) with
ciMUS, in both cases obviously denoting a kind of snake (a Sumerian rudder as e. g. on GMA 1412, I430f.,
Fig. 5b resembles the archaic sign BU as in ZATV 56, which also has the value musx). The snake dMUS
is not only associated with Istaran and Der, but also with Ningiszida (above note 72) and Enki (McEwan
OrNS 52 222, VAS 17 I iv I, where he is called g u d u 4 - a b z u and preceded by Tispak). Sumerian Irban
corresponds to Semitic AmtJlu (a name of the Euphrates), to which it is undoubtedly genetically related:
ittJ-an, with the typical -an ending of the early West-Semitic dialects in Mesopotamia (see G. Buccellati,
The A1I10rites oflhe Vr /II period (1966), 224f1'., A. Archi OrNS 54 (1985) II. and the god names: Asn-an,
Zlz-an, Ramm-an, Rusp-an, IStar-an).
90 ciMUS = dKA.DI, 5R 31/2 (= CT41 27) r. 3
91 Eall I r. v 34-36, restored 9-11, cf. H. Steible, FAOS 511 (1982), 142.
92 Comparable passages: Luzag 2 79ff., cf. Steible, FAOS 5/2 (1982), 332 (stele erected on the command
of IStaran, revenging snake), Amar-Sln 12, cf. Steible FAOS 9/2 (1991), 240.
93 See above, note 89 (MDP IT 91 :23, BBS~ 36:49).
94 AAA 20 PI. XCVIII-c, cf. J.N. Postgate, Neo-Assyrian Grants and Decrees (1969), 115f.; S. Dalley,
Iraq 38 (1976), 107ff.
95 An-AnulI/ I 275, cf. MSL IV 5: 19 (of Esarra), and TCL XV 10: 140.

43
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

chthonic snake god: his relation with the sky. According to his name he is in origin Uruk period.
a Semitic Venus (lstar-an),96 one of his names is An - g a IIAna raMi, "Great An",97 character,109 I
and in a late theological text he is married to Manzat, the rainbow.98 We will return resided in tht
to this point below. and the di vir
Although IStaran is not one of the great gods, as a city god and divine judge he was Ninurta in lat
certainly not a minor one. Thus there is every reason to expect him to be depicted in an associatiol
some form, especially in the third millennium, after which his importance diminishes. Theicono
When it is agreed that we are looking for a god with chthonic characteristics, i.e. one dji 114on the
associated with snakes and vegetation, the art of the later third millennium poses only Dur-Untas bl
one candidate, the snake-god holding court on Akkadian seals (Fig. 4b-d). McEwan and shows th
tentatively identifies this figure as Nirab/1rban, the messenger ofIstaran, but this would hand, and th,
leave the identity of the master open and give a servant god the iconography of an seal impressit
independent lord.99 Miroschedji (
The snake god has an anthropomorphic torso, and the lower body of a winding which a secOl
snake on which he seems to sit. The snake god, who, like Ninazu on the relief stone in his hand. Ir
from Esnunna, may wear a flat cap instead of a horned crown,IOO sometimes 101holds U. Seidll16 ot
the end of his ophidian lower body which may end in a dragon's head.lo2 Generally, god, and addl
whether receiving visitors or drinking with his wife, a fire altar stands in front of and inscribed
him,lm just as before the god on the snake-dragon.lo4 With rare regularity there is dedicated to
some form of vegetation present, either held by the god, planted behind his throne, about Vall at' ~
or floating in the field. Again with rare regularity a star or star-spade and moon are which the tW(
present and a gate that may be winged. 105Sometimes rays emanate from his shoulders one of the div
or from those of his wife.106 Although still not understood, these astral symbols serve for doubt,120 t
well to cover the sky aspect of IStaran (and his wife) discussed above. on the snake-
The provenienced seals showing the snake-god seem to be distributed like those The Insus
showing the boat-god, with a centre outside Sumer proper in the East. 107The proposed sparse texts. II
identification has the added advantage of linking geographically two quite similar earlier period
iconographies, that of the snake-god of the Akkadian seals (IStaran), and that of the
Elamite snake-god, who, Insusinak or not, is his neighbour. 109P. de Mirosci
g. Insusinak, "Lord of Susa", is a Sumerian god on Elamite territory, in origin 1-25, especially
nothing more than a city god, lord of his city Susa. In Sumer he is attested already in 110Treated and c
anciennes (1982)
the god list from Aba $alablkh,108 and we will argue elsewhere that the most likely cit. 40 I only de I
date for his introduction in Susa is the time of the Sumerian colony there, the Late cit. note 108 18)
III Lambert RIA
96 Lambert Z4 59 103. 112Lambert RIA
97 Lambert RIA V (1976-1980) 211, Sjoberg TCS III 131. 113 An = Anum s
98 Reiner lNES 33 227 XIV. 114de Mirosche(
99 McEwan OrNS 52 221. For the OB period an anthropomorphic image of Etman is implied by the fact origines du dieu I
that he has a nadflU, see 1. Renger Z4 58 169415,L. Speleers, Catalogue Supplement (1943), no. 1625. 153-161.
100Flat cap e. g. Boehmer UAVA IV 580, 585f., horned crown e. g. ibid. 578, 584. 115de Miroschec
101 Boehmer UAVA IV 578, Fig. 4b. Napirisha", Irani
102 Boehmer UAVA IV 577, Collon WACS 1I 185 (Fig. 4c; dragon's heads), Fig. 4b (snake's head), GMA 116U. Seidl, Die
1491 (snake's head), Amiet, Glyplique SlIsienne 1592 (dragon's head). 117 frAnt XVI PI
103E. g. Boehmer UAVA IV 578, 579. Dur-Untas stele,
104See note 60. 118Vallat apud c
105 Boehmer UAVA IV 576, L. al-Gailani ed., Old Babylonian Cylinder Sealsf;'OIn fhe Hamrill (1992), 38 119The aod of tl
no. 68 (Akkadian). 120Cf. Trokay, (
106Boehmer UAVA IV 580 (photo Collon WACS II 186), Buchanan Ashlllolean 343a. 121The ancient i
107Cf. Boehmer UAVA IV 181. on breast) in Sw
108Alberti SEL 2 8:71. (1992), 75ff. (sn

44
 Transtigridian snake gods

Uruk period. Texts in the Elamite language do not contain much information on his
character,109 but the Middle Babylonian funerary texts from Susallo reveal that he
resided in the netherworld where he received the dead lead to him by Lagamalill
and the divine judge ISne-karab.112 Like Tispak and Ninazu he is identified with
Ninurta in late theological texts.113 The little textual material there is does not reveal
an association with snakes or dragons.
The iconography of the Elamite snake-god was recently discussed by de Mirosche-
dji 114on the basis ofaXUIth century stele of king Untas-Napirisa, originally from
Dur-Untas but excavated in Susa (Fig. 5a).lls The stele is dedicated to Insusinak,
and shows the king standing before a seated god holding rod and ring in his right
hand, and the head of a dragon in his left. On the basis of other evidence, seals,
seal impressions and a rock relief dating between the XIXth and XIIth centuries, de
Miroschedji convincingly restores the throne of the god as a winding dragon, from
which a second dragon branches off and connects with the head which the god holds
in his hand. In her study of the Kurangun Rock Relief, one of the pieces in the dossier,
U. Seidll16 objects that a dedication is insufficient reason to indentify the represented
god, and adduces a badly broken torso I 17of a god holding two dragons on his breast
and inscribed with a dedication to both Napirisa and Insusinak. That the object is
dedicated to Napirisa and Insusinak, however, is not what de Miroschedji reports
about Vallat's reading of the badly broken traces: it is a dedicatory inscription, in
which the two are mentioned, and no more. I 18The god of the torso might as well be
one of the divine servants of the two godS.119 Although the evidence leaves some room
for doubt,120 the present context strongly favours the identification of the Elamite god
on the snake-throne with Insusinak.
The Insusinak represented in art reveals an interest in snakes not attested in the
sparse texts. In fact the association of the god of Susa with snakes is attested for a much
earlier period on late prehistoric stamp seals dating to Susa 1.121 The Elamite snake

109P. de Miroschedji, "Le Dieu Elamite au Serpent et aux Eaux laillissantes", lranica Antica XVI (1981),
1-25, especially 17.
110Treated and discussed by J. Bottero in G. Gnoli - J.P. Vernant eds., La 1I10rt, les morts dans les societes
anciennes (1982), 393fT. Against w. Hinz, RIA 5 117f., Lambert RIA V 196 and VI 419, and Bottero op.
cit. 40 I only de Miroschedji does not want to derive underworld traits for Insusinak from these texts (op.
cit. note 108 18).
III Lambert RIA VI 419 (infernal character).
112Lambert RIA V 196f.
113 An = AnulII sa ameli (ed. Litke) 75 (Nimma sa qulti, N. of silence); CT 25 12:3 (= Ninurta in Elam).
114de Miroschedji, lranica Antica XVI (1981), 1-25, see also, with further literature, M. Trokay, "Les
origines du dieu elamite au serpent", in L. de Meyer - H. Gasche eds., Actes de la XXXVleme RA I (1991),
153-161.
115 de Miroschedji op. cit. (note 114) PI. VIII, inscription: F. Vall at, "1'Inscription de la stele d'Untash-
Napirisha", Ironica Anliqua XVI (1981), 27-33.
116U. Seidl, Die Elarnische Felsreliefs von Kiiriingf;n und Naqs-e Rustam. (1986).
117IrAnt XVI PI. IX/4. In our opinion the winding snake throne must necessarily be reconstructed on the
Dur-Untas stele, and definitely not under the broken torso.
118Vallat aplid de Miroschedji op. cit. (note 114) 14.
119 The god of the torso is not necessarily throned (note 117).
120Cf. Trokay, CRRAI XXXVI 15945, with.a brief review of contrary opinions.
121The ancient Ibex-demon mastering snakes appears in a clearly political setting (dressed, stamp seal
on breast) in Susa at the end of the Susa J Period, see E. von der Osten-Sacken, Del' Ziegen- 'Ddl1lOn'
(1992), 75ff. (snake gods in Iran) and Abb. 48f., and for a brief discussion of the political nature of

45
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

god presently under discussion recalls the older Akkadian snake god which we have the boat-god i
identified above as IStaran, but with one important difference: the anthropomorphic and but definitive
theriomorphic parts have split into two separate beings.122 On the oldest representations form of the cc
(XIXth - XVlIth centuries) the snake still has a human head,123 dragon's heads appear to other const
later and finally, to complete the split, replace the human head. Whatever
The fire altar found before the Mesopotamian snake-gods is reconstructed by the subject UI
Seidl before the Elamite snake god of the Kurangun rock relief. 124Once the chthonic with agricultu
character of these gods is recognized, a plausable solution for the presence of the fire Insusinak, all
altar lies at hand: the earth gods need it for warmth and light in their dark and damp regIOn.
environment.
h. The boat-god 125is a snake with an anthropomorphic torso, and sometimes
with a dragon's head at the tail end.126 Rarely he is supplied with two127 or four128 Conclusions
legs, and occasionally the anthropomorphic part is replaced by the head of a snake.129
He moves through a cosmic ocean populated by disconnected monsters, animals and All members
objects,130 and transports a seated god who both on Akkadian and earlier seals131 may and parallels)
have rays coming from his shoulders and probably is the Sun God. Although the snake-god (N
meaning of the scene is not exactly clear, J:12it is indisputable that it has something to the various dl
do with agriculture and vegetation. The boat god himself (as well as some of the figures are associated
in the field) may hold stalks of vegetation, and a plough is almost always among the their servants
objects crowding the cosmic ocean. The scene is attested on seals from the end of the are partly or c
ED II until the end of the Akkad period, but the geographical distribution of the seals second charac
is uneven. Seals of known provenience featuring the boat-god stem predominantly gods of veget,
from the Diyala region and the Hamrin basin, few are from Mari and Kis, while only although prob:
three or four were found in the South of Mesopotamia.133 Following B. Landsberger134 be independen
Taken toge
this figure Wiggermann apud E. Porada, Man and III/age in Ancient Mesopo/{llllia (Anshen Lecture 1993) and death defi
(forthcoming). of the earth, g
122See also Trokay CRRAI XXXVI I53ff., who considers the Mesopotamian snake-god the iconographic chthonic gods.
forerunner (not necessarily the same god) of the Elamite god on the dragon throne, and connects the latter
with the Akkadian renaissance of the early second millennium. dealing nether
123de Miroschedji IrAnt XVI PI. I, II; for a quick review see also the drawings in Trokay CRRAI XXXVI whom is a dy
160 snakes and dr
124Seidl, op. cit. (note 116) 9.
125See P. Amiet, GMA 177ff. and no. 1405-1448. 1777-1785 (ED), 1495-1506 (Akkadian), Boehmer group of chth
UAVA IV p. 79ff., S.N. Karg, BoFo 8 (1984), 69f., I. Furlong, "Divine Headdresses of Mesopotamia in Anum, can be
the Early Dynastic Period", BAR IS 334 (1987), 170fT. (many examples with description). A further I
126 GMA 1408, 1411, 1420, 1440 (ED), 1503-1506 (Akkadian), 1777, 1785 (ED).
127The protoliterate example has two legs: H.J. Kantor, 'The Ancestry of the Divine Boat (Sirsir?) of gods. Esnunm
Early Dynastic and Akkadian Glyptic", lNES 43 (1984), 277-280. city of Insusil
128 GMA 1494 (with lion, plow and pot). transtigridian (
129D. Collon, Firs/ III/pressions (1987) no. 756, from Tell Suleimeh; the identity of the dragon boat on centre of Nina:
this seal with the boat god on others is proved by the "building a zikkurat" scene in the lower register,
which is often combined with the boat god in the upper register (GMA 1439fT.), see Fig. 5c. The gesture believe that Ni
made by the sitting man (he touches the chin of the dragon) was seen above on the stone relief from call it, a "plac
Esnunna (note 30f.). A god on a snake-like boat occurs on a seal from Amsterdam together with the snake
written in the
god (IStaran), DJ.W. Meijer, lEOL 25 (1977-78), PI. III no. 23.
130Bird-man, scorpion or Scorpion-man. (human headed) lion, woman with ear of corn, plow and pot, plausibly sugg
moon, star, pointed star.
131With rays: GMA 1430f., with rays and saw (!) 1435 (ED); with rays 1500, 1504-1506 (Akkadian). for an ED attestat
132Cf. P. Amiet, RA 71 (1977), 113f., OrNS 45 (1976), 17ff., Furlong op. cit. (note 125) 6ff., 45. 135 Wiggermann,
133Amiet GMA 177, Moortgat-Correns Iraq 36 (1974) 159, Karg BaFo 8 69f. 136C.B.F. Walker
134B. Landsberger, "Assyriologische Notizen. I. Der Schiffergott Sirsir"', WdO I (1947-52), 362-376; 137M. Trokay, C

46
 Transtigridian snake gods

the boat-god is often identified with Enki's skipper (Nin)sirsir, the "the slithering one",
but definitive proof is lacking. An alternative solution proposes that he is an early
form of the constellation Hydra, that the disconnected elements in the field correspond
to other constellations, and that the whole scene has a calendary meaning.135
Whatever the meaning of the scene or the name of the boat god, a relation with
the subject under discussion is indisputable. The distribution of the seals, the link
with agriculture and vegetation, and the form of the boat god resembling IStaran and
Insusinak, all point to a common underlying mythology at home in the transtigridian
region.

Conclusions

All members of the An-Anum subgroup of netherworld gods (An-Anum V 213-295

and parallels) defined above have clear ophidian characteristics, as partly theriomorph
snake-god (Ninazu/Tispak, lStaran), king of snakes (Ninazu), or master of one of
the various dragons (Ninazu/Tispak, Ningiszida, IStaran, lnsusinak); three of them
are associated with the constellation Hydra (Ereskigal, Ningiszida, IStaranI36). Among
their servants and children there are several that either by name or by appearance
are partly or completely snake (Matum, Dannina, Ipahum, Basmu, Imina, Nirat). A
second characteristic shared by most members of the group is that they are dying
gods of vegetation. Only in the case of the sparsely documented foreigner Insusinak,
although probably a god of fertilityl37 as well as a netherworld god, this point cannot
be independently proved.
Taken together, the ophidian nature and characteristic associations with vegetation
and death define the members of the An-Anum subgroup of netherworld gods as gods
of the earth, gods of growth and decay, of life and death, in other words as typical
chthonic gods. As earth gods they are netherworld gods, but distinct from other death
dealing netherworld inhabitants like Erra, Nergal, Lugalirra and Meslamtaea, none of
whom is a dying god of vegetation or associated with snakes and dragons. Clearly
snakes and dragons are not necessary attributes of any netherworld god. Once the
group of chthonic snake gods is defined, a further member, not mentioned in An-
Anum, can be recognized, namely the boat-god treated above.
A further remarkable point concerns the geographical distribution of the snake-
gods. Esnunna, the city of Ninazu/Tispak, Der, the city of IStaran, and Susa, the
city of Insusinak are located across the Tigris near the Iranian mountains. These
transtigridian cult centres are important cities, while in Sumer proper Enigi, the cult
centre of Ninazu, cannot have been much more than a village, while there is reason to
believe that Ningiszida's cult centre Gisbanda was precisely what the Temple Hymns
call it, a "place lying in the fields". Incantations against snake-bite from Enegi are
written in the Elamite (and other non-Mesopotamian) language(s), and it has been
plausibly suggested that the iconography of Ningiszida in Lagas was imported from

for an ED attestation see OIP 99 49:99 (Zami hymns).

135 Wiggerlllann, RIA s.v. Mischwesen 2.4
136 e.B.F. Walker - H. Hunger, MDOG 109 (1977), 30:9
137 M. Trokay, CRRAI XXXVI ISSff.

47
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

Esnunna. It can of course not be denied that Ninazu and Ningiszida are Sumerian Iconograph:
gods, but the evidence suggests that their ophidian traits were developed under the Forte eds., ,
influence of transtigridian religious ideas. In fact, as has been repeatedly shown, a Gods in Al
'Leviathan
religious interest in snakes in these regions goes back deep into prehistory and through
'Le Mythol,
the ages remains quite visible in the iconography of Elam and the Iranian mountains.
7 (1993), 4
The influence of an Iranian substrate helps to explain the histories of two gods
les Textes (
that are hardly chthonic snake-gods in origin, IStaran and Insusinak. According to his Problems', :
name IStaran is a Semitic god, a kind of IStar,138 while according to his Insusinak is Description
nothing more than a Sumerian city god I head of state, "Lord of Susa". Both gods Ie P. Arniet, S,
settled down in Iranian territory, and apparently became chthonic snake-gods in their If E. Porada in
foreign homes. seal impress
During the first half of the second millennium Mesopotamia loses interest in the 19 L. Delaport(
snake-gods. Ninazu and Ningiszida, whose cult is not supported by important cities Ih RJ. Tourna!
and was apparently in part a rural affair, show definite lack of character when their P. Arniet, I',
3d,4a.
cults are combined with that of Dumuzi, a dying god of different origin. After that
2a Boehmer VI
they disappear, at least as chthonic snake gods. The musfJussu, Tispak's dragon, loses
2b H. Frankforl
all contact with his chthonic roots when after the defeat of Esnunna he falls into 2c Boehmer V;
the hands of the victor, Marduk, a god that is in no way chthonic. Tispak himself 2d Historical d(
lives on in peripheral personal names, and in Der the cult of IStaran and Nirab/Irban RIA): 1) Pre
continues all through Mesopotamian history, but none of them plays a part in the Classical fOI
national pantheon.139 Gudea); 6)
easier comp,
3a P. Arniet, RJ
Figures 3b H. Frankfort
cy linder seal
3c MFA 6S.141
I a The constellation Hydra (dMusIBasmu) from a Seleucid clay tablet (see note 13).
3d Frankfort, St
Ib Dragon-snake from a Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal (E. Porada, CANES I no. 688) (I);
cylinder seal
Dragon-snake from a Middle-Babylonian boundary stone (U. Seidl, Die Babylonische
4a MFA 64.14S
Kudurru Reliefs no. 32), probably a basmu (2); Dragon-snake from a Middle-Babylonian
4b H. Pittman, ,
boundary stone (Seidl ibid. no. 62, drawing after L.W. King, Babylonian Boundary Stones
4c D. Collon, ~
(1912) PI. XLII), probably a basmu, see note 89 (3).
18S; Akkadi;
Ic Dragon-snake from a Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal (B. Teissier, Ancient Near Eastern
her shoulden
Cylinder Seals from the Marcopoli Collection (1984) no. 224, see 168 for further refer-
4d Collon ibid.
ences), same scene (dragon chased by a weather god) and consequently the same dragon
Sa Upper part 0
as on Ib(l), probably a basmu.
[ranica Anti~
Id Dragon-snake from a Neo-Assyrian relief (Esarhaddon, see D. Kolbe, Die Reliefpro-
gramme religios-mythologischen Characters in neu-assyrischen Pall is ten (1981), Type
Sb P. Arniet, m
Sc D. Collon, F
XVIII, J. Reade BaM 1040), apotropaic basmu; interchanges with apotropaic clay mod-
6a Photo of MF
els of normal snakes that are basmu's as well (see D. Rittig, Assyrisch-babylonische
6b Photo of MF
KLeinpLastik magischer Bedeutung vom J 3.-6. lh. v. Chr. (1977), 122f., E. Klengel-Brandt
FuB 1036).
le-h West-Semitic (e, g, h) and Hurrian (f) Weather God or his adjunct (f) mastering dragon-
snake (called banu in the Ugaritic texts) interchanging on other objects of the same
period with a normal snake, see E. Williams-Forte, 'The Snake and the Tree in the

138Jacobsen, The Harps lhal Once ... 59 proposes a different etymology for IStaran.
139In Mesopotamia snakes and dragons occur in a variety of roles, but the idea put forward here is thai
when they are associated with chthonic dying gods, this association is an imported feature.

48
 Transtigridian snake gods

Iconography and Texts of Syria during the Bronzing Age', in L. Gorelick and E. Williams-
Forte eds., Ancient Seals and the Bible (1983), 18ff., W.G. Lambert, 'Trees, Snakes and
Gods in Ancient Syria and Anatolia', BSOAS XLVIfT (1985), 435ff., Ch. Uehlinger,
'Leviathan und die Schiffe in Ps 104, 25-26', Biblica 71 (1990), 499ff., l-M. Durand,
'Le Mythologeme du Combat entre Ie dieu de l'orage et la mer en Mesopotamie', MARl
7 (1993),41-61, P. Bordreuil - D. Pardee, 'Le Combat de Baclu avec Yammu d'apres
les Textes Ougaritiques', ibid. 63-70, E. Porada, 'A Cylinder with a Storm God and
Problems', 227f. in D.J.W. Meijer ed., Natural Phenoma. Their Meaning, Depiction and
Description in the Ancient Near East (1992).
Ie P. Amiet, SEb VII (1984) 143 and Fig. 39a; Syrian cylinder seal, 17th century.
If E. Porada in D.1.W. Meijer ed., Natural Phenomena 239 Fig. 3 and comments on p. 230;
seal impression from Nuzi.
Ig L. Delaporte, CCL I A9J8, cf. Lambert BSOAS XLVTTI 14136
Ih R.I. Tournay - S. Saouaf, Stele de Tukulti-Ninurta II, AAS (1952), I69ff., good photo in
P. Amiet, l'Art Antique du Proche-Orient (1977) no. 102; Earlier basmu's: Figs. 2a, 3c,
3d,4a.
2a Boehmer UAVA IV abb. 283; ED III cylinder seal.
2b H. Frankfort, 01 P 60 no. 331; Akkadian stone relief from Tell Asmar.
2c Boehmer UAVA IV no. abb. 570; Akkadian cylinder seal.
2d Historical development of snake-dragon/mus{:lussu (after Wiggermann, S.v. mus{:lussu in
RIA): I) Protoliterate, 2) ED lIT, 3) Earlier Akkadian forerunner (snake's head); 4-6)
Classical form and variants; 5) Winged snake-dragon of Ningiszida (from the seal of
Gudea); 6) Variant Neo-Babylonian snake-dragon of Marduk with feathered tail. For
easier comparison all dragons are shown facing to the left.
3a P. Amiet, RB LXXII PI, V/4; impression of Akkadian cylinder seal, original lost.
3b H. Frankfort, Stratified Cylinder Sealsjf"OlTI the Diyala Region (1955), Fig. 609; Akkadian
cylinder seal from Tell Asmar.
3c MFA 65.1413 (Boston), see above note 50 and Fig. 6a (Photo); Akkadian cylinder seal.
3d Frankfort, Stratified Cylinder Seals Fig. 654 (= Boehmer UA VA IV Abb. 714); Akkadian
cylinder seal from Tell Asmar.
4a MFA 64.1458 (Boston), see above note 49 and Fig. 6b (Photo); Akkadian cylinder seal.
4b H. Pittman, Ancient Art in Miniature (1987), 23 Fig. 11; Akkadian cylinder seal.
4c D. Coli on, Western Asiatic Seals in the British Museum. Cylinder Seals II (1982), no.
185; Akkadian cylinder seal from Ur; IStar (upper register) with maces coming out of
her shoulders and IStaran (lower register) as complementary figures.
4d Collon ibid. 186 (= Boehmer UAVA IV 580); Akkadian cylinder seal.
5a Upper part of stele of Untas-Napirisa (13th century) from Susa; after P. de Miroschedji,
lranica Antiqua XVI (1981) Pl VlII.
5b P. Amiet, GMA 1784; ED III cylinder seal;
5c D. Collon, First Impressions (1987) Fig. 756; ED III cylinder seal from Tell Suliemeh.
6a Photo of MFA 65.J413; drawing Fig. 3c.
6b Photo of MFA 65.1458; drawing Fig. 4a.

49
 F.A.M . ~.19germann

- f)}
_____r'.:-

::/(
------ ~
.. (l) '---.
C::.,:J

.:::':'
..
"

/' ....
/" '"

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

so
Transtigridian snake gods
F.A.M. Wiggermann
Transtigridian snake gods
 F.A.M. Wiggermann

Fig. 6

c.

Fig. 5

54
Transtigridian snake gods
 NANAYA: LADY OF MYSTERY I

Joan Goodnick Westenholz

Fee d0r / Freender d0r / selv man d0r tilsidst

Eftermeelet / aldrig d0r / naar vel det er vundent
(Havamal verse 76)
In memoriam
Thorkild Jacobsen

It is a privilege to be able to dedicate this study of a Sumerian love goddess to Thor-

kild Jacobsen, whose lectures, books and conversation have proved a rich source of
inspiration over the years. After sitting at the feet of the master in Chicago, Copenha-
gen and Jerusalem, my pilgrimage to Bradford gave me a rare opportunity to discuss
the fundamentals of Sumerian religion with my mentor.
Of all the Sumerian goddesses, Jacobsen never said a word about Nanaya. There
was nothing to say since she did not appear in any of the sources - neither the myths
nor the literature. This dearth of direct information piqued my curiosity and led to the
investigations presented here.
The evolution of a mythic figure is rarely a simple process; many historical, cultural
and social factors are involved. In particular, a divinity is the outer manifestation of
the deepest feelings of a certain society, their fears and desires.
The goddess Nanaya should provide us with a unique opportunity to observe the
crystallization process, and to see the mythic imagination at work in the light of
historical day as opposed to most deities, whose origins are inetrievably lost in the
mists of prehistory. For Nanaya is a latecomer to the assembly of Sumerian gods;
she appears from nowhere to become the greatest Mesopotamian goddess of all times
- greater than the Sumerian Ninhursaga, the highest lady of the Sumerian pantheon,
more enduring than even the Semitic goddess par excellence, !Star, who was wor-
shipped from one end of the Near East to the other. Nanaya was a goddess whose
name was never lost on the pages of time. Her worship in the Hellenistic and Roman
worlds guaranteed her mention by classical authors, while her veneration among the
Parthians and Sassanians brought her to the attention of Islamic writers. Even the
biblical reader was aware of her existence, since the Second Book of Maccabees
records that Antiochus IV Epiphanes was murdered by the priests of Nanaya in the
goddess' temple, which he had come to despoil (2 Macc I: 13ff).2
Despite this fame, she remains a lady of mystery. Although she eventually arrived
under the blazing lights of history, her origins and the very meaning of her name are
unknown. I propose to review the state of our present knowledge of this enigmatic

I I would like to thank Aage Westenholz, who read the manuscript and offered many helpful corrections
and suggestions. I also want to express my gratitude to Dalit Weinblatt. who drew the figures in the text.
2 For the most recent survey, see W. Heimpel, "A Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities," Syro-
Mesopotamian Studies 4 (1982), 65-67.

57
 Joal1 Goodnick Westenholz

goddess, to speculate on possible scenarios that might have encouraged her cult, and to Ur III administ
propose some hypotheses in the hope of penetrating the aura of mystery surrounding to the palace, ~
Nanaya. as a Sumerian
A name is usually a good indicator of nationality but the origin of Nanaya's Jady.14 On the
name is lost in antiquity. Nanaya looks like an Akkadian formation. Her name is (NTNTAG.TAG)
always spelled out syllabically: Na-na-a-(a). This spelling has been given a phonetic divinity.ls The
representation: Nana, Nanay, Nanaya, Nanaya. The last transcription is supported by Fara (dN1NTAG
the Aramaic ('KJJ,'JJ) and one of the Greek transcriptions (Ncxvcwx); the other has period, there i
Ncxvcx.3 Denying an Akkadian origin for her name, some scholars have suggested a name of this g
Sumerian, Aramaic,4 or Indo-European derivation.' However, a nominal formation in writings, it set
-ay is a characteristic Semitic trait used in l1isbe and hypocoristic constructions.6 On dNINTAG.(TAG
the other hand, the stem l1al1(n)- does not have any known meaning, despite the above Going bad
suggestions. Another possibility that has not yet been considered is a derivation from related diviniti
the Elamite word for 'day (24 hour period),: /1an(a).7 The transcription 'Nanaya' used By the tirr
in this paper is purely arbitrary and is not intended to represent any linguistic reality.s the end of the
If the onomastic evidence is unhelpful, the godlists are little better. First, she does ~arpanltum, \\
not appear in any Early Dynastic godlist. Following Lambert's classification,9 the next
godlist to appear chronologically would be the Weidner list from the Neo-Sumerian 13 For a descri pti
period, in which the arrangement of the gods is theological.lo Therefore, it is one of 1993),221-223.1
2 5482 ii 19-20 (
the most important documents giving evidence of the religious thought of this period, in the same groUt
and forms the basis of a list which was used at Uruk as well as Babylon into the late 14 For the verb z
Babylonian period. I I Not surprisingly, the name of the goddess Nanaya appears in the On the other hane
meanings such as
same group as Inanna. great" - A. Sjo
This list not only provides the first evidence of her theological position but also 77f. Verbal constl
offers some information on her identity. Her name appears before that of another L'Allthroponymie
shadowy goddess, dBi-zil-la (commonly written NE.NUN.LAL).12 The linkage of these din.nin.sa6.ga, "tt
15 Emesallist dill
two goddesses is found not only in the godlists but also in the same or similar types of explained as INA
MSL 4 (1956), 9 :
for this compositi
3 G. Hoffmann, Alls:iige ails syrischen AktclI persischer Miirtyrer, (Abhandlungen fUr die Kunde des 16 dNIN.TAG Fa
Morgenlandes 7, Leipzig, 1880), 155-161. Note the differentiation he makes in the different distribution See M. Krebernil
of NIXVIX in the east whom he relates to Anahita and NIXVlXllX in the west. 17 OIP 99 83 iii'
4 Heimpel, "Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities," 17. that dTAG occur~
5 G. Hoffmann, AlIs:iige aus syrischclI AktC11pcrsischer Miirtyrer, op. cil. He traces the root of the word 18 J.J.M. Roberts
to Sanskrit nana "mother". in Susa.
6 For Akkadian, see GAG 56p. 19 Note also the
7 F.W. Konig, Die elamischen Konigsinschri/ien, (AIO Beiheft 16, Graz, 1965),205 s.v. /lana; R. Hallock, reading. Howevel
Persepolis Fortification Tablets (OIP 92, Chicago, 1969),736 s.v. nan; W. Hinz and H. Koch, E/artlisei1es The latter divinit
WorteriJueh, (AMI 17, Berlin, 1987), 968f., 984. altsumerischen B,
8 For this transcription of the name, see R. Biggs, SA.ZI.GA, Ancient Mesopotamian Potency Incanlatiolls, and Akkadian Ro
(TCS 2, Locust Valley, 1967), 20, text 3, note to I. 24, and E. Reiner, "A Sumero-Akkadian Hymn of dUttu (normally'
Nana," JNES 33 (1975), 222, note 8. discussions sub S
9 W.G. Lambert, "Gotterlisten," RIA 3 (1957-1971),473-479. 20 W13946,b i 5
10 The list received this name since the first pieces were assembled by E. Weidner, in AfK 2 (1924); see later dTAG rathei
references in W.G. Lambert, "Gotterlisten," 474. The references to Nanaya appear in Weidner, II: 20 21 W1473331,ax
dNa-na-a-a :: [dNa-lila-a. I II (in a person
II For the Uruk list, see von Weiher,
Vruk III 108 W23295: 20 and for the Babylon list, see A. Cavigneaux. Gregoire, The Pr,
TeXIS Seholaires du Temple de NaM sa ~are I, (Bagdad, 1981), 82-99. 7 105. See furthe
12 The reading of her name as dBi-zil-hi is securely founded on the variant spellings, especially the Ur 282, n. 24.
III dBi-ze-la. Cf. Deimel, Pantheon, (1914), nos.404 sub dBi-~i-[lla, 413 sub dBi(l)-nun-lal, 2328 sub 22 SLTI22ii23
dNe-nun-lal; N. Schneider, Die Gdllernamen von Vr III, (Analecta Orientalia 19, Rome 1939), 110. 55 sub iii 6 dBi-li-la (sic
dBi-~i-la. 179-194, but nO

58
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

Ur III administrative texts concerned with sacrifices to divinities brought in procession

to the palace, sfzkur sa
e-gal.13 The name of the second goddess could be interpreted
as a Sumerian verbal form: dBi-ze-la 'she who is pleasing', a lovely name for a loving
lady.14 On the other hand, the compilers of the Emesal list believed that dNin-zfl-zfl
(NIN.TAG.TAG) was the Sumerian name and Nanaya the Akkadian name of the same
divinity. IS The two alter-egos are indeed known from Early Dynastic godlists, from
Fara (dNIN TAG and dNUN NUN)16 and Abu-.$alabTkh (dNE.NUN).17 In the Old Akkadian
period, there is a possible Sargonic theophoric personal name composed with the
name of this goddess: Um-mi-dNIN.T[AG], MD? 1474: 1.18 On the basis of these early
writings, it seems possible to posit two goddesses who might have later coalesced:
dNIN TAG.(TAG) and dNE.NUN.(LAL).19
Going back further in time to the archaic period, we have evidence of two possibly
related divinities in Uruk, in theophoric personal names written: dTAG20 and dNUN.21
By the time the theologians compiled the Nippur godlist, Nanaya was placed at
the end of the Inanna section, after the Inannas of Eanna and of Esagila and before
$arpanItum, while Bi-ze-Ia was placed a few lines lower.22 On the other hand, the

13 For a description of this royal rite, see W. Sallaberger, Der kultische Kalendar der Ur III-Zeit, (Berlin,
1993), 221-223. References to dBf-zfl-la are found in PDT 2 1050: 17 (5S 6), PDT I 164:5 (5S 8), TCL
2 5482 ii 19-20 (IS I), CT 32 41-43 iv 18 (IS I), PDT I 555 (?). Note that Nanaya and Bi-si-il-Ia appear
in the same group in the takultu-texts.
14 For the verb zfl "to make pleasing," see A. Sjoberg, "A Hymn to Lama-sa6-ga," }CS 26 (1974), 169.
On the other hand, NUN = zil could also be the source of meaning. If we eliminate obvious incompatible
meanings such as "to peel, strip, remove," or "to knead," we find the meaning madu, rubbCt "to belmake
great" - A. Sjoberg, The Collection of the Sumerian Temple Hymns, (TCS III, Locust Valley, 1969),
771'. Verbal constructions with the conjugation prefix bf are found in personal onomastics, see H. Limet,
L'AnthroponYlIlie sumerienne dans les documents de la 3e dynaslie d'Ur, (Paris, 1968), 87, 234. Cf.
din.nin.sa6.ga, "the sweet lady" another name for Nanaya, discussed in note 23.
15 Emesallist dlm-me-ir = dingir = ilul11, I 90: [dgasan-zfl-zfl] : dnin-zfl-zfl : dna-na-a following Ninsianna
explained as INANNA.MUL (I 89 third column, Akkadian) and before Latarak (I 91). Ed. B. Landsberger
MSL 4 (1956). 9 and discussed by Lambert, "Gotterlisten," 477 sub 10 for a late date of 1400-900 B.C.
for this composition.
16 "NIN.TAG Fara I vi 19 (according to Deilllel and 21 according to Krebernik), dNUN.NUN ibid. x 2.
See M. Krebernik, "Die Gotterlisten aus Fara," ZA 76 (1986), 161-204.
17 OIP 99 83 iii' 9'; see P. Mander, II Panli1eon di Abii-SaIabfkh, (Naples, 1986), 28 B 184 dbf-zil. Note
that "TAG occurs a few lines later in OIP 99 83 iii' 12'.'
18 J.J.M. Roberts, The Earliest Semilic Pantheon, (Baltimore, 1972),47 sub no. 56. Note that she appears
in Susa.
19 Note also the variation between NUN = zil and TAG = zfl in the godlists testifying to Izill in the
reading. However, whether there is any relationship with the divinities dTAG or dTAG.NUN is uncertain.
The latter divinity, dTAG.NUN, is known in Early Dynastic Umma (cf. YOS 9 6: I, see H. Steible, Die
altsumerischen Bau- und Weihinschriften [FAOS 5/2, Wiesbaden, 1982], 267f. II I and l. Cooper, SUlllerian
and Akkadian Royal Inscriptions, [New Haven, 1986], 93 Um 5: I). An identification 01'dTAG.NUN with
dUltu (normally ~ritten dTAG.TUG), the spider goddess of weaving, has been proposed and rejected (see
discussions sub Steible FAOS 5/2 268, Cooper SARI 93).
20 W I3946,b i 5, published in photo and copy in ZATU Taf. 47. This deity might be connected with the
later dTAG rather than the later dNIN.TAG.
21 W1473331,ax Ii 2 unpublished, 20274,151 i I unpublished, W 24021,10 i 5 = Bagh. Mill. 22 (1991),
I I I (in a personal name of a cultic official participating in an Inanna festival), R. Englund and l.-P.
Gregoire, The ProlO-Cunei/orm TexlSji'om}emdel Nasr, (MSVO I, Berlin, 1991), no. 18 rev. ii 1= OECT
7 105. See further, K. Szarzyriska, "Names of Temples in the Archaic Texts from Uruk," AS} 14 (1992),
282, n. 24.
22 SLT 122 ii 23 dNa-na-a, ii 29 dBi-ze-la; 123 r. iii 16 dNa-na-a-a but no dBi-ze-la; 124 ii 31 [dNanaya],
iii 6 dBi-li-la (sic). For the edition of SLT 122 and partial treatment of 124, see C.-F. lean RA 28 (1931),
179-194, but note he errs in the line numbering of 122 ii 28 for 29.

59
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

Genouillac Old Babylonian list which formed the basis of classical AN = Anum places uneven geogra
them both in the Dumuzi section, with Nanaya followed by dZfI-zfl.23 An aberrant Old Nanaya, the te
Babylonian list from Isin places Nanaya in the first column in broken context.24 in the archives
Turning from the conceptual system of the Mesopotamian theologians to the evi- the Appendix)
dence of religious practice, we discover that Nanaya appears suddenly as a member Our lady 0
in good standing of the Ur III imperial pantheon. Her first mention is in the 35th year divinities, yea]
of Sulgi in the archive of Sulgi-simti.25 The question might be raised as to whether the theophoric
Nanaya was imported into Mesopotamia from outside the Sumerian core area by is found in the
Sulgi-simti. We do know that she brought her personal goddesses Belat-subner and mentioned abc
Belat-terraban from her home Esnunna in the Diyala region, an Akkadian core area.26 from any othe
According to Jacobsen, the goddesses, whose cult centered in the Kirkuk region, were probably a ch,
included in the Ur III pantheon as a consequence of Sulgi' s conquests of Simurrum of Enlil. At U
and Karhar_27 There is also some meagre evidence of a possible Old Akkadian precur- whose core w
sor for Nanaya in the Diyala and Gasur regions, spelled Na-na without a determinative gold for the e:
and any nisbe formation.28 There seems to be meagre post-Old Akkadian evidence of the overlaying
this deity in the eastern regions, which argues against any probable origin for Nanaya addition to or
in the Diyala area or Elam. One interesting Ur III text records b a I a tours of duty These expensi
for one month shared out between the ens i 's of the Diyala region, Esnunna and and Nippur bl
ISim-Sulgi, together with the sa bra of Nanaya.29 However, the weight of the textual Nanaya image
distribution definitely puts her home in Uruk, the earliest centre of Sumerian culture. to function as
This situation is paradoxical. the existing s)
The documentary evidence on Nanaya shows that in the archive from Drehem, In her serv
she appears among the 12 divinities most commonly receiving offerings.30 These were none of the hi!
the most honoured deities in the religious capital of Nippur, the political centre at Ur was a politica
and the dynastic birthplace of the Neo-Sumerian kings in Uruk. in the b a 1 a s)
The corpus of evidence for the worship of Nanaya covering the period of the Neo- sagina milit
Sumerian dynasty is skewed in terms of text type and place of origin. Whereas the system. It is
the mas d ari
23 The "Genouillac List" is known from a single copy - AO 5376, TCL 15 no. 10, ed. by H. Genouillac
RA 20 (1923), 89ff. The reference to Nanaya is found in vi 34, part of the Dumuzi section. See Lambert's
of the land w
comments on these lines, MIO 12 (1966), 44f. In describing the entries dNa-na-a, d[ zfl.zfJ1, din.nin.sa6ga, functionary of
dPA-a-ti (lIs. 275-278 in the list), he states that "the second and third names of this group are other ones to Nanaya alo
of Nanai." During the
24 C. Wiicke, "Die Inscriftenfunde der 7. und 8. Kampagne," Isin - l.fall BafJrfyat III, (MUnchen, 1987):
94 B I 10'. monthly, anm;
25 On Sulgi-simti and her archive, see M. Sigrist, Drehem, (Bethesda, MD, 1992),222-246; also, T. Gomi. all days are re
"Shulgi-simti and Her Libation Place (ki-a-nag)," Orient 12 (1976), Iff.; S. Kang, "The Role of Women
in the Drehem Texts," Sumerian Economic Texts from the Drehem. Archive I, (Urbana, 1972), 261 FF.; P. 31 In the Drehem
Steinkeller, "More on the Ur III Royal Wives," AS} 3 (1981), 78f. Kang lists Sulgi-simti's activities (as of outside source
far as known in 1972) from S32-48 on pp. 254-267. 343 as well as h
26 See Sigrist, Drehelll, 237 and references cited there. These goddesses commonly appear in Ur III taking charge of
documents recording deliveries, especially for lunar and funerary observances in Uruk, ibid. 246. They this sa bra of N,
may have originated further to the east, in the Kirkuk region; see Th. Jacobsen, OIP 43 143f. or, to the 32 VET III 509, .
southeast, see the votive inscription dedicated to Belat-terraban by Puzur-Insusinak from Susa (l.J. Gelb 33 W. Heimpel, ,
and B. Kienast, Die altakkadischen KOlligsillschri/iell des drillen }ahrtausands v. Chr., [FAOS 7, Stuttgart, 208.
1990], 331 f. Elam 6). 34 Genouillac TL
27 Th. Jacobsen, OIP 43 144. Sumerian Amphi
28 See references in Roberts, The Earliest Semitic Pantheon, 45 sub no. 52. However, it is also possible a-ru-a dNa-nc
that this spelling reflects a syllabic rendition of th"e moon-god Nanna, usually written dSES.KI according 3S YOS 4 56:9, d
to W.G. Lambert (personal communication). Drehel1l, 189 v 5
29 E.F. Weidner, "Assyriologische Studien," RSO 9 (1921), 472-473 P 368 rev. 5-6. Sigrist and T. G
30 See B. Lafont, "ZABAR.DABs et Ie culte d'apres les textes de Drehem," RA 77 (1983), 113ff. Sallaberger, Der

60
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

uneven geographic distribution seems to reflect a significant aspect of the worship of

Nanaya, the temporal distribution, - the fact that certain years are better represented
in the archives than others - does not seem more than accidental (see distribution in
the Appendix).
Our lady of mystery is not mentioned in any royal inscriptions, hymns to kings or
divinities, year dates or exorcistic literature. No personal names are constructed with
the theophoric element Nanaya. All our evidence for her rise to fame in this period
is found in the administrative and economic texts. Further, she is limited to the cities
mentioned above: Nippur, Ur and especially Uruk. She is not mentioned in archives
from any other city;31 she had one sanctuary at Uruk, the e - Nan a y a, which was
probably a chapel in another building. In Nippur, she was worshipped in the temple
of Enlil. At Ur, we have a record of the manufacture of one cult statue of Nanaya,
whose core was made of copper plated with silver in month VI and overlaid with
gold for the eyes, mouth and anTIS in the following month VIl.32 The final step was
the overlaying of her sceptre in silver. Another text lists this one copper Nanaya in
addition to or to be included with five bronze statues of Nanaya listed in the totals.
These expensive cult statues were produced in year I I of Ibbi-Sin, after he lost Isin
and Nippur but still controlled Uruk. The reason behind this sudden manufacture of
Nanaya images at Ur in one specific year escapes us. On the whole, Nanaya appears
to function as a supernumerary in the Sumerian pantheon, a royal protegee foisted on
the existing system.
In her service are found the sa bra administrator and the g u d U4cult functionary;
none of the higher echelons is mentioned. It has been suggested that the rank of s a bra
was a political appointment made by the king.33 The sa bra of Nanaya plays a role
in the b a I a system34 and appears together with ens i governors of the provinces and
sag ina military commanders in this politically motivated bureaucratic centralized
system. It is interesting to note that among the officials responsible for supplying
the mas dar i a-offerings of the Great Feast of the tenth month in Ur from the cities
of the land was the sa bra of Nanaya.35 On the other hand, the highest sacerdotal
functionary of Inanna, her en, brought offerings to Nanaya in addition to Inanna, or
to Nanaya alone.
During the Ur III period, the worship of Nanaya became well established. Daily,
monthly, annual and occHsional offerings were made to her. The distribution i, eVe!!;
all days are represented except 3, S, IS, 22, 23 and all months are represented except
31 In the Drehem archive which functioned as a centre in the redistribution network of' imposts and ex posts
of outside sources, texts record b a I a responsibilities of the sa b I'a of Nanaya, see Sigrist, Drehelll, 342~
343 as well as his receipt of wool from flocks of sheep at Drehem (BIN 3 339), see ibid. 220 and his
taking charge of men from the city of Asdaba (TCL 5 6041 iii 18). It is impossible to verify the city of
this Iia b I'a of Nanaya.
32 VET III 509, 525, 529, 538, 740.
33 W. Heimpel, "Ein zweiter Schritt zur Rehabilitierung del' Rolle des Tigris in Sumer," ZA 80 (1990),
208.
34 Genouillac TD 26:5'~6', RSO 9 (1921) 472~3 P 368 rev. 5~6, LB unnumbered, see W.W. Hallo, "A
Sumerian Amphictyony," JCS 14 (1960) 97~100. One exceptional entry in a bala list records cows as
a-ru-a dNa-na-a-se rather than bala, ibid. 114 NBCT 1413 v 3 (copy), 106 (chart) (SS 4).
35 YOS 4 56:9, discllssed by Heimpel, ZA 80, 207ff. as well as Sigrist, Rochester, 12 rev. 18 and Kang,
Drehel11, 189 v 58 (all deliveries). For Ur III references lIsed in this and the following footnotes, see M.
Sigrist and T. Gomi, The Comprehell.live Catalogue of Published Vr III Tablets, (Bethesda, 1991) and
Sallaberger, Der Kultische Kalelldor, xii~xv.

61
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

VIII. These lapses seem to be accidental rather than significant. The daily offerings to the m a- a
take place around the clock in the evening (a - U4-t e - n a),]6 night (a - g i6- b a - a ),]7 cannot be a
morning (a - g u - z i - g a )]8 and noon (a n - b a rx {NE} )39 services in the temples. One may be relat(
text refers specifically to a nocturnal vigil in her temple.40 The monthly offerings take This holiday
place during the e s - e s celebrations for the new and full moon.41 Related to the new by female pe
moon observances are special nocturnal offerings and Nanaya's n f g - k i - z a b, 'the exception exi
provisions for the place of disappearance. 042 Fewannu
The most important ritual associated with Nanaya is the circumambulatory pro- observed outi
cession in Uruk, with stops at the k a - e s, the gate of the sanctuary assumed to be nour the new
that of Inanna,43 the k a - g i6- P a r4, the gate of the giparu - probably that of the en venth month,
of lnanna, and lastly to Nanaya, probably in her chapel. This procession around the k as k a I-I a)
Eanna is similar to that of the Late Babylonian period, which occured on the first of lated to the e
the month of Dumuzi. Rituals related to Nanaya may have been performed by the some of the 1

en of Inanna at certain times - an additional indication that they were observed with women.'
inside the giparu of Uruk. Similar or simultaneous rites were observed in the palace One type
assumed to belong to the king in Ur. On certain occasions, the rites were performed year of Sulgi
by the king in Uruk when he brought the main sf z k u r - g u-l a offerings, followed rites would n
by sacrifices at the gate of the giparu and to Nanaya, all authorized by the queen. At accidental the
other times the procession was accompanied by wailing (e r - u r u - n i g f n - n a) and such an obser
by waving of palm fronds (zi-ga-ze-na).44 rites of Inanr
The holiday of ma-an-na, 'the boat of heaven' (or: An)45 in Uruk was the years afterwa
second most important rite associated with Nanaya. The offerings are usually listed Occasiom
ceremonies ir
]6 Durand, Catalogue EPHE 289:2 (S47 i 30), lCS 7, 48 MAH 19352: 18 (SS 9 x), CT 32, 41-43 iv 26
performed by
(IS I xii.diri 4), Anal' 7, 160: 13.
]7 PDT I, 582:6, 13, 15 (S45 xi I), Oppenheim, Eames F6:5-6 (v), PDT 2, 907:7. PDT I, 532:4 (SS5 iii alive or dead.
29), ARRIM 2, 3: 19 (SS6 iv 24), Watson, BCT I, I II: 18 (SS 9 xii 24). BIN 5, 6:30. See further Sigrist, and she trave
Drehel1l, 124-128. of certain cel
]8 Anal' 760:21 (S36 ix 1-2), Durand. Catalogue EPHE 289:8 (S47 i 30).
the king Sul~
39 Anal' 7 60:22 (S36 ix 1-2), PDT I, 582:7, 14 (S45 xi 1-3).
40 Oppenheim, Eames F6:5-6 (n f g - g i6- see _dN a - n a - a). 582), in both
41 For e s - e S U4-S a k a r see Anal' 7, 62 and PDT 2, 1272, and for eli - e S 1I4-15 see Sigrist, Rochester, of this dynas
13. and occasiom
42 References for the n f g - k i - z it h of Nanaya: Allar 7, 5S:S (S36 i day not specified); Jacobsen, Co-
penlwgell, 9: 13 (S 37 v, day not sp~cified); Allar 7, 62:6 (S 37 v, day not specified); Durand, Cataloglle
Sulgi, an un1
EPHE, 289:7, (S 47 i 30); Anal' 7, 87:6 (S47 xi 7). The last reference to an observance on the seventh
day of the month is not compatible with a new moon festival. Discussion of the meaning of the term 46 Anal' 7, 62, I
n f g - k i - zit b is found in Sigrist, Drehell1, 238 where he relates it to the worship of the dead; see also but another refer
Gregoire, AAS, 19, note to 152:2 ("lieu lou une diviniteJ a disparu [temporairementJ"); Krecher, Kultlyrik. Ur-Nammu. See
41, Anm. 117 ("Ort, von dem reine Gottheit zeitweiligJ verschwunden ist"); Sallaberger, Del' Kultische 47 Sallaberger, [
Kalelldar,42ff., 190 ("Gabe fUr den Fluchtort", d.h. die von der Gouin Izeitweilig] verlassene Kliitstatte): 48 Cf. nni e s - g
Cohen, Otitic Calendars, 217, 475f. ("Place of Disappearance"). Included in this ritual was the actual Inscription," DU
removal of the statue from the temple. Other goddesses to whom similar devotions are made were Nin- and see 58, note
tinllgga of Nippur, ljaburTtum in Nippur(?), Ninsun of Usub in the palace(?) at Nippur, Belat-:'iubner and 49 For the suggl
Belat-terraban in their chapel in Ur, Gansura in Urllk and Allatllm. The only god who was accorded this Kalendar, 21S.
devotion was ISkur in Ur on the 15th day of the month (Anal' 7,72) and at Urllk (Legrain TRU 272*). 50 MVN 13, liS
The place of disappearance might be related to the motif of goddesses disappearing in the netherworld. 51 Sallaberger, [
according to M.E. Cohen, The Cultic Calelldars 0/ the Ancient Near East, (Bethesda, 1993), 475t'. 52 Sallaberger, [
43 One text does specifically state e s of Inanna; however it does not come in the same order but follows 53 The two refen
the mention of Nanaya, PDT 2, 1146 (SS I x) . occasionally hav(
44 Jacobsen, Copenhagen, 9, perhaps also Allar 7, 5S. to be recited "eVE
45 For the reading of "boat of An," see Cohen, ClIltic Calendars, 2ISIT. and Sallaberger, Del' Kultische M.E. Cohen, Sun
Kalendar, 216ff. 2, Cincinnati, 19

62
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

to the rna - a n - n a, to Nanaya or her temple and to e s - g i6- z a 1.46 The latter, which
cannot be a specific temple name,47 may be the e s of the procession of Uruk and
may be related to the place of Nanaya's disappearance or the shrine of the boat.48
This holiday was celebrated in Uruk during the tenth month and was mostly observed
by female persons, predominantly of the royal family but not necessarily SO.49One
exception exists to this generalization when offerings are brought by the king.
Few annual and occasional rituals including devotions to Nanaya were regularly
observed outside Uruk. The annual rituals were: (I) the akftu festival in Ur to ho-
nour the new year in which she was a minor participant;50 (2) a festival in the ele-
venth month, e z em - me - k i - g a 1.51 During this month, she went in procession (s a
k ask a 1-1 a) to the palace, where the sf z k u r - e - g a I was offered. This may be re-
lated to the adoration of the boat of heaven/An in which she might have travelled
some of the way. It has been suggested that this festival was specifically associated
with women.52
One type of litany linked to Nanaya appears in her first mention in the thirty-fifth
year of Sulgi in the sixth month - the girriinum (e r) wailing ritesY Such wailing
rites would make sense in relation to her day of disappearance; it might simply be
accidental that no such records are extant. However, there is no further reference to
such an observance after this date. Other records contain lists of offerings for wailing
rites of Inanna, AnnunItum, UlmasItum, Belat-subner and Belat-terraban for many
years afterward.
Occasional rituals associated with Nanaya are of two types: those related to royal
ceremonies in the palace and those related to female rites, that is offerings specially
performed by or for women. A definite relationship existed between the king, whether
alive or dead, and the goddess Nanaya. The king personally brought offerings to her
and she travelled in procession to the palace in Ur. There are a few laconic records
of certain ceremonies held over two or three days in the city of Ur involving just
the king Sulgi and Nanaya in his 36th year (AnOr 7, 60) and his 45th year (PDT
582), in both of which the term k a s - d e - a of Nanaya occurs. On the demise of kings
of this dynasty, devotions to Nanaya seem to have been held during the obsequies
and occasionally afterward. During one k a s - d e - a, observed in honour of Enlil and
Sulgi, an unknown item was brought to Nanaya in the temple of Enlil (A VeT I

46 AnOr 7, 62, Legrain TRU 275, Archi, Torillo, 189. Archi attributes this sanctuary ta Nanaya (p. 109)
but anather reference is Watson, BeT I, 88 which does not list offerings to Nanaya but to the ki-a-nag of
Ur-Nammu. See Sallaberger, Der Kultische Kalendar, Tabelle 71.
47 Sallaberger, Der Kultische Kalendar, 178, 218, 287.
4X Cf. mae 5 - g i6- z a I in Lagash; M. Civil, "The Statue of Sulgi-ki-ur5-sag9-kalam-ma, Part One: The
Inscription," DUMU-E2 -DUB-BA-A, Studies in HOllour of like W. Sjiiberg, (Philadelphia, 1989), 54 iii 19
and see 58, note to I. 55.
49 For the suggestion that the m a - a n - n a festival was a Frauenfest, see Sallaberger, Der Kilitische
Kolenda!", 218.
50 MVN 13,118: 20, PDT2, 1019 rev. 4.
51 Sallaberger, Der Kultische Kalendar, "Ein Fest zu Anfang des xi Monats" (Tabelle 73), 220f.
52 Sallaberger, Der Kultische Kalendar, 218.
53 The two references are PDT2, 998:2 and AnOr 7,55:5. Note that later tablets inscribed with e r S e m m a's
occasionally have colophons stating they are. to be sung in the chapels of various deities. One of them is said
ta be recited "every month, on the third day ... in the sanctuary of Nanaya" MLC 382 (Neo-Babylonian) cf.
M.E. Cohen, Sumerian HYlIInology: The Er.~elllllla, (Hebrew Union College Annual Supplements, Number
2, Cincinnati, 1981),41.

63
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

960:34, 39). Offerings to Nanaya occurred during the mourning for Su-Sin, together regards the (
with the coronation and the royal progress of Ibbi-Sin.54 any bedroorr
The female rites of which we have records list offerings on behalf of the daughters what a wom
of private persons.55 One clearly states that a lady made the beer libation herself nakedness is
(ki "Na-na-a kas in-na-ni-de-a, AUCT 3,508:17). She was the daughter of answers witI'
Bi~Ttum and the daughter-in-law of ArwTtum, two other apparently feminine names. texts, perhap
Could these libations be related to rites after rising from childbirth? These rites may relationship'
be related to offerings in private houses, such as those in TCL 2, 5482 ii 7. may not be a
Thus common Ur III observances in honour of Nanaya were related to diurnal or a ritual, a
phases of the daily services, lunar phases of the month, to a period of disappearance other former
and, perhaps, to female rites. From these facts, it would be a leap of faith to decide On the other
that she was a type of moon goddess in the cycle of Uruk. Nevertheless, Nanaya does associated w
occur in certain texts together with Nanna-Sin (ARRIM I, 25 H36c date broken; Or. Further a
47/9,25:3 AS 3, vi 5) and appears in a list of offerings followed by sfzkur "Sin Babylonian"
(MVN 13, 118 S41 vi) - but this evidence is too flimsy to support a hypothesis that like a cow' ,
Nanaya is a moon goddess. On the other hand, there is even less evidence that Nanaya child of the t
was identified with the planet Venus in this period. The attempt by Sauren56 to prove In Akkac
that celebrations in her honour observed the heliacal risings and settings of Venus was dialogue bet
met by critical objections of Hunger.57 Further, Heimpel reads back evidence from 'by Nanaya'~
the syncretism of the first millennium B.C. and later in order to elucidate the Venus in return 'by
character of Nanaya and to search for indications that she had always been a Venus than loving E
deity.58 It is interesting to note here that despite her celestial associations, Nanaya encounters, c
never appears in any astronomical association. two notewort
The evidence for her character as a Sumerian love goddess is drawn from the wasbat kfma
literature of the second millennium. From this period, our documentary evidence in the treasUi
covers royal inscriptions and hymns, year dates and temple dedications, liturgical and o arousal of
exorcistic texts, prophecies and secular love literature, in addition to the administrative than a sacred
text types of Ur III. Although
The physical aspect of love is revealed in Sumerian and Akkadian songs. B a Ib a Ie's lady of myst
addressed to Nanaya are rare; sometimes the rubric states they are b a I b a Ie' s of
Nanaya and sometimes of Inanna.59 In these b a Ib a Ie's, the goddess is addressed as 15-27: "It seem:
it is legitimate t
(I) 'my beloved sister, ... Nanaya' (the epitome of the beloved in love literature); (2)
from the secular
she is described as 'being brought out, my sister, being brought out, being brought tendency in anci
out of the entrance of the cella' (thus possibly indicating the ritual rendezvous - it of deities. In ou
name of the goc
has also been translated as 'Come with me, my sister, come with me, Come with me
songs that unam
from the entrance of the cella,'60 Alster gives no cultic significance to these lines and 6J For the b a I :
Maryland, 1988
dNa-na-a dUJ
54 M. Sigrist, "Le deuil pour Su-Sin," FS Sjoberg, 499-505. 62 M. Held, "A
55 Sigrist, Toroll/() 567:7 (in Nippur); TCL 2, 5482 ii 7 (in a private house in Ur); AUCI' 3, 71 :32(?). on the other han
56 H. SaUl'en, "Les fetes neo-sumeriennes et leur periodicite,"' Actes de /a XVII" Rellcontre Assyri%gique 63 Ibid. i 24.
Internationa/e, Bruxelles, 30 juin - 4 jui//et /969, (Brussel, 1970), 11-29. 64 Ibid. 9 iv 6.
57 H. Hunger, "Zur Periodizitat neusul11erische Feste," WZKM 65/6 (1973/4),69-75. 65 C. Wilcke, "I
58 Heimpel, "Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities"; he does not indicate more than general possible passage have bet
astral associations. AjO 3617 (1989-
59 In JCS 29 (1977), 16-27, A. Sjoberg edited. five nearly identical Sumerian songs addressed to the 66 Wilcke, "Liel
goddess Nanaya. variously discus:
60 B. Alster, "Marriage and Love in the Sumerian Love Songs," The Tablet and tile Scroll: Near Eastem 67 Cf. AHw 129
Studies ill Honour of William W. Hollo, ed. M.E. Cohen, D.C. Snell and D.B. Weisberg, (Bethesda, 1993), IStar (JCS 21, 2(

64
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

regards the cella p a - p a b mentioned in all the b a I b a Ie's as possibly referring to

any bedroom); (3) 'When you talk to a man, what a woman! when you look at a man,
what a woman' (m u nus - am)'; (4) 'When you lean the side against the wall, your
nakedness is sweet, when (you) bow down, the hips are sweet (s a6).' The goddess
answers with a direct sexual proposition with a detailed specification of prices in two
texts, perhaps indicating that there were prostitutes connected with her temple. Her
relationship with one other god is mentioned - she is worthy of An. Although there
may not be a single detail in the Nanaya songs that unambiguously refers to a temple
or a ritual, as has been observed, these songs reveal the character of Nanaya as no
other former source does. She is the epitome of womanhood, the sweet erotic lover.
On the other hand, the coming out of the cella does remind us of the processional rite
associated with Nanaya in Uruk.
Further allusions to the sweetness of Nanaya are found in her epithets in the Old
Babylonian version of the b a I a g lamentation to Inanna a b - g i n7 g U - d e - d e 'lowing
like a cow' and its e r S e m m a. She is referred to as d u - m u - s a6- e - k e4 'the sweet
child of the temple.'61
In Akkadian secular love songs, Nanaya is only mentioned in passing: in the
dialogue between a faithful lover and a feckless beloved, she states that she acts
'by Nanaya's command'62 and 'I shall keep on praying to Nanaya,'63 and he swears
in return 'by Nanaya and King Hammurapi' .64 This invocation of Nanaya in a less
than loving exchange reveals her ordinary face to us - she rules or influences love
encounters, and she may be linked with the king. In the Isin incantations, there are
two noteworthy but enigmatic passages in two love spells: kfrna d/Star ina parakkim
wasbat kfma dNa-na-a ina sutummim wasbat 'As IStar sits on the dais, as Nanaya sits
in the treasury/storehollse/granary'65 and the refrain sehit uzzum sa Nanaya 'spring,
o arousal of Nanaya.'66 Nanaya's presence in the sutununu, usually a profane rather
than a sacred place,67 should reveal some preoccupation that has escaped us.
Although literary sources have been very revealing for the character of this sweet
lady of mystery, her functions in cult and worship, pantheon and theology remain

15-27: "It seems that the texts were connected with the prostitution at one of Inanna's temples. However,
it is legitimate to ask if they can be seen in a less sacrosanct perspective. They could describe a scene
from the secular sphere of life put into the mouth of the goddess. This would be in line with the common
tendency in ancient literatures not to describe ordinary people directly, but only indirectly in the disguise
of deities. In our case we have no chance of verification, but it is worth mentioning that apart from the
name of the goddess and the possible significance of the lamb, there is not a single detail in the Nanaja
songs that unambiguously refers to a temple or a ritual" (p. 15)
61 For the b a I a g, see M.E. Cohen, The Canonical Lamelltatiolls of AncieJll Mesopotamia, (Potomac,
Maryland, 1988), 533 1.7. For the e r s e m m a, see M.E. Cohen, Sumerian HYll1l1%gv, 66, no. 32:8:
dNa-na-a dumu rsa6Le-e-men ae-an-na a gi6-par4-kLl.
62 M. Held, "A Faithful Lover in an Old Babylonian Dialogue," lCS 15 (1961), 6 i 15. Note that Istar,
on the other hand, is the queen and the lover"s complaint is made in her presence.
63 Ibid. i 24.
64 Ibid. 9 iv 6.
65 C. Wiicke, "Liebesbeschworungen aus Isin," ZA 75 (1985), 200:44f. Certain of the problems in this
passage have been touched on by J. Scurlock, 'Was there a Love-hungry EI11I1-priestess Named Etirtum?"
A/O 3617 (1989-1990), 107-112.
66 Wilcke, "Liebesbeschworungen," 202:84,.94; 204:98. The semantic range of the word 1I::UIII has been
variously discussed; in this context it seems to encompass anger, rage, fit of temper.
67 Cf. AHw 1294. When the .5utunllllll is sacred, the word e/lu is usually added, cf. the Great Prayer to
Istar (JCS 21. 260:28), Gilg. I i 10.

65
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

unsolved. Her public worship in the Old Babylonian period spread from the three Anam,73 and
centres of Uruk, Ur and Nippur to Isin, Larsa, Mari, Babylon and Kish.68 We can try the Nanaya tt
to document and thus date this spread. sensuali ty' an
Her home city of Uruk seems to have suffered more than any other town - there is a men
it was destroyed or abandoned for almost a century. Although Uruk may have been which indicat
controlled by Isin from the period of Lipit-IStar and there may have been a short-lived for Inanna an,
Amorite dynasty, there are no records of any public worship there until the Sin-kasid 'the lady nur:
dynasty in the mid-19th century. This situation is expressed in an Akkadian prophecy 'sexual proWl
text from the city of Uruk itself.69 The text begins: caring aspect!
I re-e-Ll ki-nu sum-su dam-qu Even after the
2 la-ma-sa-su da-ri-tum dates and adrr
3 a-na bi-tim e-an-na i-te-ru-ub a pit deposit.
4 is-Ut i-na-an-na a-na pa-ni-su su-u/-mu Larsa, 207 an
5 a-na wa-ar-ki-su ba-la-tu is made of Id
6 is-tu U4-um dNa-na-a i-ru-ba-kum distributions (
7 U.DAR i-na KA dEN.ZU a-hi-sa Nanaya79 and
8 u-se-si-ba-an-ni-ma for plating hii
9 um-ma si-i-ma W 20475, wi
(prophet addresses the king): the temple of
I The true/faithful shepherd, whose name is good, ean'ings, penc
2 whose guardian angel is permanent The speci
3 has entered the Temple Eanna. who receive 0
4 From now on well-being is before him the present di
5 health behind him, basis of this (
6 from the day when Nanaya entered to you. of relevance I
(prophet relates vision): until the first
7 IStar in the gate of Sin, her father, To sum u~
8 had me sit down and who endowec
9 she spoke saying:
This text, found in the palace of Sin-kasid of Uruk, apparently refers to the revival of 73 Related in hi~
Uruk and it may be Sin-kasid himself who is referred to as the 'faithful shepherd.' The 1961," Bagh. MI
dedicates a statui
strange aspect of the text, however, is the dating of the beginning of his blessed reign 74 lrdanene year
from the day that Nanaya entered to/for him - our most explicit reference to date that 7S Falkenstein, E
Nanaya's presence had something to do with kingship. We have royal dedications of 76 This is true (
dNanaya in letl
various cultic installations from the members of this dynasty - Sin-kasid built an i b-
77 A. Falkenstei
oval for her,70 Sin-eribam fashioned a statue of himself for Nanaya,71 Sin-gamil built (1963),2-82, Ta
her first temple in Uruk, the E - m e - u r4- u r4,72 which was completed by his successor 133-198 and has
78 S. Sanati-Mlil
79 Ibid. 202f., nc
80 Ibid. 138ff., n
81 To be publish,
68 For references,see J. Renger, "Gotternamen in der altbabylonischen Zeit," Studien Falkenstein 137- 82 E.g. S. Sanati
171. 155:1-2 but marl
69 For the copy see J. van Dijk, "Die lnschriftenfunde, III. Die Tontafeln aus dem Palast des Sinkasid," 10. For a discus~
UVB XVIII(1962),6If., PI. 28 W19900,1and for a translation see R. Biggs, "An Old Babylonian Oracle "Untersuchungen
fr0111Uruk," ANET3 (1969),604. Clerge d'Ur (//./ S
70 RIME4.4.1.6 AN + is not the
71 Year date a m u a I a n k (I - s i g 17dsin - e - r i - b a - a 111lug a I dna - n a - a - ram u - n a - a n - d f m. Kalelldar, 137). '
72 RIME 4.4.3.1. in Bagli. Miff. 25

66
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

Anam,73 and lrdanene fashioned a golden statue of his father Anam and erected it in
the Nanaya temple.74 In these dedications, she is described as n i n - b i -I i 'lady of
sensuality' and daughter of An. In a Sumerian hymn to Anam as en priest of Inanna75
there is a mention of the bringing of the divine statues into the Eanna and the Emeurur
which indicates the existence of two equal but separate cultic installations in Uruk
for Inanna and Nanaya. The description of Nanaya is exceptional: n i n u m me d a - a
'the lady nursemaid' who endows Anam with z i 'life', n u m u n 'seed' and b i -I i
'sexual prowess/sensuality.' The epithet "nursemaid" may refer to cherishing and
caring aspects of Nanaya. Certainly, her endowments are not those of the nursery.
Even after the building of the Emeurur, the home of Nanaya is still referred to in year
dates and administrative texts as the e _dN a nay a.76 Of the 305 tablets excavated from
a pit deposit at the palace of Sin-kasid, shortly before its destruction by Rim-Sin of
Larsa, 207 are published in 8agh. Mitt. 25 (1994).77 Among those published, mention
is made of Iddin-Nanaya, the san g a of Nanaya, and his wrongdoings.78 There are
distributions of bitumen for a makkum and a lion symbol pirikkum for the house of
Nanaya79 and the king withdraws six minas of gold from Nanaya's temple treasury
for plating his ebony throne. so The most informative text is the unpublished cylinder
W 20475, which originally contained about 1,000 lines and lists the inventory of
the temple of Nanaya.81 The vast majority are items of jewelry - rings, bracelets,
earrings, pendants and necklaces of gold and silver adorned with precious stones.
The specific Uruk problem of the triad/couple written AN.AN.lNANNA.AN.NA.NA.A
who receive offerings jointly has been discussed elsewhere,s2 and will be omitted from
the present discussion, since it has little bearing on the character of Nanaya. On the
basis of this evidence, it has been claimed that they shared quarters. The only point
of relevance here is that Nanaya was never confused with Inanna then or at any time
until the first millennium syncretisms.
To sum up Nanaya's role in Uruk, she was a lady of delight, nurturing and largesse
who endowed the kings with life, progeny and sensuality, she dwelt in an i b-oval

73 Related in his Sumerian hymn, W 20477: see A. Falkenstein, "Inschriftenfunde Uruk-Warka 1960-
1961," Bagh. Mitt. 2 (1963), 80ff., in which he not only completes the Emeurur for Nanaya but also
dedicates a statue of her.
74 Irdanene year a mu alan kLl-sigl7 an-am ad-da-na e-dna-na-a-se i-ni-in-ku4-re-en.
75 Falkenstein, Bagh. Mill. 2 (1963), 80ff.
76 This is true of all temples outside Uruk as well, so that it impossible to localize references to e-
dNanaya in letters such as AbB 1095:8'.
77 A. Falkenstein, "Zu den Inschriftenfunde der Grabung in Uruk-Warka 1960-1961," Bagll. Mitt. 2
(1963),2-82, Taf. 1-14 for the original announcement. The publication began in Bagh. Mill. 18 (1987),
133-198 and has appeared in every Bagh. Milt. since 1987.
78 S. Sanati-Miiller, 'Texte aus dem Sin-kasid-Palast," Bagh. Mill. 21 (1990), 191 fl. 135:7-10.
79 [bid. 202f., no. 142:9-1 I.
so Ibid. 138ff., no. 89: 1-4.
81 To be published shortly by K. Kessler who very generously allowed me to quote his manuscript.
82 E.g. S. Sanati-Miiller, 'Texte aus dem Sin-kasid-Palast," Bagh. Mill. 22 (1991), 3IGf., nos. 154:1-2;
155:1-2 but mark the alternation AN.AN.INANNA u dNa-na-a, Bagh. Miff. 23 (1992),126, no. 166:9-
10. For a discussion of the triple complex, see Falkenstein, Bagh. Mill. 2,31, and note 134; J. Renger
"Untersuchungen zum Priestertum in der altbabylonischen Zeit," ZA 58 (1968), I 17f. and Charpin, Le
Clerge d'Ur au siecLe d'Hammurabi (XD\-XYIII siec/es avo i.e.), (Paris, 1986),404 and notes I and 2.
AN + is not the only combination type of godhead; cf. the Enlil-Ninlil unit (Sallaberger, Der kultische
Kalendar, 137). The reference W20208, the example of en of the double combination, is now published
in Bagh. Mill. 25 as no. 206 i 19'.

67
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

and in a large temple, the Emeurur, in which statues of living and dead kings were some of the id
erected. The temple staff was headed by a san g a. Personal names appear with the relationship se
theophoric element Nanaya. marriage" ritu;
The old dynastic seat of Ur came under the sway of the Larsan kings. At the We know
beginning of the 19th century, Sumu-el of Larsa built a temple called e - i t i - d a, "the year dates, we
house of the month," in her honour which recalls her connection to the lunar phases, erected five gl
found in the Ur III texts.S3 She was extolled as n in b i -I i-a s u- d U7 "the lady with Nanaya by Nal
perfect sensuality." The temple clergy mentioned in administrative texts from Ur are upon the man
the g u d U4 priests.84 Lists recording offerings to Nanaya are similar to lists of the had no control
Neo-Sumerian period and have been understood to be associated with offerings in the addition, we h
k i s a 1- m a h of Nanna where, according to Charpin, she could have had a chapel.85 Consequen
The use of Nanaya in personal names is restricted to documents dated to the reign of ceeding that 0
Rim-Sin. Nanaya directl
In the religious centre of Nippur, Nanaya received sattukku offerings according heart and alleg
to the records of the Esumesa86 and also had g u d U4 priests there to offer these identified with
sacrifices.87 Nanaya's situation seems not to have changed since Neo-Sumerian times The Amori
in Nippur, when she had no temple of her own but received offerings in the chapels Sumu-el built
of other gods. The use of Nanaya in personal names is rare.S8 above). She al
Let us now move on to the new political centres: Isin, Larsa and Babylon. anna, Nanaya
At the outset, the kings of Isin showed remarkable interest in Nanaya. Her first Commoners al
hymn - a t i g i hymn to Nanaya with a prayer for ISbi-Erra - was composed at this However, it is
time.89 The first line captures many of the themes which we have mentioned, n i n- in a temple ca
me - nun - n a U4-g i n7 d a II a - e b i -I i - z i - d a ul- s epa - d a 'lady of the princely her as n i n - b i
me's, emerging brightly like the sun, (endowed with) true sensuality, eternally sum- dumu-zi-le
moned.' The possession of the me's - Inanna's prerogative - also appears in the to mind the SI
name of Nanaya's temple in Uruk, the Emeuruf. Her b i -I i 'sensuality' is mentioned in the temples
in almost every royal dedication to her, and she was continually invoked by kings and observed for hi
commoners. She is once again the sweet and true woman. Her comparison to the sun deceased king~
is new, but calls to mind the diurnal aspects of her cult. Her place in the cosmos is temple and tha
set in the heavenly skies - she is like An (A n - g i n7), she is the feminine star of An was the san g
(m f - m ul- An). Her place in this earthly realm is as ornament of Eanna, worthy of the beginning
Inanna, which should not surprise us since during Ur III times, she was worshipped missing. Mom
in a chapel in the Eanna precinct and had a definite if unspecified relationship with ritual between
Inanna. Other epithets such as 'great judge,' 'the deity who occupies the high throne New Year's D,
of the sanctuary of Uruk' are unparalleled elsewhere. On the other hand, the hymn and human wo
concludes with her 'opening the righteous eye of life upon the bed' and pronouncing earthly beings.
ISbi-Erra to be the hero 'summoned in sensuality.' This hymn expresses explicitly
90 M. Sigrist, Isin
91 Ibid. 35 Zambi
83 RIME 4.2.7.2. 92 RIME 4.1.7.3.
8~ For references, see Rengel', "Gbtternamen," 157, Charpin, Cierge, 254. 93 A. Goetze, "Sil
85 Charpin, Cierge, 304ff. 94 Note the varial
86 M. Sigrist, Les sattukku dans l'E.fume.Sa durant 10 periode d'isin et Lorso (Bibliotheca Mesopotamica Abisare-Sumuel, A
II, Malibu, 1984), 140, 147. 95 RIME 4.2.14.3.
87 Rengel', "Priestertum," ZA 59 (1969), 153, ISS. 96 E.C. Kingsbury
88 J. Oelsner, "Zum Pantheon von Nippur in alt~abylonischer Zeit nach den Personnamen der Rechts- a new edition of tl
urkunden," Etudes Slir Ie Pantheon systematique et les Pantlieons locaL/X (CRRAI XXIe, Rome, 1976). 97 J.J.A. van Dijk
113. For the latest tram
89 W.W. Hallo, "New Hymns to the Kings of [sin." BiOr 23 (1966), 242tT. not translate the Ii

68
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

some of the ideas that underlay the relationship of the Ur III kings and Nanaya. The
relationship seems to have been an erotic one, perhaps related to some type of "sacred
marriage" ritual, and it was a necessary aspect of true kingship.
We know little of the other kings of Isin and their relationship to Nanaya. From
year dates, we know that Enlil-bani fashioned a golden statue for her90 and Zambia
erected five golden statues for her and Inanna.91 There is an agate plate offered to
Nanaya by Nanaya-ibsa the travelling I u k u r of the king Bur-Sin which places a curse
upon the man who takes away the plate from the 'body of Nanaya. '92 Since Bur-Sin
had no control over Uruk, the statue of Nanaya probably stood in the city of Isin. In
addition, we have the Akkadian incantation quoted above.
Consequently, in Isin, the first king of this most Sumerian of the dynasties suc-
ceeding that of the third dynasty of Ur, needed to have a personal relationship with
Nanaya directly upon assumption of kingship. Nevertheless, the Isin kings gave their
heart and allegiance to Ninisinna and the similar-sounding goddess Ninsianna (Venus),
identified with Inanna who appears in the "sacred marriage" text of lddin-Dagan.
The Amorite kings in the political centre in Larsa revered her more continuously.
Sumu-el built a temple for her called e - i t i - d a "House of the month" in Ur (see
above). She appears among the quintet of main deities of Larsa - Utu, ISkur, In-
anna, Nanaya and Nergal - receiving offerings during the reign of Sin-iddinam.93
Commoners also extolled her - there are many personal names honouring her.94
However, it is not until the family of Kudur-mabuk that her cult was given a home
in a temple called the Esahulla, 'the house of the joyous heart.'9s It is dedicated to
her as n i n - b i-I i 'the lady of sensuality,' whose sweetness is exceedingly great, and
dum u - z i-I e - a n - g a I-I a 'the pleasing daughter of great An.' The z i-I e recalls
to mind the Sumerian goddess B i - z e / z i I-I a. A detailed account of daily routine
in the temples of Larsa indicates that on the 19th day of Sabatu a k a s - d e - a was
observed for her.96 Besides outlining the rituals of the day, it also mentions statues of
deceased kings receiving gifts in her temple. Royal statues were erected only in her
temple and that of Utu, the chief god of Larsa. The administrative head of this temple
was the san g a and it was staffed with a complete set of ritual clergy; unfortunately
the beginning of the list is lost in a break so the title of the head of the clergy is
missing. Moreover, there exists an Akkadian love dialogue for a "sacred marriage"
ritual between Nanaya and Rim-Sin.97 The text was composed for their cultic union on
New Year's Day. This symbolic sexual union represented the closeness of the divine
and human worlds and promoted the welfare of the people and the procreation of all
earthly beings.

90 M. Sigrist, Isin Year Names, (Berrien Springs, 1988), 34 Enlil-bani H.

91 Ibid. 35 Zambia A.
92 RIME 4.1.7.3.
93 A. Goetze, "Sin-iddinam of Larsa," .ICS 4 (1950), 90.
94 Note the variant spellings of Nanaya e.g. S u-dN a - n a - a - a in the Lu-igisa archive, the period of
Abisare-Sumuel, AbB 9 253:3.
9S RIME 4.2.14.3.
96 E.C. Kingsbury, "A Seven Day Ritual in the Old Babylonian Cult at Larsa," HUCA 34 (1963). 1-28;
a new edition of this text is planned by the ~uthor.
97 J.J.A. van Dijk, Early Mesopotamian Incantations and Rituals (YOS II, New Haven, 1985), no. 24.
For the latest translation, see B. Foster, Before the Muses, (Bethesda, 1993), 98f. though note that he did
not translate the lines with Nanaya.

69
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

Thus, in Isin the worship of Nanaya faded after an initial strong showing, while in pressed their (
Larsa her cult grew in strength and blossomed. formulas of la
In Mari, there is ambiguous evidence of the presence of Nanaya in the local The last ci
pantheon. There is one exceptional appearance of the goddess Nanaya in the so-called Kish. After thl
Ur III pantheon at Mari. There she appears as dNIN-Na-na-a in the section beginning them the cult (
with the Uruk circle of gods after NIN-Bi-~fl-Ia and also containing the name of her of Nanaya, in(
daughter, written dGa-az-baYs Another or the same divinity might be read into the Nanaya's cult
name written Na-(an)-na/ni with and without divine determinative which occurs in the cult statue beg
so-called Pantheon de Mari,99 in other offering lists 100and as a theophoric element of In the seci
certain personal names.IOI and meagre. ,
As the backwater town of Babylon gradually rose to dominance the goddesses of new temple c;
Uruk began to be worshipped there. At the beginning of the 20th century Sumulael Maruttas. Furt
fashioned a statue for Inanna and Nanaya.I02 After his conquest of the south, Ham- Hunnubat-Nar
murapi built the Eturkalamma for the gods of Uruk.103 Nanaya was singled out in the ~opy'os bear t
oath in the secular Akkadian love dialogue quoted above, which seems to indicate her canonical systl
influence in the affairs of the heart of the common people. Since Nanaya never appears the pictorial p
in oaths recorded in legal texts, the oath sworn by Nanaya and Hammurapi is only zakut iiliini ik,
appropriate in the court of love. Her personal relationship with the succeeding kings dNanaya an d,
of the dynasty is expressed in a hymnal composition addressed to Nanaya on behalf of (establishing)
Samsuiluna (VAS X 215) and in a love dialogue between Nanaya and Muati invoking a boundary st,
blessings on king Abi-esub.lo4 Surprisingly, the hymnal compositions to Inanna are In the traditio!
only composed for the later kings of the dynasty. The hymn mentioning Samsuiluna, hand to the er
written in Akkadian, also reflects her Sumerian epithets. She is iltam samas nis/sa 'the robe hallowed
goddess, the sun of her people' which can be compared to the simile u t u - g i n7 'like sits enthroned
the sun' in the Sumerian hymn; both phrases emphasize her cosmic aspects. Looking legs. Her hane
at her is like looking at the moon; her shadow is resplendent with a corona (I. 3). the sun disk 0
Repeated similes with the sun and moon are to be found in this hymn. The synonym Changes v
of b i -I i, kuzbu 'sexuality,' surrounds her, as do sweetness dussupu, and sexual joy period appear
~ihiitum. On the other hand, she is also addressed as Imina (goddess of victory) with trinity. From
appropriate militaristic epithets never previously used in connection with Nanaya. She invocation of
bestows the lion sceptre on her beloved Samsuiluna as well as years of rule endowed lemutti lisljuri
with truth and justice. In words similar to those of Nanaya and Rim-Sin, Nanaya of decrees and d,
the sweet lips consorts with Abi-esub, who seems to be a reincarnation of Muati in the This divine m,
second literary composition. Thus, the Babylonian kings adopted the liturgical mantle NabQ commits
of the south. However, not only the kings of Babylon but also the commoners ex- also appears \
(Namri) in a k

9S G. Dossin, "Un "Pantheon d'Ur III it Mari," RA 61 (1967),97-104, and collations by J.-M. Durand, 105 VAS 22 83:4.
"A propos du "Pantheon d'Ur III 11 Mari," RA 74 (1980), 174-176. 106 See J.J. Finke
99 G. Dossin, "Le Pantheon de Mari," Studio MariaI/o, ed. by A. Parrot, (Leiden, 1950),41-50, line 14. the san g a, see J
100 ARM XXI 23, 48; ARM XXIII 283, see W.G. Lalllbert, "The Pantheon of Mari," M.A.R.!. 4 (1985), 107 In the raid of
525-526. Susa, frolll whenc
101 Roberts, Earliest Semitic Pantheon, 46. See further D.O. Edzard, "Pantheon und Kult in Mari," La during the reign (
civilisation de Mari (xve Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Liege, 1967), 61, note 9. ques l1uisopolami,
102 SUllllllaelyear 26. (N.A.S.U. 1993):
103 Hallllllurapi34:1ll1l!ja-al11-mu-ra-billigal-e 'In dinannau dna-na-a-a e-ne-bi-ta iti-litab- lOSU. Seidl, Die
be - g i n7 Illll - 1In - s i g7 - g a e - t u r - k a Ia III- IIIa (var. IIIu - u n - n u - d e - a / d fill - IIIa) Illll - 1In - g i b i 1- 109 S. Page, "A r
a - b i, see D. Charpin, "A propos de I'an 34 de Hallllllllrapi," RA 74 (1980), 93. 110 E. Matsushirr
104 W.G. Lalllbert, "Divine Love Lyrics frolll the Reign of Abi-eslIb," MIG 12 (1966), 41-51. III BSSt. VI ii 4:

70
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

pressed their devotion to Nanaya and IStar. The goddesses' names appear in greeting
formulas of late Old Babylonian letters from Babylon after Samas and Marduk.los
The last city to become a centre of her cult in the late Old Babylonian period was
Kish. After the destruction of Uruk, the exiles took refuge in Kish and brought with
them the cult of Nanaya as well as the triad, and installed the established Uruk clergy
of Nanaya, including the san g a, in Kish.I06 This was the last stage of the spread of
Nanaya's cult in the formative period of her worship. From this period onwards, her
cult statue began its wanderings.lo7
In the second half of the second millennium, the documentary sources are few
and meagre. We can see that her worship continued in Uruk, her first home, in a
new temple called Ebilianna "House of the Luxuriance of Heaven," built by Nazi-
Maruttas. Further, Nanaya guaranteed a land donation made by Melisipak to princess
Ijunnubat-Nanaya (MDP X 87ff.). The importance of this kudurru is that it and its
copyl8 bear the first known depiction of the goddess (see Fig. I). Contrary to the
canonical system of symbolic invocation of the divine forces to guarantee the charter,
the pictorial part of this kudurru seems to be an illustration of the grant itself: (uppa
zakut alani iknukma iddinli u mala iddinusi in narf ilrurma in ma~ar 'Wanaya ...
dNanaya an dar usziz 'He (Melisipak) gave her (Ijunnubat-Nanaya) a sealed tablet
(establishing) the exemption of the villages, and he wrote everything he gave her on
a boundary stone and placed it before Nanaya forever in ... of Nanaya' (ii 9-15).
In the traditional presentation scene, Melisipak is shown leading his daughter by the
hand to the enthroned goddess Nanaya. The goddess, dressed in the divine flounced
robe hallowed for centuries, and the new-style cylinder feather-crown on her head,
sits enthroned on a seat shaped like a temple, which is placed on a dais with lions'
legs. Her hands jre raised in blessing. Above her hover the three celestial emblems,
the sun disk of Samas, the crescent of Sin and the star of lStar.
Changes within the divine pantheon are also reflected in the kudurru's. In this
period appears the first linkage of the deities, NabO, Nanaya and Tasmetum as a
trinity. From the reign of his son Marduk-apla-iddina I, comes a kudurru with an
invocation of a divine curse: d AG dNa-na-a u. dTas-me-tum bele sipti u purusse ana
Lemutti lis~uru ana La rabti [liSlte'ill 'May NabO, Nanaya and Tasmetum, lords of
decrees and decisions, surround him with evil and search him out for misfortune.' 109
This divine menage-ii-trois is difficult to understand. It is particularly puzzling in that
NabO commits himself to matrimony with both ladies but at different times.llo Nanaya
also appears with the gods Adad and Nergal as divinities of the country of Namar
(Namri) in a kudurru of Nebuchadnezzar I.III Namar is to be located along the Diyala

105 VAS 22 83:4.

106 See J.1. Finkelstein, "Introduction," YOS 13 (1972), 11f.; Charpin, Clerge, 403-415. For reference to
the san g a, see J. Renger, "Priestertum," ZA 59 (1969), 106.
107In the raid of Kutir-Nahhunte I (ca. 1730-1700), the statue of Nanaya was said to be transported to
Susa, from whence it was returned by Ashurbanipal (Streck, Ashurbal1ipa/, 58: 107, 220:29-33). This raid
during the reign of Samsuiluna may be alluded to in a chronicle of his times, see 1.-J. Glassner, "Chroni-
ques mesopo/allliennes, (Paris, 1993), no. 42. and "Chronologie elal1lite el chroniques l1lesopolal1liennes,"
(NAB. U 1993) 29, no. 38.
lOS U. Seidl, Die baby/ol1ischen Kudllrru-Reliej~', (Freiburg, 1989), PI. II a and b.
109 S. Page, "A New'Boundary Stone of M~rodach-Baladan I," SlII-ner 23 (1967),45-68 iii 22-27.
110E. Matsushil1la, "Le rituel hierogal1lique de NabO," AS) 9 (1987), 131-175.
III BBSt. VI ii 48.

71
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

on the other side of the Hamrin, probably very close to the birthplace of Nanaya.112 22f.) but not i 1
She is also mentioned on her own in a few curse formulae. I13 In theologi
In the late second millennium, the worship of the goddess Nanaya spread out of cies towards n
southern Mesopotamia for the first time to Assur, where she appears in the processional to Nanaya edil
festival for Marduk in the Middle Assyrian period.114 Thus in Assur in the Middle herself to be I
Assyrian period, as seen previously in Uruk in the Ur III period, the earliest mention a manifestatio
of the goddess Nanaya is in ritual context. Songs to her are known from the Middle equated with 1
Assyrian catalogue, KAR 158: Nanaya r ate?) 1tTma sulma ana sarri kf taslmT '0 Nanaya, referred to as ~
how you granted well-being to the king!' (ii 23-4); tuktennT sarratu Nanaya 'You are with Inanna, s
honoured, 0 Queen Nanaya' (ii 25); Nanaya libbasa fJada ublamma "Nanaya's heart "Hear 0 regio
brought (her) joy" (ii 44); reST Nanaya ina kire E.BABBAR sa tarammT "Rejoice, 0 Esagil, spouse
Nanaya, in the Garden of the Ebabbar of which you are fond" ("rev. ii" 38). However, text containin~
these songs come from a catalogue of Babylonian songs, written in pure Babylonian that "in the th
and thus probably do not reflect Assyrian liturgy. the Mummu-[I
Although she apparently does not appear in north-west Semitic sources of the and essesu da
second millennium, Nanaya is mentioned in Hittite sources. In the Hittite Appu myth and Nanaya (s
she is mentioned among other Mesopotamian gods: 'The Sun-god is resident in Sippar; of the moon.
the Moon-god is resident in Kuzina; the Storm-god is resident in Kummiya; IStar In the tem
is resident in Nineveh; Nanaya (dNA.NA.IA) is resident in Kissina and in Babylon goddesses rep
Marduk is resident' rev. iv 13-18 (1. Siegelov3, Appu-Miirchen und ljedammu-Mythus, extant prayers
(Wiesbaden, 1971), 12-13). The state abode of Nanaya, Kissina, is unknown. She is Cultic obsl
also mentioned once in an endowment register (ibid. 25) ever, the only
The first millennium documentary sources are abundant - there are both Baby- the temples an
lonian and Assyrian royal inscriptions and hymns,1I5 liturgical texts including cultic formed on the
chants and laments, exorcistic literature in general"6 and specifically sexual potency In a letter (Ai
incantations. Most importantly, there are ritual texts including royal rituals, such as Esarhaddon (c
bTt rimki in Assyria, and temple rituals such as the late Seleucid texts from Uruk, hand-lifting pi
as well as administrative texts listing daily sacrifices and letters informing us of va- and 17th of th
rious aspects of the cult and temple worship. It is noteworthy that the Assyrian royal
inscriptions relate to royal activities in southern Mesopotamia rather than in the As- Oangin, RA II (I
118 E. Reiner, "A
syrian highlands.117 Nanaya does appear in a treaty fragment curse (ABL I 105 rev. 119 See K. Volk,
and notes on p. I
112 Kh. Nashef, Die Orts lind Gewiissemmllell del' lI1illelbabylollischen und lI1ittelassyrischen Zeil (RGTC 120 Surpu II 155
7/5, Wiesbaden, 1982), 202. in-law," see furth
113 O. Arnaud, "Deux KudUITlIde Larsa: II. Etude Epigraphique," RA 66 (1972), l72f, I. 70: dNa-lla-a 121 A. Livingstol
GASAN URU.UNUG.KI u allna. 122 Warka text VI
114 Kocher, "Ein mittelassyrisches Ritualfragment zum Neujahrfest," ZA 50 (1954), 196 rev. 19': LUGAL no. 58 ii. It prob
alia UG[U GIS.BANSUR ... J dNa-lla-a i-qar-ri-ilb ... 1 in the same paragraph with Nabium. It is supposed on two consecuti
that the Marduk in this procession was the statue of Marduk of Babylon brought to Assur by Tukulti- Babylonier lind A
Ninurta I after his conquest of that city and that it was subsequently returned to Babylon (van Oriel, Cull 123 The line in t
ofA.f.fur, 54). The same may also be true of the statues of Nanaya and Nabium, which might only have ra-zu (de-ra-;
been in temporary residence in Assyria; thus this text may not signify the spread of the worship of Nanaya lady Nanaya, ut[(
at all. akkadischen Er.iia
115 Both Sargon II and Ashurbanipal commissioned hymns to Nanaya. logy, 137, no.13:
116 Listed in Maqlu V 59 in an incantation against the witch - ilia qibTt I!itar DUll1u:i Nanaya belel rami Cohen, Lamentat
u Kanisurra belel ka.f.iiapiili - and in an incantation ritual, von Weiher, Urllk II, 22: 14 sa l.slar II Nanaya to Marduk), 491 :
allaku. The "hand of Nanaya of Uruk" is known fr.-m medical queries relating to female illnesses frol11 124 R. Frankena,
the state archives of Assyria, see I. Starr, Queries 10 Ihe Slingod (SAA IV, Helsinki, 1990), nos. 191-194. Menzel, Assyrisc
117 Shalmaneser Ill, the first Assyrian king to mention Nanaya, does so while offering to the principal that in one of the
gods of Babylonia (Balawat inscription vi 2-3). The royal inscription of Esarhaddon to Nanaya, Thureau- later in viii 34/

72
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

22f.) but not in the vassal treaties of Esarhaddon.

In theological circles, the first millennium was a period of syncretisms and tenden-
cies towards monotheism. Typifying these avenues of religious thought is the hymn
to Nanaya edited by Erica Reiner; this is a self-laudatory hymn in which she reveals
herself to be manifested in other goddesses. I IS On the other hand, she can also be
a manifestation of another goddess such as Inanna and vice versa.119 She was often
equated with Tasmetum the wife of NabO, god of Borsippal2o and thus was frequently
referred to as a daughter-in-law of the Esagil in Babylon. As a result of her syncretism
with Inanna, she becomes the daughter of Sin. Thus, Sargon II in his hymn declaims:
"Hear 0 regions of the world, the praise of queen Nanaya ... daughter-in-law of the
Esagil, spouse of Muati, ... daughter of Sin."121 Slightly earlier, in a historical-literary
text containing a legend from the time of NabO-suma-iskun (ca. 760-748), it is written
that "in the third year, he admitted Nanaya of the Ezida, the beloved of NabO, into
the Mummu-room while he kept back NabO in Babylon and he observed the nubattu
and essesu day in one day."122 This last text relates to the sacred marriage of NabO
and Nanaya (see below) and to the nocturnal rituals and the rites related to the phases
of the moon.
In the temple liturgies, the name of Nanaya appears in the lists of intercessory
goddesses representing the worshipper in front of the great godsl23 but there are no
extant prayers addressed to her directly.
Cultic observances in Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period are better known. How-
ever, the only mention of Nanaya is in the takultu-ritual concerning the providing of
the temples and its gods with offerings. 124The apotropaic royal ritual of bit rimki, per-
formed on the occasion of lunar eclipses, was accompanied by certain sui II a-prayers.
In a letter (ABL 23 = LAS 185 = SAA X 240) from exorcist Marduk-sakin-sumi to
Esarhaddon (ca. 671 B.C.) which describes his preparations for a total lunar eclipse,
hand-lifting prayers to Nanaya are listed among others to be performed on the 16th
and 17th of the month of Kanunu as part of the rites, but the extant version contains

Dangin, RA II (1914), 96fT. = Borger Asarh. 49 was found in Warka itself.

IIX E. Reiner, "A Sumero-Akkadian Hymn of Nana," JNES 33 (1975), 221-236.
119See K. Volk, Die Balag-Kol1lposilion URU AM-MA-IR-RA-BI, (FAGS 18, Wiesbaden, 1989), T20: II
and notes on p. 154; also Cohen, LOlllenlaliol/s, 574:c+338 (b a I a g to Inanna).
120 Surpu II 155-6: "May NabQ and Nanaya release in Ezida, May Tasmetum release, the great daughter-
in-law," see further new Ms., von Weiher, Uruk 1I 13 iv 18.
121A. Livingstone, Courl Poelry and Liler(//)' Miscellanea, (SAA III, Helsinki, 1989), no. 4.
122 Warka text W22660/0, E. von Weiher, Bagh. Mil/. 15 (1984) 197-224 = von Weiher, Uruk III (1988),
no. 58 ii. It probably refers to the I/ubal/u-vigil of Marduk and the e{{e.{u-festival of NabQ, which fall
on two consecutive days according to the Inbu series, cf. B. Landsberger, Der kuLlische Kalender der
Babylonier IIIld Assyrer, (LSS VI, Leipzig, 1915), 109-111.
123The line in the ersahunga and erselllllla litanies is: egi-gu-Ia gasan-Illu dNa-na-a a-
ra-zu (de-ra-ab-be):: rubtilUln rabTlum bellum Nonaya las LilT liqbisu "May the great princess my
lady Nanaya, utter a prayer to you in my favour" cr. S. Maul, 'Herzbel"llhigllngsklagen ': Die sUlllerisch-
akkadischen Ersahunga-Gebele, (Wiesbaden, 1988), no. 3 r. ii' f. 12 r. 3', 19:49, Cohen, Sumerian HVJ11no-
logy, 137, no.13:29; 133, no. 34,2:39. In late b a I a g-Ialllentations, she is e g i - z i - d a "the true princess"
Cohen, Lalllenlalions, 135:1'+242. 156:60, 158:a+ I06, 161 :b+ 158'(b a I a g s to Enlil), 390:c+ 157 (b a I a g
to Marduk), 491 :f+226 (b a I a g to NabQ).
124 R. Frankena, Ttikultu, (Leiden, 1954), 104 #151, and see the references collected there as well as B.
Menzel, Assyrische Tempel, (Studia Pohl: Series Maior 10, Rome, 1981), 128, II TI13ff., no. 54. Note
that in one of the four references to Nanaya in the list in viii 32", she is followed by dBi-.~i-il-lu two lines
later in viii 34'.

73
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

no prayers to Nanaya. The addition of prayers to Nanaya might be related to the lead her to her
fact that this ecl ipse occurred at the ti me of the wi nter solstice, and the n a m bur b i took her hands
invoking both the moon and the sun to avert the evil was performed. this statue of 1\
The rites of the Egasankalammal25 are explicitly stated to be patterned after a 1700), some It
Nippurian model of rites in the month of Tammuz when ]Star wept in lament over two cult statue:
IStaran. In this mystical explanatory work, it is stated that "the ... which comes out Her charact
and shouts continually is Nanaya when she gave the iron arrows to BeI."126 In a by Esarhaddon
compendium in which tangible objects are equated with deities, Nanaya is equated Temple ord
with the ziqqu-spice.127 (887-855) estal
Personal allegiance, on the other hand, is shown by personal names such as that gine d lstar-Uru
of the Assyrian court physician Urad-dNanaya (LAS 246-257 = SAA X 314-327). to the king and
The old centres of worship continued to function and new ones were founded. Outside the
Places of worship to Nanaya existed in Uruk, Babylon, Borsippa and ASSUr.128 She mulas of letten
also had a sanctuary at Ubassa between Borsippa and Babylon.129 Babylon w,
Her main cultic centre in Uruk, the Ebilianna, in the Eanna temenos, was frequently so until its den
rebuilt by pious kings, both native rulers and foreign conquerors.l30 In the Uruk shrine consecrated to I
list, another sanctuary is listed called Ebilidiriga "House of Surpassing Luxuriance" e-me-ur4-ur
at k a - U6- d a in the chapel of oracles(?).131 In addition, a district consecrated to her TE.E.Kl (Tintir I
contained a quay which also bore her name: Kar-Nanaya, which was probably a port As a result
on the Euphrates. 132The river leading to the port was also named after her. 133Nanaya Kassite kudum
continues to be a third in a triad, but this group seems to have been all female: elMOs of the eighth c
el15 u dNa-na-a.uNUG.KI.134 in which it is :
Her cult statue(s) became an issue of contention. One is first mentioned in the divine grant u~
annals of Sennacherib. During his reign, the invading Elamite forces carried off the royal grant by .
gods of Uruk, including Nanaya, to Elam. They were subsequently recovered by Nanaya.142 Dur
the Assyrian troops and removed to Assyria.135 Nanaya's importance to the kings at-large in nort
of the country is underlined by the demonstrable return of her statue to Uruk by X 353) on Bor
Esarhaddon, \36 who speaks of restoring the Ebilianna and taking the goddess' hand to and the offeree
kidney places l
125 A. Livingstone, Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works otAssyrian and Babylonian Scholars, (604-562) prOl
(Oxford, 1986), 116ff. = Livingstone, Courl Poetry, no. 38. The identification of the temple is uncer- in the Ezida 0
tain; perhaps the temple of IStar in Arbela, see A.R. George, House Most High, The Temples of Ancient
Mesopotamia, (Winona Lake, 1993), 90, no. 35 I. Nanaya's temp
126 Livingston, MysTical and Mythological Explanatory Works, 118:9. the Heart. '144 1
127 Ibid. 178:36. complex contai
128 See A.R. George, Babylonian Topographical Texts, (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 40, Louvain,
1992),490 s.v. NanITy. courts of the g(
129 George, House Most High, 167:1361.
130 Esarhaddon in his dedication of the Ebilianna refers to Eriba-Marduk's expansion of the Ebilianna, 137 Streck, AssLlrb,
see J.A. Brinkman, A Political History of Post-Kassite Babylonia, (AnOr. 43, Rome, 1968), 222. 138 Streck, AssLlrb,
131 George, Topographical Texts, 199, no. 25:7'. 139 GJ.P. McEwal
132 Written URU.KAR-dNa-na-a, see R. Zadok, Geographical Names According to New- and Late-Babylo- 140 George, Topog
nian Texts, (RGTC No.7/8, Wiesbaden, 1985), 197. was located in Bor
133 Ibid. river names Hani-.fa-dNa-na-a (p. 3571'.)and Nilru-.fa-dNa-na-a (p. 392). 141 Ibid. 61 and J1(
134 The witness to a r;al estate sale is a cultic functionary in the service of the triad, see Scheil RA (1927), name of IStar's ten
38f'f. 142 F. Thureau-Da
\]) OIP 2 87:31, Grayson, Chronicles, I ii 48 - iii 13, iii 29. iv 2.
136 Borger, Asarh., 49 (see above footnote 117),.and ABL 476, see Parpola, LAS I, no. 277 (= SAA 143 VAB492ii I~
X 349) and notes to text in LAS 2, 265ff. (letter of Mar-IStar, ambassador at large to Esarhaddon in 671 144 George, Hous~
B.C.). The letter mentions the defective decoration of the statue of the goddess Nanaya, and Mar-IStar p. 157, no. 1195.
says he sent the statue (of Nanaya or Usur-amassa) from Assyria to Uruk. 145 George, Topog

74
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

lead her to her seat. Ashurbanipal returned another statue of Nanaya from Susa and
took her hands and led her into the Eanna complex.137 According to Ashurbanipal,
this statue of Nanaya was originally taken in the raid of Kutir-Nahhunte I (ca. 1730-
1700), some 1635 or 1535 years previously. 138It has been suggested that there were
two cult statues in question.
Her character remained unchanged over the millennia, judging from the dedication
by Esarhaddon; she is adorned with kuzbu and uiu.
Temple ordinances for the Eanna in Uruk during the reign of Nabu-apla-iddina
(887-855) established the regular offerings for the goddesses IStar and Nanaya ([tuppi]
gine d IStar-Urukki u d Na-na-a).139 They deal with daily offerings and their distribution
to the king and the members of the temple staff.
Outside the religious context of temple and royal ritual, there exist greeting for-
mulas of letters from Uruk which mention Nanaya.
Babylon was home to Nanaya from Old Babylonian times and continued to be
so until its demise. Temple lists from Babylon have two newly founded sanctuaries
consecrated to her: e -u r5 - S a - b a 'House, Oracle (?) of the Heart' (Tintir II 9/1)140and
e - me -u r4 - u r4 'House, which gathers the me's' in the quarter of Babylon written
TE.E.KI (Tintir IV 30).141
As a result of the linkage of Nabu with Nanaya (as mentioned above) in a late
Kassite kudurru, the worship of Nanaya spread to Borsippa. From around the middle
of the eighth century comes another kudurru-like stone from Borsippa (VAS I 36),
in which it is stated that the deities Nanaya and Mar-bTti chose the recipient of the
divine grant upon his induction into temple service. From the same time comes the
royal grant by Marduk-zakir-sumi J, whose concluding curse formula joins Nabu and
Nanaya.142 During the reign of Esarhaddon (680-669), Mar-IStar was his ambassador-
at-large in northern Babylonia. In his report (ABL 1202 = Parpola, LAS, 281 = SAA
X 353) on Borsippa, his statement that the decoration of the god Nabu is completed
and the offered ungelded bull which was sacrificed to Nanaya had a missing right
kidney places both divinities together. The Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II
(604-562) proudly proclaimed his reinstallation of the statues of Nabu and Nanaya
in the Ezida of Borsippa.143 He established the daily sacrifices at the same time.
Nanaya's temple in Borsippa was also called e - u r5- S a - b a 'House, Oracle (?) of
the Heart.'i44 The Neo-Babylonian temple Ezida is said to have comprised a central
complex containing the quarters of Nabu, adjoined on either side by the chapels and
courts of the goddesses Tasmetum and Nanaya.145

m Streck, 220: 29-33; see Parpola, LAS 2, 266.

Assllrbal1ipal,
13RStreck, 58: 107, 220:29-33 and see n. 107 above.
Assllrbal1ipal,
139 GJ.P. McEwan, "Distribution of Meat in Eanna," Iraq 45 (1983), 187-195.
140George, Topographical TeXIS. 51 and note to this line on p. 282; the best known temple of this name
was located in Borsippa (see below).
141 Ibid. 61 and note to this line on p. 3231'., also 226, no. 38:35. In Old Babylonian times, this was the
name of IStar's temple in Larsa and Nanaya's temple in Uruk, see George, HOllse Mosl High, 126.
142F. Thureau-Dangin, "Un acte de donation de Marduk-zakir-sumi," RA 16 (1919), 117-141, AO 6684
iv 2.
143 VAS 4 92 ii 18f., I56ff. vi 4--57 (Nbk.).
144 George, House Mosl High, 17, CTL 370' as the 47th temple dedicated to IStar, this one in Borsippa,
p. 157, no. 1195.
145George, Topographical TeXIS, 219.

75
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

The extent of her worship in the highlands of northern Mesopotamia is uncertain. Yearly feasts a
There was a chapel to her in the Barra in Assur: Sa - g a - a '(House) in the Midst.' 146 recorded for th
In the hymn to the city of Arbela it is stated: "IStar dwells there, Nanaya the [... J month, Nisann
daughter of Sin, Imina the foremost of the gods, the first-born goddess [... J, city of first day of the
consent, city of ditto of Nanaya, this abode!"147 of Anu and AT
During the Seleucid and Parthian periods in Mesopotamia, her worship continued. did not particil
From this period, we have cultic calendars, liturgical schedules and detailed descriptive In the ceremon
rituals. Prebend and allotment documents also give information on the religious life strange duo -
of the society. in an enigmatil
In Uruk, Nanaya shared the Irigal temenos with IStarl4X and was a very popular and sit down
goddess. 149In certain liturgies, Nanaya is addressed as the first born ofInanna.lso Daily calendar, Nana
meals to the gods of Uruk are listed in AO 6451, among whom Anu, Antu, IStar and On the first of
Nanaya are specifically mentioned. lSI Monthly observances are listed for Nanaya, in goddesses. Per
addition to all the gods of Uruk, on every eSseSu day.152 A calendar of liturgies lists statues as prep;
b a I a g lamentations to be sung with various offerings on certain days of the month. the various ent
During the monthly schedule of hymns to be sung with the dTk bTti, "the arousing of kurgarru donne
the temple" ceremony, performed during the first watch of the night before dawn on she proceeded
the seventh day of the month, the g a I a-singers performed the b a I a g-Iament a - s e- ziggurat of the
e r - g i n7 e - t a 'Like a lament, arise!' 15:1and on the fourteenth day sang the lament This processiOl
uru-bul-a~-ke4 'She of the destroyed city'154 to Nanaya.IS5 Some ersemma's kli-gi6-par4
have colophons stating that they are to be sung in the chapels of various deities. various times r
One of them is said to be recited 'every month, on the third day ... in the sanctuary Nanaya dons h
of Nanaya,'156 and has no parallel in the texts of Ur III. Note especially the non- In the late
standard version of dU t u - g i n7 e - t a 'Come out like the sun!' (a Seleucid-Parthian the gods in the
version from Warka)157 in which the weeping goddesses are manifested in Nanaya. in-law of the I
One wonders whether this version of the canonical lamentation developed because temple of Urai
the title "like the sun" was a common divine epithet of Nanaya. The standard version Kislimu, offeriJ
of this b a Ia g was sung to Anu every month on day I. Nanaya had not previously Babylon and te
been depicted as a goddess weeping over a destroyed city in any of the Sumerian city that the offerinJ
laments, but apparently she took on this role through association with Inanna.158 goddesses of tl
of the fourth rr
1~6George, Topographical Texts, 189: no. 21:23'.
1~7 Livingstone, Court Poetry, no. 8:20-22. after the time c
1~8 A. Falkenstein, Topographie von Urllk, I. Uruk ZlII"Seleukidenzeit, (Leipzig, 1941). 30ff. Note that the the daughters e
name of this temple is read by George as e s - g a I "Big House," see House Most High, 83, no. 270. daytime and ni
1~9O. Schroder, Dos Pantheon del" Stadt Uruk in der Selellkidenzeit auf" Grllnd 1'011Gotterlistell und
text. 166
tileophoren Personenna111ell in Kontraktell diesel" Zeit (SPA W, Berlin, 1916), I 180-1 191.
150 Cohen, Lamentatiolls, 651:7, 714:b+ 193 (b a I a g to Inanna). A Seleucid
151 RAcc. 75-86.
IS2 GJ.P. McEwan. Priest and Temple in Hellenistic Babylonia, (FAOS 4, Wiesbaden, 1981), 76ff. BM
93004: 18 and also p. 162. 714:b+193 (both I::
153 This title does not make sense. It sounds similar to the b a I a g a - S e - erg i6- t a, see J. Black, 'A-se-er 159 RAcc. 99ff. VI
Gi6-ta, A Balag of Inanna,' AS} 7 (1985), 11-87 = Cohen, Lamentations, 704-725. 160 RAcc. 89: AO
154 There are two b a I a g -lamentations with this title, the u r u - b u 1-e - k e4 of Gula (Cohen, Lwnelltati- 161 S. Lackenbach
ons, 253-271) and the u r u - b u 1-e - k e4 of Inanna (Cohen, Lall1entations, 650-667). 8649:21', 24', 34'
ISS AO 6467:7 and rev 8, S. Langdon "Calendars of Liturgies and Prayers," A}SL 42 (1926), 120-123; 162 Lackenbacher,
see also McEwan, Priest and Temple, 172; Cohen, Lamentations, 27. Cohen believes that since the 14th 163 LKU 51, cf. C
day follows the 15th day, it refers to the following line which mentions the 18th of Arah.fam.l1ll. 164 Cohen, Lamen
156 MLC 382 (Neo-Babylonian), cf. Cohen, Sumerian HYll1nology, 41. - 165 BRM IV 25: 4
157 Cohen, Lal1lelltations, 519ff. Most High, 324.
158 Cohen, Lamellfations, 69:b+71(balag to Enki), 147:141, 179:b+79 (both balag's to Enlil), 651:7, 166 Cohen, Cultic

76
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

Yearly feasts are the subject of several compilations. Various descriptive rituals are
recorded for the cult of Anu and the cult of IStar. The akftu ritual for Anu in the first
month, Nisannu, lists Nanaya as the first member of !Star's entourage.159 During the
first day of the akftu festival of the seventh month in Uruk, the sacred marriage rites
of Anu and Antu were celebrated in Nanaya's temple, the Ebilianna, but she herself
did not participate.16o The descriptive rituals for the cult of !Star are more meagre.
In the ceremonies for IStar at her akftu house, IStar comes first and is followed by a
strange duo - Nanaya and Beltu-sa-Res.161 In one instance, Nanaya acts by herself
in an enigmatic context in which it is stated that Anu's armchair and Nanaya enter
and sit down in their cella.162 In the list of monthly feasts recorded in a festival
calendar, Nanaya is only mentioned in the ceremonies for the month of Dumuzi.163
On the first of the month, there was a ceremony involving Nanaya and three other
goddesses. Perhaps significantly, a quiver was placed in the hands of one of the
statues as preparation for a procession around the Eanna. Eight sheep were offered at
the various entrances to the Eanna complex as the procession passed each one. The
kurgarru donned masks, drums(?) were played for the goddess Nanaya and afterwards
she proceeded to the banquet hall. After the meal there was a procession around the
ziggurat of the Eanna and the rest of the day included meals and more drum-playing.
This procession is similar to that described in Ur III, where it visited the k a - e s, the
k a - g i 6 - P a [4 and then Nanaya (see above). In Ur III, this procession took place at
various times rather than in one particular month. Note the Bft-res is the place where
Nanaya dons her vestments (I. 22), probably as part of the lubustu-ceremony.
In the late periods, the cities of Babylon and Borsippa form one ritual cycle and
the gods in these cities are united in familial relationships. Nanaya is the daughter-
in-law of the Esagil, foremost child of Uras and foremost child of Eibi-Anum, the
temple of Uras in Dilbat.l6-l Both cities shared one ritual calendar. On the 25th of
Kislimu, offerings were made at the same time to Nanaya of the e - me - u r-l- u r4 in
Babylon and to Nanaya in the e - u rs - s a - b a in Borsippa.165 It is interesting to note
that the offerings take place near the date of the winter solstice. Similarly, the daughter
goddesses of the Ezida and the Esagil temples exchanged places on the eleventh day
of the fourth month and on the third day of the tenth month, dates which are shortly
after the time of the solstices. The daughters of the Ezida are Gazbaba and Kanisurra,
the daughters of Nanaya. This interesting ritual to adjust the imbalance between the
daytime and nighttime near the solstices is found in a descriptive ritual and a calendar
text. 166
A Seleucid ritual calendar records that in the second month, Ajaru, the celebration

714:b+ 193 (both b a I a g' s to Inanna for Eturkalamma).

IS9 RAce. 99ff. VAT 7849 i 27, ii [6], 10, iii 23, iv 9, 17.
160 RAce. 89: AO 6459:4-5, see Falkenstein, Topographie, 26 and 41.
161 S. Lackenbacher, "Un nouveau fragment de la Fete d'IStar," RA 71 (1977),40, AO 7439 + 8648 +
8649:21',24',34', rev. 8', 35'-
162 Lackenbacher, "Fete d'IStar,' 46 rev. 29' = RAce. 115, AO 7439 rev. II.
163 LKU 51, cf. Cohen, Cultic Calendar, 318.
164Cohen, Lamentations, 72, notes to Ils.63-71, the great princess 147:141.
165 BRM IV 25: 48 II Reisner SBH VII obv. 24. For the identification of the temples, see George, House
Most High, 324.
166 Cohen, Cltltic Calendars, 319.

77
 Joan Goodnick Wesrenholz

of the marriage of NabQ and Nanaya is observed.167 "(On) the second day (at?) the appointed hOLl
cattle pen, at the time of the rising of the walTior Samas, NabQ in (his) status as the journey of
bridegroom is dressed in the garment (befitting) his rank as supreme god. Like the places.
moon he shines forth from the Ezida during the night. Like the rising moon he In the Hel
illuminates the darkness. He proceeds directly to the Eursaba, parades radiantly, and Aramaean cen
enters before the goddess; everyone is there for the wedding. Inside the Eursaba he in Bactria, So~
creates brightness like daylight. They lie night after night on the nuptial bed in sweet Alexandria. 178
sleep." Note the play on the sun and daylight, the moon and moonlight. The Second dating from N(
Book of Maccabees records a sacred marriage rite of Nanaya with the king, perhaps Akkadian loan
also around the winter solstice on the 25th of Kislimu. It is quoting a letter from was particular!.
Jason of Cyrene: "For when the leader [Antiochus IV Epiphanes] reached Persia with to Artemis-NaT
a force that seemed irresistible, they were cut to pieces in the temple of Nanaya by the Scythians. I
a deception employed by the priests of Nanaya. For under the pretext of intending to ordered the Ch
marry her, Antiochus came to the place together with his friends to secure most of goddess of the
its treasures as a dowry."16R This is the latest mention of the observance of the sacred Sassanian gem
marriage ritual between Nanaya and the mortal king in the ancient Near East. of Nanaya frO!
The worship of Nanaya spread among the Aramaean inhabitants of Mesopotamia. NippUr.184 The
One reason for this might be that the city of Uruk became the capital of one of the Arabs, by the ~
Chaldaean tribes, BTt-Amukkani.169 The first mention of the chief of the Amukkani It is only at
is as a witness to a royal grant of land in the area of Uruk and to the assignment of so identified. U
offerings due to Nanaya and other divinities.170 The orbital movement of her worship (16.l.7) identif
may be traced in an Aramaic papyrus from Egypt written in Demotic script during the and alTows or
late Achaemenid period.171 In a section giving divine blessings the following coupling depiction is se
occurs: "NabQ of Borsippa will bless you. Nanaya ('JKJ) of Eanna, this one will bless she was called
yoU."172 Nanaya of Eanna is also the Queen of Rasi, the original homeland of the with bow and,
community which is located between Babylonia and Elam.173 According to two texts
in the papyrus as well as the Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions, these easterners were 174Ibid.
175 The most fam(
deported to the area of Bethel, probably by Ashurbanipal, and brought their religious
II1lk' I1Il'tl1brt blm
rites with them. Some of them later left Judaea and Samaria and settled in Elephantine to bl'mryn 'Ih' 'tht
on the border of the Persian Empire. There members of the community wrote the texts (WVDOG 57, Leil
on this papyrus including the descriptive ritual of their New Year's Festival in which the Connecticut A(
references and dis(
the 'king' of the community performs the sacred marriage with Nanaya. In words 176 A statue of Na
strongly reminiscent of the dialogue between Nanaya and Rim-Sin, they declare their (1951), Plate I, no.
love. The 'king' and the goddess keep a vigil outside the bridal chamber and at the (Wiesbaden, 1964)
177G. Azarpay, "I
178W. Kornfeld, (
cit., 13, note 4.
167 SBH 145, no. VIII ii 12-32, cf. E. Matsushima, "Le rituel hierogamique de NabG," ASJ 9 (1987), 179 1. Teixidor, Th
158-161, and see translation by Cohen, Cltltic Calelldars, 31 I. 180F. Cumont, Fe
168 2 Mace. I: 13-17. Letter dated to 124 B.C. Paris, 1926), 196ff
169M. Dietrich, Die Aramder Siidbabylolliel1s il1 del' Sargol1idel1:eit (700-648 AOAT 7, Kevelaer, 1970), 181W. Andrae ant
74ft'. 60 (1920), 31.
170 F. Thureau-Dangin, "Un acte de donation de Marduk-zakir-sumi," RA 16 (1919),117-141. Marduk- 182G. Hoffmann,
zakir-sumi I's reign is elated to 854-819. Morgenlandes 7, L
171For the preliminary reports on this papyrus, see R.C. Steiner, "The Aramaic Text in Demotic Script: 183 E. Herzfeld, F
The Liturgy of a New Year's Festival Imported from Bethel to Syene by Exiles from Rash," JAOS I II (Forschungen zur i
(1991), 3621'. 184 1.A. Montgom

172R.A. Bowman,"An Aramaic Religious Text in Demotic Script," JNES 3 (1944), 219-231. 36:3 ('l<lJ).
173 Steiner, 'The Liturgy of a New Year's Festival Imported from Bethel to Syene by Exiles from Rash," 185 Heimpel, "Cau

362f. ed. R. Duval (Pari~

78
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

appointed hour (midnight?), the 'king' invites her inside.174 Thus, this text describes
the journey of exiles who preserved the worship of Nanaya in strange and foreign
places.
In the Hellenistic period, Nanaya's cult became firmly rooted in the northern
Aramaean centres of Assurl75 and Hatra,176 further northward in Armenia, eastward
in Bactria, Sogdiana and other Trans-oxianic regions 177and westward in Athens and
Alexandria.17s An inscription found in the ruins of the temple of Bel in Palmyra,
dating from November 6 B.C.. mentions the two goddesses Herta [= birtu 'wife', an
Akkadian loanword] and Nanai ['JJ] in company with Resef.179 Apparently, Nanaya
was particularly at home in a menage-it-trois. A temple in Oura-Europos was dedicated
to Artemis-Nanaya as chief goddess of the city. ISO Her worship was also current among
the Scythians.lsl In the Syriac Acts of Mar Mu'ain we are told that King Shapur II
ordered the Christian saint to make offerings to Zeus the great god, to Nanai the great
goddess of the whole world and to the mighty gods Bel and Nebo (309-379 A.O.).182
Sassanian gems bear Pahlavi dedications to the Lady Nanaya.183 The latest mention
of Nanaya from Mesopotamia itself is on the early Mandaic incantation bowl from
NippUr.184 The final reference to her is as a Venus figure worshipped among the settled
Arabs, by the Syrian lexicographer Bar-BahlUl.185
rt is only at this late period that there are visual representations of Nanaya that are
so identified. Unfortunately, this was during a period of syncretism so that when SO'abo
(16.1.7) identifies Nanaya as Artemis and we find representations of Nanaya with bow
and arrows or with moon crescents, it is difficult to discern if the appellation or the
depiction is secondary - whether she was depicted with bow and arrows because
she was called Artemis, or whether she was called Artemis because she was depicted
with bow and arrows. In Susa, on the coins of the Parthian period issued in 110 B.C.,

174 Ibid.
175 The most famous dipinto from Assur written on a big sherd of a pithos represents an offering to lilly
mlk' IlIrtl1 brt blmrlh' 'Nanaya, the King (or: Queen), our Lady, daughter of Bel, Lord of the Gods,' and
to brlllrYIl 'Ill' 'the Son of our Lords, the God;' see W. Andrae and H. Lenzen, Die Partllerstadt AsslIr,
(WVDOG 57, Leipzig, 1933), 109-111, fig. 46; H. Ingholt, Parthian SClIlplUresfi'Oll1 Halra, (Memoirs of
the Connecticul Academy of Arts and Sciences XII, New Haven, 1954), 12, fig. 5 and note 7. For further
references and discussion, see J. Tubach, 1111 Sch{illell des Sonllengolles, (Wiesbaden, 1986), 277f.
176 A statue of Nanaya was found in Hatra, dating from the 1st-2nd centuries A.D.; see F. Safar, SlIlIler 7
(1951), Plate I, no. 4 (Arabic section) = H. Donner & W. Rbllig, Kanaalliiische IIl1dArallldische Illscriflen.
(Wiesbaden, 1964), no. 238; for a person named Bar-Nanaya, see no. 237.
177 G. Azarpay. "Nan a, The Sumera-Akkadian Goddess of Transoxiana," JAOS 96 (1976), 536-542.
178 W. Kornfeld, Onomastica Aralllaica aus A'gvplen, (Vienna, 1978),62. For references, see Ingholt. op.
cit., 13, note 4.
179 I. Teixidor. Tile Pantheon ofPallllyra, (Leiden, 1979), 111-114.
180 F. Cumont, Fouilles de Doura-Europos, (1922-1923), (Bibliotheque archeologique et historique IX,
Paris, 1926), 196ff., see P. Koschaker, "Ausgrabungen in Dura-Europos," OLZ 33 (1930). 167f.
181 W. Andrae and P. Jenson, "Aramaische Inscriften aus Assur und Hatra aus del' Partherzeit," MDOG
60 (1920), 31.
182 G. Hoffmann, Ausziige aus s),rischen Aktell persischer Miirtyrer, (Abhandlungen fUr die Kunde des
Morgenlandes 7. Leipzig, 1880),29.
183 E. Herzfeld, Paikuli, Monument and Inscription of Ihe Early Hislory of the Sassasian Empire I-II,
(Forschungen ZLlrislamischen Kunst 3, Berlin, 1924), 219, no. 650.
184 I.A. Montgomery, Aramaic Incalllalion T~xts ji"om Nippur, (PBS 3, Philadelphia, 1913), 238ff.. no.
36:3 ('XJJ).
185 Heimpel, "Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities." IS and 19, note 54; Bar-Bahlul, Lexicon Svriacllm,
ed. R. Duval (Paris, 1888-190 I; reprint Amsterdam, 1970).

79
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

appointed hour (midnight?), the 'king' invites her inside.174 Thus, this text describes
the journey of exiles who preserved the worship of Nanaya in strange and foreign
places.
In the Hellenistic period, Nanaya's cult became firmly rooted in the northern
Aramaean centres of Assurl75 and Hatra,176 further northward in Armenia, eastward
in Bactria, Sogdiana and other Trans-oxianic regions177 and westward in Athens and
Alexandria.ln An inscription found in the ruins of the temple of Bel in Palmyra,
dating from November 6 B.c., mentions the two goddesses Herta [= birtu 'wife', an
Akkadian loanword] and Nanai [,jj] in company with Resef.179 Apparently, Nanaya
was particularly at home in a me,wge-a-trois. A temple in Dura-Europos was dedicated
to Artemis-Nanaya as chief goddess of the city. ISO Her worship was also current among
the Scythians.IRI In the Syriac Acts of Mar Mu'ain we are told that King Shapur II
ordered the Christian saint to make offerings to Zeus the great god, to Nanai the great
goddess of the whole world and to the mighty gods Bel and Nebo (309-379 A.D.).lx~
Sassanian gems bear Pahlavi dedications to the Lady Nanaya.183 The latest mention
of Nanaya from Mesopotamia itself is on the early Mandaic incantation bowl from
Nippur.184 The final reference to her is as a Venus figure worshipped among the settled
Arabs, by the Syrian lexicographer Bar-Bahli:il.lx5
It is only at this late period that there are visual representations of Nanaya that are
so identified. Unfortunately, this was during a period of syncretism so that when Strabo
(16.1.7) identifies Nanaya as Artemis and we find representations of Nanaya with bow
and arrows or with moon crescents, it is difficult to discern if the appellation or the
depiction is secondary - whether she was depicted with bow and arrows because
she was called Artemis, or whether she was called Artemis because she was depicted
with bow and arrows. In Susa, on the coins of the Parthian period issued in 110 B.C.,

17~Ibid.
175The most famous dipinto from Assur written on a big sherd of a pithos represents an offering to lilly
IIIlk' IIIrtll brt blmrlh' 'Nanaya, the King (or: Queen), our Lady, daughter of Bel, Lord of the Gods,' and
to bmll}'11 'Ih' 'the Son of our Lords, the God;' see W. Andrae and H. Lenzen, Die Partherswdt Assllr,
(WVDOG 57, Leipzig, 1933), 109-111. fig. 46; H. lngholt, Parthiall SClllpturesji"Oln Hatm, (Memoirs of
the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences XII, New Haven, 1954), 12, fig. 5 and note 7. For further
references and discussion, see J. Tubach, 1111Schollell des SOllnengottes, (Wiesbaden, 1986), 2771'.
176A statue of Nanaya was found in Hatra, dating from the 1st-2nd centuries A.D.; see F. Safar, SUIller 7
(1951). Plate I, no. 4 (Arabic section) = H. Donner & W. Rollig, Kanaaniiische und Aral1ldische Inscri/iell.
(Wiesbaden, 1964), no. 238; for a person named Bar-Nanaya, see no. 237.
177G. Azarpay, "Nana, The Sumero-Akkadian Goddess of Transoxiana," JAOS 96 (1976), 536-542.
In W. Kornfeld, Ono/1/(/stica Aramaica OilS A"gypten, (Vienna, 1978),62. For references, see InghoJt, op.
cit., 13, note 4.
179J. Teixidor, The Pantheon orPalmyra, (Leiden, 1979), 111-114.
IRO F. Cumont, Fouilles de Doura-Europos, (1922-1923), (Bibliothequc archeologique et historique IX,
Paris, 1926), 196ff., see P. Koschaker, "Ausgrabungen in Dura-Europos," OLZ 33 (1930), 167f.
181W. Andrae and P. Jenson, "Aramaische Inscriften aus Assur und Hatra aus der Partherzcit," MOOG
60 (1920), 3 I .
182G. Hoffmann, AlIs~iige aus syrischen Akten persischer Mdrtyrer, (Abhandlungcn fUr die Kunde des
Morgenlandes 7, Leipzig, 1880), 29.
IR3 E. Herzfeld, Paikuli, MOllument and Inscription of the Early Histor), of the Sassasian Empire I-II,
(Forschungen zur islamischen Kunst 3. Berlin, 1924), 219, no. 650.
IX4 J.A. Montgomery, Aralllaic IIIC{lllWlioll Text~ ./i"Ol11Nippur, (PBS 3, Philadelphia, 1913), 238Ft'., no.
36:3 ('Kll).
185Heimpel, "Catalog of Near Eastern Venus Deities," 15 and 19, note 54: Bar-BahIOI, Lexicon SyriaclIlIl,
ed. R. Duval (Paris, 1888-190 I; reprint Amsterdam, 1970).

79
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

she is depicted as a sun/moon goddess with her head surrounded by rays, reminding
us of the corona mentioned in the Old Babylonian hymn. Her dress is adorned with
crescents in the offering scene on the pithos from Assur, while her head is crowned
with a crescent and a sun (see fig. 2).186 Nanaya appears on several tesserae from
Palmyra and was also represented there with bow and arrows.187 Indo-Scythian coins
likewise represent her with a crescent placed on top of her head.ls8 In Dura-Europos as
in Susa, her guise was that of Artemis the huntress, a portrayal which could be related
to the mystical text in which Nanaya handed arrows to Bel.IS9 Parthian statuettes of
stone or terracotta of a nude or draped female figure crowned with a crescent are
also generally believed to represent Nanaya.190 In Sogdiana, she is pictured holding
the sun and the moon.191 It is remarkable to observe the similarities between these
attributes over the millennia.
To summarize the findings of this survey is not a simple matter. The common
misconception that Nanaya was a manifestation of IStar can be refuted. Consequently,
it is incorrect to interpret temples dedicated to Nanaya as equivalent to temples of
IStar. Nanaya was never a Venus figure. Her only astral connections were the sun and
the moon set in the heavens of An. The Elamite etymology of her name as signifying
the deified day would fit these attributes. Nonetheless, she is never counted among
the gods of Elam; yet an eastern setting for Nanaya comes from the earliest possible
evidence in the Diyala region, the mention of her with gods of Namar in the Middle
Babylonian period, the traditional sacred marriage ritual observed with her as lady Fig. 1 Drawing
of Rasi in the Persian period and the last mention of her somewhere in Persia in the
Seleucid period.
The deified day better known from Mesopotamia is dOmum, who occurs first
among the gods of the Old Akkadians and survives as a minor god into later periods.
This god is found in the traditions of both the western and the eastern ancient Near
East. 192
Nanaya's character was always loving and giving, particularly in her predilection
for royal spouses. She personified voluptuousness and sensuality. Her ritual importance
stems from the royal devotions and court ceremonials, the most important of these
being the sacred marriage ritual.
In times of need, one could invoke Nanaya's sexual force as perpetual lover and
beloved - sa d !Star ana d Dumuzi epus sa d Nanaya ana ba 'frfsa ep[u.f] sa d fbara
ana almiinfsa lepus] 'As IStar did for Dumuzi, as Nanaya did for her mate, as Ebara
did for her bachelor(?) (let me do for my lover).' 193

186 W. Andrae and H. Lenzen, Die Parlhers/(/dl Assur, op. cit.

187 H. Ingholt el a/., ReCLteil des lesseres de Pa/myre, Clnstitut fran<;:ais d'archeologie de Beyrouth, Bi-
bliotheque archeologique et historique LVTIl, Paris, 1955), nos. 285, 286 and 310.
188 Ingholt, op. cit., 13 and note I.
189 F. Cumont, FOllilles de Doura-Europos, 199. Edessa has been identified with the Sumerian city of
Uruk CA. Han'ak, "The Ancient Name of Edessa," JNES 51, 1992, 211).
190 Ibid. and note 2.
191 Azarpay, "Nana. The Sumero-Akkadian Godde~,s of Transoxiana," 539f.
192 Roberts, Earliest Semitic Pantheoll, 55 and references cited there. Fig. 2 Drawinf
193 R. Biggs, SA.ZI.CA, 44, no. 25: 11-13. 46).

80
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

Fig. 1 Drawing of the image of Nanaya from Middle Babylonian kudurru (MOP X, 87ff.).

Fig. 2 Drawing of the image of Nanaya from Parthian pithos found at Assur (WVDOG 57, 109. fig.
46)

81
 Joan Goodnick Westenholz

II PDT 2 10
III Fish CST
APPENDIX VI BIN 3 22:<
VII Watson Bi.
TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF UR II[ TEXTS MENTIONING NANAYA XPDT212~
294:2 (day
XI AnOr 7 87
SULGI

S35
S 48
II PDT 1 33(
VI PDT 2 998:2; AnOr 7 55:5
VI PDT 1 52:
X AnOr 7 56:3
IX MVN2 16
XI BIN 3262
S 36
XII PDT 1 50)
I AnOr 7 58:8
V Boson 223:4
IX AnOr 7 602:6 (day 1-2)
AMAR-SIN
S 37
V AnOr 761:5, 17, Jacobsen Copenhagen 91:3, 18, AS J
III Or 47/9 7:
VI AnOr 7 62:4, 6
VI Sigrist AU
S 41
VI MVN 13 1 18:20 X Boson 33C
VII AnOr 7 69:4 (day 2), Legrain TRU 275:4*(day 26)
XI MVN 13 102:30 AS 2
X Fish CST,
XI Sigrist AU
S 44
III MVN 13 704:1 (day 21) XII PDT2 76'
ULMIN Nik II 529: 11 (day 6)
IX Jacobsen Copenhagen 8:8 (day 4) AS 3
XI Sigrist Rochester 13:6 (day J5) I Boson 61:
II Delaporte
VII Or 47/9 2:
S 45
IX SET 50:12* (day 25) IX Fish CST
XI PDT 1 582:4. 10. 18, (day 17)
AS 9
III Oppenheir
S 46
I Archi Torinto 216: 1 (day 6), SET 511 :9*(day 13)
IV Chiera STA 361:0 (day 6); Nik II 457:5 (day 15)
V Fish CST 109:2*(day I), Nakahara Kyoto 12:5 (day 9), Legrain TRU264:I* (day
10) SU-SIN
VI Archi Torino 189:7 (day 25)
IX Legrain TRU 282: 18* (day 5) SS 1
X PDT 2 11,
S 47
I Gomi BJRL 64 no. 66:7 (day 1-2); Fish CST 159:7 (day 13); Durand Catalogue SS 5
EPHE 289:7, 13 (day 30) III PDT 1 53:
 Nanaya: lady of mystery

IIPDT 2 101:9 revA (day 4)

IIIFish CST 167:7 (day 7); Watson Birmingham 71:4 (day 26); Archi Torino 223:5
VI BIN 3 22:4 (day 11)
VII Watson Birmingham I 68:2 (day 5)
X PDT 2 127:26 (new moon); Archi Torino 1 19:4 rev. 2 (day 15); Sigrist Toronto
294:2 (day 20);
XI AnOr 7 87:6, 10 (day 7); Nesbit SRD 12:6 (day 25)

S 48
II PDT 1 339:2 (day 10)
VI PDT I 52:4 (day I)
IX MVN 2 163:5 (day 27)
XI BIN 3 262:2 (day 15)
XII PDT 1508:13 (day 4); BIN 552:1 (day 9); Sigrist Toronto 413:6 (day 27)

AMAR-SIN

AS 1
III Or 47/97:1 (day 27)
VI Sigrist AVCT 1 587:3 (day 16)
X Boson 330:8 (day 21)

AS 2
X Fish CST 480:4* (day 2)
XI Sigrist A VCT I 960:34, 39 (day 7)
XII PDT 2 767:15 (day 27)

AS 3
I Boson 61:1 (day 6)
II Delaporte RA 8 18:8 no.72 (day 12)
VII Or 47/925:3 (day 5)
IX Fish CST 282:4* (day 30)

AS 9
III Oppenheim Eames E6:8 (day 15)
XII.diri Sigrist Toronto 567:7 (day 14)

SU-SIN

SS 1
X PDT 2 114:67

SS 5
III PDT I 532:2 (day 29)

83
 loan Goodnick Westenholz

SS 6
IV ARRIM 2 3:7 (day 24)
GEN
SS 8
VII Legrain TRU 337:10* (day 2)

SS 9
X lCS 7 48 MAH 19352:16 (day I); PDT] 563 ii 5 (day 21)
Introduction
XI Sigrist AUCT 3473:3 (day 14)
XII Watson Birmingham BCT I 111:6 (day 24)
Much as the fi
in defining our
graduate schoc
IBEI-SIN
a scholarly Cal
third-floor lour
IS J
them for her?'
III PDT 1 553:4 (day 7)
Sumerian love
V Owen NATN 441:4
of the material
VII TCL 2 548:2 ii 7, 20 (day 13)
turn and return
XII diri CT 3241-43 iv 24 (day 4)
venturing into
month broken
the question of
Sigrist AUCT 1 434:9 (day 28)
of eros in anc
British MuseU!
IS 2
'often difficult
IX Watson Birmingham BCTI 114:7 (day 13); BIN 56:19 (day 19),43 (day 21)
deficiencies on
X SET 571:2* (day 9); PDT I 342:9 (day J5); SET 88 ii 2f.* (day 16); SET 58:9*
but I will ende
(day 24);
deficiencies.s
XII Sigrist AUCT 371:32,47 (day 25);
Kramer's p
attention given
UNKNOWN YEAR
kild Jacobsen.(
Sigrist AUCT 3 508:l7
I Abbreviations 0
Assyrian Dicfiona
Fergu;,on, Eduard,
other advice.
2 PAPS 107 (196
3 See the most reI
CRRAI 38 (1992)
4 M. Mindlin et. ,
(1987), 26.
S The connection
bert is stronger tl
give Assyriologis
The domi
in a fOrtT
neutral pi
one speci
theory gc
N.S. Rabinowitz
ledge, 1993), 3f.
6 See especially

84
 GENDERED SEXUALITY IN SUMERIAN LOVE POETRY I

Jerrold S. Cooper

Introduction

Much as the fixations and traumas of infancy and early childhood playa major role
in defining our personality and behavior as adults, so the obsessions and traumas of
graduate school may exercise a significant influence on the course and concerns of
a scholarly career. When I did my time at the Oriental Institute, a graffito in the
third-floor lounge read: 'Plow the suba-stones, plow the suba-stones, who will plow
them for her?' The reference, of course, was to the recently published corpus of
Sumerian love poetry published by S. N. Kramer,2 and I am certain that the newness
of the material and intense interest in it during the mid-sixties have influenced me to
turn and return to Mesopotamian erotica in subsequent years. I have no intention of
venturing into the thicket of the suba-stone controversy,3 but I would like to consider
the question of sexuality in Sumerian love poetry as part of an ongoing investigation
of eros in ancient Mesopotamian civilization. In an earlier University College -
British Museum symposium, Prof. Lambert told us that the Inana-Dumuzi texts are
'often difficult for us to understand because of philological problems and ideological
deficiencies on our part.'4 I fully intend to dodge most of the philological problems,
but I will endeavor, in what follows, to examine and correct some of our ideological
deficiencies.5
Kramer's pioneering work on the Sumerian love songs was matched by the careful
attention given to that same corpus by the man this symposium remembers, Thor-
kild Jacobsen.6 Significant progress in their understanding has also been made by

I Abbreviations of Assyriological literature follow the Pellnsy/vania SUl11eriall Dictionary and the Chicago
Assyrian Dictionwy. I would like to thank Julia Asher, Carol Bier, Toby Ditz, Wendy Doniger, Frances
Ferguson, EJuardo Gonzalez, Richard Klein, Martha Roth and Elizabeth Tolbert for bibliographical and
other advice.
2 PAPS 107 (1963), 485-527.
3 See the most recent discussions by B. Alster, FS Hal/a, (1993) 18f. with n. 36; J. Goodnick Westenholz,
CRRAI 38 (1992), 386f.
4 M. Mindlin et. al. (eds.), Figurmive Language in the Allciel1l New East (henceforth Figurative Language),
(1987),26.
5 The connection between 'philological problems' and 'ideological deficiencies' made by Professor Lam-
bert is stronger than he may have suspected. The following characterization of Classical Studies should
give Assyriologists pause for reflection:
The dominant mode of research in Classics is in the grip of an almost total empiricism and rooted
in a form of textual study that purports to be value free, because it is based on a supposedly
neutral philology ... What is construed as the avoidance of any special interests in reality reflects
one special interest group's attempt to maintain its authority and control ... the devaluation of
theory goes along with a devaluation of issues of power, race, and gender.
N.S. Rabinowitz and A. Richlin (eds.), Femll1ist Theor), a/ld the Classics (New York and London: Rout-
ledge, 1993), 3f.
(i See especially 'Toward the Tmage of Tammuz,' Historv ofReligiolls I (1961), 189-213, his contribution

85
 ~ ..... ..-
-- ~----

Jerrold S. Cooper

Jacobsen's compatriot and student, Bendt Alster/ and we all await the text editions pervade the 10\
of Yitschak Sefati that will provide us with, in Lambert's words, the 'adequate and rite.
In the days
reliable corpus to which one may turn.'s
dents, the watd
interest.' A pro!
decide if a piec
The Texts or if it was tryi
Most Sumerian poems about erotic love belong to the Sumerian lnana-Dumuzi cycle, The only clues
a loosely related group of compositions whose subject is the relationship between the in one inscribe(
goddess lnana (Akk. IStar), the chief goddess of the Mesopotamian pantheon, and to have mass pi
her spouse Dumuzi (Akk. Tammuz), a hierarchically lesser deity who, according to When we Ie
tradition, was originally mortal. Disregarding the texts that present Dumuzi as the in our ability t(
dying and rising god, or lnana as his treacherous, self-aggrandizing wife, I will focus can be called 'I
on those compositions that tell of the couple's tender love and its consummation. innocence of ad
The texts that interest us have been divided into three overlapping groups by Bendt suffice:
O! that )'
Alster:9 my swee
I. Those in which deities play the role of lovers;
2. those which deal with kings and the goddess or a queen or concubine; In the be
3. those whose setting is daily life, with no mythological frame and no reference let us en
Lad, o! t
to the king. my swee
The second group, in which the male protagonist is a named king (or simply called 'the
king') belongs to the rite of the sacred marriage, a ritual encounter between the king,
Man wh(
in the guise of Dumuzi, and Inana, played by a priestess according to some scholars,
the queen according to others. According to some, the ritual was enacted at the New speak to
Year, but according to others, it was on the king's coronation; most probably, actual she has \
sexual intercourse was involved. The rite is attested for the period between 21 OO~1800 She kno\
lo to sleep,
Be, but may be considerably older.
In the texts that describe the ritual itself, the goddess is the dominant personality; she knm.\
the king's sexual performance is depicted as an offering to her, in return for which to sleep,
he receives promises of a long successful reign and prosperity for the nation. These
blessings include, but are not restricted to, agricultural fertility. The other texts gener- When yo
ally portray the two lovers as equals; sometimes the male protagonist is referred to as could yOI
'king,' and so, these other groups overlap with the texts depicting the sacred marriage O! my 10
proper. They overlap, too, in the images of abundance in fold, field and orchard that my Shu-~

the place
to H. Goedicke and J. Roberts (eds.), Ullitl' alld Diversirv (Baltimore, 1975), 65-98, and the relevant
where, c(
sections of Treasures of Darklless (New Heaven, 1976) and The Harps ThaT Once (New Haven, 1987
henceforth Harps), but note his interest in Mesopotamian sexuality already in 'How did Gilgamesh Oppress o squeez
Uruk?, AcOr 8 (1930), 62-74. o pound
7 "Sumerian Love Songs," RA 79 (1985), 127-159; "Marriage and Love in the Sumerian Love Songs,"
measurin
FS Hallo (1993), 15-27; "The Manchester Tammuz," AS} 14 (1992), 1-46.
8 Figurative Language, 25.
9 RA 79 (1985),127. II 'Heilige Hochze
10 See J. Cooper, 'Sacred Marriage and Popular Cult in Early Mesopotamia,' 81-96 in E. Matsushima
12 Grayson, RIM P
(ed.) Official CulT and Popular Religioll in The Ancient Near EaST, (Heidelberg: 1993). In the discussion
erotic delight that n
at the symposium, Claus Wilcke pointed eut that among all of the cultic events mentioned in the Ur
English that is not I
III administrative documents, there is none that can be identified with a sacred marriage, and he thus
13 Jacobsen Harps
wondered if it ever actually was performed in the Ur III period. Although this is not the place to respond
perhaps, our 'ideolc
fully to his question, I believe that it was.
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

pervade the love songs, the same abundance that is granted in the sacred marrIage
rite.
In the days when plowing suba-stones could excite a generation of graduate stu-
dents, the watchword at the then crumbling barriers against pornography was 'prurient
interest.' A problem I confronted in studying Mesopotamian sexual artll was trying to
decide if a piece was just a crude representation whose purpose was sexual arousal,
or if it was trying to capture some higher emotional, esthetic or religious sentiment.
The only clues lay in the obvious cultic settings of some of the representations, and
in one inscribed artifact, the torso of a nude women, which an Assyrian king claims
to have mass produced and erected throughout his realm 'for titillation.' 12
When we look at the written representations of sexuality, we feel more confident
in our ability to characterize the tenor of the writing. In the Inana-Dumuzi texts, it
can be called 'lyric bliss.' Even when the texts become explicit, they never lose the
innocence of adolescent passion. An example as translated by Thorkild Jacobsen will
suffice:
O! that you would do all the sweet things to me,
my sweet dear one, you bring that which will be honey sweet!
In the bedroom's honey-sweet corner
let us enjoy over and over your charms and sweetnesses!
Lad, o! that you would do all the sweet things to me,
my sweet dear one, you bring that which will be honey sweet!

Man who has become attracted to me,

speak to my mother, she would let you!
she has worn down my father.
She knows where you would be happy;
to sleep, man, in our house till morning,
she knows where your heart would rejoice;
to sleep, lad, in our house till morning!

When you fell in love with me,

could you but have done, lad, your sweet thing to me!
O! my lord and good genius, my lord and guardian angel,
my Shu-Suell, who does Enlil's heart good,

the place where, could you but do your sweet thing to me,
where, could you but - like honey - put in your sweetness'
o squeeze it in there for me! as (one would) flour into the measuring cup!
o pound and pound it in there for me! as (one would) flour into the old dry
measuring cup! 13

II 'Heilige Hochzeit. B. archaologisch,' RIA 4 (1975), 259-269.

12 Grayson, RIM A.O.89.IO. Grayson's 'titillation' accurately conveys the combination of' esthetic and
erotic delight that might be evoked by a well-executed female nude, but it has a slightly off-color ring in
English that is not present in Akkadian siiily/
13 Jacobsen Harps 88f. To illustrate some of the difficulties involved in understanding these texiS, or,
perhaps, our 'ideological deficiencies,' let me quote from Aister's translation of the last part of this text

87
 Jerrold S. Cooper

Women's Songs or Women's Voices? build the diffici

that could be r
Jacobsen characterized the Inana-Dumuzi 'courtship' songs as 'lightweight stuff, pop- they would hal
ular ditties such as would be sung by women to while away the time at spinning We have n
or weaving, or perhaps as songs to dance to.' 14 That is, women's songs, and (thus?) would we expe
of little consequence. Alster too, would like to situate this material in the context of the ethnomusic
everyday courtship and wedding behavior (used as well in the sacred marriage rites)'S acti vity is fro\\
and seems to imply that these are women's songs, but doesn't say so explicitly.'6 My women ang f,
own intuition in 1989 was that these poems were 'an expression of female sexuality': she should mal
'The tender, sensuous sexuality of the Inana-Dumuzi poetry does not lead to con- translation:
ception, and privileges the female organ over the male.' I contrasted it with 'Enki's My girl1
sexuality ... raw, often violent, phallocentric and ... reproductive.' 17 Avoiding the to the pi
question of authorship, I prefen'ed to speak only of a 'woman's voice.' our sad
In 1992 two Old Testament scholars, A. Brenner and F. Van Dijk-Hemmes, pub- the joyo
lished On Gendering Texts: Female and Male Voices in the Hebrew Bible. Building The odd are v
on the work of S. D. Goitein, they devised an approach well suited to a corpus of could have bet
problematic authorship and redaction like the Hebrew Bible, and even more so to an their node!. 22
anonymous corpus like the Sumerian literary canon.'8 'What we wish to uncover,'
write Brenner and Van Dijk, 'are the gender positions entrenched in a text to the Women in Low
extent that its authority rather than its authorship can be gendered ... we ... find it
more interesting to abandon acts of gendering texts by referring to the gender of their My first task tl
(conjectured) authors. Instead, in order to define a text as a women's text (or a men's Dumuzi poem:
text), we try to discern female (and later male) voices in them.' 19 Without having to can be defined
women's sexu;
(RA 79, I 37f.): strongly influe
Would that your sweet 'place' would be made for me. women, projec
Would that your place like honey-sweet-would be embellished,
Put (your) hand onto a garment as with an awl(?),
culture that PC(
Spread(?) the garment with (your) hand as with a spatula(?). Like our 01
My own translation of these same lines (ISET I, 90:26ff.) reads: the original pa
If you would just "do" me with your sweet place!
as egregjous in
If you would just stroke me with your sweet-as-syrup place!
Touch me like ... ! Women were n
Tap me like ... ' and treatment
Note the characteristic absence of question marks and ellipses in Jacobsen's rendition, in contrast
seen as the cau
to Alster's or mine. Jacobsen had an impressive confidence in his intuitive understanding of Sumerian
literature and the civilization that produced it, and he possessed so much erudition and poetic talent that sent, as Pando
he almost made us believe things we might otherwise dismiss out of hand. and resources
14 Jacobsen, Treasu.res 27.
relatives.
15 FS Halla (1993), 18f.; AS] 14 (1992) 2f.
16 He comes closest in the note in AS} 14 (1992), 44.
17 J. S. Cooper, 'Enki's Member: Eros and Irrigation in Sumerian Literature.' FS Sjoberg, (1989), 87-89.
A cautionary note relevant to the interpretation there and in the present study is sounded by M. B. Skinner, Bible (Leiden, 19~
'Women and Language in Archaic Greece, or, Why is Sappho a Woman?' in Rabinowitz and Richlin, 20 See the contrib
Feminist TheOlY and the Classics (see n. 5), 137: 1989) and M. Her
men's responses to it [Saphho's poetry] were shaped by far different relations of gender and power. 21 Jacobsen, Har{
The diffused eroticism that taught female auditors ... how to transcend linear symbolic systems means 'Iamentatic
was perceived within the masculine sphere as delightfully idyllic and romantic. Consequently ... which often, if nol
male listeners and readers cherished Sappho's works as a socially permissible escape from the cited in n. 20, the
strict constraints of masculinity. the discussion at t
18 It is ironic in the context of this paper to have to admit it difficult to accept as genuine the only ascribed
22 Cf. Alster, AS.
author of Sumerian literary texts, Enbeduana, Sargon's daughter and priestess of the moon god at Ur. ceremonies
19 A. Brenner and F. Van Dijk-Hemmes, On Gendering Texts. Female and Male Voices ill the Hebrew 23 Carole Vance, .
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

build the difficult case for women's authorship, then, one can look especially for texts
that could be modelled on actual women's songs or reflect women's sensibilities as
they would have been expressed in real-life situations.
We have no information about Sumerian women's secular songs or poetry, nor
would we expect to, given the nature of our sources. Yet a brief but intense survey of
the ethnomusicologicalliterature shows that even in cultures where women's musical
activity is frowned upon, women sing at weddings.2o We know that young Sumerian
women sang for pleasure. When Dumuzi coaches the young Inana on what excuse
she should make to her mother for staying out late, he tells her to say, in Jacobsen's
translation:
My girlfriend was strolling with me in the square,
to the playing of tambourine and recorder she danced with me,
our sad songs were sweet - she crooned to me -
the joyous ones were sweet - and time went by!21
The odds are very good that if the Sumerian love songs are in a woman's voice, there
could have been an actual genre of women's love and wedding songs that served as
their model.22

Women in Love
My first task then is to demonstrate the presence of gendered sexuality in the Inana-
Dumuzi poems. Gender is "the cultural marking of biological sex," and sexuality
can be defined as "desire and erotic pleasure."23 The differences between men's and
women's sexuality are not soley determined by differences in their biology, but are
strongly influenced by social factors as well. Can we, as late 20th century men and
women, project with any confidence our own responses to Sumerian poetry on to the
culture that produced it?
Like our own culture, but even more so, ancient Mesopotamia was patriarchal -
the original patriarch, after all, came from Vr of the Chaldees' Mesopotamia was not
as egregious in this regard as ancient Israel or Greece, or Europe in the Middle Ages.
Women were not considered incomplete men or a separate species, but get equal time
and treatment in creation stories when gender is mentioned at all. Women were not
seen as the cause of life's travails, as in the Old Testament or Hesiod, nor was woman
sent, as Pandora, as a punishment for men. But most Mesopotamian women's lives
and resources were subject to the authority of their fathers, husbands, or other male
relatives.

Bible (Leiden, 1992), 6.

20 See the contributions to Ellen Koskoff (ed.), Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Urbana,
1989) and M. Herndon and S. Ziegler (eds.), Music, Gender and Culture (Wi Ihelmshaven, 1990).
21 Jacobsen, Harps II. The use of Sumerian i-I u (Jacobsen's 'sad songs'), which often, if not always,
means 'lamentation,' for the street songs of young women, and the verb ad-sa4 (Jacobsen's 'croon'),
which often, if not always, means 'to lament,' might be explained by the fact that according to the studies
cited in n. 20, the other widespread type of women's music (besides wedding songs) is the lament. See
the discussion at the end of this paper.
22 Cf. Alster, AS} 14 (1992), 3, who sees "the Inana-Dullluzi songs as 'reftect[ingJ ordinary wedding
ceremonies. '
23 Carole Vance, Pleasure and Danger: Exploring Female Sexuality (London, 1984), 9.

89
 Jerrold S. Cooper

Patriarchy is widespread historically and geographically;24 exceptions, like the matri- These differer
lineal Tuareg Berbers of southern Algeria among whom the men are veiled and the present in anc
women choose their own husbands are a rarity, and the discovery of a new example during which ~
is a newsworthy occasion. The New York Times of 29/iii/94 reports on the people of and can exper
Sudest Island, southeast of Papua New Guinea: sexuality woul
The longer Dr. Lepowsky observed the people ... the more she realized that life en a, and we c
on Vanatinai was different from other societies in one fundamental respect. Men women's sexu
and women were living and working as virtual equals ... a striking example is important is
of ... a gender-egalitarian culture, and perhaps the first one to be studied in but rather, if \
detail by any anthropologist. can be interpn
In compari
Certain kinds of gendered behavior in patriarchal societies seem to cut across cultural, that
ethnic and geographic boundaries.25 To cite the Times once again, from 2/iii/94, the poe
Women are more likely to eat fruit and fruit-flavored foods, and men are more that the
likely to eat meat ... When it comes to cravings, men tend to lust after entrees are bast
while women want sweets ... Men are supposed to be hearty eaters ... [but] encounl
if a woman wants to appear feminine, she will eat less. of fern,
romanti
Compare these results of U. S. marketing research to this ethnographic description of
truth to
the Kalapalo tribe of central Brazil:
Or, writing of
Men ... roast food, consume quantities of food prepared with hot peppers and
Malti-Douglas
salt, while women process food with water and tend towards blandness in their
it is a '
diet ... men are expected to engage in public displays that call attention to
of desir
themselves ... Women ... are considered 'modest' and 'shy' ... 26
more fe
Gendered tastes and experience extend to the domain of sexuality as well. Briefly How might w
and perhaps too superficially, I would characterize male sexuality as ruled by a phal- construct their
lic teleology with implications of conquest and undertones of potential violence. In Alster worries
contrast, women's sexuality would be characterized by a less teleogical, more diffuse the study of S
jouissance: 'Foreplay, afterplay, and all the possible measuring distinctions of stages, is skipped in (
amounts of arousal, and degrees of intensity blur; one can no longer say that the sex no evidence,"
takes place at a single moment or in a single event.m 'Women are creatures of gestalt, accompany an
aroLlsed by the full range of the senses and the heart and brain besides. '28 and sensitivity

24 See, for example, B. D. Miller, 'The Anthropology of Sex and Gender Hierarchies,' 3-31 in B.D. Miller
(ed.), Sex and Gender Hierarchies, (Cambridge, 1993): 'most scholars would agree that in the statistical 29 I am trying to
sense, patriarchy or male dominance of some sort characterizes the bulk of human societies today,' ibid., as well, and there
9. I am in no way Sl
25 But note Joan Smith's warning against lumping all patriarchal societies together in 'Feminist Analysis to ignore biology
of Gender: A Critique,' M. Lowe and R. Hubbard (eds.), Woman's Nature. Rationalizations of Inequality 30 This bjologica
(New York, 1983),89-109. whose extreme e.
26 Ellen Basso, 'Musical Expression and Gender Identity in the Myth and Ritual of the KaJapalo of Central satisfy themselve
Brazil,' in Koskoff (see n. 20) p. 164. [1991], 340). At
27 Linda Williams, Hard Core. Power, PLeasure and the 'Frenzy of the VisibLe' (Berkeley, 1989),261, asserting that the
describing pornographic films made by women for heterosexual women and couples, in contrast to male- 31 Eva Stehle, '~
made and oriented films whose climax is always the 'money shot,' ejaculation. (Philadelphia, 19:
28 K. McWalter's study of male and female sexual response cited by M. L. Margolis and M. Arnold, 32 Fedwa Malti-[
'Turning the Tables? Male Strippers and the Gender Hierarchy,' in O. Suggs and A. Miracle (eds.), (Princeton, 1991)
Culture and Human Sexuality. A Reader (Pacific Grove, 1993), 161. 33 AS} 14 (1992)

90
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

These differences in sexuality have a biological basis that would also have been
present in ancient Mesopotamia. 29 Male orgasm is followed by a refractory period
during which stimulation is not possible. Women can remain stimulated after orgasm
and can experience repeated orgasms in rapid succession.3D Ancient Mesopotamian
sexuality would have involved the 'cultural marking' of these physiological phenom-
ena, and we can expect that both for cultural and for biological reasons, men's and
women's sexuality and expressions of sexuality would have been very different. What
is important is not the extent of the biological (vs. cultural) basis for these differences,
but rather, if when such differences are perceived in ancient texts, these differences
can be interpreted as gendered expressions of sexuality.
In comparing Sappho, for example, to male Greek lyric poets, Eva Stehle writes
that
the poetic reason for the inappropriateness of the male pattern to Sappho is
that the implicit metaphors of recurrent prostration, domination, and release
are based on male sexual psychology, the man's sense of his action in sexual
encounter ... Sappho had to find (or make use of) patterns based on metaphors
of female biology and psychology. The patterns had to allow her to express
romantic longing, fulfillment, and struggle with the mystery of sexuality, with
truth to her emotional and bodily sense of them.31
Or, writing of Shahrazad's interruption of the sultan's sexual serial murders, Fedwa
Malti-Douglas tells us that
it is a woman who must break this rhythm, substituting for it a new pattern
of desire which, when transposed to the terrain of sexuality, can be seen as a
more female approach to pleasure ... 32
How might women, as socialized participants in a patriarchal society, nevertheless
construct their own sexuality in the sanctioned context of love songs? Although Bendt
Alster worries 'that at the present time it is too early to proceed to such subtleties in
the study of Sumerian texts, in particular if this means that the basic close-reading ...
is skipped in order to make argument about something for which we are sllre to find
no evidence,'33 I would insist that concern with the authenticity of voice can both
accompany and even aid close reading, and that if we read with sufficient preparation
and sensitivity, evidence may indeed be found.

29 I am trying to argue here that we share not only patriarchy with the ancients, but a common physiology
as well, and therefore we need not be unduly skeptical about notions we develop concerning their sexuality.
I am in no way setting forth an essentialist model of women's sexuality, but I believe it would be foolish
to ignore biology in a discussion of sexuality.
30 This biological difference is certainly responsible for the widespread topos of female sexual insatiability,
whose extreme expression in Mesopotamia is found in a recently published IStar hymn: 'Sixty and sixty
satisfy themselves at her vulva ... the men were tired out, but IStar does not tire' (von Soden, Or 60
[1991], 340). At the 1983 meeting of the American Oriental Society, Stephen Lieberman read a paper
f asserting that the hymn is not Old Babylonian, but rather 'a Neo-Babylonian imposture.'
31 Eva Stehle, 'Sappho's Private World,' in Helene P. Foley (ed.), Refieclions of Women in Al1liquity
(Philadelphia, 1981), 49.
32 Fedwa Malti-Douglas, Woman's Body, Wo;nan's Word. Gender and Discourse in Ambo-Islamic Writing
(Princeton, 1991), 22f.
33 AS} 14 (1992), 44.

91
 Jerrold S. Cooper

Women's Love in Mesopotamia For six

Shamhal
If we can be relatively assured that there was a context for women's love songs in When hi
Mesopotamia, and if we admit that expressions of sexuality can be gendered and that He set h
these gender differences should not be beyond our grasp in an ancient culture despite
our 'ideological deficiencies,' what specific evidence can we adduce to show that the The pros.titute':
love songs do indeed represent a woman's voice, that we are not dealing with male to make him a
fantasies of idealized female sexuality, or that, in the end, the lyrical tenor of the bonding with (
love songs does not have more to do with genre than gender? Gender is a system of fantasy occurs
contrasts; if Sumerian love poetry is in a woman's voice, it should contrast markedly femme-fatale \
with expressions of male sexuality in Mesopotamia. And it does. and charms.37 I
We know what excited men sexually in ancient Mesopotamia, because we have rape (Enki and
the ancient counterparts to modern pornography, texts whose explicit function was often, repeated
to stimulate erections. Akkadian remedies for male impotence used two techniques of his victim tl
that are current in sex therapy today: manual stimulation of the penis with various young, and ha'
oil-based solutions, and verbal arousal of the male by his female partner. Some of from plotting (
this 'dirty talk' has been preserved: I have argl
At the head of my bed I have tied a buck! sexuality in Su
At the foot of my bed I have tied a ram! Sumerian love
The one at the head of my bed, get an erection, make love to me! the female org:
The one at the foot of my bed, get an erection, caress me! songs that Ina!
My vagina is the vagina of a bitch' His penis is the penis of a dog! his overly-delil
As the vagina of a bitch holds fast the penis of a dog, (so may my vagina hold and hastening
fast his penis)! My cha:
May your penis become long as a club (?) !34 As (witl
Very different from this deliberately prurient provocation is Dumuzi's invitation to My boal
Inana, again in Jacobsen's translation: Full of I
Let me spread for you the pure sweet couch of a prince, let me loosen your My un",
combs for you, My duc
and let me pass a sweet time with you in joy and plenty' My higl
And Inana answers: My vuh
My lord, you are indeed worthy of the pure embrace ... , Who-I 1
Lord Dumuzi, you are indeed worthy of the pure embrace ... ,
My lord, your riches are sweet, 36 Stephanie Dalll
your herbs in the desert are all of them sweet, 37 There are Akk:
Ama-ushumgal-anna, your riches are sweet, l1983J. 25ff.), that
Lover dialogue (B
your herbs in the desert are all of them sweet!35 92ft'.) and the incai
Sweet herbs emanate from a different world of metaphor and simile than the rutting dialogues, that is
quadrupeds of the potency incantation. Similarly, the sensuous dalliance and foreplay Akkadian dialogU(
(Foster vo I. 196ft
of the Sumerian love songs may be contrasted with the male fantasy of sexual initiation 38 JCS 32 (1980),
in Gilgamesh, where the prostitute takes off her clothes, spreads her legs, and Enkidu 39 FS Sjoberg (I S
mounts her. In Stephanie Dalley's translation, already been bette
Fable in Early M,
1984). 1-32.
40 See B. Alster,
34 Robert Biggs, Sa.zi.ga. Ancient Mesopotamian Potency Incantations. Texts from Cuneiform Sources 2 41 Note especiall)
(Locust Valley 1967), 32f. 'wedge', that is a
35 Jacobsen, Harps, II f. the lord of Aratta

92
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

For six days and seven nights Enkidu was aroused and poured himself into
Shamhat.
When he was sated with her charms,
He set his face towards the open country of his cattle.36

The prostitute's subsequent efforts to produce a kinder, gentler Enkidu are not intended
to make him a more considerate lover, but rather to prepare him for the homosocial
I
bonding with Gilgamesh that is the motor of the first half of the epic. Male sexual
fantasy occurs once more in Gilgamesh in the negative depiction of IStar as the
femme-fatale who destroys any man foolish enough to yield to her blandishments
and charms.37 In Sumerian narratives, male sexuality is most elaborately expressed as
rape (Enki and Ninhursag, Enlil and Ninlil, Inana and Sukaletuda), nasty, brutish and,
often, repeated over and over again. Enlil appears to be aroused by the pathetic plea
of his victim that 'My vagina is young, and has never learned to stretch, my lips are
young, and have never learned to kiss.,38 Much of his pleasure seems to be derived
from plotting and anticipating his violent conquest.
I have argued elsewhere that Enki's fecundating phallus is the emblem of male
sexuality in Sumerian literary texts.39 One of the most surprising characteristics of the
Sumerian love songs is that the male sexual organ is never explicitly mentioned, while
the female organ not only appears frequently but is doted upon in the elaborate praise
songs that lnana sings to her own vulva.40 I cite Thorkild Jacobsen again, changing
his overly-delicate translation of Sumerian gal4-la 'parts' to the more literal 'vulva,'
and hastening to add that I would make other changes in his translation as well:41
My chased vulva so nailed down
As (with) linchpins attached to a big cart,
My boat of heaven so (well) belayed,
Full of loveliness like the new moon,
My un worked plot, left so fallow in the desert,
My duck-field so studded with ducks,
My highlying field so (well) watered,
My vulva, piled up with levees, (well) watered,
Who-I being a maiden-will be its ploughman?

36 Stephanie Dalley, Myths jimn Mesopotam.ia (Oxford, 1989), 55f.

37 There are Akkadian love lyrics, surviving mostly in a catalogue of incipits (see 1. Black, JAOS 103
[1983], 25ff.), that are similar to and probably dependent on the Sumerian lyrics, but the Akkadian Faithful
Lover dialogue (B. Foster, Before the Muses. An Anthology of Akkadian Literature [Bethesda, 1993], vol. I
92ff.) and the incantation-dialogues (Foster 56f., I 39ff.) have more in common with the Sumerian women's
dialogues, that is with the competitive nastiness of the masculine Sumerian school debates. Other erotic
Akkadian dialogues connected to the sacred marriage are more similar in tenor to Sumerian erotic poetry
(Foster vol. I 96ff.).
38 JCS 32 (1980), 185.
39 FS Sjoberg (1989). I unfortunately overlooked the fact that several of the points I made there had
already been better made by R. Falkowitz, 'Discrimination and Condensation of Sacred Categories: The
Fable in Early Mesopotamian Literature,' in La Fable. Entretiens sur I'antiquite classique 30 (Geneva,
1984), 1-32.
40 See B. Alster, FS Halla (1993), 16 and 20C; ASJ 14 (1992) 321'1'.
41 Note especially that 'nailed down' in the first line may in fact be referring to the vulva as a gag, a
'wedge', that is a cuneus, just like, as Vanstiphout has shown us, the cuneiform signs that so surprised
the lord of Aratta CEnmerkar's Invention of Writing Revisited,' FS Sjoberg 515ff.).

93
 Jerrold S. Cooper

My vulva, (well) watered lowlands, to the brusque

Who-l being a lady-will put ploughing oxen to it?42 well as to the '
Sumerian culture clearly did not have the problem that analyst-critic Jessica Benjamin to the punctua:
ascribes to our own culture: you're done, f
we must admit that we are still unable to produce a female image or symbol in the Sumeria
that would counterbalance the monopoly of the phallus in representing desire. durati ve and c<
... once sexuality is cut loose from reproduction, once woman is no longer Unlike the
mother, we are at a loss for an image of woman's sexual agency. What is Sumerian love
woman's desire?43 issue or respor
In Sumerian literature, Inana's vulva, as a symbol for female sexuality and desire, is Despite
every bit as bandied about as Enki's penis is as a symbol of male sexuality, and more she is d
so! wives.
The difference is the elaborate, playful and sensuous nature of the vulva songs, having I
whose contrast with the abrupt eruptions of Enki's or Enlil's penis could symbolize any of t
the contrast between the more durative, diffuse female jouissance and the punctuality nothing
of male orgasm. A particularly difficult passage in one of the love songs might actually domesti,
be describing female orgasm (another Sumerian first!): That IS, Inana t
The 'brother' brought me into his house, burdens that a
He lay me down on the honey-fragrant bed, societies. The
And when my dear sweet-heart had lain very close to me, not extend to
One-by-one, making tongue, one-by-one, reproductive iI
My fair faced 'brother' did fifty. in literature as
As if dumb struck I moved toward him, For married w
Trembling below, I pushed quietly to him, interlude betw(
My 'brother,' hand placed on his thigh, simply avoid a
My dear sweet-heart, so did I pass the time with him there.44 This fantas
What is 'doing fifty?' What, for that matter, is 'making tongue?' Probably what we pornographic 1
imagine; the overriding tenor of this passage is one of exquisitely drawn-out pleasure. utopian re-visi(
When Enki or Enlil have sex, pleasure is not mentioned, except, rarely, in terms attain their sex
of relief or brief frenzy (EnliJ and Sud 149: 'Enlil had intercourse with his spouse and not only sugg(
m u - n i - i b - hi - I i - h i-I i-it felt real good!'). Usually in Sumerian texts the mere terject into the
mention of i;tercour~e and ejaculation carries with it implications of intense sexual premarital seXl
pleasure that requires no further elaboration. Curiously, or perhaps not so, Sumerian Mesopotamia,
love songs never mention the Sumerian word for intercourse that we encounter in delicto-that a ~
other contexts, or the word for ejaculation.45 In Sumerian, "to have intercourse" is a Finally, Al
compound verb whose nominal element is the word "penis," and so avoiding it may detai I that perv
be part of the aversion to calling that organ by name. It may also express an aversion In a study of IT
46 Tikva Frymer-~
42 Unity and Diversity, 83. of Pagan Myth (NI
43 Jessica Benjamin, 'A Desire of One's Own: Psychoanalytic Feminism and Intersubjective Space,' in: 47 But we can han
T. de Lauretis (ed.), Feminist Studies/Critical Studies (Bloomington, 1986) 83. Salling, and the GG
44 UM 29-16-8 (PAPS 107, 509 and Alster, FS Halla, 22). Note the Roman medical writer Soranus on women were his 0
women's orgasm: 'a shivering sensation and the perception that the mouth of her uterus closes upon the and daughters of I
seed.' See Ann Hanson in D. Halpern et al. (eds.), Before Sexuality. The Construction of Erotic Experience severe.
in the Ancient World (Princeton, 1990), 315. 48 Linda Williams
45 Alster is not surprised by the absence of the word for intercourse or penis in the love songs, and asks 49 For the questiol
'what else could one expect in erotic poetry?' (FS Halla, 18 n. 31). But why would you expect poems 'Maidenhood With
that are rife with vulvas to be devoid of penises? 50 FSHallo(1993

94
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

to the brusque male pleasure that intercourse and ejaculation connote in other texts, as
well as to the violence and power relationships symbolized by the phallus. In contrast
to the punctual aspect of intercourse and ejaculation expressed literally-you do it and
you're done, for a while, at least-the metaphors for those same actions that abound
in the Sumerian love songs-ploughing a field, digging a ditch, watering a garden-are
durative and continuous.
Unlike the Egyptian love songs or the biblical Song of Songs, the context of the
Sumerian love songs is courtship and marriage, but a marriage, strange to say, without
issue or responsibility:
Despite many similarities between Inanna and young girls about to be brides,
she is drastically different. When she marries, she never takes on the jobs of
wives ... lnanna does not turn into a maternal figure ... She is not 'mother':
having neither maternal nor domestic economic duties, Inanna remains without
any of the usual roles and functions of the ordinary married woman ... she has
nothing to tie her down ... She is the unencumbered woman, the wife whose
domestic status is so nebulous that it cannot possibly domesticate her.46
That is, Inana has the safety of monogamous marriage, without the maternity and other
burdens that are the down-side of sexuality and marriage for women in patriarchal
societies. The fertility of field, garden and fold that pervades the love songs does
not extend to the marriage itself. Male sexuality in Sumerian literature is mostly
reproductive in and outside marriage, as it should be in a patriarchal society, but
in literature as in life, reproduction never puts an end to male sexual adventure.47
For married women, the kind of sexuality described in these songs is at best a brief
interlude between girlhood and motherhood. The songs idealize sexual initiation and
simply avoid any mention of the consequences.
This fantasy is not just Sumerian. Linda Williams writes about the new women's
pornographic films that 'focus on dramas of female sexual awakening that offer
utopian re-visions of the often furtive, hasty, and guilt-ridden ways most young women
attain their sexuality.'48 Any mention of children in the Sumerian love songs would
not only suggest the unglamorous life that awaits the young bride, but would in-
telject into the Inana-Dumuzi idyll the one certain deterrent to a young woman's
premarital sexual pleasure. In the absence of any physical test for virginity in ancient
Mesopotamia, pregnancy was the only evidence-short of being caught in flagrante
delicto-that a girl had not been chaste.49
Finally, Alster has especially noted the particulars of family life and domestic
detail that pervade the love songs, which he sees as evidence for their secular use.50
In a study of medieval poetry in northern India, John Hawley tells of 'poet after poet

46 Tikva Frymer-Kensky, In the Wake otthe Goddesses. Women, Cullure, and Ihe Biblical Trans/or/nalion
0/ Pagan Mylh (New York, 1992), 26f.
47 But we can hardly speak of 'free love' in the sense advocated by Bottero, Mesopotarl1ia. Writing, Rea-
soning, and Ihe Gods (Chicago, 1992), I 85ff. For a free Mesopotamian man, the only sexually accessible
women were his own wife, his own slaves (if he had any), and prostitutes. Other free women (the wives
and daughters of other free men) were off-limits, and the penalties for transgressing these limits were
severe.
48 Linda Williams, Hard Core, 257.
49 For the question of the existence of physical tokens of virginity in the classical world, see G. Sissa,
'Maidenhood Without Maidenhead,' 339-364 in Halpern et al. (eds.), Before Sexuality (see n. 44).
so FS Hal/o (1993); AS} 14 (1992).

9S
I' ~,.. ... - .
-

-~~-~--

Jerrold S. Cooper

writing from the point of view of one of the simple young women (gopis) who herd What we probo
cows along the banks of the River Jumna' with whom the god Krishna would 'dance reflect and pert
in the forest on moonlit nights, multiplying himself so that each of his rustic consorts surrounding co
felt the full pleasure of union with him.'51 The poets were mostly men, writing as or friends. EVE
young women in love, but some poets were women. The main difference between the not necessarily
men's and women's poems is not in their sexuality or attitude toward love, but rather have been the
in the bits of women's domestic life and concerns that creep into the women's poems legendary love
but are absent from the men's. The same kind of domestic detail that Alster notes in large Inana-Du
the Sumerian love songs could well indicate a woman's voice there, too. shows that thE
The Sumerian love songs, then, represent a romanticized erotic fantasy that inter- than in love an
nalizes patriarchal sexuality (marriage, family ties) while supressing its most negative paradigmatic CI
consequences for women (children and all they imply, sexual violence, the phallus then a private
itself!). This kind of "safe" fantasy is reminiscent of the contemporary romance novels by women?
that are written for women. In a study of readers of these romances, Janice Radway Whatever t
found that they characterizatio
will not tolerate any story in which the heroine is seriously abused by men. deep feeling al
They find multiple rapes especially distressing and dislike books in which a sen's exceptiol
woman is brutally hurt by a man only to fall desperately in love with him this essay by E
in the last four pages. The ... women are also offended by explicit sexual Jacobsen one I
description and scrupulously avoid the work of authors ... who deal in what o lad, t
they call 'perversions' and 'promiscuity.' They also do not like romances that as of so
overtly perpetuate the double standard by excusing the hero's simultaneous the thin
involvement with several women ... They also seem to dislike any kind of me,
detailed description of male genitalia, although the women enjoy suggestive keep fri
descriptions of how the hero is emotionally aroused to an overpowering desire with hal
for the heroine.52
Our corpus in a nutshell!

Concluding Questions

If we are convinced that we hear genuine women's voices in the Sumerian love songs,
what was the context of the songs themselves? There are many indications that the
texts we have were used for some cultic purpose, probably the sacred marriage. They
mention lnana, Dumuzi and even the king and palace; they have cultic subscripts;
there is a conjunction of fertility and childlessness that well fits a ceremony in which
the king wants blessings, not children, from his 'bride.' But I think Alster is correct
in insisting that the songs could have been used in both secular and sacred contexts.

51 'Images of Gender in the Poetry of Krishna,' 231-256 in C. W. Bynum et a!. (eds.), Cender and
Religion: On the Complexity of Symbols (Boston, 1986).
52 'Women Read the Romance: The Interaction of Text and Context,' in M. Eagleton, Feminist Literary
Theory. A Reader 128-131. Compare the male strippers' performances for women discussed by M.
Margolis and M. Arnold, 'Turning the Tables? Male Strippers and the Gender Hierarchy,' in Culture alld
Human Sexuality. A Reader (Pacific Grove, 199J), 151-162: 'An aura of romance and chivalry is created 53 Cf. Alsler, FS
. Total nudity is not a feature of the show ... [whosel environment ... though meant to be erotic. is 54 See n. 21 and .
perfectly safe ... and, in fact, is more reminiscent of a Harlequin Romance novel than of a female strip ings of the Third
show.' 55 Jacobsen Harp

96
 Gendered sexuality in sumerian love poetry

What we probably have here are songs written or adapted for the sacred marriage that
reflect and perhaps contain actual women's songs sung for celebrations and ceremonies
surrounding courtship and wedding, or perhaps at more private moments with family
or friends. Even the names of Dumuzi and Inana and the mention of the king may
not necessarily have been added for cultic purposes. Inana and Dumuzi could well
have been the paradigmatic couple of secular love literature, much as other divine or
legendary lovers are used in other traditions.53 And we should remember that the other
large lnana-Dumuzi corpus concerns death and lamentation; the ethnographic evidence
t shows that the one area in which women's music figures even more prominently
than in love and wedding songs is funeral lamentation.54 Were Dumuzi and Inana the
paradigmatic corpse and mourner as well as the paradigmatic loving couple? Was there
then a private context for the Sumerian laments? And were these laments composed
by women?
Whatever the Sumerian love songs may be, they are not deserving of Jacobsen's
characterization of them as "lightweight stuff," a characterization invalidated by the
,
L

deep feeling and rare beauty of his own translations. Remembering Thorkild Jacob-
sen's exceptional combination of great kindness with immense learning, I conclude
this essay by shifting from the songs of love to a song of lament, and cite Thorkild
Jacobsen one last time:
o lad, the things (numerous as) the stars of heaven, pertaining to you, things
as of sounds of a hue and cry, come nearer and nearer,
the things (numerous as) the stars of heaven, pertaining to you, that come to
me,
keep frightening me, and I
with hand stretched out, bless toward yonder.55

53 Cf. Alsler, FS Hollo 17 n. 14.

54 See n. 21 and J. Cooper, 'Genre, Gender, and the Sumerian Lamentation,' in the forthcoming proceed-
ings of the Third Meeting of the Groningen Mesopotamian Literature Group.
55 Jacobsen Harps, 70.

97
 THE GOD MARTU IN SUMERIAN LITERATURE

Jacob Klein

In memory of Thorkild Jacobsen,

who uncovered the Treasures of Darkness,
and made The Harps of yore resound anew.

Falkenstein, in the introduction to his edition of the Martu Hymn SRT 8, published
in 1959, observed that "literary compositions about the 'Heros Eponymos' of the
MAR.TU-nomads are in Sumerian literature naturally rare". I Unfortunately, to this day,
some 35 years later, this observation is still generally true. Apart from the above
Martu Hymn, Falkenstein knew of a four-column tablet from Lagas, containing an
emesal lament, in which the god Martu appears as a central figure (NFT 207);2 three
syllabically written hymnal fragments from the OB period, addressed to Martu, pub-
lished by Zimmern in VAS 2;3 and the so called 'myth', entitled "Marriage of Martu,"
published by Chiera as SEM 58.4 Since Falkenstein's publication, to the best of my
knowledge, only three more compositions pertaining to the god Martu, have turned up:
a fragment of a Martu song of unknown type, UM 29-11-509, published by Sjoberg
in 1977;5 an as yet unpublished Letter Prayer from Etel-pl-Damu to Martu, identified
by Hallo in Yale;6 and a fascinating but fragmentary OB royal hymn, dedicated to
Martu, published by Gurney in OECT 11, No. I_7 In addition, as has been observed
by Edzard in his Reallexikon article on Martu,8 the god Martu appears several times
in late 'canonical' lamentations, in catalogue-like lists of gods.9
Although the primary source-material concerning Martu has not increased signific-
antly, our knowledge of the character of this god made some progress, due to the
comprehensive and systematic entry on Martu by Edzard in the RIA, vol. 7, whose

I Falkenstein, Gdllerlieder 120.

Abbreviations follow generally R. Borger's HKL I-II. Abbreviations in Sumerian sources follow The
Pennsylvania Sumerian Diclio/1Q1Y, vol. All (1992) ix-xli. Note further: Kramer, Martu = see reference in
note I I below; Klein, Addendum = see note 13 below; Klein, Notes = see note 13 below; Romer, Martu
= see note 12 below.
2 See Poebel's thorough edition of cols. ii-iv of this lament in ZA 37 (1927) 161-176; 245-272.
3 VS 2, Nos. 75, 76 and 77. Note, however, that VS 2, 75 seems to be a Sammeltafel, containing another
hymn to Nanna-Suen; for II. 1-13 of this fragment, see E. Bergmann, ZA 57 (1965), 31-33; A. Sjoberg,
Mondgoll 102 f. (No. 10). The section pertaining to Martu is II. 14-20.
4 Editio princeps: Chiera, SRT, 15-23. For recent studies of this myth, see notes 11-14 below.
5 A. Sjoberg, "Miscellaneous Sumerian Texts, n," lCS 29 (1977),6-8. The broken subscript of the hymnal
fragment reads: [ ] a-Dl"-dmar-[tu-k]a-kam.
6 Cf. W.W. Halla, lAOS 88 (1968), 89.
7 "Hymn to Amurru;" fully edited by the author on 15-19. The name of the king, whose blessing is
requested from the god in II. 41 ff., is missing from the extant text.
8 Edzard, RIA 7 (1989), 435f.
9 Cf. M.E. Cohen, Lameillaliolls, 289f:263; 135:247; 157:65; 161:160; 212:126; 240:347; 266:rev. iv 7;
290:263; 434: 118; 474: 150.

99
 Jacob Klein

aim was to complement and update Ebeling's article on Amunu in RlA, vol. 1.10 lama-spirit can
Our understanding of the 'Marriage of Martu' myth also considerably increased, due The other
to recently published revised editions of this composition by Kramer" and Rbmer,12 needs further
which were augmented by two sets of philological notes by the present author.13 seems to introl
The sources concerning Martu in Sumerian literature mentioned above, fall gener- prayer to MartI
ally into two groups: on the one hand there are the hymnal fragments and laments, others, to bles~
which try to depict this divine 'novice' ("Neuling" in Edzard's terminology) as a true long life (11. II
god, with authentic divine characteristics. On the other hand, there is the 'Marriage of As to the C
Martu' myth, in which this god is described in a more 'human' way, as befits a true begins with a I
'Heros Eponymos.' It is my aim in this study first to point out the major characteristics king of gods a
of this god, as he is reflected in the sources with hymns and laments. Then I will god the king \\
make some comments as to what we can learn about this god from the mythological All other h
source, on the basis of the new editions and further study of this text by myself, which types. We hav(
resulted in a third, revised, edition of the same.14 emesal orthogr
The two Sumerian hymns and the Akkadian hymn dedicated to Martu seem to comprehensibl,
be 'royal hymns,' in the general sense of this term, i.e. they mention favors done which contains
by the god to the king and his kingdom, but the names of the relevant kings are not the poet: "the
specified, or were lost in the breaks. In the sir g i d d a-hymn, SRT 8, there is a hymnic Poebel, the dei
introduction of 20 lines, in which Martu is depicted as a heroic and terrifying war see no reason 1
god. A considerable part of the rest of the hymn (ca. 20 lines) deals then with Martu's name appears I
activities in favor of the king: he is the helper of the king in battle (1. 33), destroying theme is Martu
the foreign land which is not obedient to him (II. 21-23); he provides him with a good everywhere in
guardian and prolongs his Life (or his reign); 15he makes his cattle-pens and sheepfolds praised in tern
produce fat, multiplies the fish and birds in the marshes, makes fresh fruit grow in his millennium 'c,
gardens, and blesses the palace with treasures of silver and lapis-lazuli (II. 36-39); 16 waters upon aJ
he provides the rivers of the land with plenty of sweet water, makes the fields grow rest of the colt
heavy yield, so that the people expand in the king's reign.17 There is also a difficult devastating an:
and obscure stanza in this hymn, which seems to say that Martu enables the king to The other
pass to his heir ("his seed") his long and stable reign, and the royal sceptre, whereby 77,29 are too f
the multitudes are led,18 so that the heir will have no rival (II. 48-51). Finally, Martu and his epithet
takes care that the people speak only good about the chosen king, and that a true In addition
laments, publi~
of other gods,
10 See E. Ebeling, RIA I, 10 I-I 03; D.O. Edzard, RIA 7 (1989), 433-438.
II S.N. Kramer, 'The Marriage of Martu," J. Klein and A. Skaist (eds.) Bar-I/an Studies dedicated to 19 n[am-Iu]-u
Pinhas Arlzi, (1990), 11-25. For an annotated translation of this myth into French, based on the above dulO <in-ga-rr
edition, see J. Bottero et S.N. Kramer, Lorsque les dieuxfaisaient I'homme, (Paris, 1989),430-437. nu-mu-ta-dag
12 W.H.Ph. Romer, "Zur Sumerischen Dichtung 'Heirat des Gottes Mardu'," UF 21 (1989),319-334. crown-prince, mel
13 See J. Klein, apud Kramer, ibid., 25-27 ("Addendum"); idelll, "Additional Notes to 'the Marriage of 20 See note 5 abo
Martu'," in A. Rainey (ed.) Raphael KUlscher Mem.orial Volume (Tel Aviv, Occasional Publications, No. 21 See II. 1-20. L
I), (1993), 93-106. 22 See II. 39-45.
14 See below "Appendix: A Revised Edition of 'The Marriage of Martu'." 23 See note 2 abo
15 masl.kim?-sa6-ga Illu]-na-gub sud-d-!;e im-mi-in-[] (I. 34). 24 Ibid. ii 1-2.
16 Line 35 to be restored: nl-sa6-l.ga s]a?-ta du-a-ni. Line 39: e-Iugal kLI-[za-gln? ml illl- 25 See Poebel, ibi
d]ull" mus la-ba-ni-in-tum-mu. 26 Note the refrai
17 i7-l.da a-zal-Ie mu-u]n-da-gal dUIO-bi I-nag-I.e] I a-sa-g[a gu-un-dugud mu]- 27 Such as Enlil,
n a - a b - I I s e - b i 1- g u7- [e]1 b e - g a I-I I. a un - d a g a ]1" sum u - u n - n a - d a - a n - [p e s - e ](11.42-44), 582:452-456.
18 I propose to restore II. 48-50 as follows: lugal'_r[a inim] nu-kur-ru u4-ldulO-ga?] SLI-ud- 28 Cohen, ibid. I(
d a - n il en k a r a - z i - d I.a - nat u k u ]1 - s a r I a b5 zit - g a - n a I a - a - n il e - g a I - lug a I - [ I a - k a?] 29 See note 3 abo
nUlllun-na-ni mu-ni-in-cJib-dib-be (II. 48-50). 30 See the index

100
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

lama-spirit constantly stands guard at his right (II. 53-55).19

The other Sumerian hymnal fragment (UM 29-13-509), published by Sjoberg,
needs further study.20 The obverse of this obscure and highly fragmentary hymn
seems to introduce Martu and praise him, whereas the reverse seems to contain a
prayer to Martu, on behalf of an unidentified king. The poet petitions the god, among
others, to bless the king's wife and son with well-being, and to bestow upon him a
long life (II. 11'-12').
As to the OB Akkadian royal prayer, whose middle portion is very fragmentary, it
begins with a long hymn to Martu, praising him as the supreme god of the universe,
king of gods and men;21 and ends with an oracular statement, that at the will of the
god the king will be granted long life and victory over his enemies.22
All other hymnal fragments which mention Martu seem to be laments of various
types. We have four fragments of second millennium laments, all written in syllabic
emesal orthography. Only one of these laments, the one from Lagash (NFT 207), is
comprehensible, due to Poebel's thorough study of this text.23 Column ii of this text,
which contains the actual lament, is addressed to an unknown deity, who is called by
the poet: "the life-breath of wives" and "the life-breath of children;"24 According to
Poebel, the deity addressed here is Inanna, who is mentioned in col. i of the text.25 I
see no reason to exclude the possibility that this lament is addressed to Martu, whose
name appears only in the third column. Col. iii itself is of hymnic character. Its main
theme is Martu and his epithets, and a praise of his name, which is said to have spread
everywhere in the universe.26 In the fourth column of this lament, Martu's 'word' is
praised in terms which recall the praise of the 'word' of major deities in the first
millennium 'canonical' laments.27 Martu's word is said to terrorize and upset all the
waters upon and below the earth, having no opposition. We may assume that in the
rest of the column, which is now lost, the poet appealed to Martu to calm down his
devastating anger, as it is customary in such laments.28
The other lament fragments, published by Zimmern as VAS 2, Nos. 75, 76 and
77,29 are too fragmentary to yield any context or structure, and only Martu's name
and his epithets can be recognized in them.
In addition to these laments, a number of second and first millennium 'canonical'
laments, published by Mark Cohen, mention Martu's name and epithets, among those
of other gods, listed in stereotypic lament contexts.30 These catalogue-like listings

19 n[am-luJ-uIU3 in-ga-mu-na-ab-be-ne/n[am-Iugal-se s]a-sa6-ga ba-pa-de inim-

dUlo <in-ga-mu-na-ab-be-ne>/cllama-nl-[gji-na U4-su-se zi-da-na mu-gub ga-Ia
n u -m u - t a - d a g - g e (II. 53-55). These lines seem to refer to the ruling king; or else, they refer to the
crown-prince, mentioned in II. 48-51.
20 See note 5 above. Due to the fragmentary state of the text, the author did not translate this hymn.
21 See II. 1-20. Lines 22-26 mention and praise Martu's wife, Asratum, as "mistress of fates."
22 See II. 39-45.
23 See note 2 above.
24 Ibid. ii 1-2.
2S See Poebel, ibid., 173.
26 Note the refrain: m u - z u an - z it - s e "your name (reaches) the (uppermost) limits of heaven."
27 Such as Enlil, Marduk and Utu; see M.E. Cohen, Lamentations 212: 118-122; 415:43; 419f.:30-34;
582:452-456.
28 Cohen, ibid. 194f.:39-60; 419f.:30-42et passim.
29 See note 3 above.
30 See the index in Cohen, Lamentations 767, sub elM a r - d ul3 and elM a r - t u. See further discussion

101
 Jacob Klein

of gods depend both on canonical god lists, and hymnic and mythological sources. possessing a st
The following survey of characteristics and epithets, ascribed to Martu in the above- stature extremE
mentioned hymnic and lament sources, owes much to previous studies and obser- gods strengthel
vations by Kramer, Falkenstein, Edzard and others. In my survey, I hope to clarify vanous weapol
some still outstanding problems concerning the status and function of the god Martu in terror;43 he
in these liturgical sources. 'lion-headed hi
As had been generally observed, the most frequently attested epithet of the god Related, pr
Martu, in all hymnic sources, is his characterization as "the man/one of the hills/moun- an ISkur-like v
tains" (Iu/mu-Iu bur-sag-ga).31 This epithet is attested no less than 15 times.32 lament, NFT 21
This theme is developed in detail in the sir g i d d a-song SRT 8, where it is stated, stirring up the
among others, that Martu "controlslroams the remote mountains to their very end;"33 the sir g i d d a
that he is enthroned upon a pure dais in the mountain, the pure place;34 that "he arose fire and f1ashin
and [roa]med(?) all the meadows;35 and that his father, An, "gave him as a gift the to Martu as a
pure mountain, the' lapis-lazuli' mountain, <gave him as a gift> Mount Amurru."36 of water, and I
Although the epithet I u / m u -I u - bur - sag - g a is translated in bilingual sources as people expand
bel sade, "lord of the mountains",37 I prefer to translate the Sumerian as "man of Rather inte
the hills," because the Martu nomads were roaming the hill-country on the verges of deities, in the t
Mesopotamia, rather than the remote mountains, such as e.g. the Lullubi-people. The son of An.49 In
consistent application of the above epithet to Martu is the strongest evidence that we n a with ISkur
deal here with the 'Heros Eponymos' of the nomadic Martu people. The development 2, 8 rev. vii IC
of this theme reaches its climax in the 'Marriage of Martu' 127-138, where Martu U - m u - u n dM
is described as a mountainous barbarian, in the exact same terms, applied to the of the god's n3
description of his people, found elsewhere in Sumerian literature.38 According to 1
Another feature ascribed to Martu in the hymnic sources, attesting to his origin not Enlil, bec,
as a 'Heros Eponymos', is his characterization as a warrior god. In the laments this pantheon.52 Hi
feature is alluded to only once: cf. the first millennium lament U4-dam gI:l - d e - d e- contributed to\
a s, II. 109ff., where the four(?) gods ISkur, AN-Martu, Martu and Saman share the As the son
epithet "bison" (a lim - m a), but only Martu and Saman share the other epithet "great this parentage
warrior" (u r - sag - g a 1).39This theme is especially developed in the sir g i d d a-song
SRT 8, where nearly 30 lines out of a total of 58 (i.e. more than half of the hymn), are
nothing but variations on the motif of Martu as a war-like god. Thus, he is depicted as 40 usu-pirig-b
41 alan-na-ne
42 d a - nun - n a ..
below. ni-se da-da-r:
31 See Poebel, ZA 37 (1927) 175f. m a h- a - n e [b f -
32 (a lim - m a) I (i -b u r- sag - g a - k e4 (NFT 207 iii 2; Cohen, Lamentations 434: I 18-119); dig i r I u- 43 a'-pirig-gal
bur-sag-ga (SRTS:57); mu-lu-bur-sag-ga(-ke4) (Cohen, ibid., 135:247; 157:65; 161:160; 212: 44 am-a-gur-r;
126; 241:347; 290:263; 474:150); [I]u/digir-bu-llr-sa-ne (VAS 2, 75:rev 5-7). See further the OB 45 sag - p i rig u
hymn to Martu, where Martu is characterized as wtWb bursc/ni ... sodi eLltltim (GECT I 1, 1:3). 46 "Your word he
33 k u r - i dim - m a z a - b i - set i I - I a (II. 1-2). frightened;! When
34 bur-sag ki-sikil-Ia bara2-ku-ge si-a (11.3-4). of the Euphrates,
35 gaba mu-un-zi sa-tllm-sa-tum-ma [xl x x [x xl (I. 13). 47 i m - i min - n a
36 bur - sag - s i k ilk u r _"4 z a - gin - n a sag - e - eS m u - n i - i n - r i g7 I k u r - mar - t u < sag - e - eS (II. 17-IS).
m u - n i - i n - r i g7 > (II. 31-32). Does k u r - mar - t u refer to lebel-Bisri, which is mentioned in a Sarkalisarri 48 See note 17 ab
date-formula (in I sanat SarkaLisarri MAR.TU-a-a//I ill Basal' ikSudu); and which Gudea refers to as 49 dum u - a n - n :
b all- s a 1- I a h u r - sag - mar - t u - t a (Stat B 6:5)7. See Falkenstein, Cotterlieder 135; Edzard-Farber, an - gal r i-a (U~
RCTC 1,26, sub Basar. See further u-mu-un-Umar-tu dumu-an-na bur-sag-da"-ta (VAS 2, 50 See Cohen, Lo
8:rev ii 10); u-mu-u-kur-ra-bi (VAS 2,76:5'). 51 Cohen erroneo
37 See Cohen, Lalllel1lalions, 212: 126; 241 :347. harmonize this ve
38 See Appendix below. 52 RIA 7, 435.
39 Cohen, ibid. 434: I 18 and 120. 53 See note 50 ab

102
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

possessing a strength of a lion;40 his mother, Ninbursaga(!), who bore him, made his
stature extremely beautiful and large, so that none dares to oppose him;41 the Anunna
gods strengthened his arms, provided him with authority in battle, equipped him with
various weapons and let him have no rival;42 having the strength of a lion, he is clad
in terror;43 he attacks(?) the enemy(?) as a "rampant wild bull;"44 all in all, he is a
'lion-headed hero' and a terrifying god.45
Related, probably, to Martu's warlike nature is his occasional characterization as
an ISkur-like weather-god. As I pointed out above, the fourth column of the Lagas
lament, NFT 207, depicts Martu's word as having devastating and frightening effects,
stirring up the waters of the sea, the marshes and the Euphrates;46 and according to
the sir g i d d a-song, SRT 8, Martu is equipped with the 'seven winds', raining down
fire and flashing like lightningY In the same hymn, there is also a possible reference
to Martu as a vegetation or fetility god, for he is said to fill the rivers with plenty
of water, and make the fields carry heavy(?) yield(?) for the ruling king, so that the
people expand under his reign (II. 42-44).48
Rather interesting and instructive is Martu's genealogy and association with other
deities, in the hymns and laments. As is well known, he is universally described as the
son of An.49 In a late lament, as pointed out before, he shares the epithet dum u - a n-
n a with ISkur and Saman.50 This same expression is most probably 'hiding' in VAS
2, 8 rev. vii 10 (duplicate of the late lament e -I u m - g U4-sun), which is to be read:
u-mu-un dMar<-tu> dumu-an-na, the scribe having omitted <tu> at the end
of the god's name; or else, he may have intended to write the name by abbreviation.51
According to Edzard, Martu became in Mesopotamian theology the son of An and
not Enlil, because he is a secondary figure (Sekundargestalt) in the Mesopotamian
pantheon.52 His association with ISkur, as a type of a weather-god, may also have
contributed toward the development of this genealogy.53
As the son of An, one would expect Uras to be Martu's mother. Indeed, recently,
this parentage of Martu turned up in the hymnal fragment UM 29-13-509, where he

40 usu-pirig-bus (I. 3).

41 alan-na-ne me-dim-sa im-mi-in-diri na-me sag nu-mu-e-sum (I. 7).
42 da - nun - n a. .. n a m - u r - sag - g a a m u - n i - i n - IIIa b - e - eli . / n a III - n i r - g a I IIIe - a gab a-
ni-se da-da-ra-se llli-ni-[in-dull-ge-esj/iliStukulgi'llledda ban'-gal ti Illar-urus su-
m a b- a - n e [b 1- i n - s i - g e - eS ]. . ./ [z]a - g u b n u - III U - [ n i - i n - t u k u - u sl (II. 8-12).
43 a - p i rig - g a I - I a .. ./ pi rig - ban - d a - g i m n I m u - u n - d a - r i (II. 13-15).
44 am-a-gur-ra-gi m [mu-un-du7-du/j (I. 16).
45 sag - p i rig u r - sag - g a - 11III (I. 33); dig i r - b u Ii- a (I. 27).
46 "Your word has no opposition in the deep,! Your word, when it is cast upon the sea - the sea is
frightened;/ When your word is cast upon the marsh - the marsh moans;/ When it is cast upon the floods
of the Euphrates, [it stirs up] the heart of the subterranean waters [in them]" (ibid. iv 1-4).
47 im-imin-na zit mu-ni-in-[kesd]a izi Ill[u-un-seg-seg-ge]/ ... nim-gim flr-Ir-re]
(II. 17-18)
48 See note 17 above.
49 du m u - a n - n a (NFT 207 iii 3; SRT 8:23 and 58; VAS 2, 77:rev 4); an - k II - get u- d a (SRT 8:5);
an-gal ri-a (UM 29-13-509 obv 3).
50 See Cohen, Lall1enlalions 434: 109-120.
51 Cohen erroneously transliterates in this lin.e: dMar-duJ3 an-na bur-sag-da?-ta, in an attempt to
harmonize this version with its parallel (cL Lamentations, 290:263; and 365:279).
52 RIA 7, 435.
53 See note 50 above.

103
 Jacob Klein

is referred to as 1:1 - t u - d a dU r a S- a.54 It has been noted, however, that the author of whose bearers
the sir g i d d a-song SRT 8, strangely enough, names Ninbursaga as Martu's "natural for my sake;" I
mother" (a m a - u g u - n i).55 The intrusion of Ninbursag in this context, as pointed out these laments,
by Edzard, was influenced by the universal characterization of Martu as I (j - bur- by Enki, Damg
s a g - g a "man of the hills." Thus we may perhaps view Ninbursaga, in this context, meaning or sig
a literary-typological name, rather than a theological genealogy proper. b) In a Ie
Contrary to what is still stated in RIA 7,435, the name of Martu's mother seems 100 deities, IT
not to be specified in the 'Marriage of Martu'. As had been correctly pointed out in prayer/lame
by Kramer and Falkenstein, Subinunna, mentioned in l. 45 of the 'myth', is most Ninlil/UrashlEl
probably an epithet of Martu, meaning "He-of-the-Thriving-Body."56 It is interesting Enlil, closes \\
to note that this same epithet of Martu, appears in a late bilingual 'canonical' lament, Enkimdu, Mar
seemingly as a separate deity, but closely associated with Martu: in the lament an - n a bilingual is gl<
e-Ium-e, II. 126-130, we have the following four divine names, listed in a broken and she is to bE
context, headed by Martu:57 c) In a si
126 dmar-tu mu-Iu-bur-sag-ga-ke4 end of the list t
dA-mur-ru be-Iu ,fd-di-i Elamma.64
127 dsaman mu-Iu sizkur2-ra-ke4 The placen
be-Iu mar-kas I1la-a-tu4' note that when
uz-sag-kur : a-sa-rid ma-a-tu4 listed here, Du
128 dhu-mu-ze-ru mu-lu-ISI-k[u]m-ma-ke4 DUffiuzi's plac
da-a-a-ik KUR-i : mut-tal-lik KUR-i the 'Marriage
129 dsu-he-nun-na mu-Iu-za-ab-ba-ke.j in the form of
be-l~ sa-pat tam- r til The associ
130 umun-sitarmab umun-ki-sur-ra-ke4 the 'Marriage,
be-Iu mit-ra-a-tll ki-sur-ri-su NFT 207, the
In view of the fact that Subinuna in the 'Marriage of Martu' 45 is an epithet of Martu us-ta dumu
himself, and in view of CT 25, 5:30 (An-Anum), where dmar-tu la-an-ki is glossed and after the E
by !J.u-mu-un-0i-ir, I wonder whether we have here nothing but four different epithets appears III one
or aspects of the god Martu. dS a man, (Akk. summannu) means "lead-rope" of cattle 42, No.3, 1. ~
etc.,58 an epithet possibly alluding to Martu's aspect as a shepherd-god, which comes 33-36): Enkim
to the fore in the 'Marriage of Martu', as well as in his association with Enkimdu and glossed here b
Sumukan in the late laments. Ijumunzer (Akk. !J.umu00'fru) "Big-Mouse", "Rat", u-mu-U1
could allude to his aspect as the "man of the hills," who roams the highlands and "Lord 0
controls them.59 And, finally, Subinuna could allude to his aspect as a fertility god,
61 Cf. Cohen, Lw
who provides the canals and ditches with water.60 62 Cf. Cohen, ibi,
Apart from the lament source above, the association of Martu in the various such as "gods of I
63 Ibid., I. 348. !
laments, with other deities, is of three types:
and 26, in a brok,
a) In a number of late laments, the author mentions about 30 or so divine names, dU10, Numusda's
was considered te
54 JCS 29, 6:obv 4. It is interesting to note that this damaged line seems to refer to the circumstances of Beier-seri, is Gest
Martu's birth by Uras, in terms similar to the description of his birth by Ninbursaga, in the sir g i d d a-song 64 Cr.' Cohen, ibil
65 u m u n - e - p as
SRT 8: sara I a n x x d i r i - n i (see the following note).
55 Ibid., line 6. 66 Cf. the Dumuz
56 See further note 79 below. 67 Lines 90-111.
57 SBH 24 rev 5-15 (Cohen, Lamentations 212f.). 68 Syllabic for dn
58 For the association of Martu with Saman, see fu;ther Cohen, ibid., 434: 109-121 (cf. note 50 above). 69 Perhaps one s~
59 dii'ikl/lluftallik sadf. 70 This line appe;
60 belu milratulkisurrl.su. 71 See Cohen, ibi

104
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

whose bearers are requested to calm Enlil (ON de - m a - bun - e "May ON calm you
for my sake;" or ON a - r a - z u de - r a - a b - b e "May ON utter a prayer to you !"). In
these laments, Martu is preceded by ISkur, Meslamtaea and Umun-Uras; and followed
by Enki, Oamgalnunna, I1urugu, Kisa, Panunankj and Muzebbasa.61 I see no particular
meaning or significance in Martu's placement in these lists.
b) In a late bilingual lament (mu-tin nu-nuz dfm-ma), we find a list of some
100 deities, mentioned in the following formulaic context: "We go to the house
in prayer/lamentations/supplication - to calm the heart and liver of An/Enlil and
Ninlil/UrashlEnki and Ninki" and so on. This list of deities, which opens with An and
Enlil, closes with the following minor deities: IStaran, Sumukan, Pisan-sag-Unuga,
Enkimdu, Martu, Gubarra, Latarak and Oungu-Elamma.62 Note that Gubarra in this
bilingual is glossed with the epithet gas a n - g u - e den - n a, Akk. Aratu belef ~eri,
and she is to be identified here as the wife of Martu, according to the lament tradition.63
c) In a similar, monolingual, lament context (e -I u m g U4- sun), we find at the
end of the list the following minor deities: Enkimdu, Martu, Sumukan, IStaran, Oungu-
Elamma.64
The placement of Martu in the above two lists of deities is most significant. First,
note that whereas Enkimdu, "the lord of ditch and canal,"6s i.e. the 'farmer-god' ,66 is
listed here, Oumuzi, the 'shepherd-god' is absent. Apparently, it is Martu who takes
Oumuzi's place here, as the divine shepherd, a role which he plays also at the end of
the 'Marriage of Martu', where Numusda demands a generous bride-price from him,
in the form of large and small livestock.67
The association of Martu with Numusda, his divine 'father-in-law', according to
the 'Marriage of Martu', occurs in the laments only in two texts. In the Lagas lament
NFT 207, the name of Martu is preceded by the syllabically written ON n u - m u-
us - tad u m u - z u - e - n a,68 with an unknown refrain to be filied in after the name
and after the epithet.69 The other occurrence of Numusda in association with Martu
appears in one OB duplicate of the 'canonical' lament e -lu m g U4-sun, namely CT
42, No.3, I. 36.10 The sequence of deities in this old source is as follows (ibid. n.
33-36): Enkimdu, Martu, Sumukan, Numusda and IStaran. Interestingly, Numusda is
glossed here by the following epithet:
u-mu-un-in-na-ba
"Lord of (N)inab."71

61 Cf. Cohen, Lamentations 135:247; 157:65; 161 :60.

62 Cf. Cohen, ibid., 241 f.:343-350. The list is concluded with general summarizing categories of gods,
such as "gods of heaven and gods of the earth" or "the great gods - the fi fty of them."
63 Ibid., I. 348. Asratum as Amurru's wife is mentioned also in the Akk. hymn OECT I I, I, II. 24
and 26, in a broken context. Note that according to the mythical tradition, Martu married Ad - g a I' - k i _
d UIO, Numusda's daughter, as a heroic bachelor (cf. II. 58; 96; 104 et passim). A third goddess, who
was considered to be Martu's wife, in the first millennium B.C.E., and shares with Asratul/1 the epithet
BeLet-.~eri, is Gestinanna, Dumuzi's sister (cf. Lambert, FS w.L. Moran, (1990), 299 n. 14).
64 Cf. Cohen, ibid. 289f.:262-268.
65 umun-e-pa5-a-ra = bel egfupalg[i].
66 Cf. the Dumuzi-Enkimdu myth (SRT 3) 40ff., where Enkimdu is referred to as engar!
67 Lines 90-111. For these lines, see also Klein, Notes 100-101.
68 Syllabic for dnumusda dumu-dsuena (iii I).
69 Perhaps one should restore: < m u - z u a 11- z 11 - s e > (cf. II. 3 et passim).
70 This line appears as line 265 in Cohen's reconstruction of the late lament (cf. ibid., 290).
71 See Cohen, ibid., 297, where this epithet was not understood, and was left untranslated.

105
 Jacob Klein

To the best of my knowledge, this is the only literary source, apart from the 'Marriage Contrary to CI
of Martu', which connects Numusda with NinablInab.12 on Martu, the I
It seems most appropriate to end this survey of Martu in Sumerian literature by had no interes1
examining his image in the so called 'Marriage of Martu' myth, a revised edition of in the story. p~
which is presented in the Appendix below. I had the opportunity to collate the tablet, lines, containir
SRT SS, both from a photograph and from the original.73 As a result of my collations, I "Oh, Su
gained some further insights into the plot and structure of this composition, especially A word
in the second, more damaged, half of the text. [Take] ~
The myth opens with a short, pseudo-cosmological prologue, in which the author [Take] ~
places the story in very ancient times, and introduces the city of Ninab and its human Give ml
ruler, with his family (II. 1-14).14 Subsequently, the author seems to describe a gazelle The rest of the
hunt, performed by the nomadic Martu people who live at the side of the city (II. 15- in which the y
IS).75 Strangely enough, divine Martu seems to have participated in this hunting party, The word I
as a (human) tribal chief, a 'Sheikh'. In the evening, when the game-portions (or the Ninab. A frier
food-portions)76 are distributed, Martu complains to his mother that he received a wife N amrat (
portion too small relative to his rank, i.e. only a double portion, since he is still a that there will
bachelor. His (human) friends, relative to their inferior rank, receive larger portions, The friend urg
because they are married and have children (II. 19-33).77 The scene of the distribution Martu inde
of the portions seems to repeat itself, and Martu approaches his mother again (II. 20- in the courtyar
42). This time, however, his plaintive request addressed to his mother is short and Martu r
sharp: Pickaxe
"My mother, take for me a wife, let me bring you my portion"78 (I. 43). In the n
In the n
72 For (N)inab, see Sjoberg, TCS III 127. The pleased al
73 I am grateful to Ake Sjoberg, Curator of the University Museum tablet collection, for his permission reward for his
to collate SEM 58 (CBS 14061) as well as for some useful comments and reading suggestions, duly
of these luxur)
acknowledged in the following notes.
74 According to Kramer, II. 1-8, seem to depict and praise the city of Ninab, in times of yore (see She is the wifl
his introduction II f.). According to Romer, these lines constitute a humorous imitation of cosmological "Your s
prologues of other myths (such as e.g. Labar and Asnan 1-25; Gilgames and the Netherworld 1-26). lead?
Jacobsen (cf. Toward the Image of TammllZ, 354, n. 8) translates the enclitic copula - m e - e n in II. 7-8
as I st pel's. sing. ("I am ... ") and assumes that our story "purports to be an account given by a hoary old I, [the 1
tree which had lived in primeval times and could therefore tell what had happened." [I, Mart
7S That a hunting party is depicted here has been pointed out by Romer (UF 21,319). Since the verbal The myth end~
forms in these lines are present-future, we may have here a description of a regular customary occupation,
practiced by the nomadic Martu people, not just a special event. So probably also Jacobsen, who states that legal elements
II. 19-20 describe the distribution of food rations at the end of a working day (see R. Kutscher Memorial Numusda,
Volume, 69-70). Martu, but sti
76 There is no agreement on the reading and translation of lines 21/36. Romer, following Chiera, reads:
i g i _d KU.LlL.DU n f g - b [a n a - g a - g a] "in front of the god K. portions/gifts are being placed" Jacobsen
or "bride-prict
(ibid.) reads i g i_dE s e2- g a I a m - g u b n i n d a - b a etc., and translates "E s e - g a I a m - g u b was turning
to her food rations;" he assumes that the name of the supposed deity means: "the one fixing rope and
bolt," indicating that he was in charge of the magazine's bolt and door. However, no such deity is known 79 For s u - h i - n l
from elsewhere. I prefer to read, in partial agreement with Kramer: i g i-a n - s e u z u - dun f g - b a etc. 80 Or "[I will giv
"Before An, meat portiolls are being placed." It stands to reason, that after a day of hunting, the members obscure to me. Bo
of the tribe distribute the game-portions. For the irregular u z u - d u "meat," see u z u - d u - n i in SEM 29, his nomadic exist
II. 2 and 23 (=Gilgames and Agga 62 and 83; cf. Romer, AOATIl, 71 f.; Klein, Addenda 26). is untenable (see
77 In spite of the improved reading of II. 32-33, which conclude Martu's first address to his mother, the 81 For the DN da
meaning of these lines remains obscure. us-sa is probably an imperative (cf. Wilcke, ZA 59:73, and alternative readinl
n.39a). Romer renders mas - d u 10- S [a I in I. 33: "Die Halfte (des Loses) del' Kameraden." However, 82 I prefer Kram
Manu receives a double portion, not a half portioil. In view of II. 18-19, mas seems to denote here i - n i - i n - u s ("he
"gazelle." 83 As a sign of tr
78 Or "gi fts" (Sum. n f g - b a); see n. 76 above. 84 For literary pa'

106
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

Contrary to Chiera's interpretation, which is still followed in the Reallexikon article

on Martu, the name of Martu's mother is not disclosed here, either because the author
had no interest in her identity, or because she is only a secondary, stereotypic figure
in the story. Partially following Kramer, I now propose the following rendering of the
lines, containing the mother's answer:
"Oh, Suginuna,79 let me give you [instructions]!
A word let me [speak to you, to my word your ear]!
[Take] a wife according to your choice,
[Take] a wife according to your hearts desire.
Give me a companion, [give me] a slave-girl."so (II. 43-49).
The rest of the 'myth' tells us the wondrous, but by no means unnatural, circumstances,
in which the young, valiant, Martu married his first wife, according to his choice.
The word has been spread around that a joyous festival is going to take place in
Ninab. A friend of Martu (probably a human) informs him that Numusda with his
wife Namrat ('Fairy') and his young daughter Adgarkidusl will be present there; and
that there will be an athletic wrestling or fighting contest for entertaining Numusda.
The friend urges Martu to take part in the festive contest (II. 53-64).
Martu indeed goes to the festival, participates in the war-game which takes place
in the courtyard of the city-gate(?), and emerges victorious from the battle:
Martu rushed about in the main courtyard,82
Pickaxes he hurled there from above,
In the main courtyard he girds himself with the sword-belt,
In the main courtyard he lifts dead bodiess3 (II. 72-75).
The pleased and enthusiastic Numusda offers Martu silver and precious stones, as a
reward for his heroism, but (the primitive or wealthy?) Martu refuses to accept any
of these luxury goods (II. 76-80), insisting instead on marrying Numusda's daughter.
She is the wife of his choice:
"Your silver - whither does it lead? Your (precious) stones - whither do they
lead?
I, [the lad], would (rather) marry your daughter,
[I, Martu], would (rather) [marry Adgarkidu]!"S4 (11.81-83).
The myth ends with a typical, mundane, marriage story, containing all the social and
legal elements of an Ur III and Old Babylonian type of marriage.
Numusda, forced to keep his word, agrees to give his daughter in marriage to
Martu, but stipulates that the young man bring with him copious "marriage-gifts"
or "bride-price" (n f g - m UIO- U s - s a), in the form of both large cattle (cows with

79 For s u - b i - nun - n a, a byname of Martu, see Klein Notes, 96; note 56 above.
80 Or "[I will give you] a slave-girl" (cf. ibid., 96f.). The end of' the mother's answer (II. 50-52) is still
obscure to me. Bottero and Kramer are probably right in assuming that the mother urges Mal'lu to abandon
his nomadic existence and settle down like his comrades, although their partial translation of these lines
is untenable (see Lorsque les dieux 432; 436).
81 For the ON da d - gar - k i - d ulO (or da d - gar - u4 - d u 10)' see Klein, Notes 97; Romer, op. cil. 330. An
alternative reading, namely da d - gar - k i - s a r ( - k a), cannot be excluded; cf. II. 96 and 104 of the myth.
82 J prefer Kramer's reading dug i - n i - i 11- bad ("rushed about") in II. 69 and 72, to Romer's sa r
i - n i - i n - u s ("he killed myriads").
83 As a sign of triumph (cf. Klein, Notes, 99).
84 For literary parallels to II. 76-83, see Klein, AS} 12 (1990), 59f.; Alster, RA 69 (1975), 107.

107
 Jacob Klein

their calves) and small livestock (ewes with their lambs and goats with their kids).85 nomads.90 Acc(
Apparently, Martu enters with all these 'consumptibilia' into the house of Numusda, Martu with Nir
his future father-in-law, for an unspecified engagement period.86 was concluded
The episode which follows here is also very fragmentary and somewhat obscure. assume that ou
An unknown person, whose name is broken, is presenting valuable gifts, made of of the Martu r
gold, silver and fine fabric, to each and every individual in Ninab, old and young, that our 'myth
men and women, noble and low, who are gathered at the quay (kar) of the city (II. end of the Ur
I 12-125). There are two possibilities of interpretation: it is quite possible that after Puzurnumusda,
the conclusion of the marriage contract, the father-in-law, Numusda, or the ens i of The socio-I
the city, instituted a lavish wedding-feast, during which he distributed gifts to each what is its liter;
of his subjects. Alternatively, it is Martu, the would-be bridegroom, who presents to "myth"? Can 1\
each and every citizen of Ninab copious gifts, so that they support his endeavor to If the abovi
marry the daughter of their god.s7 must conclude
If the latter interpretation is correct, then Martu seems to have achieved his wish. logy. We have
As he had probably foreseen, a girl-friend of the bride made a strong attempt to the major prot
dissuade her from marrying him, as long as the marriage was not consummated, and divine figures,
any of the parties could back out at the price of paying the penalties.88 The girl-friend represents the
describes in very colorful, exaggerated and stereotypic words, the 'barbaric' way of nomads, a novi
life of the Martu nomads, a way of life which their god and and 'Heros Eponymos', All other prota
Martu, shared with them: these primitive nomads have features of a monkey. They very peculiar a
violate all taboos and are abomination to the gods. They are constantly on the move, The whole
and live in tents, knowing no houses. They eat uncooked meat, do not bury their dead situation and a
and so on. Why would a civilized, urban, respectable Sumerian girl marry such a rude represent hum,
'barbarian' '?89 and worldly m
The answer of the young girl to these insults and accusations is short and sharp: and behaviour
"I will indeed marry Martu!" (I. 141). the way Dumu
According to Falkenstein, the 'myth' under discussion must have been composed contest, the she
in Neo-Sumerian times, and it reflects the settlement or urbanization of the Martu our 'myth', the
differences bet
85 Lines 90-111. Note that the "cows with their calves" (II. 90-96) can be obtained only by restoration;
but what other types of domesticated animals could precede "ewes with their lambs" (II. 97ff.) and "goats
two gods. Dur
with their kids" (II. 106ff.)? For these formulaic passages see Klein, Notes 99ff. Apparently, the author of his product:
of our myth depicts Martu as a Dumuzi type shepherd god. the common d
86 For the legal and social background of this episode, see discussion ibid., n. 12; R. Westbrook, Old Baby-
have here two
lonian Marriage Law 1988 (ArO Beiheft 23), 10-20; 29-47. J. Hengstl, "Die neusumerische Eintrittsehe,"
Zeitschriji der Saviglly-Stiftung fur Rechtgeschichte 109 (1992) 31-50. With all probability, we have here deified chieftai
a case of a typical "inchoate marriage." Manu, the bridegroom pays the "bride-price" (n f g - m u 10- U S - s a pantheon,95 we
= ter':!atwn) in the form of small and large livestock, and is waiting for the bride to reach the appropriate tried to supres
age, or for the parents to be ready to give her over to him as his wife so that he Illay exercise his right
to take her into his possession (d u 12 = a':!iizum). obliteration.
87 For a discussion of this passage with various proposals of restorations, see Klein, Notes, 101-103. A
similar list of social categories appears in the Curse of Agade, II. 29-32 and Inanna and Enki II iv 33-
37, where Inanna is told to have granted the inhabitants of Agade and Unug, respectively, spiritual gifts.
However, the above list ignores the slaves and slave-girls, adding the category of "children" (d i4- d i4-1 a).
In fact, it is possible that this category was mentioned in the beginning of I. 119 of our myth (instead of
90 CRRAl2 (1951
g u r u s - g u r u s or k i - s i k i I - g u r u s).
88 This is probably the purport of I. 126, which was correctly recognized already by Kramer: U4 b a - b i-a 91 Kramer, Martu
din u - t i 1- Ie - [d am] "Some days passed, the decision not [beingl made final." 92 See D.O. Edza
89 Lines 127-139; for these lines, in which the girl;friend speaks alternatively of Martu as an individual, les dieux; 437; Ro
and of his tribal fellows as a group, see Klein, ibid. 104-106. For a different restoration of II. 132-139, 93 See WO 5 (19t
see now Romer, op. cit. 323. The reading m [u -I u k u]S - u dum U4 - m U4 (I. 132) is unjustified, among 94 See Kramer, J(

others because the two signs followi ng u d u are separated from each other by a space. 95 cr. RIA 7 (198

108
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

nomads.90 According to Kramer, our 'myth' reflects a "political alliance of the nomadic
Martu with Ninab," a city-state situated in the neighborhood of Kazallu. This alliance
was concluded in spite of strong opposition by people in the city.91 Edzard and others
assume that our 'myth' is an etiology for the admission of Martu, the national god
of the Martu nomads, into the Mesopotamian pantheon.92 Finally, Wilcke suspects
that our 'myth' may reflect an actual historical event, which took place toward the
end of the Ur III empire: The admittance of the Martu nomads into the land by
Puzurnumusda, the ens i of Kazallu, mentioned in a letter of Ibbisin to ISbierra.93
The socio-historical background of our myth is thus reasonably explained. But
what is its literary-theological nature? Can this short amusing, tale be called a genuine
"myth"? Can Martu, as he is described in this tale, be considered to be a real god?
If the above reconstruction and interpretation of this composition is justified, we
must conclude that we deal here more with folklore than with theology and mytho-
logy. We have here an almost entirely human, folkloristic, tale, with one difference:
the major protagonists are gods. But even these gods are nothing but minor, local
divine figures, each representing his people. Numusda, a local god of Kazallu-Ninab,
represents the population of Ninab; and Martu, a 'Heros Eponymos' of the Martu
nomads, a novice in the Mesopotamian pantheon, represents the members of his tribe.
All other protagonists in the present story seem to be human, and we witness here a
very peculiar acting of the so-called 'gods' within the framework of human society.
The whole situation and atmosphere in this so-called 'myth' is reminiscent of the
situation and atmosphere in some of the Dumuzi-Inanna love-songs, which seem to
represent human folklore, rather than divine mythology. Likewise the acutely human
and worldly nature of Martu in our 'myth' recalls the human traits in the character
and behaviour of Dumuzi. The way in which Martu wins his divine wife also recalls
the way Dumuzi earns Inanna, in the well known Dumuzi-Enkimdu contest.94 In this
contest, the shepherd god Dumuzi prevails over the Farmer-god Enkimdu. Similarly, in
our 'myth', the shepherd-god Martu prevails over all other suitors. There are obvious
differences between the two stories, issuing from the different background of the
two gods. Dumuzi, who is also the god of fertility, prevails due to the superiority
of his products. Martu, the nomadic warrior, prevails due to his heroic deeds. But
the common denominator between these two deities cannot be ignored: we seem to
have here two divinities of human origin, a deified king on the one hand, and a
deified chieftain on the other. To Edzard's observation that Martu is a 'novice' in the
pantheon,95 we would now add that no matter how hard the Mesopotamian theologians
tried to supress his human origin, his human character withstood all attempts of at
obliteration.

90 CRRAI2 (1951), 17.

91 Kramer, Martu, I I.
92 See D.O. Edzard, Kindlers Lireratur Lexikoll 21 (1974), 9110; similarly Bottero et Kramer, Lorsque
les dieux; 437; Romer, op. cit. 320.
93 See WO 5 (1969) 22; cf. Romer's criticism of this hypothesis (ibid. 320).
94 See Kramer, JCS 2, (1948), 60-68; van Dijk, SSA, 65-85.
95 Cf. RIA 7 (1987-1990), 435a; 438a.

109
 Jacob Klein

APPENDIX: 42 e-a ba-an-~

A REVISED EDITION OF 'THE MARRIAGE OF MARTU' 43 ama-mu de
44 dmar-tu arr
Transliteration 45 dsu-hi- fnur
46 inimv ga- fn
ni-na-abki i-me-a kiris-tab nu-me- fa1 47 igi-fl-Ia-zu
2 men-ku i-me-a aga-ku nu-me-[a] 48 sa-ge4 gun
3 sim-ku I-me-a giserin-ku nu-me-[a] 49 su-tab ze-n
4 mun-ku i-me-a naga-ku nu-me-a 50 uru-da-za to
5 gis-duwduwga x [x] i-me-a 51 du lo-sa-za
6 sa-tum-sa-tum-ma tu- fda 1 i-me-a 52 dmar-tu Iu
7 da-ab-ba-giserin-ku-ga-me-en bfl-ga-gismes-me-en 53 U4-ba uru-2
8 ama-ad-iserin-babbar-ra-me-en su-ba-su-ur-ra-me-en 54 ni-na-abki l
9 U4-ba uru-uru-a kur-nam-nun-na-kam 55 ga-nam-ma
10 ni-na-abki uru-uru-a kur-nam-nun-na-kam 56 e-kas-ni-na
11 ensirni-na-abki-a tigi-sems-kusa-Ia-a 57 dnu-mus-de
12 dam-a-ni sa"-g[e"-g]uru/' mu-ni be-en-na-nam 58 dumu-ki-a~
13 dumu-ni [x x] ba?-da-gur-ra-am 59 dam'-a-ni d
14 A[N-x-x]-na-ka mu-ni be-en-na-nam 60 uru-a sems
15 uru-da-e-[n]e gu na-Ia-e-ne 61 kllsa-Ia-7"-e
16 ni-na-abki u[ru-d]a-[e]-ne gu [na]-Ia-e-ne 62 nita-x-ne el
17 gu na-la-e-ne fmas]" mu-un-sar-sar-ne 63 e-gespu2-se
18 mas-e lu-1urgim [gis mu-u]n-ra-ra-ne 64 e-ni-na-abkl
19 U4-ne u4-te-na u[m-ma-te]-a-ra 65 ni-na-abki l
20 ki-nfg-ba-ka um-m[a-te]-a-ra 66 ni-na-abki l
21 igi-an-se uzu-du nf-ba fna-ni"-ga'Lga 67 e-ne-ra bar
22 nfg-ba lu dam-dul2 min-am i-ga-ga 68 [kW-ni-na-
23 nfg-ba lu dumu-dul2 ess-am i-ga-ga 69 [dma]r-tu k
24 nfg< -ba> gurus-sag-dili as-am i-ga-ga 70 [ur-sag"-kal
25 dmar-tu asa-ni min-am i-ga-ga 71 [x-kaI]ag-g
26 dmar-tu ama-ugu-ni-ir 72 [dm]ar-tu k
27 e-a ba-an-si-in-ku4 gu mu-un-na-de-e 73 [nfg"]-gul-g
28 uru-ga ku-li-mu-ne me-en dam ba-an-dllirduirme-es 74 [ki]sal-mab
29 dUIO-sa-mu-ne me-en dam ba-an-du Irdllirme-es 75 kisal-ni-na-
30 uru-ga ku-li-mu-f neLgim? dam nu-duI2-me-en 76 dnu-[mus]-(
31 dam nu-du,rme-en [d]umu nu-duI2-me-en 77 ku m[u-u]n
32 gis-sub us-sa dirig-ku-Ii-ga-se 78 za [mu-un-:
33 mas dU,o-s[a] bf-dabs dirig-du,o-sa-ga-se 79 [x x x] AN
34 U4-ne u4-te-en-na um-ma-te-f a-ta"l 80 [x x x] ab-,
35 fkiLnfg-ba-ka um-ma-t[e-a-ta?] 81 [ku-zu-me-I
36 igi-an-se UZLI-dunfg-ba na-n[i-ga-ga] 82 [guruf-me:
37 [nfg-ba] lu dam-dul2 min-am l-[ga-ga] 83 [dmar-tu?-m
38 [nfgJ-fba1 [lu dumu-dlll2 ess-am i]-ga-[ga] (II. 84-92 a
39 nfg< -ba> gurus-sag-dili [as-am l-ga-g]a 90 [amar" nfg-
40 dmar-tu asa-ni min-[am l]-ga-ga 91 [ab-ga? am,
41 [dma]r-tu ama-u[g]u-ni-ir 92 [tur?-ba am

110
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

42 e-a ba-an-si-in-ku4 gu mu-un-na-de-e

43 ama-mu dam dUI2-ba-ab nfg-ba-mu g[a-m]u-ra-tum
44 dmar-tu ama-u[gu]-ni [mu]-na-ni-i[b-gi4-gi4]
45 dsu-bi-f nun L[na na g]a-e-f ril na-r[i-gu,o be-dabs]
46 inim ga- fra L[ab-du" inim-gu IO-se gestug-zu]
47 igi-fI-la-zu dam [dulrba-ni-ib]
48 sa-ge4 gUfUrZll dam [du,rba-ni-ib]
49 su-tab ze-ma gi4-in [ze?-ma"]
50 uru-da-za e-bi du-du-a CiI[S?SAR'-bi ]
5I dUlo-sa-za tul ba-e-ni-b[a?-al"-Ia']
52 dmar-tu lu dU,o-f sal"'-[za" ... ]
53 U4-ba uru-a uru-a ezem b[f'-ib-gar]
54 ni-na-abki lIfu-a ezem b[f'-ib-gar]
55 ga-nalll-ma ku-li g[a-re7] ga-ba-e-reren-d[e-en]
56 e-kas-ni-na-abki-a ga-re7 ga-ba-e-reren-de-en
57 dnu-mus-da-[ke4] ezem-Illa mll-[ ... ]
58 dllmll-ki-ag-ga-ni dad-g[ar-ki-dll1o-e] ezem-Illa 1ll11-u[n-da- ]
59 dam'-a-ni dnam-ra-at IllUnlls-sa[gs-ga] ezem-Illa mu-un-[da- ]
60 llfU-a sems-zabar zi-ik-za-ak [mll-ni-ib-za]
61 kllsa_la_7?-e Sigl4 mll-da-an-[gi4]
62 nita-x-ne en-fb-Ia-[nef
63 e-gesp1l2-se mll-na-da-an-k1l4-k1l4
64 e-ni-na-abki-a-ka bll-mll-na-ab'-sf-e
65 ni-na-abki lIfll-ezem-gal-la-se u6-di-de ba-gen
66 ni-na-abki uru-ezem-gal-Ia-se 116-di-de ba-gen
67 e-ne-ra bar-kll-ga I-me-a-ke4-es
68 [k]a? -ni-na-abki-ka gesPllrlirllm-e
69 [dma]r-tll kisal-Illab-a dug i-ni-in-bad
70 [llr-sag"-kal]ag-ga mu-na-ab-kin-kin-e
71 [x-kal]ag-ga mll-na-ab-zi-zi-i
72 [dm]ar-tu kisal-mab dug i-ni-bad
73 [nfg"]-glll-glll-e an?-ta bf-ra
74 [ki]sal-Illab me-e nfg-Ia-e bf-in-Ia
75 kisal-ni-na-abki ad6 im-f fILfI-e
76 dnu-[mus]-da dlllar-tu bul-Ia-e
77 ku m[u-u]n-na-ba-e su nu-um-ma-gfd-i-de
78 za [mu-un-n]a-ba-e su nu-um-ma-gfd-i-de
79 [x x x] AN ab-ak-e
80 [x x x] ab-ak-e
81 [ku-zu-me-da-tum] za-zu me-da-tum
82 [gurus"-me]-en dumu-zu ga-ba-[ab]-duI2
83 [dmar-tu? -me-en dumu-zu] ga-ba-ab? -[dUI2]
(II. 84-92 are entirely destroyed; II. 90-92 can be restored:)
90 [amar? nfg-mu,o-us-sa dam mu.ni- ... ]
91 [ab-ga' amar? be-em-Illi-ib-ku"]
92 [tur"-ba amar' ab-ba-bi] x [bu-mu-un-si-na-e]

111
 Jacob Klein

93 [ab-be? x]-fbaLka EN'? [be-em-mi-tuf] 139 ma-Ia-mu (

94 [amar?-bi a]-zi-da-bi be-[em-mi-tuf] 140 ma-la-ga-n
95 [urs-re urs-urs]-re inim ha-ba-[ ... ] 141 dmar-[tu g]
96 [dad-gar-ki]- fdu 101[K]A dumu-gu 10ga-[mu-ra-ab-sum] 142 ni-na-ab[ki]
97 s[ila4? nfg-mulO-us-sa? da]m'? fmu Lni-[ ... ]
98 [us-ga" sila4 be-em-mi-ib-ku?j
99 x [ ]
100 ama[S" Ug sila4-bi hu-mu-un-si-na-e]
I01 Us [x] fx xl [... ] 1 (When) Ni
102 sila4-bi gllb-bu-bi be-[em-mi-tuf] 2 The holy p
103 urs-re urs-urs-re inim a-ba-n[i?- ... ] 3 Holyarom
104 dad-gar-ki-du 10KA dumu-gu 10ga-[mu-ra-ab-sum] 4 Holy salt \J
105 fmaS" nfgLmulo-us-sa dam mu-ni-[ ... ] 5 Copulation
106 u[z?-g]a? mas be-[em]-mi-[ib-ku?] 6 Birth-givin,
107 unu-ba mas uz-da-b[i] x bu-mu-un-si? -na-e 7 You (Ninal
108 uz-de mas-[bi x] he-em-mi-tuS" mes-tree,
109 mas-bi [x x x] be=em-mi-f tusl? 8 You are the
110 urs-re urs-u[rs-re inim ba-ba]-x-gar"-[x] 9 In those da
III [dad-ga]r-ki-dulO dumu-gulO ga-mu-ra-a[b-sum] 10 Ninab was
112 [x x x]-gal-gal-e ba-ni-in-[x] 11 The ruler 0
113 x [x x]-e-gim gu bf-in-r[aj? 12 His wife-
114 kar-ni-na-abki-ka mu-ni-in-[x] 13 His daughtt
115 ab-ba-ab-ba-ar ni-na-abk [i-a] 14 Her name \
116 gisrab-ku-sign-ka mf im-ma-ni-i [n-dug4] 15 They (who
117 [u]m-[m]a-um-ma-ar ni-na-abki-[a] 16 They (who
118 [x x tug]bar-si-ku-sig17-ga m[f im-ma-ni-in-dug4] 17 They spreat
119 [x x x] x-ni-na-[abki-k]e4?-ne 18 They slay ~
120 [... ] fx x xl [ku-s]igl7-ka/ m! im-m[a-n]i-in-dug4 19 One day, a)
121 [arad2' -arad2 ?]-x -ni-na-ab[ki-k]e4 -n[ e] 20 At the 'plac
122 [x-gun ?]-a ml im-ma-[ni-in]-d[ug4] 21 Before An ,
123 tug[sfg?]-gun-a mi im-ma-[ni-in-dug4] 22 The portion
124 gemergemerni-na-ab[ki-ke4-ne] 23 The portion
125 dug-kin? -gis-ku-babbar mi im-ma-n[i-in-dug4] 24 The portion
126 U4 ba-bi-a di nu-til-Ie-[dam] 25 For Martu ;
127 a-se su-bi ba-Iam saralan-U[guugu4-bi] 26 Martu enter
128 an-zil-gurdnanna-[ke4-ne?] nl nu-[tuku-tuku-ne"] 27 Who bore t
129 su-dag-dag-ge-bi x [ ] 28 "In my city
130 [nig-gi]g-e-digir-re-e-ne-[kam?] 29 My compan
131 [galga-b]i mu-un-lu-Iu su-[sub?-a? dUwga] 30 In my city,
132 l[u?k]USlu-ubmU4-a [... ] 31 I have no \\
133 za-Iam-gar ti im-im-seg-[ga x x] sizkur [nu-mu-un-dull '] 32 An imposea
134 bur-sag-ga tus-e ki-[digir-re-ne? nu-zu-am "] 33 A gazelle tl
135 lu u[z]u-diri kur-da mu-un-ba-al-Ia dUlo-gam nu-zu-am 34 On that day
136 uw nu-seg-ga al-gure 35 At the 'plac
137 u4-ti-Ia-na e nu-tuku-a 36 Before An I
138 U4 ba-ugra-na ki nu-tum-mu-dam 37 The portion

112
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

139 ma-Ia-mu dmar-tu ta-am an-dulrduI2-un

140 ma-Ia-ga-ni dad-gar-ki-du 10 mu-na-ni-ib-gi4-gi4
141 dmar-[tu g]a-ba-an-dulrdu 12

142 ni-na-ab[ki] u-Ium a-Iam-ma

Translation

I (When) Ninab was existing, (but) Kiritab was not existing,

2 The holy priestlycap was existing, (but) the holy crown was not existing,
3 Holy aromaticherbs were existing, (but) holy cedars were not existing,
4 Holy salt was existing, (but) holy soap was not existing,
5 Copulation ... was existing,
6 Birth-giving in the meadows was existing -
7 You (Ninab?) are the grandfather of the holy cedar, you are the ancestor of the
mes-tree,
8 You are the grandmother of the white cedar, you are the 'flesh' of the IJasur-cedar.
9 In those days, it was the city of cities, a mountain of princeship,
10 Ninab was the city of cities, a mountain of princeship.
II The ruler of Ninab (was) Tigi-sem-ala,
12 His wife - Sageguru" was verily her name,
13 His daughter, who ... returned with him?,
14 Her name was verily [Inan]naka'.
15 They (who live) by the side of the city, they spread the nets,
16 They (who live) by the side of the city Ninab, they spread the nets,
17 They spread the nets, they chase gazelles,
18 They slay gazelles like men.
19 One day, after evening arrived,
20 At the 'place of portions', after (evening) arrived,
21 Before An meat portions are being placed.
22 The portion of a man who has a wife is placed twofold,
23 The portion of a man who has a son is placed threefold,
24 The portion of a lad who is single is placed single;
25 For Martu alone it is placed twofold.
26 Martu entered the house to his mother
27 Who bore him, he says to her:
28 "In my city, my friends have wives,
29 My companions have wives,
30 In my city, I have no wife like my friends,
31 I have no wife, I have no child;
32 An imposed lot greater than that of my friend,
33 A gazelle the companion caught, greater than that of my companion."
34 On that day, after evening arrived,
35 At the 'place of portions', after (evening) arrived,
36 Before An meat portions are being placed.
37 The portion of a man who has a wife is placed twofold,

113
 Jacob Klein

38 The portion of a man who has a son is placed threefold, 81 (Says Mar
39 The portion of a lad who is single is placed single; whither dc
40 For Martu alone it is placed twofold. 82 /, [the lad]
41 Martu - to his mother who bore him 83 [/, Martu],
42 Entered her house, he says to her: (II. 84-91 ,
43 "My mother, take a wife for me, let me bring you my portion!" 90 "[Calves, (
44 His mother who bore him answers Martu: 91 [Let milk (
45 "Oh Suhinuna, let me give you [instruction]! 92 [Let the CG
46 A word let me [speak to you, to my word your ear]! 93 [Let those
47 [Take] a wife according to your choice, 94 Let [their (
48 [Take] a wife according to your heart's desire. 95 [Thus, onl:
49 Give me a companion, [give me] a slave-girl. 96 (And) I wi
50 Among your (folk who live) by the side of the city - whose houses are built, 97 L[ambs (a:
[whose] ga[rdens are planted], 98 [Let milk e
51 Among your companions [who] dug wells, 99 [ .
52 (You) Martu, [become] a 'man', [among your] companions." 100 [Let the lal
53 In those days, in the city, a festival was [instituted], 101 [Let those]
54 In Ninab, the city, a festival was [instituted]: 102 Let their 12
55 "Come friend, let (us) go, let us go, 103 Thus, only
56 To the beer-house of Ninab let (us) go, let us go! 104 (And) I wi
57 Numusda [will be present] at the festival, 105 Kids (as) r.
58 His beloved daughter, Ad[garkidu will] be [present with him] at the festival, 106 Let milk gc
59 His wife, Namrat, the beautiful woman, [will] be [present with him] at the festival. 107 Let the kid
60 In the city the bronze drums re[ verberate], 108 Let the go,
61 The seven tambourines re[sound] with them. 109 Let those k
62 Strong men, girdle-clad lords, 110 Thus, only
63 They bring along for him (=Numusda) into the wrestling-hall, 111 (And) I wil
64 In the temple of Ninab may they let them compete for him." 112 Copious [g
65 He (=Martu) went to Ninab, the city where the festival took place, to be wondered 113 Like a '" I
at, 114 He [brougr,
66 He went to Ninab, the city where the festival took place, to be wondered at. 115 Each elder
67 For him (=for Numusda), since he was of a holy body, 116 He pro[ vidl
68 At the gate of Ninab, amidst wrestling and athletics, 117 Each old w
69 Martu rushed about in the main courtyard. 118 He pro[vidi
70 He (=Numusda?) seeks out for him mighty [warriors], 119 [The lads a
71 He arouses for him mighty [lads]. 120 He provide
72 Martu rushed about in the main courtyard, 121 [All the sla
73 Pickaxes he hurled there from above, 122 He provide,
74 (In) the main courtyard, in the battle, he girds himself with the sword-belt, 123 He pro[ vid(
75 (In) the main courtyard of Ninab he lifts the dead bodies. 124 All the slav
76 Numusda, rejoicing over Martu, 125 He pro[ vid(
77 Presents him silver - he accepts not, 126 Some days
78 Presents him (precious) stones - he accepts not. (a girlfrienc
79 After he does to him [thus the second] time, 127 "Lo, their h
80 After he does to him [thus the third time], 128 They are th
] 29 In their con

114
 The god Martu in sumerian literature

81 (Says Martu:) "Your silver - whither does it lead? Your (precious) stones -
whither do they lead?
82 1, [the lad] would (rather) marry your daughter,
83 [/, Martu], would (rather) [marry Adgarkidu]!" ...
(II. 84-91 are entirely destroyed; II. 90-92 restore:)
90 "[Calves, (as) marriage gift, ... ],
91 [Let milk cows suckle the calves]!
92 [Let the calves and the cows lie in their stall]!
93 [Let those cows dwell in the ... ],
94 Let [their calves dwell] on their right [side]!
95 [Thus, only th]us, may you pro [mise me],
96 (And) I will [give you] away Adgarkidu, my daughter!
97 L[ambs (as) marriage gift], ,
98 [Let milk ewes suckle the lambs]!
99 ... [... '" ... ],
100 [Let the lambs and the ewes lie in their] fol[ds]'
101 [Let those] ewes [dwell in the ],
102 Let their lambs [dwell] on their left!
103 Thus, only thus, may you pro [mise me],
104 (And) I will [give you] away Adgarkidu, my daughter!
105 Kids (as) marriage gift, ... '" ... ,
106 Let milk goats [suckle] the kids!
107 Let the kids and the goats lie in their dwellings!
108 Let the goats [and] the kids dwell [in the ... ],
109 Let those kids dwell [on their ... ]!
lID Thus, only thus, [may you pro]mise [me],
111 (And) I will [give] you away Adgarkidu, my daughter!"
112 Copious [gifts] he (=Martu") [took],
I 13 Like a ... he called out,
114 He [brought] them into the quay of Ninab.
115 Each elder [in] Ninab
116 He pro[ vided] with ingots of gold.
117 Each old woman [in] Ninab
118 He pro[ vided] with ... (and) golden caps.
119 [The lads and maidens] of Ninab
120 He provided with ... (and) golden ...
121 [All the slave]s of Ninab
122 He provided with [multicolored ... ],
123 He pro[ vided] them with multicolored [wool] garments.
124 All the slave-girls [of] Ninab
125 He pro[ vided] with silver wine-jugs.
126 Some days passed, the decision not [being] made final
(a girlfriend said to Adgarkidu:)
127 "Lo, their hands are destructive, (their) features are (those) [of monkeys],
128 They are those who eat the taboo [of] Nanna, [they have] no reverence,
129 In their constantly roaming around, ,

115
 Jacob Klein

130 [Being] the abomination [of] the temples of the gods,

131 Their [counsel] is confused, [they cause] only dis[turbance],
132 A man who is clothed in leather-sac, who ,
133 A tent-dweller, [buffeted] by wind and rain, [who offers no] prayer,
134 He who dwells in the mountains, [knows not] the places [of the gods],
135 A man who digs up mushrooms at the foot of the mountain, who knows no
submission,
136 He eats uncooked meat,
137 In his lifetime has no house,
138 When he dies, he will not be buried;
139 My girlfriend - why would you marry Martu?!"
140 Adgarkidu answers her girlfriend:
141 "I will indeed marry Martu!"
142 Ninab, ulum alamma!
o Although t
been referred t(
content, and al1
not hard to ske
more than adeq

1 The poem
The first part,
extolling his bE
earth (read: for
The second
sections, contai
the Anuna (II.
which makes U
The third pc
his actions: he
of a series of di
190-260), Enki
Marbasi, Martu
he specifically E

I By C. Wilcke, dl
2 J.S. Cooper has I
3 The main studie5
WZI 9 (1959/60);
and Ninmah' and "
[ ASA W 65-/4 (197,
J. Bottero & S.N. I<
[65-88].
4 'Seems', because
Literature is, is in
quantitative present
reliable. See my st
Watson (eds.), Vers
reasons I would lik

116
 WHY DID ENKI ORGANIZE THE WORLD?

Herman L.J. Vanstiphout

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

... male posse facultas

nulla sit et bene posse adsit tranquilla potestas
(Ausonius)

o Although the composition commonly known as "Enki and the World Order" has
been referred tol as one of the most complex of Sumerian narratives with mythical
content, and although we do not as yet possess an up-to-date reliable edition,2 it is
not hard to sketch its main features. This is mainly because the editio princeps was
more than adequate; subsequent studies and translations have also been very helpfuJ.3

1 The poem naturally divides into four parts.

The .first part, which has about sixty lines, consists of a hymnal address to Enki,
extolling his beneficence for the earth in general and for the inhabited or civilized
earth (read: for Sumer) in particular.
The second part seems4 to contain about 110 lines. It is itself divided into four
sections, containing two speeches of self-praise by Enki (60-85), an acclamation by
the Anuna (II. 86-140), and the preparations for the tour of inspection (140-170)
which makes up the third section.
The third part, which counts about 210 lines, describes Enki's tour but even more
his actions: he decides the fates, and ascribes the sections of culture to the tutelage
of a series of divine experts. In fact, there are two distinct sections. In the first (lines
190-260), Enki decides the fates of Sumer, Ur, Melubba, Magan and Dilmun, Elam,
Marbasi, Martu and the Tigris and Euphrates. In a longer second section (260-385),
he specifically entrusts the twin rivers to Enbilulu, the marshes to an unkown god, the

I By C. Wilcke, during the conference.

2 1.S. Cooper has promised one for the near future.
3 The main studies and / or translations are: I. Bernhardt & S.N. Kramer, 'Enki und die Weltordnung' in
WZI 9 (1959/60); A. Falkenstein, 'Enki und die Weltordnung' in ZA 56 (1964) 44-1 13; C. Benito, 'Enki
and Ninmah' and 'Enki and rhe World Order' (U. of Penn. Dissertation, 1969); C. Wilcke, KoliarioneJl .
[ ASA W 65-/4 (1976)]; S.N. Kramer & J. Maier, Myths of Enki the Crafry God [Ch. 3] (New York 1989);
J. Bottero & S.N. Kramer, Lorsque les dieuxfaisaient I'homme. Mythologie l1uisopotamienne (Paris 1989),
[65-88].
4 'Seems', because I have become convinced that our understanding of what a 'line' of Standard Sumerian
Literature is, is in general far from sufficiently sophisticated; and basing line counts, and consequently
quantitative presentations of complete compositions, on this weakly understood 'line principle' is far from
reliable. See my study 'Verse Language' in Standard Sumerian Literature' in 1.C. de Moor & W.G.E.
Watson (eds.), Verse in Ancient Near Eastern Prose, (Kevelaer / Neukirchen 1993), 305-29. For obvious
reasons I would like to be able to make the second part of our composition into 120 lines.

117
 H. Vanstiphout

sea to Nanse, the rains to {skur, agricultural constructions to Enkimdu, the growing 38 [en-e)
of plants to Asnan, clay works to Kulla, architecture to Musdama, animal life on the 39 [sa-bi
plains to Sakan, herding to Dumuzi, demarcation and judgment to Utu, and weaving 40 [za-a]
- woman's work - to Uttu. To br
The fourth and final part, of about 80 lines, consists of lnana's angry complaint. Heart
She has not received any specific office in the running of the "universe" (390-420); Great
she mentions five other goddesses who did receive such functions: Aruru, Nininsina, and in line 43 i
Ninmug, Nisaba, and - again - Nanse. Only the first half of Enki's reply is preserved [dug4
(420-450): he refuses to give in, on the grounds that, after all, Inana does stand for a You r
number of 'properties' or 'competences', especially those belonging to war and strife.
The very end of the composition is missing. This notion, viz
amended way il
2 At first sight this is a rather simple story - if story is the correct term. There are 74 an-Iu)
few if any strange or unexpected details; the links between the natural and cultural 75 den-If
properties and their tutelary deities are the expected ones. There even seems to be 76 nam-t
a rather plain sort of logic in the list of cultural properties deriving from natural Toget
ones. Two types of water, viz. water coming from the rivers and from the skies, Toget
lead to agriculture and herding, but also to clay working and to construction, and The f
lastly to demarcation and regulation under the all-seeing eye of Utu. The greatest
body of water, the sea, is not only linked to fishery and to the economic structure This means, of
of the marshlands, but is clearly used as a metaphor for foreign trade, explicitly so we already kne
by singling out Ur as the great seaport nominally receiving all overseas trade.s The 64 pap-n
Uttu episode (11. 380-385) seems to be the only exception; as proposed elsewhere,6 65 me m
this is probably a semi-covert, or symbolical, reference to female sexuality. If so, it 66 e-kur
is almost the only instance of oblique reference among a mass of straight and plain 67 abzu-
notions_7 Myo
Nevertheless, I would venture that it is legitimate to ask why Enki did order the Has ~
world. Of course, the question, like all interesting questions, is highly ambiguous. From
I brOt
3 It can be understood firstly as asking what was the reason for Enki acting as he Again in line 7
did. Even this paraphrase of the question can be taken in three ways: gistu~
(a) What prompted Enki to do what he did? lam
(b) What was the need for doing this?
(c) What were Enki's intentions in doing this?
While I recognize that these three ways of understanding the first form of the question
are interrelated, simplicity compels us to take them in order. Benito's dissertatio
A=HS 1475+1476,
3.1 What prompted Enki to do what he did? Here the text gives some useful indi- [SEM 80]+ HS 15:
9713 [ISET I 179]
cations. Although the song of praise is, as is usual, largely proleptic to the 'narrative' 44]; I = Ni 9855 [I
sections, it still contains the plain statementS 7]; M = Ni 4554 II
163]; Q = UM 29-
9916 [ISET I 201];
S I am grateful to C. Wilcke for making this observation which seems obvious - in hindsight. 9 Those who like t
6 See my studies "A double elltendre Concerning Uttu" in N.A.B.V. 1990/2 no. 57,40-4, and "Once a universal conditi(
Again: Sex and Weaving" in N.A.B.V. 1990/2 no. 60,45-6. 10 I follow Botten
7 That is, in the central part of the composition. As will be shown, Inana's accusation is full of symbolic able ME as 'Powe
allusions. unopposable force.
8 The quotations are taken I'rom my own reconstruction. Passages containing unpublished material use II Presumably 'the

118
 Why did Enki organize the world?

38 [en-en]-e-ne barag2-baragrge-ne
39 [sa-bi] ibull-bul-Ia-da im-di-e-ne
40 [za-a]-da kur-gal-den-Ifl-Ie a mu-un-da-an-ag-e
To bring to princes and kings
Heart's delight
Great Mountain Enlil ordered you.
and in line 43 it is said:
[dug4]-ga es-bar ki-bi-se gar nam-tar-regal-zu
You make effective orders and decisions; you expertly decide fates.

This notion, viz. that Enki merely does what he is told to do, is reinforced in a subtly
amended way in Enki's first speech:
74 an-Iugal-da baragran-na-ka di si-sa-e-me-en
75 den-Ifl-da kur-ra igi-gal-Ia-ka nam-tar-ra-me-en
76 nam-tar-ra ki-utu-e-a-ke4 su-ma mu-un-gal
Together with enthroned An I make justice;
Together with Enlil, overlooking the mountain land, I decide the fates;
The fate of the rising of the Sun is placed in my hand.

This means, of course, that he not only got the job; he also got the tools.9 But this
we already knew. In lines 64-67 Enki has told us:
64 pap-mu lugal-kur-kur-ra-ke4
65 me mu-un-ur4-ur4 me su-mu-se mu-un-gar
66 e-kur-re e-den-lfl-Ia-ta
67 abzu-eridugki-mu-se nam-galam-ma mu-tum
My older brother, the king of all countries,
Has gathered the Powerslo and put them in my hand;
From the Ekur, Enlil's house,
I brought their artll to my Abzu in Eridug.
Again in line 73 he claims:
gistugrgizzal-kur -kur-ra- me-en
I am the wisdom and understanding of the countries.

Benito's dissertation (see fn. 3). The published texts known to me are:
A=HS 1475+1476+1502 [TMH NF 3 1]+ CBS 4562 [PBS 10.2 1]+ CBS 6888+[SEM 78] +CBS 6901
[SEM 80]+ HS 1554 [TMH NF 3 IJ; C = CBS 2226 [HAV 7]; D = HS 2503 [ Wilcke, Koll. 9]; E = Ni
9713 [ISET I 179]; F = CBS 13918 [SEM 115]; G = UM 29-16-413 [WZl 9 T. 12-13] + Ni 2517 [SRT
44]; 1= Ni 9855 [lSET2 60]; 1 = Ni 4006[SLTN 33]; K = Ni 4083 [lSET I 128J; L = Ni 4206lTAD 8.2
7]; M = Ni 4554 [lSET 24]; N = Ni 9805 [lSET 24]; 0 = CBS 4613 [PBS 1248]; P = Ni 4540 [lSET I
163]; Q = UM 29-15-38 [WZJ 9 T. 14-16]; R = CBS 8529 [SEM 79[; S = Ni 9569 [lSET 1205]; T = Ni
9916 [lSET 1201]; a = 3 N-T 923,499 [SLFN I]; c = 3 N-T 937,528 [SLFN I];LO = AO 6020 [TRS 36].
9 Those who like the author have had to work in university administration will know that this is not really
a universal condition.
10 r follow Bottero (Lorsque les dieux ... , passi11l and especially p. 183) in translating the untranslat-
able ME as 'Power'. This notion taken in a 'broad sense combines potentiality, essential property. and
unopposable force.
II Presumably 'the art of wielding them'.

119
 H. Vanstiphout

The general notion is reinforced in the second acclamation of the Anuna: (WOll
135 en me-gal me-sikil-la-us-a mig
136 me-gal me-sar-ra gir gub-ba He n
He fi
138 eridugki ki-kug ki-kal-kal-Ia-as me-mag su-ti-a birtl
Lord of the great Powers, who drives the untouchable Powers, The'
Who is responsible for the great, the countless Powers The!
[...] This might be ~
Who tends the lofty Powers for Eridug, the holy precious place.12 seems more rez
extra power ra
From all this it would appear that Enki did what he was ordered to do, but that he them the prope
was also given full competence to act in this matter. The latter aspect implies that the rivers are put u
order he got was a general, not a specific one. He was given a free hand to wield the waters is more
Powers as best he could provided he brought wealth and joy to princes and thrones. ii) He builds
Thus he is able to act fairly independently - and also to delegate. 13 285 en-e
286 a-ab-
3.2 The second part of the question - Was there any need for this organization? 287 es sa
- is more difficult to answer. It has been remarked beforel4 that many of the natural Then
and even cultural properties were already in existence by the time Enki took them in maz
hand. This can be seen clearly from the terminology used for his actions: he "invokes" In th,
or "calls upon"15 the rain, the sea etc., and places it within the responsibility of god maz
X. There appear to be three notable exceptions: The ~
i) He ejaculates into the Tigris and Euphrates: 16 But this may ,
253 gls im-zi-zi dLlg im-mir-re which is mean!
254 ididigna a-zal-Ie im-ma-an-[sn said to bring it
255 silam u-numun-ba amas-gfr-tab-ba amar-bi gu-di the long sectiOl
256 idburanun-na gud-durgin7 a-na mu-na-ab-[ ] 17 the text (210-2
257 gis im-zi nfg-mf-us-sa nam-tum iii) Lastly he
258 ididigna am-gal-gin7 sa im-gul u-tud-ba mu-i niH later on, hoe a1
259 a nam-tum a-zal-Ie na-nam kurun2-bi na-dug-ge 317 gisapi
260 se nam-tum se-gu-nu na-nam un-e na-gu7-e He n
He raises his member, he ejaculates; 334 nun-!
He [fills] the Tigris with sparkling water. The I
As the grazing cow mowing for her calf left(?) in the byre, 340 gu m
12 T would propose to understand U5 = rakabu in connection with the ME's - which often occurs - He 1,
as 'driving' or 'steering' them rather than simply 'mounting' or 'riding' them. 'Who is responsible for'
translates gl r gu b- ba. On the whole 0
13 As will be seen this delegation even extends to the appointment of a functionary (Utu) who has to
oversee and demarcate the possibly conflicting 'material' competences. At the conference I was told that
sorts is involVe
with this aspect, the whole of Enki's organization comes close to what the Harvard Business School would building work.
regard as an efficient organization.
14 E.g. by Boltero in Lorsque les dieux ... , 185f, and H. Limet, "Le dieu Enki et la prosperite de Sumer" 18 Lines 298-299
in Homo Religiosus 9 (1983), 81-96. e-kur-re e-den-[
IS The Sumerian term is gu ba-an-de. den-ki-da den-Ii
16 The passage, with others like it, is expertly treated by I.S. Cooper, "Enki's member: Eros and Irrigation Thus he plied tl
in Sumerian Literature" in FS Sjoberg (Philadelphia 1989),87-89. See also R.S. Falkowitz, "Discrimination Enlil was ovelj'
and Condensation of Sacred Categories: The Fable in Early Mesopotamian Literature" in La Fable 19 Note that the v
(Entretiens sur I'an/iquiri? classique, 30, Vendreuvres-Geneve, 1984), 1-32. assembly he built t
17 One manuscript has here - mistakenly - Tigris again instead of Euphrates. point.

120
 Why did Enki organize the world?

(Would be) by a potent bull, he [penetrates?] the Euphrates with all his
might.
He raises his member, brings (his) gift to the bride;
He fills the womb of the Tigris with joy, as the Wild Bull, and [... J the
birth;
The 'water' he (thus) brought was sparkling, and sweet as wine;
The grain he (thus) brought was heavy; people eat it.
This might be seen as Enki taking part in the creation proper of the twin rivers, but it
seems more reasonable to understand it as a very graphic presentation of Enki adding
extra power rather than volume to the debit of the rivers. This added power gives
them the property of fertility (grain is mentioned in line 260!). Moreover, since the
rivers are put under the authority of Enbilulu, it is obvious that the regulation of the
waters is more important than their debit anyway.
ii) He builds a shrine of the sea, before entrusting it to Nanse:
285 en-e e? mu-un-gar es-kug-ga-am sa-bi galam be-am
286 a-ab-ba es [mu-un]-gar? es-kug-ga-am sa-bi galam be-am
287 es sa?l-bi gu-X X nig lu-nu-zu-a
Then the Lord made a shrine, a holy shrine, whose interior is an artful
maze(?);
In the sea he built this shrine, a holy shrine, whose interior is an artful
maze(?);
The shrine, whose interior is a [knot of?] threads; a thing unknown to man.
But this may well be understood as expressing his special attention to this shrine,
which is meant for himself as well as for Nanse, and which, moreover, is expressly
said to bring its wealth to NippULI8 In a way this passage therefore nicely balances
the long sections devoted to Melubba and Ur in the first part of the central portion of
the text (210-218 & 219-235).
iii) Lastly he constructs or perhaps simply makes ready plough, yoke and team, and
later on, hoe and brick-mold:
317 gisapin-duI4-erinTe si ba-an-sa
He readied plough, yoke and team
334 nun-gal-e gisal-e si bi-in-sa gisu-sub [?
The Great Prince readied the hoe, and [made?] the brick-mold
340 gu mu-un-gar us-e si bi-in-sa
He laid out the (measuring)-line, straightened the ground-plan 19

On the whole one sees that Enki is 'creating', after a fashion, where technique of some
sorts is involved, such as is the case with irrigation, the readying of instruments, or
building work. For the rest he is organizing, regulating, and managing already existing

18 Lines 298-299 read (unpublished fragment!):

e-kur-re e-den-[If1-laJ-ke4 nfg-gal-Ia [nam-siJ
den-ki-da den-Ifl mu-bul-bul nibruki giri4 -zal-am
Thus he plied the Ekur, the House of Enlil, with goods;
Enlil was oveljoyed with Enki; and Nibru rejoiced with him.
19 Note that the very next line has: a-ukkin"-na-ka e bi-in-gar su-Iub-e si bi-in-sa "On the orders of the
assembly he built the house, and applied the correct purification rites", which takes us back to the previous
point.

121
 H. Vanstiphout

things. Why was this needed? On this point the text tells us nothing. There is only 203 sa-za
the general and overriding notion that all this has to be done to bring joy and wealth 204 gl-gu
to the princes of the Land, which is expressed in several instances as "bringing joy to 205 e-ki-I
Nippur". This general and somewhat subdued point seems to have two complementary 206 amas
implications: 207 gi-gu
(a) The wealth and joy thus created are meant for the earth, or the Land,20 as 208 e-zi-;
such. The underlying idea that the whole organization of the natural resources of 209 da-nu
the Mesopotamian land and its (ensuing?) commercial empire is meant to enable Your
humankind to take better care of the gods, is played down considerably if it is there Your
at all at a level higher than the subliminal.
(b) This notion is indeed only present somewhat in the recurring mention of the The
profits resulting from all this for the Ekur in Nippur; and by now we know enough Have
about Ur III economy to state that this centralism based on Nippur cannot be taken They
exclusively in a religious manner. OH(
The outcome then seems to be that Enki' s reorganization consists of, first, setting Cons
an economic task to the regions: Sumer, and Ur especially because of its importance Your
as the main port, together with the trading partners, willing or unwilling; and second, Your
entrusting the main 'national' activities belonging to this economic task to the respons- And
ibility of several heads of department. In this way the production process is regulated Of course, this
with the ultimate goal of creating the conditions in which wealth can be brought to the is prosperous, t
Land, or to Nippur, which after all houses all the gods, in the most efficient manner. Thus Enki uses
The interest lies not so much in the material goods themselves - they were there both parties.22
anyway - but in the possibility of realizing their potential. The things themselves Magan, Dilmu
were already in existence; the need was for a system by which they could be used trade which is
efficiently,ll which seems to answer our question. main ingredien
Whatever cont
3.3 Yet another approach to the question ought to consider Enki' s intentions in and Martu ma~
doing what he does in the way he has chosen. The notion that he acts as a relatively 244 lugal
free agent upon the general order of his colleagues, and that he does so by wielding 245 e-bi
the Powers, has been discussed above, and is indeed a partial answer. This much is 246 kug-
already clear from the two speeches of self-praise, and the acclamation by the Anuna. 247 den-l
248 Uru-I
3.3.1 But closer attention to what he actually does reveals at least some aspects of 249 den-f
his more personal or private intentions. In the first passage he simply decides the fates The
of Sumer, Ur, Melubba, etc., up to the Twin Rivers (lines 188-250). But in doing so Shal
he also dedicates Sumer to An, Enlil, and the Anuna: Thei
199 en-zu en-idim an-Iugal-da baragran-na-ka i-im-tus May
200 lugal-zu kur-gal a-a-den-Ifl To tl
To tl
202 da-nun-na-dingir-gal-gal-e-ne Thus what En~
to, the larger e
this to the god
20 Sumerian kalam means "The Land" or even "The Nation".
21 The fact that this system as invented by Enki bears some resemblance to (an idealized version of)
actual economic systems existing at some periods in Mesopotamian history is on the one hand merely a 22 This is not the
specific instance of the general ideology, which pl~escribes that the State ought to be Heaven on Earth. 23 Largel y based '
On the other hand it has some relevance for the intentions of the piece as such, which will occupy us in 24 Note that the w
a later section. Are they consider,

122
 Why did Enki organize the world?

203 sa-za ki-ur-ra su ba-ni-in-ti-es

204 gi-gunrna gis-as gis-as-za u mi-ni-ib-sud-sud-ne
205 e-ki-en-gi tur-zu be-du-du ab-zu be-Iu-Iu
206 amas-zu be-gar-gar udu-zu be-sar-sar
207 gi-gun4-na-zu an-ne be-em-lls
208 e-zi-zu su an-se be-em-fl
209 da-nun-na-ke4 -ne sa-zu-a nam be-em-da-ab-tar-re-ne
Your Lord, your venerable Lord, sits with An on the heavenly throne;
Your King, great mountain, father Enlil,

The Anuna, the great gods,

Have taken up (their) abode in your midst;
They are feasting in the Giguna, amidst your rarest(?) trees.
o House Sumer, build byres, and your cattle will multiply;
Construct sheepfolds and your sheep will become millions;
Your Giguna will reach the skies;
Your true house will lift its hand heavenwards;
And the Anuna will fix the fates in your midst.
Of course, this is meant to cut both ways. If Sumer, or more precisely Nippur and Ur,
is prosperous, the gods will stay there. If the gods stay there, Sumer will be prosperous.
Thus Enki uses the ME's or Powers here more or less in the way of a contract binding
both parties.22 The agreement he seems to be arranging here also includes Melubba,
Magan, Dilmun for obvious reasons: they are Sumer's main partners in the exotic
f trade which is expressedly linked to the main port Ur, and presented as one of the
main ingredients, and perhaps also as an outward manifestation, of Sumer's prosperity.
Whatever contribution, or perhaps more precisely tribute, the regions Elam, Marbasi
and Martu may bring, each in their own way is also added:
244 lugal-den-lfI-le a-sum-[ma]
245 e-bi mu-un-bul bad-bi mu-un-[bul]
246 kug- a"za-gln-bi e-nfg-ga-bi
Il

247 den-Ifl lugal-kur-kur-ra-ra nibruki-se be-na-ab-tum

248 uru-nu-tuku e-nu-tuku-ra
249 den-ki-ke4 mar-tu mas-anse sag-e-es mu-ni-rig723
The king, empowered by Enlil,
Shall destroy their houses, pull down their walls;
Their silver and precious stones, their valuables,
May this king bring in to Nippur, for Enlil, king of all countries.
To those who have no cities, no houses,
To the Martu, Enki then allotted wild cattle.24
Thus what Enki actually does here is that he decrees the fates of, or assigns the duties
to, the larger economic environment of Sumer in general terms, and that he entrusts
this to the gods in assembly - and vice versa.

22 This is not the only place in which Enki acts as an honest broker between unequally matched partners.
23 Largely based on Benito's reconstruction 1see fn. 3).
24 Note that the way in which the nomadic tribes might be brought into the economic system is left vague.
Are they considered to be a special section of the Land itself?

]23
 H. Vanstiphout

3.3.2 But, as the text has it, 3.3.3 In this c

After he had turned away from these (foreign?) places
Enki (again) looked upon the Euphrates.25 3.3.3.1 In the
Now he sets out to organize Sumer itself. And we see that here he is strictly interested section starts. VI
in what we now would probably call infrastructure of one kind or another: series of (femal
the main water courses, to do with birtl
the marshlands, 405-410), clerk
the seal and, 417-420). Nans
the rains, four lines. Why
irrigation and work in the fields, has it that thesl
the tending of crops, way.27 But this
construction and architecture, 392/421 ml
management of wild and domestic animals, lam
management of land and other natural resources. which clearly r
All this is to be seen as effectuation of the conditions which are necessary to the received their c
first part of the programme. The most significant point to me seems to be that he One might
proceeds truly by management, not hard labour. And very efficient management it is. be sought in a
As he entrusts the most important branches of infrastructure to those best equipped more dangerow
to deal with them in a practical way and on a daily basis, he also cuts out overlaps, apply the techn
and appoints only one general manager best placed to oversee everything, and thus to as a whole is S(
guard all demarcations and disallow infringements. No god could be better placed to unlikely. What
do this than the sun god Utu, the all-seeing one. It takes no great feat of imagination another, with Ir
to assume that the demarcations the heavenly judge is to guard and guarantee include Therefore, I
those following from the immediately preceding list of the departments allotted to the means to accor
several deities. in this subsidia
Thus the lines already allotted.
369 in mu-un-dub bulug-ga mu-un-si-si and probably al
370 den-ki-ke4 da-nun-na-ke4 -ne-er Aruru:
371 uruki_a ki-ur-ra sa-mu-un-de-ni-in-gar 400 sa-zu
372 a-sa-ga gan-ne sa-mu-un-de-ni-in-gar 401 lugal
Then he fixed the boundaries; So sl1
Thus did Enki, for the Anuna, And
Appoint their building plots in the city, Nininsina:
And their fields in the open. 402 mn9-(
bear at least three different shades of meaning at the same time. They mean exactly 403 unUr
what they say, viz. the allotment of plots in city and field to the several gods. But they 404 an-e
also allude to the divisons of the larger order mentioned immediately above, since Myn
the well-known system of tying the different gods to their particular glebe26 will have
been based, at least partially, on their specific competence. And lastly they refer to
everyday boundary disputes which are to be submitted to the court, which is always 27 See H. Limet,
presided over by Utu. remarquable que c(
28 See already Bot

25 The tex t has:

n'est pas presente
sur Ie meme mode
250 ki-bi-ta igi-ni gar-ra-[a-ta]
29 Bottero in Lorsl
251 a-a-den-ki idburanun-na nam-mi-ib-f1-la-ta~ Note that these lines are also to be understood in the sur I'histoire, inco]
light of the inspection tour Enki has undertaken in order to fulfil the first part of his programme. 30 I confess that N:
26 Although almost conspicuously absent as such from this composition.
rod and line are fn

124
 Why did Enki organize the world?

3.3.3 In this connection the last part, or the Inana episode, becomes doubly relevant.

3.3.3.1 In the first place there is the matter of the formal duplication with which the
section starts. With a clever literary trick we are now introduced by Inana to a second
series of (female) tutelary deities and the symbols of their competence. They have
to do with birthing (Aruru; 394-401), sex (Nininsina; 402-404), jewelry (Ninmug;
405-410), clerking and surveying (Nisaba; 411-416) ,and fishing (Nanse again; lines
417-420). Nanse is the only goddess we have met before, and here she receives a scant
four lines. Why are these other goddesses introduced only now? One interpretation
has it that these goddesses had already received their office earlier and in another
way.27 But this is difficult in view of lnana's repeated complaint:
392/421 munus-me-en as-mu-de a-na bf-dug4 / ak
I am also a woman; why did you treat only me thus (differently)?
which clearly must mean that according to Inana the other females have just now
received their competences from Enki.28
One might perhaps surmise that the reason for this doubling of the series is to
be sought in a mishap in transmission or a conflation of different versions, or, even
more dangerous, 'sources' .29 Apart from the great prudence with which one should
apply the technique of ignotum per ignotius, I would like to remark that the poem
as a whole is so well composed and thought through that this hypothesis seems very
unlikely. What is more, the properties mentioned here all fit in so well, in one way or
another, with Inana's ambitions30 that I suppose the text means to say what it says.
Therefore, I would propose a reading of the passage along these lines: what Enki
means to accomplish is a staggered system of administration. The gods mentioned
in this subsidiary part derive their office from one or other of the general branches
already allotted. This seems to work rather well the Aruru and Nininsina appointments,
and probably also with Ninmug, as the following quotations may show:
Aruru:
400 sa-zu-kalam-ma be-em
401 lugal-u-tud en-u-tud su-ni-a be-en-gal
So she became the midwife of the Land
And the birth of kings and lords was put in her hands.
Nininsina:
402 nin9-e-mu kug-dnin-in-si-na
403 unursuba-a su be-em-ma-an-ti nu-gig-an-na be-em
404 an-e be-em-ma-gub gu-an-ne-si-a be-em-ma-ab-be
My noble sister, holy Nininsina

27 See H. Limet, "Le dieu Enki et la prosperite de Sumer" in Homo Religiosus 9 (1983), 88: "II est
remarquable que ces cing deesses ... ont obtenu leurs prerogatives de droit et non par delegation d'Enki".
28 See already Bottero in Lorsque les dieux ... , 186: "D'autres secteurs culturels, si leur ordonnancement
n'est pas presente dans Ie meme style et if la suite immediate, ont ete tout aussi bien organises par Enki
sur Ie meme modele, par attribution it une divinite responsable ... "
29 Bottero in Lorsque les dieux ... , 187, seelJls to hint at such an eventuality: " ... ce qui donne it reflechir
sur I'histoire, inconnue, du poeme ... ".
30 I confess that Nanse's properties as mentioned here may constitute an exception. But Nisaba's measuring
rod and line are frequently found in the hands of Inana.

125
 H. Vanstiphout

Received the suba-stone, and is now An's lover; A rather nice ch

She stands ready for him, and shouts loud (her?) desire.31 mug : Nisaba.
Ninmug: formally accolll
408 tibir-kalam-ma be-em There remal
409 lugal-u-tud mus-zi kes-de 417 dnans
410 en-u-tud sag-men-ga-ga be-en-gal 418 enkur
She is the stone-cutter / jeweller of the Land; 419 kU6 n
She bears kings by binding the true diadem; 420 a-a-nl
She bears lords by instituting the coronation ceremony.32 Nansl
All these properties may be seen as specified instances of the office allotted to the Is no'
very last personage in the previous, general, series: Uttu. If my earlier interpretation Exqu
of Uttu's symbolic and ambiguous role (weaving / / sex) has any merit, it is being She ~
confirmed here.33 The three goddesses show different aspects of female sexuality, or In explanation
perhaps better of sexuality and some specifically 'feminine' aspects of it: a result this is clear ff(
obviously and physically marked for the female of the species (birth: Aruru); a social deity appearing
role regrettably and hypocritically restricted to females by tradition (concubinage or Nanse here. Bu
prostitution: Nininsina); and a perhaps unexpectedly 'modern' symbolical double-take, this an oversigt
in the equivalence posited for sexual allure and jewelry (jewels are a girl's best friend: Be that as i
Ninmug).34 list of female c
In a comparable way Nisaba can be explained. It is well known that some of gave only the r
Nisaba's implements are often in the hands of Inana. Since Uttu in the preceding
passage rather unexpectedly followed Utu, now Nisaba, practically executing Utu's 3.3.3.2 Then
task of demarcation, follows the sub-heads of department belonging to Uttu: points appear fl
41 1 nin9-e-mu kug-dnisaba-ke4 i) Enki is not
412 gi-dis-ninda su be-em-ma-an-ti his word, there
413 ese-za-gln a-na ba-ba-an-Ia 424 [a-na
414 me-gal-gal-e gu ba-ba-an-de-e 425 [in]-n
415 in be-dub-e ki be-sur-re dub-sar-kalam-ma be-em 426 [ki-si
416 nag-gurdingir-re-e-ne-ke4 su-ni-a be-en-gal What
My holy sister Nisaba My I:
Received the measuring rod, Maid
Hangs the gleaming measuring line on her arm; ii) He bases t
In this way she also proclaims the (effects of?) the Powers: already possess
She puts up markers; she fixes boundaries; she is truly the clerk of the Land; fighting, contro
And thus the provision of the gods is in her hands! War and fightin
433 me-s(
434 muru
Of b,
31 For the sexual significance of the suba-stone, see now the study by J. G. Westenholz, "Metaphorical
Language in the Poetry of Love in the Ancient Ncar East" in Proceedings XXXV/11th RA/ (Paris 1992). In th(
381-87. 442 sem-,
32 This passage manages to combine the jeweller's craft as such with its sexual connotation (see preceding 443 ki-si~
footnote), and its court ceremonial implication (princes are only truly 'born' when they are being crowned!)
- all in six lines! You 1
33 See footnote 6. See also B. Alster, "Marriage and Love in the Sumerian Love Songs", in FS Halla
(Bethesda 1993), 15-27 passim. 35 Explicitly so: I
34 See the study by J. G Westenholz' quoted in footnote 31. Note that Jacobsen interprets Ninmug as copulation, strengtl
'Lady vulva' (The Treasures of Darkness (New Haven 1976) 109). Lastly, please refrain from ascribing 36 Uncertain. I rea,
these notions to the present writer. changing word of I

126
 Why did Enki organize the world?

A rather nice chiastic construction is thus attained: Utu : Uttu :: Aruru / Nininsina / Nin-
mug: Nisaba. What is more, the eccentric position of Uttu in the first list is thus
formally accounted for.
There remains Nanse. She gets rather short shrift:
417 dnanse-nin-en-na us-kug-ga glr-ni-se ba-sub
418 enkum-ab-ba be-em
419 kU6 nfg-dug nfg-gurgu7
420 a-a-ni den-lfI-ra nibruki-se su bu-mu-na-ra-bu-i
Nanse, the noble lady, at whose feet the holy bird is sitting
Is now the provider of the (produce of the) sea;
Exquisite and succulent fish
She presents to her father Enlil in Nippur.
In explanation I can only offer this: Inana has selected only female deities (surely
this is clear from her remark: '1 too am a woman'); Nanse was the only female
deity appearing in the master list of heads-of-department; therefore she must mention
Nanse here. But this of course cannot be totally true, since Asnan is also female.35 Is
this an oversight by our composer?
Be that as it may, I think a good point can be made for incorporating this second
list of female offices in a hierarchical management structure, of which the Enki list
gave only the main divisions.

3.3.3.2 There is also Inana's complaint as such, and Enki's reaction. Two malO
points appear from this:
i) Enki is not prepared to grant Inana any of the main branches of office, since, in
his word, there is nothing left to give:
424 [a-na] a-ra-an-hl
425 [in]-nin9 a-na a-ra-an-Ia [a-na a]-ra-ab-dab-e-de-en
426 [ki-sikil]-dinana a-na a-ra-an-Ia [a-na a-ra]-ab-dab-e-de-en
What was kept from you?
My lady, what was kept from you? What more can I give you?
Maid Inana, what was kept from you? What more can I give you?
ii) He bases his decision on the seemingly contradictory argument that she in fact
already possesses a number of competences, most of which have to do with war and
fighting, controversy and possibly jealousy:
War and fighting:
433 me-sen-sen-na inim-gar-ra-ba inim-bal-a be-bf-in-ne
434 murub4-ba ararbulllllSCIl-nu-me-en-na inim-bul bu-mu-en-ne
Of battle and war you speak the fickle(?)36 commands;
In the midst of it, though no raven, you speak the fatal word.
442 sem-a-nir-ra-da tug be-em-mi-si-ig
443 ki-sikil-dinana tigi a-da-ab e-ba be-em-mi-gi4
You take off the cover of the mourning drum;

35 Explicitly so: I. 331 reads: in-nin9 e-ne;sLI-ud usu-kalalll-Illa zi-sag-gfg-ga "Lady who enforces(?)
copulation, strength of the Land, breath-oF-life of the Blackheads".
36 Uncertain. I read inim-bal-a against Benito's inilll-ti'-a, and I understand it as meaning "the changed/
changi ng word of the set words of battle and war".

127
 H. Vanstiphout

But you consign the festive tambourines their cases, maid Inana. attempt of an E
Controversy: as an example
435 gu-si-sa-a bu-mu-e-sub-sllb relate a last att
436 ki-sikil-dinana gu-sub-a si bu-mu-e-ni-sa and that by h
The straight thread you twist; text there is n,
The twisted thread you straighten, maid InanaY indications to 1
441 dinana nlg-nu-gul be-mu-e-gul nlg-nu-si be-mu-e-sl the Ekur, to E
Inana, you destroy what may not be destroyed; you tum(?) what may not important part
be turned.38 the behest of t
Jealousy and/or unrequited love: whatever that I
444 lu-u6-di igi nu-kus-u-me-en Eridug is pres(
445 ki-sikil-dinana pu-su-du eserla nu-zu-me-en down by Enki
You never tire from the admiration of your lovers, his self-praise
But you will never knot a rope (to draw from your) deep well, maid Inana!39 fact that Enki
This second point - the observation that she does have these competences - is of things whicl
revealing since it implies that in Enki's well-ordered world there is no place for a to be improbal
Ministry of War (or Strife, or undue Controversy, or Provocation). All this is indeed
marked as being Inana's prerogative. It has therefore a place in the great and universal 4.2 A rathel
order of things. But it has none in Enki's well-ordered management scheme for the would be to po
world as it should be. And therefore it is right and proper that Enki should make this in this, but in
a telling point. most narrative
occurring, and
4 Having thus explored the first way in which the original question can be under- precisely beca
stood - and besides that a goodly portion of the composition - we cannot refrain single and uni,
from introducing a change of emphasis. For with a literal change of emphasis the or organizatior
question becomes: Why did Enki order the world? If it had to be done, why was Enki The point is tl
the person to do it? recei ved too n
interpretation (
4.1 One might, I suppose, posit supposedly 'historical' evolutions or developments
in mythological thinking,40 explaining the tenor of our text as expressing either an 4.3 Thorkilc
pages were wr
acceptable.45 \
37 I.e. you make right what is crooked, and crooked what is right. For this aspect of Inana see H.
Vanstiphout,"lnanna/ Ishtar as a Figure of Controversy" in H. Kippenberg (ed.), Struggles orCods. Papers
of the Croningell Work Croup for the Study o/the History of Religions (Berlin etc., 1984) 225-38. 41 Ideas like this,
38 The fact that Enki here accuses Inana of sinning against one of the deepest held convictions of Karl (and not really ger
Popper ~ while giving us to understand that he (Enki) cannot help this ~ is very interesting, but cannOI syncretismes de 1<
be explored any further here. Still, it is to me one of the most revealing aspects of the meaning of Enki's F. Wiggerrnann, '"
undertaki ng. and Beyond. Studl
39 Inana's character as an alllllneuse ought to be investigated in depth, since it is also present elsewhere. fine contribution.
The point here is that this behaviour, though natural, does not fit in with Enki's rather bourgeois idea of 42 See S.N. Kram
love. 43 'Improbable' it
40 I do not mean to refute the historical dimension in 'mythological thought' as such. Thorkild Jacobsen's course, epistemolc
work, splendidly summarized in his Treasures of Darkness, has clearly indicated an observable way in 44 Some very iml
which the central metaphors may have changed in substance as well as in structure over the three millennia in this traditional
which interest us. Although one may disagree with him on details, his basic approach seems at least helpful id. Mesopolamie.
in that it does tend to explain the many different hues of our material in a meaningful way. But he /lever Enki-Ea. Alcune c
stooped to explaining changes in 'ideological outlo.ok' (in this, not his, mode of thinking mostly restricted W.G. Lambert, "A
to mere changes in the divine pecking order, serially or distributionally) by positing changes in the "The Cunning of
distribution 01' political power. History, frequently sadly but sometimes hopefully, has taught and keeps 45 The Treasures (
teaching us that the order of events is normally the other way around. water can have w

128
 Why did Enki organize the world?

attempt of an Eridug-based ideology to supplant one based on Nippur,41 or, conversely,

as an example of Enki's supposed inferiority complex, in which case the text would
relate a last attempt by Enki to make sure of his place in the scheme of things divine,
and that by his usual trickery.42 The trouble with these conjectures is that in the
text there is not even a hint of situations like this, and that the text is replete with
indications to the contrary. To take the first variation: the text is full of references to
the Ekur, to Enlil, and to Nippur. The overriding importance of Nippur is even an
important part of Enki's programme. Furthermore, it is expressly said that Enki acts at
the behest of the great gods. One cannot even maintain that typical Eridug theology,
whatever that may have been, is conspicuous by its absence. The role of Enki and of
Eridug is present everywhere, but at its correct place in the scheme of things as laid
down by Enki himself. Also, there is no hint of a feeling of inferiority on Enki's part:
his self-praise is already enough to refute this idea, but also there is the undeniable
fact that Enki is obviously in full agreement, on each and every point, with the state
of things which he himself is organizing. Therefore one must pronounce such theories
to be improbable.43

4.2 A rather bland way of rationalizing Enki's preferment as the great organizer
would be to point out that Enki is doing here what he usually does. There is some merit
in this, but in a rather restricted way, because the proposition is not exactly true. In
most narrative contexts Enki is a 'fixer' in the sense that he finds solutions to actually
occurring, and therefore unique, problems. His solutions are then usually 'tricks'
precisely because they do not infringe upon the eternal state of things beyond this
single and unique occurrence.44 Indeed, generally speaking there is no management
or organization involved in these simple 'fixings' - sometimes quite the contrary.
The point is that this trickster character of Enki, which to my mind may well have
received too much exclusive, or even absolute, interest, cannot be invoked for the
interpretation of this composition. There are no tricks here.

4.3 Thorkild Jacobsen, in whose memory we were gathered in London and these
pages were written, has strongly hinted at an interpretation which seems much more
acceptable.45 Water being the great regulator of life in Mesopotamia, provided it is

41 Ideas like this seem to underly some most important articles on religious thought in our field. I cite only
(and not really germane to the text at hand) J. van Dijk, "Les contacts ethniques dans la Mesopotamie et les
syncretismes de la religion sumerienne" in Scripla Inslifufi Donneriani Aboensis 3 (1969), 170-206, and
F. Wiggermann, 'Tispak, his Seal, and the Dragon musbus5U" in O.M. Haex eLal. (eds.), To the Euphrates
and Beyond. Sludies ... Maurifs N. van Loon, (Rotterdam 1989), 117-133 - which is otherwise a very
fine contribution.
42 See S.N. Kramer, "Enki and his Inferiority Complex" in OrNS 39 (1970), 103-110.
43 'Improbable' in its normal meaning; but also in its etymological meaning, which is 'unprovable'. Of
course, epistemologically the later meaning is derived from the earlier.
44 Some very important recent contributions to the understanding of Enki, mostly but not exclusively
in this traditional role, are: J. Bottero, "L'intelligence et la fonclion technique du pouvoir: Enki / Ea" in
id. Mesopofal11ie. L"ecrifure, /a raison elies dieux (Paris 1987),280-302; F. Pomponio, "L'umorismo di
Enki-Ea. Alcune considerazioni su una summa mitologica di recente edizione" in RSO 64 (1990),237-246;
W.G. Lambert, "Another Trick of Enki?" inj.;te/anges P. Carelli (Paris 1991),415-419; M.E. Vogelzang,
'The Cunning of Ea and the Threat to Order" in lEOL 31 (1989/90),66-76.
45 The Treasures o.lDarkness, 110-116. Note that on pp. 111-112 Jacobsen aligns the different functions
water can have with the main powers ascribed to Enki; among them is the way in which waler gives

129
 H. Vanstiphout

well regulated itself, it makes good sense to symbolize the life-giving and necessary once, correspor
organizational principles in the figure or persona of Enki. Our text as it stands is very And, with a nic
much centred on water. It is clear that also those features which are not evidently are used again
aqueous at first sight become so by a bit of Mesopotamian reasoning. As Jacobsen An explana
noted, the parallels between water and semen, between irrigation and ejaculation- out how Sume
cum-fecundation,46 indeed the virtual identity of water and semen,47 abounds in texts note should be
dealing with Enki. The central idea, viz. that Enki derives his great technical prowess usual aetiologil
from his control of water, is reinforced by the set-up of Enki's tour: all cultural call aetiologies
activities, including trade, are related to water in its different forms. And with some structure. This
trepidation I would suggest that in this context it might not be too far-fetched to finding himself
assume the existence, in the back of the literary mind, of bilingual punning based on then uses far-si
the assonance between Sumerian ME 'Power' and Akkadian 11111 'Water' .48 Be that as of some vague
it may, there can be no doubt that in our text water is the prime regulating principle; everyday world
therefore Enki is the great regulator. - 'historical'
There is another well-known trait of Enki' s character which may be relevant in this properties of VI
context, viz. his never ceasing love and care for mankind. For what Enki is actually life can witnes
doing here is laying down the conditions for the good life on earth, which is taken to such and such;
be identical to the (idealized) Sumerian way of public life. These conditions consist his particular d
of a well-ordered organization, of the fixation and demarcation of responsibilities, and But the un,
is mainly and explicitly expressed in the putting to use of every known property of Inana's specifil
'water' - water which is not only necessary for human life, but is bounty, riches, what is manife
joy and wealth in itself, provided it is regulated. The ideal organization molded by to accept Botte
Enki out of the world as it already was, is first and foremost beneficent to Man.49 erties into the
in peace.52 I VI
5 The foregoing implies the possibility of a third reading of our original question. episode: war a
Why is there this text which we call "Enki Orders the World"? perceived to bl
Of course, there are a number of obvious reasons for this composition. Most mun- out the argum(
dane is the observation that the text was composed to venerate Enki. This observation, that they shaul
by the way, puts the 'mythical' character of the poem in some doubt, although it is
just as clear that the text is in a specific way akin to myth.50 The attitude of veneration 6 Therefore
is clear in the first part of the poem, so much so that it happens on three levels at 10 the sense th
the indirect m3
protean powers to clay, which is akin to an observation of Claude Levi-Strauss (La pOliere ja/ouse, Paris
admonitory m(
1985,29: " ... Ie travail du potier ou de la potiere consiste precisement it imposer une forme a une matiere,
qui, au depart, en etait totalement depourvue ... "). If ever two i/iJ rabillu were 'bien etonnes de se trouver 51 On two counts:
ensemble', it would certainly be here. Enki's wondrous \
46 See 1.S. Cooper's study mentioned in footnote 16. in this respect ins1
47 The retort that this 'virtual identity' must not be given too much weight since a farmer irrigating his 52 Bottero, Lorsql
field would certainly be well aware of the difference between the two fluids has some merit. But on the 53 See H. Limet,
other hand I think it unlikely that a fanner would be reading Standard Sumerian Literature while irrigating in FS Sjoberg, 35'
his fields, and vice versa. say what it is sup
48 I flatter myself that, perhaps, Thorkild Jacobsen might have liked this. 54 In a study 5001
49 If anything is conspicuous by its absence in this composition, it is Mankind. Yet note that the cultural Sumerian proverb
properties mentioned in the text belong to the mundane sphere of human endeavour, and not to the cosmic Implications" in f
significance of divine acts. The proverbs and
so That is, it has some explanatory function. Note that H. Limet did an uncharacteristic volte-face on this They are only m,
very point. In 1983 (see footnote 14) he has no dOLlbt whatsoever in defining our poem as a myth. In the uncritical. That th
FS Sjoberg (357, 362-63 and 364) , he states with some force that it is not a myth. The fact that in both argumentation. A~
studies he invokes the same dictum of C. Levi-Strauss Cles mythes sont d'abord des histoires") goes to only one argumer
show how fickle the great gods are. arguments for doi

130
 Why did Enki organize the world?

once, corresponding to three speakers: the poet, the god in person, and the Anuna.
And, with a nice variation on closure technique, this veneration and the reason for it
are used again in the fourth part to help make Inana's argument.51
An explanatory function of the poem might be surmised, since the text does set
out how Sumerian daily life is managed by Enki's divine power, or Powers. But
note should be taken that this aspect somehow rings false when compared to the
usual aetiologies. For the reasoning or explanation found in what we are wont to
call aetiologies does not at all agree with what we find here, either in shape or in
structure. This is no just-so story; Enki is not a Mesopotamian Taffimai or Tegumai
finding himself in an unexpected situation of which he makes the best and which he
then uses far-sightedly to make a new cultural item. Neither is there much mention
of some vaguely understood arcane items which are then linked to portions of the
everyday world by tenuous 'philological' or 'symbolical' or - the worst possible case
- 'historical' links. One might object that water is an exception here. It is not. The
properties of water adduced in explanation-by-allusion are simply true, as everyday
life can witness. Our composition simply states that the raison d'etre of the Land is
such and such; and that god X is put in charge of the correct way of doing things in
his particular domain.
But the undeniable fact that this correct way of doing things seems to exclude
Inana's specific properties (war, strife, jealousy ... ) from the basic organization of
what is manifestly perceived as the good life is very significant. I am quite prepared
to accept Bottero's suggestion that Enki's refusal to incorporate Inana's warlike prop-
erties into the great and generative organization he is creating betrays an interest
in peace. 52 I would even go further, and claim that this is the reason for the Inana
episode: war and strife have no place in the correct, or good, or ideal life. This is
perceived to be an important point - important enough to emphasize it by drawing
out the argument to some eighty lines. Of course, war and strife exist. The point IS
that they should not, in the ideal state of affairs as envisaged by Enki.

6 Therefore I have little hesitation in claiming that the poem is didactic - but not
in the sense that the Georgica is didactic.53 It is didactic in an ethical sense, and in
the indirect manner. While not straying even for a moment into the hoary and suspect
admonitory mode of maxims, proverbs, and the like,s4 the poem is positively about a

51 On two counts: first, lnana bases her complaint upon a (highly individual and selective) duplication of
Enki's wondrous works; second, the fact that she uncharacteristically comes running to him to beg favours
in this respect instead of taking the initiative herself naturally enhances the notion of Enki's mastery.
52 Boltero, Lorsque les dieux ... , 188.
S3 See H. Limet, "Les fantaisies du dieu Enki. Essai sur les techniques de la narration dans les mythes"
in FS Sjoberg, 357-65. On p. 363 and again on 364 he too defines our poem as didactic. But he does not
say what it is supposed to teach.
54 In a study soon to be published (as I am writing), B. Alster points to the 'social conservatism' of the
Sumerian proverbs (see also B. Alster, "Proverbs from Ancient Mesopotamia: Their History and Social
Implications" in Proverbiwn 10 (1993), 1-19). I think as an absolute statement this is slightly misleading.
The proverbs and kindred petty genres are not meant to give any 'wisdom', social or otherwise, at all.
They are only meant to provide points in arguments, seemingly unanswerable to the unprepared or the
uncritical. That they seem in bulk to veer towards conservatism has to do with a general feature of human
argumentation. As J.B. Cornford remarked in his unsurpassable Microcosmographia Academica, there is
only one argument for doing something (viz. that it is a good idea to do so), all the other arguments are
arguments for doing nothing. In other words, there is hardly any circumstance in which proverbs can be

131
 H. Vanstiphout

good world, which is of course centred upon Sumer, which is heavily dependent upon admittedly zan
everything to do with water; therefore the text is basically about measured and agreed this pastoral m
regulation. In other words, although the composition is manifestly not about law and
order55, it is about what an ideal world would be and why this is so. It is about the I mean of CoUl
common weal. This places the poem on the universal literary time-scale as the first
instance known to man of the type which William Empson defined as pastoral:56 a I will arise ,
non-admonitory, and only covertly ethical, presentation of an ideal state, and of the And a small
reasons why this state is ideal. This state of things is quite openly presented as being Nine bean-I"<
Enki's goal. And so we may say that the world's, or Sumer's, ambition towards, if not And live ale
the perhaps ever impossible realization of,57 this ideal state is Enki's ultimate reason
for his actions, and thus for the poem. And I shall
The orderly and ordinary happiness depicted here is of a practical, everyday nature. Dropping fl"
As in other instances of the pastoral, it is consciously and advisedly na'lve, so much There midni
so that one might well say that even the absence of the greater issues is seen as a And evenin~
constituent part of what the good life is to be. This deliberate lowering of sights has
always been a distinctive feature of the genre, from Ausonius to John Betjeman,58 I will arise ,
and tracing it throughout the Mesopotamian literary heritage would be a fascinating I hear lake,
undertaking. While I stan
Now this genre, or perhaps better this mode of writing has taken on different overt I hear it in t
formats, as studied in an exemplary way by Empson.59 In our case, it takes the outer
form of a programme of action executed by Enki, which goes to show that it is not Not merely the
regarded as a mere nostalgic feeling, or as resulting from resignation: it is positive poem. There a
and deliberate. This programme consists of four parts: the general extolling of the taken in order
heroic figure who is responsible for this state of things (Enki); a journey undertaken house (of clay:
by him for the creation of this state; the ways in which this state is created; and the demarcatio
finally, warding off the most imminent danger to this state. A characteristic feature quality (the se<
remains the modest and practical restriction to 'l'immensete des choses humaines',6O where. The isl:
and the manifest absence of large cosmic issues.61 by water, whic
This interpretation of the poem as an indirectly ethical pastoral programme, with,
perhaps, even 'Heilszeit' undertones62 suggests that we might do worse than under-
take a close comparison with emtma elis. But paradoxically nearer and easier, and

taken taken seriously as 'wisdom', the less so since they can notoriously bear two or more contradictory
'meanings' at the same time. It is only in extreme antihumanistic circumstances that this kind of 'wisdom'
is manipulated as 'gesundes Volksempfinden', and made into a 'moral code'. Are we allowed to forget 63 Although some
what 'Arbeit macht frei' really meant? [n any case, our poem can be shown to contain a positive message, basic points (a) tl"
far above the level of the proverbs. intention, and thel
55 Certainly not in the criminal sense given to this formula by the stridently screaming minority which of tone, intention,
calls itself the silent majority. typical outer form
56 William Empson, Some Versions of Pas/oral (London 1935). themsel ves are en
57 One is put in mind of William the Silent's wise words, that "II n'est point necessaire d'esperer pour Eastern literature,
entreprendre, ni de reussir pour perseverer". old literatures. Ho
58 Even in music. Someone said of Chopin's music that it was 'une petite maison, mais bien batie'. many instances it
59 See footnote 56. comparative in th(
60 Aragon. 64 Note that the i(
61 For one thing, the netherworld is completely abs.ent; so are sickness and demonic dangers. another; and reme
62 Perhaps there might even be a tinge of political or ideological propaganda, extolling the great virtues 65 When I was gc
of the political system during which the poem was composed. But even if such a thing could ever be I suddenly found
'proven' (and how would one set about proving this?), it would miss the point. have been Enki pi

132
 Why did Enki organize the world?

admittedly zanier, is the comparison to one of the most moving lyrical expressions of
this pastoral mode in the English language.63

I mean of course W.E. Yeats' The Lake Isle of Innisfree:

I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Not merely the general intention and tone is comparable to important aspects of our
poem. There are strikingly close parallels in detail as well: the journey to be under-
taken in order to find bliss; the importance of a few basic tasks, such as building a
house (of clay), and producing things that are necessary and pleasant (beans; honey);
the demarcation of the days, noting each portion and marking it with its own peculiar
quality (the second strophe);64 but the clinching point is the presence of water every-
where. The island site is not chosen by accident; it is chosen because it is surrounded
by water, which also comes from the innermost region: the heart.65

63 Although some may find that this comparision is fanciful or trivial, I would refute that position on the
basic points (a) that the realization of a system of literature must take into account general tone, poetic
intention, and thematics together with more formal discourse or textural properties; (b) that the categories
of tone, intention, and thematics may find different formal expressions - which correlation makes up the
typical outer forms of historically and culturally differentiated subsystems of literature - but that they in
themselves are enduring and almost universal; (c) that therefore the task of the student of Ancient Near
Eastern literature cannot be confined to finding out and adequately describing the systems inherent to the
old literatures. However necessary this primary task remains (in some cases the task has hardly begun; in
many instances it is deemed irrelevant, which is surely a bizarre form of myopia), the real work must be
comparative in the broadest possible way as well.
64 Note that the idea of peace is manifestly linked to ordered and repeated progression from one state to
another; and remember Utu.
65 When I was going over my notes in the 'early morning of April 7 1994, just before reading my paper,
I suddenly found myself misreading Yeats' last line as 'I hear it in the deep earth's core'. This can only
have been Enki playing a trick on my mind.

133
 H. Vanstiphout

Addendum

A point deliberately not addressed in this study is that of the actual historical occasion
for the composition of this text. The assumption that the poem was occasioned by
a reconstruction of the cult of Eridug, and reflects the reorganization of the country
in the form of a national kingship ideologically centred on Nippur (and Enlil), is 1 will give you [C
that I am the LOF
plausible, and even highly probable in historical or 'evenemential' terms. The reason
for not incorporating these very reasonable surmises is that, even if 'true', they remain
unprovable in the absence of hard evidence. What is more, they have left no reflex in
the text. And the text is all we have. He [Gilgamesh] i5
he now seeks, in .

In his 'history
kild Jacobsen;
ancient Meso):
the seals, one
ritual, not my!
include few wi
respondences l
well represent
never existed i
general dis pari
phasises "the (
imply that mal
version has ye
Steinkeller, wi
trate the early
to a few grap
mainstream lit

Etana

Probably the c
art is the grOl

I An earlier versi
Internationale in I
2 Bynum 1978, 2
3 Black & Green
no literary versiOl
4 Steinkeller 199'
5 For the Hedaml

134
 MYTHS IN MESOPOTAMIAN ART!

Anthony Green

I will give you [Cyrus] the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know
that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name

Isaiah 45:3 (New International Version)

He [Gilgamesh] is finally able to accept reality and with it a new possible scale of value: the immortality
he now seeks, in which he now takes pride, is the relative immortality of lasting achievement ....

The Treasures (if Darkness 218

In his 'history' of Mesopotamian religion, The Treasures of Darkness (1976), Thor-

kild Jacobsen at several points clearly accepts the influence of mythical narratives on
ancient Mesopotamian art. According to another opinion, however, the imagery of
the seals, one of the most important areas of religious iconography, was "cultic and
ritual, not mythic".2 However, although the scenes carried on seals and in other art
include few which unequivocally parallel mythical and legendary literature, such cor-
respondences are not unknown. Moreover, other scenes which appear 'mythic' might
well represent episodes from myths whose literary versions are lost to us (or perhaps
never existed in written form). In this regard, given the occasional close parallel, the
general disparity between literary and graphic themes is itself of interest, for it em-
phasises "the extraordinary richness of the Mesopotamian heritage, since it seems to
imply that many mythical themes used in art refer to narratives of which no written
version has yet been recovered".3 This is a theme recently taken up in an article by
Steinkeller, who even suggests that "Third millennium narrative glyptic may illus-
trate the early Akkadian [literary] mythology".4 In this paper, I shall confine myself
to a few graphic episodes which can be plausibly 'identified' from Mesopotamian
mainstream literature.5

Etana

Probably the clearest illustration that myths and legends are depicted in Mesopotamian
art is the group of cylinder seals of the Akkadian period showing a scene almost

! An earlier version of this paper, confined to Assyrian art, was delivered to the Rencontre Assyriologique
Internationale in Heidelberg, 7th July 1992.
2 Bynum 1978,227; quoted, in agreeillent, by Reiner 1987,28.
3 Black & Green 1992, 15. See also below, 6., Evidence for certain scenes being mythical even though
no literary versions are extant is offered in Green 1996a, I.
4 Steinkeller 1992, 245. cr. criticism of this idea by Heimpel 1995, 4.2.
For the Hedammu Illyth in Mitannian glyptic art, cf. Stein 1988 (also no. 50 below).

135
 Anthony Green

certainly related to the story of Etana, the semi-legendary king of Kish who, so each other (si(
the story goes, flew up to heaven on an eagle's back.6 The glyptic theme has most this that accOi
recently been discussed in detail by Steinkeller, who notes twenty-four examples on no modern on
Akkadian-period seals.7 Although made some two to three hundred years before the example, says
earliest literary edition of the legend so far recovered, many of the essentials of the on to raise a
Etana story can be seen on these seals. Central to the scene is a bearded man being not appearing
carried on the back of a large bird with outstretched wings, possibly depicting Etana's not mentioned
flight to heaven on the back of an eagle or, perhaps less likely, the crashing descent period from tl
of the pair towards the earth.8 Other constant elements are one or more shepherds, described by
one or usually a pair of dogs (or lions?),9 a herd of goats by a pen, and one or two to heaven".16
men using a large vessel, apparently producing some kind of cheeses.lo episode in the
serpent's offsl
In a paper published in 1886, W.H. Ward first collected together the seals of this group perhaps a lion
and wrote about the scene, but he did not relate it to the legend, saying, "Babylonian likely perhaps
literature and art, so far as I can recall, give no explanation of the bird bearing the replace the sel
man".11 The identification of the scene as the flight of Etana seems to have been first in the iconogr;
proposed, and argued at length, by EJ. Harper in an article published in 1894, which of the air-borr
at the time received some adverse criticism in Germany, mainly on the grounds that closely echo t
most of the elements on the seals were not to be found in the Etana legend.12 In France, way) relating
however, the suggestion was accepted by both Maspero on the one hand and de Sarzec
and Heuzey on the other, who stated it as unquestioned fact in their monumental works
respectively on the history of the ancient Near East and the excavations at Tello, and 2 Gilgamesh
so the idea entered the mainstream of specialist and popular scholarship. Because of
the serial form in which these authors published their works, they were able to cite A pair of c1e
stories.19 Opif
Calmeyer (l9~
6 English translation by Dalley 1989, 190-200. Relevant literature on this legend is given by Rollig 1987,
50, 4. 1.1 b. cussed ex amp
7 Steinkeller 1992, 248-255. The theme has also recently been discussed in brief by Maxwell-Hyslop & to say that the
Mallowan 1994, I 82f., and by Postgate 1994, 182. The latter cites it as an example of a bad match between
vincingly iden
text and art. The chronological gulf between the seals and the literary versions of the Etana narrative is a
'mismatch' of some curiosity, but in view of this the correspondence is, in my view, as close as one can The typical at=
reasonably expect. Dalley 1989, 189, describes the Etana story as "the only Mesopotamian tale to have
been identified unequivocally on ancient cylinder seals".
8 W.G. Lambert informs me that an unpublished cylinder seal in private ownership gives an unequivocal 13 Maspero illuSll
portrayal of the man and eagle crashing to the ground. captioning the fig
9 Usually described as lions, but cf. Stein keller 1992, 250. was made from a
10 Cf. Stein keller 1992,249, with no. 14. He interprets the rounded items as balls of fermented sour milk adopted Maspero'
or buller milk, known as kush uk or koshk. referred to PI. 3 II
II Ward 1886, 48. 14 Cf., e.g., refer<

12 Cf. lolles 1911. 10lles objects to an identification as Etana, in the first place, because the man is 15 Lambert 1987,
carried on the back of the eagle, while in the legend the eagle says "against my breast place your breast", 16 I acobsen 1939
and secondly because the text makes no mention of the other figures shown on the seals. He quotes the 17 Steinkeller 195
passage in Aelian's De natura animalium (12.21) recounting the rescue by an eagle of the baby 'Gilgamos' 18 Cf. no. 9 abov,
(Gilgamesh). He favours this story as an explanation of the scene on the seals because there is reference 19 References to
to the baby's riding on the back of the eagle and to a keeper of the garden where the eagle set the baby by Rollig 1987, 5
down. This suggestion has found little support because the figure carried on the eagle's back on the seals (Sumerian 'Gilgal
is clearly an adult, not only because of his size but also because of his beard (cf. already Ward 1910, 143; 20 To the materia
De Sarzec 1884-1912, 299; and dismissal of 10lles by Frankfort 1939, 138, no. 6). Frankfort adds (Ioc. (cylinder eal imr
cit.) that the tale of Gilgamesh and the eagle is preserved only in a classical source. Indeed, as Kinnier also now the pla(
Wilson (1985, 15f.) maintains, "we probably kno;;" enough about Gilgamesh at this time to be able to Eastern mythical t
disassociate at least his name from such a tradition and more appropriately one could accept the tradition Mesnil 1974,226
into the story of Etana. " of Humbaba.

136
 Myths in mesopotamian art

each other (sic!) as the source of the proposed identification,13 and it is perhaps partly
this that accounts for the common implication in subsequent works that the idea had
no modern originator but, as it were, "descended from heaven".14 W.G. Lambert, for
example, says simply that "no one doubts" the identity. Characteristically, he goes
on to raise a few doubts of his own, by again pointing to elements in the scene
not appearing in the texts. IS However, although the dogs, goats, shepherds, etc., are
not mentioned specifically in the texts (hardly surprising in view of the difference in
period from the seals), a pastoral setting seems appropriate for the story of a king
described by the Sumerian King List and elsewhere as "a shepherd who ascended
to heaven".16 Moreover, one of the cylinder seals (Fig. I) adds to the flight another
episode in the story, with the tree in which the eagle nests. Instead of a serpent, or the
serpent's offspring, in this case the eagle shares the tree with another small animal,
perhaps a lion-cub (or as Steinkeller suggests, a pUppy'7) while adult lions (or, more
likely perhaps, dogslS) stand on the ground beneath. Although the dogs and whelp
replace the serpent and its young of the literary version and there are other elements
in the iconography not mentioned in the legend as it has been recovered, the presence
of the air-borne man and eagle, together on this one seal with the eagle in a tree, so
closely echo the literary version that the interpretation of these scenes as (in some
way) relating to the Etana story seems to me, at any rate, more than likely.

2 Gilgamesh

A pair of clear mythic themes is provided by two episodes from the Gilgamesh
stories.19 Opificius (1970), Calmeyer (1970, 1973), Wilcke (1975), Haevernick and
Calmeyer (1976) and Lambert (1987) have, largely independently, collected and dis-
cussed examples, and there is no need to repeat in detail their arguments. Suffice it
to say that the scene shown in Fig. 2 of two men attacking a kneeling man is con-
vincingly identified as the murder of HuwawalHumbaba by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.20
The typical appearance of the face of Humbaba in Babylonian art was identified by

13 Maspero illustrates his summary of the Etana legend with a drawing of the scene on a cylinder seal,
captioning the figure "Etana enleve au ciel par un aigle" (1895, 699). As the footnote states, the drawing
was made from a photograph published by de Sarzec (1884-1912, PI. 30bis: 13). Subsequently Heuzey
adopted Maspero's interpretation of the scene in his discussion of the seal (Heuzey 1912,299-300. wrongly
referred to PI. 31 bis).
14 Cf., e.g., references cited by Steinkeller 1992, 248, no. 12.
15 Lambert 1987, 35, with no. I. Cf. also Postgate 1994, 182 (as no. 7 above).
16 Jacobsen 1939 80 f., with no. 67.
17 Steinkeller 1992, 250.
18 Cf. 110. 9 above.

19 References to the Sumerian poems are given by Edzard 1987, 40, [3.I]m, n; to the Akkadian epic
by Rollig 1987, 50f., 4.1.1 f. English translations are given by S.N. Kramer in Pritchard 1969, 47-50
(Sumerian 'Gilgamesh and Huwawa' poem) and Dalley 1969,50-125 (Gilgamesh Epic).
20 To the material collected by the authors mentioned, can be added Amiet 1965, 248f., with Fig. 10
(cylinder seal impression on a Nuzi tablet) and the Akkadian-period seals referenced in no. 32 below;
also now the plaque of Fig. 5. Mesnil 1~68, 19f., relates the scene to a supposedly widespread Near
Eastern mythical tradition of Astarte (or Ishtar) and two giants, one of the day and the other of the night;
Mesnil 1974, 226, however, makes it clear that (by then, at least) he recognised the scene as the killing
of Humbaba.

137
 Anthony Green

Sidney Smith in 1924, from his publication of the terracotta shown here as Fig. 3. the particularl
The back of the piece bears an inscription beginning, "If the entrails resemble the where they ar
face of Huwawa ... ".21 From this, D. Opitz, in an article published in 1929, was able 7),31 may imp
to show that the monster being attacked on an Old Babylonian clay plaque (Fig. 4) is Akkadian -peri
Humbaba. Further evidence is provided by Old Babylonian clay plaques showing the first on Akkac
killing taking place apparently in the (Cedar) Forest (Fig. 5).22 So the identification Humbaba in a
seems clear. As Lambert pointed out, however, Mitannian and Assyrian glyptic art possible, there
often depict Humbaba in the style of the so-called 'hero' with four or six large curls, thematic, perh
who in other contexts, as Wiggermann has shown, is the apotropaic god-type labmuY stories seem tc
which refers tl
The point of this fluid use of a particular figure-type for more than one character
seems not to have been lost on Assyrian seal-cutters, as with the design shown in Fig. The second Gi
6, which seems to be a kind of visual pun. On the face of it we have four apotropaic and Neo-Bab)
figures (bull-man, laumu, scorpion-man, fish-apkallu24), yet the kneeling laumu is Heaven, sent t
also here Humbaba, with the bull-man and scorpion-man taking the parts respectively the correctnes~
of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. There is a further, partly modern, irony. In some older tinct, some NE
scholarship the 'hero' with curls and the bull-man were often identified - wrongly A Neo-Assyri
- as respectively Gilgamesh and Enkidu.25 Lambert has commented on the fact that particularly re
the 'hero' with curls in these scenes turns out to be "not Gilgamesh but Humbaba".26 attempting ph~
Furthermore, in the group of apotropaic figures on this seal, the bull-man plays the
part, as it were, not of Enkidu, but of Gilgamesh, while Enkidu's part is taken by the
scorpian-man, another character of the Gilgamesh story. 3 [shlar's D

The famous gold bowl from Hasanlu, usually regarded as Middle Assyrian in date,27 Thorkild Jacol
juxtaposes the killing-of-Humbaba scene with a flying eagle carrying a human figure racotta plaque
- probably, given the style of dress, a woman, but clearly related, I think, to the display in the
Etana theme of Akkadian-period seals (Fig. 7).28 Now a Mitannian cylinder seal from a well-known
Tell Billa shows the same juxtaposition of scenes of Humbaba's death and a person On the plaque
riding on the back of an eagle (Fig. 8).29 Whatever else, the association of the two underworld, h,
themes demonstrates that they were thought in some way to belong together, I would
suggest, in the first place, because they were both mythic in content.30 However,
31 Cf. Amiet 196
(Fig. 7) we can pi
21 For other faces of Humbaba, cf. Thureau-Dangin 1925, 24; and references cited by Huot 1989, 165.
32 Frankfort 193L
no. 7.
drawing in Frank
22 Cf. Huot 1989. On a possible location of the Forest, cf. Hansman 1976. As Lambert (1987, 46f.) points
Humbaba legend
out, the forest mentioned in the Epic was not necessarily of cedar and may have been of pine. For a
33 Cf. n. 12 abov
catalogue of 65 'Humbaba' pieces, cf. Nicolle 1986.
the Akkadian peri
23 Lambert 1987, 45; Wiggermann 1983; 1992, 164-166. On the rather fluid identity of this 'hero' figure,
a crown, suggesti
cf. now Ellis 1995.
of interest in this
24 Cf. for these types Green 1994, 3.3, 3.1,3.4,3.8, respectively, with references; more recently Winter
legend the protag
1989. at death as gi ven
25 Frankfort 1939b, 62-65; Borowski 1944; other references in Calmeyer 1968, 373. suggestion.
26 Lambert 1987,45. 34 Some example:
27 Calmeyer 1973, 129, 3, with references; more recentley Winter 1989. ernick & Calmeye
28 Cf. Lambert 1987, 37, no. I [referring to the figure on the bowl as a man]; 47. Fig. 9 adds anoth,
29 Matthews 1991, No. 43, pp. 28, 32, 41. Ignoring the dealh-of-Humbaba episode on the same seal, Neo-Babylonian s
Stein, 1994, 306, 7.2, refers to the Etana-type. scene as the only identifiable mythological scene in not belong to this
Middle Assyrian art. 35 Jacobsen 1987
30 Matthews 1991,28, suggests that the two scenes might "represent some Hun'ian derivative of Sumerian of Ish tar; the iden
Mythology". 1952, 292f.

138
 Myths in mesopotamian art

the particularly close positioning of the two scenes, especially on the Hasanlu bowl,
where they are among other themes which were probably all mythic episodes (Fig.
7),31 may imply a more particular connexion. As motifs, both derive ultimately from
Akkadian-period art, since a version of the murder-of-Humbaba scene is also found
first on Akkadian-period cylinder seals.32 But at Hasanlu and Tell Billa the death of
Humbaba in art would probably be known from Assyrian and Mitannian works. Is it
possible, therefore, that on the periphery of the Assyrian world there was already some
thematic, perhaps even literary, confusion of the two stories? Interestingly, the two
stories seem to be confused in a late, classical, source, Aelian's De natura animalium,
which refers to the rescue of the baby "Gilgamos" by an eagle in flight.33

The second Gilgamesh episode, occuring in Mitannian, Middle Assyrian, Neo-Assyrian

and Neo-Babylonian art,34 is the killing by Gilgamesh and Enkidu of the Bull of
Heaven, sent by the vengeful goddess Ishtar. There can be no doubt, I believe, about
the correctness of the identification because, although other examples are rather indis-
tinct, some Neo-Babylonian cylinder seals show the Bull of Heaven clearly (Fig. 9).
A Neo-Assyrian(?) cylinder seal published since the major studies of the theme is
particularly revealing in that it shows Ishtar herself looking on aghast and apparently
attempting physically to restrain the heroic pair (Fig. J 0).

3 lshtar's Descent

Thorkild Jacobsen's ingenious interpretation of the magnificent Old Babylonian ter-

racotta plaque known as 'The Burney Relief' (Fig. 11) - until a few years ago on
display in the British Museum - would allow us to see another graphic rendering of
a well-known literary myth involving Ishtar, namely her descent to the underworld.35
On the plaque, according to this interpretation, winged Ishtar is shown naked in the
underworld, having cast off her clothing at the sequence of seven gates, and stands -

31 Cf. Amiet 1965, 243; and discussion and interpretation by Mesnil 1986, 12-32. Among the scenes
(Fig. 7) we can perhaps recognise a version of Ishtar in the Underworld (cf. 3 below).
32 Frankfort 1934, PI. lII(c), [interpreted, p. 15, as "the victory of Ninurta over the storm-bird Zu"];
drawing in Frankfort 1939b, PI. XXIlIa, reproduced in Collon 1987, 180, o. 853 rcf. p. 181: "The
Humbaba legend is possibly depicted"]. Sketch of another cylinder in Mesnil 1974, 22, Fig. 17A.
33 Cf. n. 12 above. It is a possibility that 'Etana' and 'Humbaba' mythical traditions were indistinct in
the Akkadian period, for on the first Akkadian-period seal cited in no. 32 'Humbaba' apparently wears
a crown, suggesting he was regarded as a king like Etana; notice also the diving bird beside him. Also
of interest in this context is KinnieI' Wilson's hypothesis that at the end of the full version of the Etana
legend the protagonist may have been murdered (1985, 14) - although the considerable age of Etana
at death as given in the Sumerian king list (I, 560 years: Jacobsen 1939, 80f) might cast doubt on the
suggestion.
34 Some examples have been collected and discussed by Opificius (1970), Cal meyer (1970, 1973), Haev-
ernick & Calmeyer (1976) and Lambert (1987). An example published since is Pittman 1987, No. 69; our
Fig. 9 adds another. Collon 1987, 181, wrongly states that "the Bull of Heaven episode appears only on
Neo-Babylonian seals". The supposed Bull-oF-Heaven glyptic scenes mentioned in Afanasyeva 1970 do
not belong to this group.
35 Jacobsen 1987. Van Buren (1937) compared the iconography of the nude winged goddess to images
of lshtar; the identification of her as Ishtar in the underworld appears to have been first made by Barrelet
1952, 292f. ~

139
 Anthony Green

her feet changed to bird talons36 - on her distinctive lions,37 flanked by the owls of 5 l'he Slain (
night38 and carrying her cap of divinity, her wig, the rod-and-ring and necklace of lapis
lazuli - all mentioned as worn by Inana in the Sumerian poem of her descent.39 This Another cycle
identification is an intriguing idea and may well be correct for the Old Babylonian not preserved
terracottas.40 It is more difficult, however, to believe that the nude winged goddess is Heroes. They \
consistently to be interpreted as Ishtar in the underworld. On a Neo-Assyrian seal, for by Ningirsu 01
instance, she is flanked not by any obvious underworld creatures but by fish-apkalUi literary texts,
with purifying buckets and cones (Fig. 12). If these figures should indicate any par- seven-headed
ticular location at all, and are not simply apotropaic, they would be more at home, period art (Fi~
one would think, in the watery Apsu than in the underworld. represent mytt
form.50

4 l'he Seven Sages Another of th(

whose theft oj
The fish-beings themselves - common figures in Assyrian and Babylonian art41 preserved.51 In
were related to a legendary tradition of Seven Sages (Apkallu) who lived before the with the sever
Flood. An identification of the iconographic type with the Sages is proved by the have suggestec
texts concerning apotropaic foundation figurines, their types, places of burial and brought before
associated rituals,42 which in this case prescribe seven clay figures of the apkalUi of the Imdugu
"cloaked in fishes' skins",43 in one case carrying a 'purifier' (mullilu) and bucket.44 killed, but sinc
The antediluvian Seven Sages are referred to in a number of textual sources, including the slaying by
some giving their names and the Babylonian cities from which they were thought to objected that il
have come.45 The stories of their exploits46 are not preserved, but Berossos writing the Tablet of
in the late fourth to early third centuries Be seems to have an echo in his account of Enki from wh<
Oannes and seven other fish-monsters who, emerging from the sea, first brought the put forward b)
arts of civilisation to mankind.47 the official ico
different traditi
implying a bir
36 Avian features, such as wings and bird talons, have been characterised as distinctive of underworld
creatures, but cf. criticism of this view by Wiggermann 1994,235 [within 3.1]. certainly demo
37 For the lion as Ishtar's symbol a~d beast, cf. Seidl 1969, 487, 7c; 1989, 138-140. XXIV, with
additional references pp. 230f. [first three references under "XXIV. Lowe" only; the rest refer to a missing
heading "XXV. Hund"].
38 EBebu 'owl' corresponds to Sumerian (dNIN-)NINNA, '(Divine Lady) owl', in turn equated in the 48 Cf. Wiggerman
lexical texts with Kilili, a name of Inana as goddess of prostitutes, who, like the owl, comes out at dusk 49 Cf. Green 199L
and sits in the window. Jacobsen overlooked the fact that according to Buchanan (1971,5) on at least one 50 A battle betwe
of the clay plaques the goddess has an erect phallus on either side of her. As Wiggennann (1994, 241 mytholog of othe
[within ~ 5]) charmingly puts it, these phalli "fit in effortlessly". in Ugaritic myth (l
39 English translation by S.N. Kramer in Pritchard 1969,52-57. Relevant literature on this poem given in Psalm 74: 14 (cl
by Edzard 1987,40, [3.1] u. The Akkadian poem has an English translation by Dalley 1989, 155-160: Hedammu the Sto
literature collected by Rollig 1987,51, [4.1.1] i. (cf. Otten 1976, w
40 A similar goddess, with varying associations, is seen on other terracottas and on a vase from Larsa: of Greek mytholo!
cf. references in Wiggermann 1994, 240f. [within 5]. A nude goddess on the gold bowl from Hasanlu to dragon-slaying
may be related (cf. Fig. 7). 51 Translated by I
v 41 Cf. references in Green 1994, 252, 3.8. 1989, 205-226.
42 Cf. Wiggermann 1992. 52 Cf. Green 199~
V 43 Gurney 1935, 52f., lines 40, 44, 46. 8-9.
44 Ibid., line 42. 53 Cf. references (
45 References in Kilmer 1987, 39f., n. 2, and Green 1994,252, 3.8. 54 One of the obj(
46 Cf. esp. Reiner 1961; Kilmer 1987, 40f. Notice that one of the sages "brought down lshtar from heaven" 55 Lambert 1966,
(Kilmer 1987, 41); might our Fig. 12 illustrate this? 56 Alster J 972.
j 47 Burstein 1978, 155. 57 Wiggermann, I

140
 Myths in mesopotamian art

5 The Slain or Captured Heroes

Another cycle of myths refered to textually over a long period but with one exception
not preserved as literary narratives is represented by tales of the Slain or Captured
Heroes. They were a bizan'e group of monsters thought to have been killed or captured
by Ningirsu or Ninurta.48 Episodes from the stories, mostly not known from extant
literary texts, can be recognised in art. For example, one of the monsters was the
seven-headed snake, almost certainly represented in Early Dynastic and Akkadian-
period art (Figs. 13-14).49 The point serves to emphasise that episodes in art can
represent myths which are known to have existed but are lost to us in their literary
form.50

Another of the Slain Heroes was the Imdugud or AnzD-bird, the story concerning
whose theft of the Tablet of Destinies and his subsequent conquest by Ninurta is
preserved.51 In Sumerian art the bird is represented as a lion-headed eagle,52 but as
with the seven-headed dragon the type is not found later. However, some scholars
have suggested that a scene on Akkadian-period cylinder seals of a bird-man being
brought before a Water-god (Fig. 15) may be the capture and judgement by Enki/Ea
of the Imdugud or AnzD.53 In the extant version of the literary myth, the AnzD is
killed, but since we know there was an alternative tradition of the capture rather than
the slaying by Ninurta of the Heroes,54 the interpretation seems possible. It has been
objected that in the Akkadian myth of AnzD it is not Ea from whom the AnzD steals
the Tablet of Destinies,s5 but in the Sumerian poem 'Ninurta and the Turtle' it is
Enki from whom the Tablet is stolen.56 Among the counter-arguments most recently
put forward by Frans Wiggermann,57 is the conspicuous absence of this bird-man in
the official iconography of the city-state of Lagash, but here there may have been a
different tradition. The Imdugud is described as lion-headed, or else as having a beak,
implying a bird's head - in neither case suggesting a human head and body, but
certainly demonstrating some inconsistency in how the creature was envisaged.

48 Cf. Wiggermann 1994, 227 [within 2.2.]. with references.

49 Cf. Green 1994, 259, 3.28.
so A battle between a major god and a snake or dragon with seven heads is recounted in the literary
mythology of other regions of the ancient Near East, e.g. the seven-headed snake Leviathan killed by Ba'i
in Ugaritic myth (Driver & Gibson 1978,50,68); cf. the reference to Yahweh's crushing Leviathan's heads
in Psalm 74: 14 (cf. Isaiah 27: I) and the seven-headed dragon of Revelation 12:3ff. In the Hittite myth of
Hedammu the Storm-god slays a dragon, which event seems to be depicted on a bas-relief from Malatya
(cf. Otten 1976, with references). These traditions probably gave birth to the seven- or nine-headed hydra
of Greek mythology (for which cf. Graves 1960, 11, 108, 124c, with literary references) and ultimately
to dragon-slaying stories such as that of St George.
51 Translated by E.A. Speiser and A.K. Grayson in Pritchard 1969, 111-113,514-517; and by Dalley
1989, 205-226.
52 Cf. Green 1994, 254, 3.14. See now also Matthews, Matthews & McDonald 1994, I85f., with Figs.
8-9.
53 Cf. references cited in Green 1986, 158, and 1994, 249, 3.2.
54 One of the objections in Green 1994, 249, 3.2, therefore must be abandoned.
55 Lambert 1966, 70.
56 Aister 1972.
57 Wiggennann, 1944, 223 [within I J.

141
 Anthony Green

The glyptic scenes of the bird-man's audience with Ea are paralleled by a small group long mythic n
of Akkadian-period cylinders showing a different creature, the so-called lion-demon, only a very Ii
brought before a different deity, a Sun-god (Fig. 16).58 The latter have been interpreted therefore, that
as depicting a mythic episode following on, in the narrative, from scenes of the lion- mythic episod
demon in combat.59 At least in later (Neo-Assyrian) times, the lion-demon can be texts.66 Occasi
identified as the ugallu,60 one of the monstrous creations of Tiamat in the Babylonian a graphic scel
Epic of Creation61 Since Tiamat's creatures are similar to the Slain Heroes, it would is unknown. r

not be inherently unlikely that the lion-demon might be 'transferred' from the one individual eler
group to the other, as was the bull-man (kusarikku), but, unlike the bull-man, the is the myth abc
lion-demon is not, as far as one can tell, mentioned in any of the lists of the Slain (Fig. 18) was
Heroes. On the other hand, there certainly were variant traditions, and for any general Lamashtu, wh(
theme we cannot know if precisely the same elements should be represented in extant Pazuzu does n,
art as happen to survive mention in texts. In any event, it is very likely that the bird- in texts concel
man and lion-demon 'judgement' scenes depict parallel episodes in a cycle of related Anu, can be re,
myths. of which are
son of the gO(
As for the Anzu in later art, the most likely candidate, as suggested by Thorkild number of sto
Jacobsen,62 would seem to be the lion-headed bird-monster carved on a relief - may also be in
originally one of a pair - at the entrance to the Temple of Ninurta at Nimrud, plaques', more
belonging to the reign of Assurnasirpal II (Fig. 17). The scene is also shown on Neo- the underworlc
Assyrian cylinder seals.63 Since the relief is from his temple, it seems reasonable to floats (Fig. 20)
suppose the god depicted to be Ninurta, and the scene cannot represent the defeat of
Tiamat by MardukiAssLlr as in the Creation Epic, as has been proposed,64 since the
monster is quite obviously male. 7 Creation Ep.

Another possibility, if the scene is mythic at all and not simply apotropaic, is that the At other times
lion-headed monster represents the Asakku, another monster defeated by Ninurta.65 sualisation whi
Since in another version of the story the conquering god was Adad, this might explain the Assyrian re
why Ninurta has usurped the Weather-god's thunderbolts. from boxes in
demons (Fig. :
details of their
6 Pazuzu and Lamashtu enable many oj
creatures we c,
References to such myths as those of the Slain Heroes, which for the most part we
do not possess, and the many small fragments of what must originally have been 66 Some have four
of fundamental reI
attempts to relate:
58 Cf. Green 1986, 157f.; 1 now would see the scene as more comparable to the so-called 'judgement of Perhaps in reactior
AnzG' than I did then. For the lion-demon, cf. now Green 1994, 3.6, with references. general; today we
59 Frankfort 1939, 175; Seidl 1989, 173: cf. Green 1986, 157f. 67 Thureau-Dangil
60 Green 1986, 153f.; Wiggermann 1992, 170. 68 For Lamashtu, '
61 There is a translation of the Creation Epic by Dalley 1989, 233-274. Literature is given by Rdllig by Thure:.Ju-Dangir
1987,51, [4.1.IJ 0.1. For Tiamat's creatures, cf. Wiggennann 1992, 145-164; and 1994, 228f., 2.3. Farber 1983,441 [
62 Jacobsen 1976, 128 (without accepting Jacobsen' s interpretation of AnzG as an obsolete theriomorphic may be added to tl
form of Ninurta: cf. Green 1984, 247). Cf. Wiggermann 1992, 185; Green 1994, 258, 3.25. 69 Cf. Borger 1981
63 E.g., Frankfort 1939b, PI. XXXIVa; Porada 1948, No. 689. Moorey 1965; Br31
64 E.g., by Reade 1979, 43. 70 Cf.Rittig 1977.
65 In the Sumerian poem Luga/e: cf. van Dijk 1983. Van Dijk himself identifies the Asag/Asakku with a on the close icono
different, cyclopic, monster depicted on an Old Babylonian terracotta plaque: see ibid., I, frontispiece and 35-43, and Green I
pp. 20f. (cf. Green 1996a, 4). 71 Cf. Wiggermam
 Myths in mesopotamian art

long mythic narratives, force us to conclude that the extant literary record represents
only a very limited proportion of what originally existed. It should be no surprise,
therefore, that there are a large number of recurrent scenes in art which appear to be
mythic episodes, but which cannot be 'identified' in any precise way from recovered
texts.66 Occasionally, however, we can appreciate very clearly the mythic content of
a graphic scene even when the literary version of the narrative, if there was one,
is unknown. This is particularly so where we can identify from other texts some
individual elements. In the Neo-Assyrian/Neo-Babylonian period, a good case in point
is the myth about the evil underworld deities Lamashtu and Pazuzu. A "bronze Pazuzu"
(Fig. 18) was prescribed to be worn by women in childbirth as a protection against
Lamashtu, who was thought to kill pregnant women and babies.67 Otherwise, however,
Pazuzu does not appear in the rituals against Lamashtu and the latter is not mentioned
in texts concerning PazuZLI. The iconography of the goddess Lamashtu, daughter of
Anu, can be recognised from her presence on stone and copper plaques (Fig. 19), some
of which are inscribed with incantations naming her.68 Similarly, the god Pazuzu,
son of the god Ijanbi and king of the evil wind-demons, is represented by a large
number of stone, copper and baked clay figurines - head or full figure - which
may also be inscribed with incantations giving his name.69 On some of the 'Lamashtu
plaques', moreover, Pazuzu is shown threatening Lamashtu and forcing her back to
the underworld, clearly indicated by the river of the underworld on which her boat
floats (Fig. 20). In this way, a myth 'lost' to literature can be inferred from art.

7 Creation Epic

At other times, conversely, it is the literary narrative which we possess and the vi-
sualisation which needs to be inferred. Closely related to the supernatural figures of
the Assyrian reliefs and other monumental art are the clay figurines mostly recovered
from boxes in the foundations of buildings which represent various monsters and
demons (Fig. 21).70 Texts giving the names of the various figures, sometimes with
details of their iconography and prescribing how some of them should be inscribed,
enable many of the creatures to be identified.71 Using such identification of individual
creatures we can to some extent 'reconstruct' how mythic episodes might have been

66 Some have found it surprising; c.f, e.g., Hansen 1987, 62: "One can only ask why there is such a lack
of fundamental relationship between what is wriuen and what is represented." Frankfort's (1934, 1939)
attempts to relate some of the more obscure myths in art to texts must now be considered unsuccessful.
Perhaps in reaction, Amiet 1980 stresses the 'interpretation' of the image itself, and is more cautious and
general; today we might think him overcautious.
67 Thureau-Dangin 1921, 169, 194.
68 For Lamashtu, cf Farber 1983; 1987; Scurlock 1991. Published 'Lamashtu amulets' have been listed
by Thureau-Dangin 1921, 172-183 [Nos. 1-18J, Klengel 1960 [Nos. 1-44], Klengel 1963 [Nos. 45-50/,
Farber 1983,441 [Nos. 51-63] and Wiggermann 1992, xiii [Nos. 64-67]. Fig. 19, previously unpublished,
may be added to this list.
69 Cf. Borger 1987. A list of PazuZll amulets will be given in Green & Wiggermann, in prep.; cf for now
Moorey 1965; Braun-Holzinger 1984, 74-79; Green 1985.
70 Cf. Rittig 1977. For the same types of figures in Assyrian monumental sculpture, cf Kolbe 1981; and
on the close iconographic relationship of the figure-types in the two artistic traditions, cf Reade 1979,
35-43, and Green 1983.
71 Cf. Wiggermann 1992, and all references in no. 70 above.

143
 Anthony Green

conceived visually even when such episodes are not themselves represented in art.
As an example, Fig. 22 shows the defeat by Marduk (or Assur) of Tiamat's mon-
sters in the Babylonian (or Assyrian) Epic of Creation.72 Eight of the eleven monsters
enumerated in the epic can be identified in are3 and are shown, from left to right,
the Musbussu (dragon), the Scorpion-man (girtabluUu), the Lion-demon (ugallu), the
Uridimmu (or 'Mad-Lion'), the Labmu (or 'Hairy'), the Bull-man (kusarikku), the
Fish-man (Kulullu), and the Basmu-snake,74 "bearing merciless weapons, fearless in
battle".7s

References

[When page numbers are not given in the footnotes, reference is to the entire works.]

Afanasyeva, V.K.,
1970 Gilgames and Enkidu in glyptic art and in the epic. Klio 53, 59-75.
Alster, B.,
1972 "Ninurta and the Turtle", UET 6/1 2. Journal of cuneiform studies 24
(1971-72), 120-125.
Amiet, P.,
1980 The mythological repertory in cylinder seals of the Agade period (c. 2335-
2155 B.C.). In E. Porada (ed.), Ancient art in seals (Princeton), 35-59.
BaITelet, M.,
1952 A propos d'une plaquette trouvee a Mari. Syria 29, 285-293.
Bentzen, A., Holm, S., & Se, N.H.,
1949 (eds.) /llustreret religionsleksikon, I. Skandinavisk Bogforlag.
Black, J., & Green, A.,
1992 Gods, demons and symbols of ancient Mesopotamia: an illustrated dic-
tio/wry. London & Austin.
Borger, R.,
1987 Pazuzu. In: F. Rochberg-Halton (ed.), Language, literature, and history:
philological and historical studies presented to Erica Reiner (American
oriental series, 67) (New Haven), 15-32.
Borowski, E.
1944 Le cycle de Gilgamesh a propos de la collection de cylindres orientaux
du Musee d' Art et d'Histoire de Geneve. La revue Genava 22, 1-20.

72 For the epic, cf. no. 6 j above.

73 It is probably no accident that only eight of the monsters can be recognised iconographically for Lambert
has shown that an earlier source for the myth speaks of eight monsters, which was increased to eleven in
the Creation Epic by the addition of three generic terms, in confomity with the eleven monsters slain by
Ninurta: "Clearly the author was determined to have eleven, so he used at second hand a poetic passage
describing Mother Hubur's creation of eight monsters, applying it to Tiamat and adding the line giving
the (perverted) total of eleven .... The eight can be paralleled, but not the three generic descriptions"
(Lambert 1986, 57).
74 For the identifications, cf. Wiggermann 1992, 164ff., respectively 3, 7, 4, 5, I, 6, 9 and 2. For
general discussion of individual figure-types, with references, cf. Green 1994, respectively 3.27, 3.4,
3.6, 3.5, 3.1, 3.3, 3.22 and 3.26.
7S Creation Epic III: Dalley 1989, 245.

144
 Myths in mesopotamian art

Braun-Holzinger, EA.,
1984 Figiirliche Bronzen aus Mesopotamien (Prahistorische Bronzefunde 1/4).
MUnchen.
Buchanan, B.,
1971 A snake goddess and her companions: a problem in the iconography of
the early second millennium B.C. Iraq 33, 1-18.
Burney, c.,
1977 From village to empire: an introduction to Near Eastern archaeology
Oxford.
Burstein, S.M.,
1978 The Babyloniaca of Berossus (Sources and monographs: sources from
the Ancient Near East, 1/5). Malibu.
Bynum, D.E.,
1978 The daemon in the wood. Cambridge, Mass.
Calmeyer, P.,
1968 Gilgames. D. In der Archaologie. Reallexikon der Assyriologie and vorder-
asiatischen Archiiologie 3 (1957-71), 372-374.
1970 Ein neuer Becher der Werkstatt zwischen Zalu Ab und dem Gebiet der
Kakavand. Acta praehistorica et archaeologica I, 81-86.
1973 Hasanlu. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen A rchiio{ogie
4 (1972-75),128-131 ..
Collon, D.,
1982 Catalogue of the Western Asiatic seals in the British Museum, cylinder
seals, II: Akkadian - Post Akkadian - Vr If - periods. London.
1987 First impressions: cylinder seals in the ancient Near East. London &
Chicago.
Cook, A.B.,
1940 Zeus: a study in ancient religion, IIIII: Zeus god of the dark sky (earth-
quakes, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorites); text and notes. Cambridge
(UK).
Dalley, S.,
1989 Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and others
(Pbk. reprint, The world's classics ser., 1991). Oxford & New York.
Davis, F.,
1936 A puzzling "Venus" of 2000 B.C.: a fine Sumerian relief in Londen. The
illustrated London news, 13 June 1936 [issue 5069], 1047.
de Sarzec, E.,
1884 Decouvertes en Chaldee. II: Planches. Paris.
Dijk, U.A. van,
1983 LUGAL VD ME-LAM-BI NIR-GAL. 2 vols. Leiden.
Driver, G.R., & Gibson, J.C.L
1978 Canaanite myths and legends. 2nd. ed. [of the book by G.R. Driver
(1956), re-edited by J.C.L. Gibson). Edinburgh.
Edzard, D.O.,
1987 Literatur. 3. Dberblick tiber die sum. Literatur. ReaLlexikon der As-
syriologie und vorderasiatischen Archaologie 7, 36-48.
Ellis, R.S.,
1995 The trouble with "hairies". Iraq 57, 159-165.

145
 Anthony Green

Farber, W., Hansman, J.,

1983 Lamastu. ReaLLexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archdolo- 1976
gie 6, 439-446. Heimpel, W.,
1987 Tamarisken - Fibeln - Skolopender: zur philologischen Deutung der 1995
'Reiseszene' auf neuassyrischen Lamastu-Amuletten. In: F. Rochberg-
Halton (ed.), Language, literature, and history: philological and histori- Heuzey, L.,
cal studies presented to Erica Reiner (American oriental series, 67) (New 1912
Haven),85-105.
Farkas, A.E., Harper, P.O. & Harrison, E.B., Huot, J.-L.,
1987 (eds.) Monsters and demons in the ancient and medieval worlds: papers 1989
presented in honor of Edith Porada. Mainz on Rhine.
Frankfort, H.,
1934 Gods and myths on Sargonid seals. Iraq 1, 1-28. Jacobsen, Th.,
1939a The Burney Relief. Archivfiir Orientforschung 12 (1937-39),128-135. 1939
1939b Cylinder seals: a documentary essay on the art and religion of the ancient 1976
Near East. London.
1955 Stratified cylinder seals from the Diyala region (Oriental Institute publi- 1987
cations, 72). Chicago.
1970 The art and architecture of the ancient Orient (The Pelican history of
art). Pbk. ed., revised by H.J. Kantor. Harmondsworth.
Gordon, C.H., Jolles, A.,
1941 The Living Past. New York 1911
Graves, R., Kilmer, A.D.,
1960 The Greek myths. Revised ed. 2 vols. Harmondsworth. 1987
Green, A.,
1983 Neo-Assyrian apotropaic figures. Iraq 45, 87-96.
1984 Beneficent spirits and malevolent demons: the iconography of good and
evil in ancient Assyria and Babylonia. Visible religion 3, 80-105. Kinnier Wilson,
1985 A note on the "Scorpion-man" and Pazuzu. Iraq 47.75-82. 1985
1986 The lion-demon in the art of Mesopotamia and neighbouring regions. Klengel, H.,
Baghdader Mitteilungen 17, 141-254. 1960
V 1994 Mischwesen. B. Archaologie. Mesopotamien [in English] ReaLlexikoll
der Assyriologie und vorderasialischen Archaologie 8, 246-264.
1996a Mythologie. B. In der mesopotamischen Kunst [in English]. ReaLLexikoll 1963
der Assyriologie und del' vorderasiatischen Archaologie 8 (in press).
1996b Mesopotamia. V. Religion and iconography. In: J.S. Turner (ed.), The Kolbe, D.,
dictionary of art (London). 1981
Green, A., & Wiggermann, F.A.M.,
in prep Pazuzu. For ReaLlexikon del' Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archciolo-
gie. Lambert, W.G.,
Gurney, O.R., 1966
1935 Babylonian prophylactic figures and their rituals. (Liverpool) Annals of 1986
archaeology and anthropology 22, 31-96.
Hansen, D.P.,
1987 The fantastic world of Sumerian art; seal impressions from ancient La-
gash. In: Farkas, Harper & Harrison 1987, 53-63. 1987
Haevernick, & Calmeyer. P.
1976 Ein Glaserner Huwawa. Archaologische Mitteilungen aus Iran NF 9, 15- Layard, A.H.,
18. 1853

146
 Myths in mesopotamian art

Hansman, 1.,
[976 Gi[gamesh, Humbaba and the Land of the Erin-Trees. Iraq 38, 23-35.
Heimpel, W.,
[995 Mythologie. A. Philologisch [in English]. ReaLlexikon der Assyriologie
und vorderasiatischen Archdologie 8 (in press).
Heuzey, L.,
1912 [E. de Sarzec,J Decouvertes en Chaldee, 1/2: Description des monuments.
Paris.
Huot, 1.-L.,
1989 Le meurtre de Humbaba a
propos du relief L.85.7 de Larsa. In: J.-L. Huot
(ed.), Larsa: lravaux de 1985 (Editions recherche sur les civilisations,
'memoire' 83)(Paris), 163-173.
Jacobsen, Th.,
1939 The Sumerian king list (Assyriological studies, 1 [). Chicago.
1976 The Treasures of Darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion. New
Haven & London.
1987 Pictures and pictonial language (the Burney Relief). In: M. Mindlin,
M.1. Geller & lE. Wansbrough (eds.), Figurative language in the ancient
Near East (London: University of London School of Oriental and African
Studies), I-II.
Jolles, A.,
1911 Etana oder Gilgames? Orienlalische Literaturzeitung 14, 390.
Kilmer, AD.,
[987 The Mesopotamian counterparts of the biblical nepllfm. In: E.W. Conrad
& E.G. Newing (eds.), Perspectives on language and text; essays and
poems in honor of Francis J. Andersen's sixtieth birthday July 28, 1985
(Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns), 39-43.
Kinnier Wilson, lV.,
1985 The legend of Etana: a new edition. Warminster.
Klengel, H.,
1960 Neue Lamastu-Amulette aus dem Vorderasiatischen Museum zu Berlin
und dem British Museum. Mitteilungen des Institutsfiir Orientforschung
7 (1959-60), 334-355.
1963 Weitere Amulette gegen Lamastu. Mitteilungen des Instituts fur Orient-
forschung 8, 24-29.
Kolbe, D.,
1981 Die Reliefprogramme religios-mythologischen Charakters in neu-assyri-
schen Paldsten: die Figurentypen, ihre Benennung und Bedeutung (Eu-
ropaische Hochschulschriften XXXVIII/3). Frankfurt am Main & Bern.
Lambert, W.G.,
1966 Ancient Near Eastern seals in Birmingham collections. Iraq 28, 64-83.
1986 Ninurta mythology in the Babylonian Epic of Creation. In: K. Hecker
& W. Sommerfield (Hrsg.), Keilschriftliche Literaluren: ausgewdhlte
Vortriige der XXXII. Rencontre Assyriologique Infernationale (Berliner
Beitrage ZLlm Vorderen Orient, 6) (Berlin), 55-60.
1987 Gi[gamesh in literature and art: the second and first millennia. In: Farkas,
Harper & Harrison 1987, 37-52.
Layard, A.H.,
1853 A second series of the monuments of Nineveh. London

147
 Anthony Green

Postgate, J.N.,
Maspero, G.,
1895 Histoire ancienne des peuples de l'Orient Classique: les origines; Egypte 1994
& Chaldee, Paris
Matthews, RJ., Matthews, W., & McDonald, H.,
Pritchard, J.B.,
1994 Excavations at Tell Brak, 1994. Iraq 56, 177-194.
1969
Maxwell-Hyslop, R., & Mallowan, B., Rashid, S.A., & ,
1994 A stamp cylinder from Central Asia in the British Museum. In:
nd
M. Dietrich & O. Loretz (eds.), Beschreiben und Deuten in del' Archaolo-
gie des alten Orients: Festschrift fiir Ruth Mayer-Opificius mit Beitragen
von Freunden und Schiilern (Altertumskunde des vorderen Orients, 4) Reade, J.E.,
(MUnster), 177-190. 1979
Mesnil du Buisson, R. du,
1968 Le myth oriental des deux geants de jour et de la nuit. Iranica antiqua Reiner, E.,
8, 1-33. 1961
1974 La geographie et I'astronomie mythiques du Proche-Orient: les voyages 1987
de Gilgamesh. L'Ethnographie ns 68, 5-38.
Moorey, P.R.S., Rittig, D.,
1965 A bronze 'Pazuzu' statuette from Egypt. Iraq 27,33-41. 1977
McCall, H.,
1990 Mesopotamian myths (The legendary past ser.). London.
Roaf, M.,
Nicolle ,c.,
Corpus et iconographie de Humbaba (Universite de Paris 1, Centre de 1990
1986
Recherche d' Archeologie Orientale, Memoire de matrise roneote). Paris.
Rollig, W.,
Oates, 1.,
1987
1986 Babylon. Revised ed. London.
Opificius, R. (Meyer-), Scurlock, J.A.,
1961 Das altbabylonische Terrakottarelief (U ntersuchungen zur Assyriologie
1991
und vorderasiatischen Archaologie, 2). Berlin.
1970 Gilgamesh und Enkidu in der Bilder kunst. Hundert Jahre Berliner
Cesellschaftfiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte 2, 286-292.
Seidl, U.,
Opitz, D., 1969
1929 Der Tod des Humbaba. Archiv fiir Orientforschung 5 (1928-29), 207-
213.
1937 Die vogelflissige Gottin auf den Lowen. Archiv fiir Orientforschung II 1989
(1936-37), 350-353.
Otten, H.,
1976 IIIujanka. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Smith, S.,
Archaologie 5 (1976-80), 60-61. 1924
Parrot, A.,
1960 Sumer (The arts of mankind). London. Sotheby's,
Pittman, H., 1975
1987 Ancient art in miniature: Near Eastern sealsfrom the collection of Martin
and Sarah Cherkasky (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). New York. 1991
Porada, E.,
1948 Corpus of ancient Near Eastern seals in North American collection, I: Stein, D.,
The collection of the Pierpont Morgan Library (Bollingen series, 14). 2 1998
vols. Washington DC.
1965 Ancient Iran: the art oj' Pre-Islamic times. London.
Introduction. In: Farkas, Harper & Harrison 1987, 1-11. 1994
1987

148
 Myths in rnesopotamian art

Postgate, J .N.,
1994 Text and figure in ancient Mesopotamia: match and mismatch. In C. Ren-
frew & E.B.W. Zubrow (eds.), The ancient mind: elements of cognitive
archaeology (Cambridge, UK), 176-184.
Pritchard, J.B.,
1969 (ed.) Ancient Near Eastern texts relating to the Old Testament. Princeton.
Rashid, S.A., & Ali-Huri, H.A.,
nd The Akkadian seals of the Iraq Museum [in ArabicJ. (Ministry of Cul-
ture and Information, State Organisation of Antiquities and Heritage).
Baghdad.
Reade, J.E.,
1979 Assyrian architectural decoration: techniques and subject-matter. Bagh-
dader Mitteilungen
Reiner, E.,
1961 The etiological myth of the "Seven Sages". Orienlalia ns 30, I-II.
1987 Magic, figurines, amulets and talismans. In: Farkas, Harper & Harrison
1987, 27-36.
Rittig, D.,
1977 Assyrisch-babylonische Kleinplastik magischer Bedeutung vom 13.-6. Jh.
v. Chr. (Mlinchener Universitats-Schriften Phil. Fachbereich, 12; Mlinch-
ener vorderasiatische Studien, I). Mlinchen.
Roaf, M.,
1990 Cultural atlas of Mesopotamia and the ancient Near East. New York &
Oxford.
Rollig, W.,
1987 Literatur. 4. Oberblick liber die akk. Literatur. Reallexikon der Assyri-
ologie und vorderasiatischen Archdologie 7, 48-66.
Scurlock, I.A.,
1991 Baby-snatching demons, restless souls and the dangers of childbirth:
Medico-magical means of dealing with some of the perils of motherhood
in ancient Mesopotamia. Incognita 2, 137-185.
Seidl, U.,
1969 Gottersymbole und -attribute. A. Archaologisch. I. Mesopotamian. Re-
allexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archdologie 3 (1957-
71), 484-490.
1989 Die babylonischen Kudurru-Reliefs: Symbole mesopotamischer Gottheiten
[Reprint, with added appendix and table, of Baghdader Mitteilungen 4
(1968), 7-220J (Orbis biblicus et orientalis, 87). Fribourg & Gottungen.
Smith, S.,
1924 The face of Humbaba. (Liverpool) Annals of archaeology and anthro-
pology 11, 107-114.
Sotheby's,
1975 A collection of Egyptian seals, scarabs and signet rings ... [and] antiq-
uities ... [Sales catalogue of auction held 21 April 1975]. London.
1991 The Ada Small Moore collection of ancient Near Eastern seals [Sales
catalogue of auction held 12 Dec. 1991J. New York.
Stein, D.,
1998 Mythologische lnhalte der Nuzi-Glyptik. In: V. Haas (hrsg.), Hurriter
und Hurritisch (Xenia: Konstanzer altorientalische Vortrage und Forschun-
gen, 21; Konstanzer altorientali.sche Symposien, II) (Konstanz), 173-209.
1994 Mittelassyrische Kunstperiode [in EnglishJ. Reallexikon der Assyriologie
und vorderasiatischen Archdologie 8, 299-308.

149
 Anthony Green

Steinkeller, P., Fig. 6 Impressi

1992 Early Semitic literature and third millennium seals with mythological in a scer
motifs. In: Literature and literary language at Ebla (Quaderni di semi- of Art, ]I
tistica, 18) (Firenze), 243-275. Fig. 7 Mythica
Thureau-Dangin, F., flight of
1921 Rituel et amulettes contre Labartu. Revue d'assyriologie 18, 161-198. Fig. 8 Impressi
Van Buren, E.D., Etana-ty
1937 A further note on the terra-cotta relief. Archiv fur Orientforschung II Fig. 9 Impressi
(1936-37),354-357. Bull of I
Ward, W.H., 65.1663.
1886 Two Babylonian seal-cylinders. The American journal of archaeology and Gift
[1st ser.] 2, 46-48. Fig. 10 Impressi
Wiggermann, F.A.M., killing 0
1983 Exit talim! Studies in Babylonian demonology, I. laarbericht van het Museum
vooraz.iatisch-egyptisch genootschap ex oriente lux 27 (1981-82), 90- McCall
105. rather th
1992 Mesopotamian protective spirits: the ritual texts (Cuneiform monographs, Fig. 11. Exceptic
I). Groningen. winged I
1994 Mischwesen. A. Philologisch. Mesopotamien [in English]. Reallexikon In prival
der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archaologie 4 (1972-75), 530- widely, '
535. Abb. 1
Wilcke, C. Fig. 367
1975 ljuwawa/Ijumbaba. Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Photo.; I
Archiiologie 4 (1972-75), 530-535. frontispi
Winter, U. Fig. 12 lmpressi
1989 The "Hasanlu Gold Bowl": thirty years later. Expedition 31, 87-106 flanked
Wittmann, B., H.) Moe
1992 Babylonische Rollsiegel des II. - 7. lahrhunderts v. Chr. Baghdader lot 67, v
Mitteilungen 23, 169-289. Fig. 13 Early D:
39 mm.
1981,7:
Figures Fig. 14 Akkadia
heads h:
Fig. 1 Impression from an Akkadian-period serpentine cylinder seal. "Etana" in flight. HI. 38 (Frankfc
mm. British Museum, Western Asiatic Antiquities 129480. Published: Collon 1982, Publishe
No. 151, with references (to which can be added Kinnier Wilson 1985, front cover). opp. p ..
Fig. 2 Impression from a Neo-Babylonian stone cylinder seal. The murder of Humbaba by 1987, 1~
Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Ht. 27.5 mm. Institute Biblique, Universite de Fribourg, 192. Fig. 15 Akkadia
Published here by permission of Professor Othmar Keel. sometim
Fig. 3 Neo-Babylonian(?) baked clay model of animal entrails in the shape of the face of the by perm
demon Huwawa or Humbaba, used in divination. Ht. 80 mm. Allegedly from Sippar. Fig. 16 Akkadia
British Museum, Western Asiatic Antiquities 116624. Published: Smith 1924, PI. XlII; mm. Pul
Parrot 1960, 303, Fig. 370; Jacobsen 1976, PI. opp. p. 195; Oates 1986, 169, Fig. I 18; Fig. 17 Neo-As,
Black & Green 1992, 17,Fig8. entrance
Fig. 4 Old Babylonian baked clay relief plaque. The murder of Humbaba by Gilgamesh unclear I
and Enkidu. Ht. 81 mm. Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, 7246. Published: Lambert Layard
1987, PI. VII:I, with references p. 43, n. 10; also Opificius 1961, Nr 489 (Taf. 13),
with reference pp. 137f.
Fig. 5 Old Babylonian baked clay plaque. The murder of Humbaba in the Cedar Forest.
From Larsa. Ht. 115 mm. After Huot 1989, 164, Fig. I.

150
 Myths in mesopotamian art

Fig. 6 Impression from a Neo-Assyrian chalcedony cylinder seal. Protective spirits arranged
in a scene reminiscent of the murder of Humbaba. Ht. 33 mm. Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York, 1983.314.13. Published: Pittman 1987, No. 72 (and front cover).
Fig. 7 Mythical scenes on the Hasanlu gold bowl, including the murder of Humbaba and
flight of a female "Etana". After Porada 1965, 98f., Figs. 60-61.
Fig. S Impression from a Mitannian composition cylinder seal. The murder of Humbaba and
Etana-type scenes. Ht. 24 mm. From Tell Billa. After Matthews 1991,41, No. 43.
Fig. 9 Impression from a Neo-Babylonian grey chalcedony cylinder seal. The killing of the
Bull of Heaven by Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Ht. 35 mm. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
65.1663. Published here by permission of the Museum. (William Francis Warden Fund
and Gift of Mrs Oric Bates, Mrs F. Camington Weems and Horace L. Mayer.)
Fig. 10 Impression from a Neo-Assyrian (or Neo-Babylonian) chalcedony cylinder seal. The
killing of the Bull of Heaven, while Ishtar attempts to intervene. Ht. 28 mm. British
Museum, Western Asiatic Antiquities 89435. Published: Collon 1987, 180, Fig. 858;
McCall 1990, Fig. p. 44; Black & Green 1992, 49, Fig. 41. For this seal as Assyrian
rather than Babylonian, cf. Wittmann 1992, 20 I, no. 174.
Fig. 11. Exceptionally large Old Babylonian baked clay plaque in high relief, portraying a
winged naked goddess with lions and owls (Ishtar in the Underworld ?). Ht. 490 mm.
In private possession, named after a former owner "The Burney Relief'. Published
widely, e.g.: Cook 1940, PI. LXI (opp. p. 832); Davis 1936, 1047; Opitz 1937,351,
Abb. I [at that time doubting the authencity]; Frankfort 1939a, 130; Parrot 1960,
Fig. 367a, p. 300; Frankfort 1970, Ill, Fig. 119; Sotheby's 1975, 60.f, lot 243, with
Photo.; Burney 1977, frontispiece; Jacobsen 1987, frontispiece; Black & Green 1992,
frontispiece.
Fig. 12 Impression from a Neo-Assyrian serpentine cylinder seal. Nude winged goddess (lsthar?)
flanked by fish-apka/Ui. Ht. 30 mm. Former collection of Ada Small (Mrs William
H.) Moore. Photograph courtesy of Sotheby's, New York. Published: Sotheby's 1991,
lot 67, with references.
Fig. 13 Early Dynastic III engraved shell plaque. Ninurta slays the seven-headed dragon. Ht.
39 mm. Bible Lands Museum, Jerusalem. Published: Madeline Noveck in Muscarella
1981, 75f., No. 28, with Fig.; Hansen 1987, PI. XVI:29.
Fig. 14 Akkadian-period stone cylinder seal. Two gods slay a seven-headed dragon; "Four
heads hang already limp in death, while three are still raised to strike in defence"
(Frankfort 1934, 8). Ht. 32 mm. From Tell Asmar. Iraq Museum, Baghdad, 15618.
Published: Frankfort 1934, PI. l(a); Frankfort 1939b, PI. XXIIIj; Gordon 1941, PI.
opp. p. 124, seal 14; Frankfort 1955, No. 478; Rashid & AIi-Huri nd, No. 26; Collon
1987, 179, No. 840.
Fig. 15 Akkadian-period serpentine cylinder seal. A bird-man is brought before the Water-god
sometimes interpreted as the judgement of AnzQ before Ea. Ht. 38 mm. Published here
by permission of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 62.234.2.
Fig. 16 Akkadian-period cylinder seal. A lion-demon is brought before the Sun-god. Ht. c. 35
mm. Published: Green 1986, no. 5, with references.
Fig. 17 Neo-Assyrian (ninth-century BC) carved limestone relief slab from one side of the
entrance to the Temple of Ninurta at Nimrud. The original, extensively burnt and
unclear in photographs, is in the British Museum (Westerm Asiatic Antiquities). After
Layard 1853, PI. 5.

151
 Anthony Green

Fig. 18 Copper or bronze pendant head of the god Pazuzu, probably of the type prescribed
to be worn by women in childbirth as a protection against the ravishes of Lamashtu.
Ht. 27 mm. British Museum Western Asiatic Antiquities 118641. Published here by
permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.
Fig. 19 Brownish-grey stone pendant plaque, pierced for suspension and probably used as an
amulet. Engraved with images of, on one face, the goddess Lamashtu standing on a
snake (possibly doubling as the ripples of the underworld river) and surrounded by a
dog, scorpion and a pair divine symbols on a podium; on the other face a scorpion,
dog (or donkey?) and snake. Ht. 42 mm. Ashmolean Museum Oxford 1968.1291.
Published here by permission of the Visitors of the Ashmolean Museum.
Fig. 20 Detail form a Neo-Babylonian cast copper or bronze plaque, probably used as an
amulet. The evil goddess Lamashtu flees along the river of the underworld, pursued
by Pazuzu and tempted by various offerings. Ht. of bottom register 65 mm. Musee du
Louvre Antiquites Orientales 22205. Published: Green 1986, No. 115, with attempted
exhaustive reference to previous publication, to which can be added: Bentzen, Holm
& Se 1949, Fig. right; Porada 1987, PI. IV [excellent photograph]; Roaf 1990,76,
colour Fig. bottom right; Black & Green 1992, 181, Fig. IS I; Green 1996b, Fig. Fig. 5
Fig. 21 Magically protective guardian figures on a Neo-Assyrian palace relief (from Nineveh)
and as figurines of sun-dried clay (from Nineveh, Nimrud and Kish). After Green
1984, 98, Fig. 4.
Fig. 22 Marduk fights the monstrous army of Tiamat. 'Reconstruction' of a scene from the
Babylonian Epic of Creation. Drawn by Tessa Rickards.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

152
 Myths in mesopotamian art

Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Fig. 7
(
 Anthony Green

Fig. 8 Fig. 9

Fig. 12

Fig. 10

Fig. 14

Fig. 11

154
Fig. 12 Fig. 13

Fig. 16
 Anthony Green

Fig. 17

Fig. 19

Fig. 18

156
 Myths in mesopotamian art

Fig. 19 Fig. 19

Fig. 20

r
 Anthony Green

The author mi
Mesopotamian
finitesimal pen
"Sumerian" We
how are we to :
Be that as it m,
-tt. PrO(<<tivc figurei: Ihe "I!uu~c God", "c,rcat L,on" tnt! [he "lhilY One", the ages, was
are dedicated t
Holiness of the
The "tempi
forty years ago
range of meani
One had to kn
single - large
"low temple". ,
U6- n i r,4 we sti

it referred. "H(
room. In other
our modern ter
Fig. 21
A survey of

* The text is esse

and footnotes. An
March 24, 1994.
I am gratefu I to

1 While it is mor
substrata and/or al
far been develope,
attribution of SUIT
language substrata
[1974J, 9-11), larg
second millenniuIT
by A. Salonen in t
(1969), Ziegeleien
times ("7000-S60C
2 George 1993 I~
which compare, e.:
to the nominal con
3 Journal of Worh
Ur to the First Oy
Near East 2/4 (19S
4 CAD Z, 129.
Fig. 22
158
 THE NAMES OF THE SUMERIAN TEMPLES*

Dietz Otto Edzard

The author might as well have chosen as his topic "The Sumerian Names of the
Mesopotamian Temples", because the names are in fact all Sumerian - with an in-
finitesimal percentage of Akkadian exceptions. I should stress, however, that under
"Sumerian" we also include such names that may have a pre-Sumerian origin. But
how are we to state with full confidence what is Sumerian and what is pre-Sumerian?'
Be that as it may, Babylon never was a Sumerian city; yet its main sanctuary, through
the ages, was e - sag - f I, "the House that raises the Head".2 The following lines
are dedicated to the memory of Thorkild Jacobsen who described and defined "the
Holiness of the Sumerian Temple".
The "temple" was a "house" both in Sumerian and in Akkadian. This was stressed
forty years ago by Fritz Rudolf Kraus.3 Since, however, both e and bftu have a wide
range of meanings, it is not clear at first what was meant by "house" in a given name.
One had to know. The "house" may stand for an entire sacred complex, or for a
single - large or small - building. It may be used for a ziqqurrat as well as for a
"low temple". Although we know that the special Sumerian word for the ziqqurat was
U6- n i r,4 we still cannot deduce from a given temple name to what kind of structure

it referred. "House" could, finally, also designate a part of a temple, even a single
room. In other words, e or bftu do not imply any degree of dimension as do some of
our modern terms such as "dome" or "cathedral".
A survey of Sumerian temple names which means - I repeat here - of Mesopota-

* The text is essentially that presented on April 6, 1994, with some changes in style, a few additions,
and footnotes. An earlier version has been presented at the RIM Project of the University of Toronto, on
March 24, 1994.
I am grateful to Dr. Suzanne Herbordt for kindly correcting my English.

I While it is more than probable that there have been non-Sumerian (and non-Semitic, non-Elamite)
substrata and/or ad strata in Lower Mesopotamia and the Gulf Region, no convincing method has so
far been developed to identify words as belonging to a substratum or an adstratum. B. Landsberger's
attribution of Sumerian words to what he proposed to name "Proto-Euphratic" and "Proto- Tigridian"
language substrata (1944; see the translation by M. de J. Ellis, Monographs on Ihe Ancienl Near Easl 1/2
[1974], 9-11), largely rests on ideas of "genuine Sumerian" word and syllabic structure (as presented by
second millennium B.C. and later lexical glosses). Landsberger's theories have been further developed
by A. Salonen in the introductory chapters of Hallsgerdle II (1966), Agricullura (1968), Fussbekleidung
(1969), Ziegeleien (1972), Vogel (1973), Jagd (1976). Salonen's reconstructions reaching back to Neolithic
times ("7000-5600", Ziegeleien, p. 9) have not found much support.
2 George 1993 139:967, translated "House whose Top is High". In the author's opinion, sag-fl (for
which compare, e.g., in - n i n - sag - f I "Lady raising the head" A.. Sjoberg, ZA 65 1975, 178: 15) belongs
LO the nominal compound of the dub - sa r pattern; see Edzard, ZA 62 (1972), 5-6.
3 Joumal of World HisIOI'Y I (1953/54),518(-545), 'The Role of the Temple from the Third Dynasty of
Ur to the First Dynasty of Babylon"; English translation by B.R. Foster in Monographs (){Ihe Ancienl
Near Easl 2/4 (1990), 1(-20).
4 CAD Z, 129.

159
 Dietz Otto Edzard

mian temple names as such, can now fortunately be based on two recent excellent How would \
books, both by Andrew George, from 1992 and 1993 respectively: Babylonian To- (or being) Wi
pographical Texts and, still more to the point of our topic, House Most High. The unmarked (*e
latter contains an invaluable "Gazetteer" with over 1400 entries of Temple Names. 4, a (syntactic
It is true that quite a few names occurred more than once, i.e., in different parts of e-gestu-ka
Mesopotamia. But even if we reduce the "Gazetteer" to the individual names, we are Land", cf. Gel
still left with a figure between 1200 and 1300. Any of th
Discussing these names means to understand, to translate them, and that implies apposition, or
correct analysis of the syntax underlying these names. Temple names prove to be in element follO\
no way different from other proper names, e.g., the names of persons or of gods. "House raisinl
We may generally classify Sumerian temple names into four categories or syntactical compare the r:
types: being the (big
I) The TN contains a qualifying adjective: e - m a b "Huge, or Greatest House", of Assur. The
e-bar6-bar6 (e-babbar) "Shining, or White House".s simplye-kul
2) The TN contains an appositional or predicative element: e - k u r "House, Moun- (-gal)-kur-
tain", i.e., "House that is a Mountain"; e - u b - i min "House, seven Corners, or nia and inferic
Niches", i.e., "House having seven corners (or: niches)" - maybe some kind of I do not in
Heptagon, but this is already a doubtful case. be. Let us tur
3) The TN represents a genitival compound, e being the nomen regens, followed by vocabulary us(
a nomen rectum in the genitive: e - eng u r - r a "House of the Subterranean Sea". and exterior, 0
4) There are many TN which look incomplete, or abridged; as such they remind us of certainly not e
certain Sumerian personal names, e.g., Lug a 1- gig i r - r e "The king, on the chariot", It is not b
meaning in its full form ''The king [mounted] on the chariot", i.e., on the occasion name e - b a [6'
of war or as a ceremonial act. As for TN, we may compare e - a n - g i m "House, Here, there sel
like Heaven". Something is missing and has to be supplied, e.g., e - a n - g i m - k u - g a from the lumir
"House, bright as Heaven". We should not underrate the number of such incomplete The e- m ab v
names. Whenever we become aware that with our translation we are forcing our was Nin-ma
Sumerian syntax, we should bear in mind the possibility of an abbreviated name. So, together, as thl
e - g U4- d Ur s a r does not necessarily mean "House of numerous perfect oxen" (with temple in the v
the genitive left unmarked at least in spelling because we would expect *e - g U4- d Ur literally.
sa r - r a). The expression g U4- d Ur S a r may as well be an object, standing in the There can
unmarked case (casus absolutus), i.e., the object of a verb which has been omitted: of its owner. 1
"House that ... s perfect oxen".6 "House which
I might still add a fifth category, but it is no real and legitimate one: all those tremely huge,
names which we, or at least I, do not yet understand. and being visib
It is not always easy to decide to which of our four syntactical categories we are to and actually tt
attribute an individual TN. Enough space is left for discussion and learned disputation. attested in the
5 There is so far no detailed study of Sumerian adjectives; k u (-( g) is one of the most difficult to translate. is the Great M
[t may denote the opposite of g i6 "black", i.e., "white", "bright", "shining"; in the abstract, "holy" or hardly so by d
"sacred" is much favoured by Sumerologists; k [I (- g) said of a "basket" (dusu in Gudea, Cyl. A v 5; xviii name of his sa
23) most probably means "brand-new"; in the Gudea Cylinders A and B, k u (- g) qualifies 21 different
substantives and proper names. E-an-na
6 Ningirsu's e -n i nnu is problematic, as regards its interpretation. A. Falkenstein, Die Inschrifien Cudeas
von Laga" [ (= AnDr. 30, 1966), 116 f., showed that it is no genitive compound, and he supposed that
7 g a I is added un
"House, fifty" was an abbreviation for "House (owning) the fifty (Me)"; cf. Edzard, "Haus der fUnfzig
Mountain of the L
(Me)" in Worlerbuch der Mythologie III (1962), II I. The basic form would, then, be *e -m e - n i nnu.
the Great Mountai
George (1993), no. 897 refers the numeral to the "White anzu birds"; but there is no other attestation for
8 "A" stands for [
such a high number of these birds.
recommend the kil

160
 The names of the sumerian temples

How would we interpret Enki's e-gestu: "House, Wisdom", i.e., "House having
(or being) Wisdom"? (type no. 2). Or rather "House of Wisdom" with the genitive
unmarked (*e-gestu-ga) (type no. 3). Or do we, finally, have to assume type no.
4, a (syntactical) abbreviation? e - g est u would, then, stand short for something like
e - g est u - k a Iam - m a - sum - m u "House which dispenses Wisdom in, or for, the
Land", cf. George (1993) 97:357.
Any of the first three syntactical types - "House" with an adjective, with an
apposition, or with a noun added in the genitive - may be extended insofar as the
element following e may get more complex. For type no. I we may offer e - sag - f I
"House raising the head" where the "adjective" consists of two words. For type no. 2
compare the rather monstrous compound e - bur - sag ( - g a I)-k u r - k u r - r a "House
being the (big) mountain range of all the lands".7 It was Assur's sanctuary at the city
of Assur. The god had become the "Assyrian Enlil". Enlil's sanctuary at Nippur was
simply e-kur "House which is a (or: the) Mountain". In my opinion, e-bur-sag
( - g a I) -k u r - k u r - r a is a splendid example for that Assyrian mixture of megaloma-
nia and inferiority complex, as regards Babylonia.
I do not intend to indulge further in Sumerian syntax, however important that may
be. Let us turn to meaning on a different - deeper, or higher - level. Does the
vocabulary used for a TN convey an idea about the sanctuary itself - its appearance
and exterior, or its dimensions or functions, or about its owner - although, of course,
certainly not everything at the same time.
It is not by chance that the temple of the Sun god, Utu (or Samas), bore the
name e-bar6-bar6 (or e-babbar) "Shining, Bright, or Light, or White House".
Here, there seems to be a very obvious reason for, and explanation of, a TN. Apart
from the luminary effect, however, we learn nothing more special about Utu's temple.
The e - m a b was the main sanctuary of the Mother Goddess, one of whose names
was N i n - m a b "Greatest Lady". "Greatest House" and "Greatest Lady" fit neatly
together, as the names go. But the e - m a b did not, of course, have to be the biggest
temple in the whole Land. We are not allowed, apparently, to always take such names
literally.
There can be more subtle relations between the name of a temple and the name
of its owner. The main sanctuary of Nippur, Sumer's cultic metropolis, was e - k u r
"House which is a Mountain". This, certainly, at first was meant to refer to an ex-
tremely huge architectural construction, one of enourmous dimensions, raising high
and being visible from afar. We should not forget, however, that one of Enlil's epithets,
and actually the oldest one known to us, was k u r - g a I "the Great Mountain", first
attested in the name of an early ruler of Lagas, A y a - k u r - g a I "the Father (=Enlil)
is the Great Mountain".8 We have e - k u rand k u r - g a I side by side, and that was
hardly so by chance. But we are unable to tell which came first, Enlil's epithet or the
name of his sanctuary.
E- a n - n a "House of the Above" or "House of Heaven" was the temple of An

7 g a I is added under Sargon II only. While George (1993) assumes an appositional compound. "House,
Mountain of the Lands" under no. 486, he takes it to be a genitive compound under no. 479: "House of
the Great Mountain of the Lands"; this can hardly be justified.
8 "A" stands for [a y] and [a y a], spelled a - a in post-Ur III orthography. It is probably too late now to
recommend the king's name to be read as Ayakurgal instead of its traditional reading "Akurgal".

161
 Dietz Otto Edzard

and Inanna at Uruk. Now, while "House of An (being Heaven)" or simply "House of an interpretive
Heaven" would be a title of property or a compound describing that the sanctuary was example is e - (
linked to a given realm, the relation is slightly more subtle with Inanna. She was, by tuary of IStarar
the etymology of her name, the "Lady of Heaven" (*N i n - a n - a k), and so her house The TN ca
was the "House of Heaven", yielding an exact parallel to N i n - m a band e - m a b9 a b z u and e - e
Many temple names insist on dimension, brightness, or awe and splendor without sanctuary. The]
special - or easily detectable - relation to their owners. In A. George's lexical also of IStar at
index 10k u or k u - g a "bright" occurs 72 times. It is followed by m a b "huge, great, The TN ma
greatest" (68 times), g a I "big" (55 times), an - n a "of above of heaven" (51 times), m a "House, ju
and k a I a m "the Land (as such)", "Land Sumer" (45 times). Expressions for awe, of justice; it ii
terror, wildness and related terms occur, if I counted correctly, 28 times; here I have Ri ver of the L
in mind n i, s u - lim, s u - z i, bus, and comparable vocabulary items. g i4 "House gi\
Let me give a few examples; for the rest, one has to consult George's "Gazetteer" "House giving
with its incredible wealth of information. e - a mas - k u "House, a bright sheepfold" Let us also
was Inanna's temple at Kissig. k u ( - g) is a difficult adjective whose exact range of .whose shade is
meanings has not yet been explored. I I e - g a 1- m a b "Huge Palace" was Nin-Insina's and luxury: e
(Gula's) temple at Issin.12 It goes without saying that the large size or greatness of a an epithet of j
"Big House" (e - g a I) could only be rendered by m a b or - alternatively - g u -I a.13 Luxuriance" m
e - k i - t us - g a I - a n - n a "House, great abode of Heaven" was a temple at Kis. e - ir e-bi-li-kal,
I U - r u - g u - k a I am - m a "House, Ordeal River of the Land,,14 was a Ningal shrine Luxuriance", e
at Ur. Furthermore, there are e - me -I i ms- b u SiS "House having an aweful radiance"
(Nuska at Nippur), e - t em e n - n i - g LI r - r u "House, awe-inspiring foundation",16 the It looks as
Ziqqurat terrace of the Moongod Nanna at Ur, or an unlocalized IStar temple by the vi vid as the cr
name e - n f - g a 1- s u -I i m - g u r - r u "House bearing great awe (and) radiance". fication of Sun
Let these examples suffice. There are, of course, many more aspects to be found quite a few nar
in temple names. Often, reference is made to structure and dimension, especially to e-kis-nu-g~
the enormous height of a temple: e - k u n4- a n - k u - g a "House, staircase of bright probably was ]
Heaven" (the Ziqqurrat of the Sun god at Sippar), e - g i6- par - i min - b i "House, etymological sl
(consisting of) seven priestly shrines"l7 (the name of Inanna's Ziqqurat at Uruk) - "alabaster". In
to be imagined one on top of the other? of the god of ~
The TN can reveal the cosmic function of the bui Iding: e - d u r - a n - k i "House, g a I and youn)
bond of Heaven and Earth", an - k i being translated literally. But one might prefer inventory of cl
to understand (
9 Ever since 1957 (ZA 52, 108 fn. 32), the late Th. Jacobsen proposed translating the name of' the goddess sense for us.
as "lady of the date clusters". What was I
10 George (1993), 186-190.
meaning of t i .
II See above, n. 5.
12 Traditionally spelled "lsin" by modern scholars. e-su-me-s~
13 See George (1993) no. 314 for e-gal-gu-Ia, Enzak's sanctuary on Failaka. be natural if p
14 George (1993) no. 509, "Hollse of the River Ordeal of the Land", assumes a compound with two
genitives; but there is only one such postposition. Note, however, fn. 24 below.
IS While we will never recover the exact vowel quality contained in the second syllable of me-I v m, the 18 Note that there'
older Akkadian loanword melimmu advocates -I i ms instead of -I a m. See also J. Bauer, Allorienlalische RGTe 3 (1980), 2,
NOliz 42 (1987), "Zu NE = I i9". 19 For the reading
16 In RA (1986), 31-64, S. Dunham tried to elucidate the meanings of temen, the original one being, mOSI (1991, = Festschri
probably, "an area marked off the ground by a set of pegs attached by cords" (p. 63). She also refers to 20 [g], whatever i1
the earliest form of the TE, "which looks like a ~tring stretched between the two pegs" (ibid., n. 134). phoneme. The mo:
temen, then, could also refer to "the points (pegs) marking the corner of' this area", to "peg deposits" = in MB texts (of M
"foundation deposits", and, finally, also to the "foundation" as such. signs containing [1
17 Literally, "House, its seven priestly shrines". 21 Note that t i - rc
 The names of the sumerian temples

an interpretive translation: "Universe"; it is Marduk's Ziqqurrat at Babylon. Another

example is e - dim - g a 1- k a I a m - m a "House, mooring pole of the Land", the sanc-
tuary of IStaran at Der, of a god who had to do with justice.
The TN can then be in relation with a locality, whether secular or mythical: e-
abzu and e-engur-ra "House of the Subterranean Waters" are names for Enki's
sanctuary. There is an e - e den ( - n a) "House (of) the Steppe" at Girsu or Lagas, but
also of IStar at Sippar.ls
The TN may have to do with notions of ethics or knowledge: e - d i - k Us- k a I am-
m a "House, judge of the Land" belongs, as one would expect, to the Sun god, god
of justice; it is located at Babylon. We have already mentioned a "House, Ordeal
River of the Land" (Ningal's at Ur). There is also counsel and wisdom: e-ad-gi4-
g i4 "House giving advice" (occurring with several different deities) or e - g a I g a - s 1:1
"House giving extensive counsel", owned by Bau at Girsu and at Kis.
Let us also note the protective aspect of a temple: e - g iss u - b i - d UIO-g a "House
whose shade is good", belonging to the Moon god; names expressing beauty, wealth,
and luxury: e - h e - g a 1- k a I am - m a "House, Abundance of the Land", which is
an epithet of An - t a - sur - r a in an inscription of Irikagina; 19 e - b i-I i "House of
Luxuriance" may be an abbreviated name, compare e - b i -I i-a n - n a " ... of Heaven",
e - b i -I i - k a I am - m a " ... of the Land", e -b i -I i - d i r i - g a "House of exceeding
Luxuriance", e -b i -I i - kll -g a " ... of pure ... ", e -b i -I i - s i gs- g a " ... of beautiful
"
It looks as if the imagination used for creating the names of sanctuaries was as
vivid as the creativity for personal names. When I proposed my syntactical classi-
fication of Sumerian TN's, I noted that we are left - or at least I am left - with
quite a few names whose meaning escapes us. Here are a few examples: The famous
e - k i s - n u - g a I of Nanna at Ur has not yet found a plausible explanation. The name
probably was no longer understood at the end of the Old Babylonian period when
etymological speculation replaced older - k i s - n u - g a I by - g i s - n u / nUll (SIR)- g a II
"alabaster". In fact, the "Alabaster House" would make perfect sense for the sanctuary
of the god of glistening light. However, older k i s and younger g i s as well as older
g a I and younger g a I are absolutely not interchangeable, as regards the phoneme
inventory of classical Sumerian,20 so that the later form of the name cannot help us
to understand original - k is - n u - g a I, as "House which is not Kis" would not make
sense for us.
What was the meaning of b a - gar (Ningirsu's temple at Lagas)? What was the
meaning of ti-ra-as at Girsu,21 if it was a sanctuary at all? What about Ninurta's
e - s u - me - s ~ at Nippur? We might easily go on with such questions. It would only
be natural if part of the sacred onomasticon had extremely early roots and that the

IS Note that there was a part of Sippar called Sippar-EDEN.NA, "Sippar-of-the-Steppe"; see B. Groneberg,
RGTe 3 (1980), 209.
19 For the reading Irikagina (instead of traditional "Urukagina" or "Uruinimgina") see Edzard, Au/aOr. 9
(1991, = Festschrift M. Civil) 77-79.
20 [g], whatever its exact pronunciation, has long been established as a separate Sumerian consonantal
phoneme. The most extensive treatment is by J. Krecher, Feslschri/i L. Malou.~ II (1978) 7-73. II is only
in MB texts (of Mesopotamia and the 'periphery') that syllables containing [gl are glossed with syllabic
signs containing [g] or [k].
21 Note that t i - r a - as, according to pre-Sargonic spelling rules. has three syllables: [tiraas].

163
 Dietz Otto Edzard

Sumerian of it was already highly archaic towards the end of the third millennium and translates
B.C. If, we have to add, it was all genuine Sumerian and not perhaps some language there could be
superseded by Sumerian. On the other hand, we should be warned against making use The same hold
of pre-Sumerian as a paltry excuse for our ignorance. rIm miitiitim "]
At any rate, Sumerian temple names were, generally speaking, part of the Sumerian Erisum of
language - and not only of the language of the clergy, of the hymns, prayers, or royal Bull"; here, at
inscriptions. They were firmly rooted in the colloquial. Because in exactly the way that this tempi
as parents recurred to divine names for the names of their children, they also made (see above). Ir
use of TN's as onomastic elements. Henri Limet, in his Anthroponymie sumerienne mtitiltim.
of 1968 devoted a chapter to Ur III personal names where both the "House" as such These excef
and individual TN's occur as quasi theophoric name elements. Among the hundreds ancient Mesop
of Sumerian Ur-names22 we are not astonished to find men called U r - e - n inn u one of the fore
"Man of the House Fifty"23, or U r - e - b a r6- b a r6 "Man of the Shining House", or a than, e.g., the,
woman Gem e - e - a n - n a "Woman of the House of Heaven".24 As an example for it is at least as
the "House" alone we may note E - e - k i-a g "He who loves the House" (Or: "He is still much n
whom the House loves"). We may compare Akkadian proper names containing a TN, here was but a
e.g., Ebabbara-liimur "Let me see the Ebabbara". These names have been collected
in Stamm 1939, p. 85.
How did a TN come into being? They are quoted as a matter of fact in the royal
inscriptions when a ruler asserts he built, or built and restored, i.e., re-built a temple.
There are no written attestations, to the best of my knowledge, of the very creation
of a TN. Therefore, it is difficult to establish whether, and to what possible extent, a
TN might have represented a political programme. It is possible that the bombastic
Assyrian TN e - bur - sag ( - g a I) - k u r - k u r - r a "House, (great) mountain range of
all the lands" was such a programme - I hinted to it earlier in this paper (see
p. 161). But when turning again to much earlier centuries, it strikes us that so many
TN's contain the element kalam "Land", or "Land Sumer" - kalam, as we remember,
ranges fifth in the frequency count of the vocabulary elements (occurring 45 times).
It seems to me that kalam intended to stress the unity of the country. Are we allowed
to compare that - mostly nostalgic - craving for unity which we detect in some
Old Babylonian omen apodoses where it is said that "a king of the universe" - sar
kissatim - will arise?25
It is not easy to find genuinely Akkadian temple names. res, the "Head", in
Uruk is a very late example.26 Mari and Old Assyrian rulers occasionally translated a
Sumerian TN; but it is not sure whether the Akkadian form of the name actually was
in everyday usage. When Jabdun-Lim of Mari spells in syllabic Sumerian the name
of the temple he built for Samas, e - g i - i r - z a -I a - a n - k i (= *e - g i rw z a I - a n - k i),

22 See H. Limel, Anlhroponymie SLll1l1irienne (1968), 535-564.

23 Limet ibid. 543. For u r = "man", cf. J. Krecher, WO 18 (1887) 7-19, esp. 13-14.
24 Limet ibid. 415; one would expect *Geme-e-an-na-ka; cf. Lu-e-AN-ka, lIT 2 no. 736 as
compared with L u - e - a n - n a, G.A. Barton, HLC II no. 21 ii ult. The nominal syntax of Sumerian proper
names needs discussion: were there special rules - or options? - of morphological simplification? Or
do we have to consider all cases of defective notation of morphological elements as cases of spelling 27 See D.R. Frayn
only? 28 A.K. Grayson,
25 See, e.g., RA 38, 83: 17, and CAD K, 458 I a. 29 Grayson, RIMA
26 Cf. George (1993) no. 940. Ultimately, res could of course be a translation of Sumerian (e - ) sag; cf. George's entry (I (
George (1993) nos. 952-954. name including "1-

164
 The names of the sumerian temples

and translates it as E tasllat same u er!fetim "House, splendor of Heaven and Earth",
there could be no better proof for the genuine name to be Sumerian and nothing else_27
The same holds for SamsT-Adad's Enlil temple e - a m - k u r - k u r - r a, translated as E
rfm matatim "House, Wild Bull of the Lands".28
Erisum of Assur built a temple for the god Assur by the name of rfmum "Wild
Bull"; here, at least, there seems to be a TN unmistakably Akkadian.29 George assumes
that this temple was identical with SamsT-Adad's Enlil temple e - a m - k u r - k u r - r a
(see above). In that case, rfmum might be considered as an abbreviation for (E) rIm
matatim.
These exceptions, extremely rare as they are, rather serve to confirm the rule that
ancient Mesopotamian temple names were Sumerian. This fact may be considered as
one of the foremost symptoms of Sumerian cultural vigor and heritage, much more so
than, e.g., the composition of 'late' Sumerian royal inscriptions, hymns, and prayers;
it is at least as impressive as the heritage of the Sumerian sexagesimal system. There
is still much research to be done on Sumerian temple names. What I have presented
here was but a first tentative step.

27 See D.R. Frayne, RIME 4 (1990), 607:105-107.

28 A.K. Grayson, RIMA I (1987), 49:52-53.
29 Grayson, RIMA I, 20: 16: betum rfmulI1 sumsu "the House is called 'the Wild Bull' "; also 32 ii 11-13.
George's entry (1993) no. 941 betulII rfmUlI1 "House, Wild Ox" creates the impression that there was a
name including "House" which is, however, not the case.

165
 'THE HOLY DRUM, THE SPEAR, AND THE HARP'
TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING
OF THE PROBLEMS OF DEIFICATION
IN THIRD MILLENNIUM MESOPOTAMIA I *

Gebhard J. Selz

ABSTRACT

The problem of the deification of "cultic objects" in third millennium Mesopotamia

is puzzling.
This paper intends to demonstrate that images and objects alike could be under-
stood as representations of 'divine powers' and therefore could be treated as inde-
pendent entities. Each of these entities fulfilled its own special function and as such
was part of the concept of the 'divine'. These functions stand for specific religious
ideas and, as their representations, these entities could become objects of an inde-
pendent cult. No distinctive feature could be found that functionally separates the
divine images proper from "cultic objects", including the statues of the ruling elite.
They both seem to vary only in their degree of religious importance, not in their
conceptualization.

For the customs of the peoples are vanity: for one cutteth a tree out of the
forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with
silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move
not. They are like scarecrows in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not: they
must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they
cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

Jer. 10:3-5.2

INTRODUCTION

[I] This Biblical quotation recalls a highly important article by the late Thorkild
Jacobsen entitled "The Graven Image" (1987b). To pay homage to this eminent scholar
who contributed so much to our understanding of Sumerian religious concepts, the
organizers of the conference in which. this paper was read chose the well-considered

* For technical reasons endnotes instead of footnotes have been used.

167
 Gebhard 1. Selz

title "Sumerian Gods and their Representations". This paper focuses on a more modest sense at all in
subject, the question of the deification of "cultic objects". between divine
which divine p
[2] Accordingly, the aim of this paper is in no way to present a complete account of of deity sprea(
the problem of deification in third millennium Mesopotamia. By consulting philolog- to note that 0
ical and archaeological data3 with possible information on our topic, I merely want to symbols remai
raise some old and new questions as well as point towards a satisfactory interpretation
of the facts described below. 2.2 Funeral
tohistor
[3] What is a "cui tic object"? The term is ambiguous: It can designate an object
that is worshipped, but it can also refer to any object or item playing a role in a 2.2.1 The Ur
given religious ceremony.4 One might suppose that both functions were connected: [7] Let us sl
an object used iOna cultic context would become 'holy' thereby.s In the course of our unearthed in th
argument we will have to return to this definition repeatedly. vessels21 of dif
ornamental we
[4] References to such holy objects are found throughout Sumerian textual sources, 10cm length, a
as was already noted at the beginning of this century. Appellatives occurring in reli-
gious contexts are, by the use of the DIGIR-sign, classified as belonging to the divine [8] From the
sphere.6 with (parts of)
this temple wh
[5] While we discuss divine objects, let us not forget that one of the theologi- when the servi
cal pillars of Mesopotamian religion was the concept of anthropomorphic deities, as religious belief
demonstrated by the indisputable existence of cult statues 7 already in the middle of the use of the
the third millennium.s Of course, one cannot exclude other possibilities of imagening at the end of t
the 'divine'. Our research centers around the question, if and how these anthropo- attention to a r
morphic deities are related to the "cultic objects" mentioned above. In other words, Goddess Inana
can we detect features shared by both types of deification? At this point one must Venus already
also mention the cultic veneration of statues of (living) members of the ruling class,9
attested during this period in the state of Lagas.IO This idolatry seems to have no [9] From NO!
immediate and obvious connection to ancestor worship. II Nevertheless, the cult of pIe" at Tell Brl
these statues and the cult of the deceased may eventually have led to the deification periods and re
of the living king but this is beyond the scope of this paper. eyes were four
among other fil
Mallowan tent;
2 THE OUTSET: PROTOHISTORY to the slightly
discussion of t~
2.1 The term "cLlltic objects" famous "Lady

[6] As we have stated, holy objects are amply attested in Sumerian textual sources. 2.2.2 From Je
Older secondary literature offers very different explanations: As early as 1913, Th. [10] For the.
Paffrath proposed to see in what he called 'deification of objects' a relatively late de- the interpretati(
velopment within the Sumerian pantheon.12 In contrast to this opinion, B. Landsberger new edition of
understood these objects as surviving successors of "totem-like objects worshipped in administration"
the Jamdat Na~r period". 13 Similar views c.an be found in Th. Jacobsen's famous 1967 records into lar
article on "Some Sumerian City-Names",I-l even if he voiced them more cautiously.
Nevertheless, in 1947 N. Schneider, following true Bible traditions, could not see any

168
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

sense at all in such deificationsY Most recently W.G. Lambert sensibly distinguished
between divine symbols on the one side, representing gods in the many instances "for
which divine presence was needed",16 and the "accoutrements" to which "the concept
of deity spread from the god himself" on the other.17 However, it seems necessary
to note that often a differentiation between such "cultic objects" and mere divine
symbols remains problematic. IS

2.2 Funeral context of musical instruments and other cultic accoutrements in pro-
tohistoric times.

2.2.1 The Uruk periods.

[7] Let us start with some archaeological finds, namely the archaic implements
unearthed in the so-called "Riemchengebaude" in E'ana.19 Among the findings20 were
21
vessels of different sizes of clay or stone, parts of seating-chests with mosaic inlays,22
ornamental weapons of gold and silver,23 among them a very fine "spear-head" of
IOcm length, and a large number of archaic obsidian blades.24

[8] From the archaeological context, the excavators suggested that we are confronted
with (parts of) the inventory of the "Steinstifttempel", that is the "cultic objects" of
this temple which were ceremonially "buried" in the "Riemchengebaude" at the time
when the service in the "Steinstifttempel" had come to an end.25 For the underlying
religious beliefs, philology is of little help. However, I would like to note here that
the use of the divine determinative DIGlR as a marker of divinity is already attested
at the end of this period (Uruk IVa). Further, in this context I would like to draw
attention to a recently published article by K. Szarzynska entitled "Offerings for the
Goddess Inana in Archaic Uruk" postulating that Inana was identified with the planet
Venus already in the Uruk IV-III periods.26

[9] From Northern Mesopotamia, strictly speaking the Upper lazTra, the "Eye Tem-
ple" at Tell Brak should be mentioned here. In this temple, founded during the Uruk
periods and repeatedly rebuilt, a great number of idols with the eponymous large
eyes were found, known as "eye-idols" and "spectacle-idols". Within these temples,
among other findings, the heads of three stone-statues were discovered, which M.E.L.
Mallowan tentatively identified as early representations of deities,27 perhaps dating
to the slightly younger lamdat Na~r-period.28 In the current study I leave aside any
discussion of the roughly comparable human-shaped sculpture from Uruk, such as the
famous "Lady of Warka".29

2.2.2 From Jamdat Na~r to the Early Dynastic periods.

[10] For the subsequent period, named after the eponymous site "lamdat Na~r",30
the interpretation of the written documents remains as yet unsolved. The authors of a
new edition of the texts from this site put some stress on the evidence for a "central
administration" and, in matters of archaic book-keeping, on the "compilation of simple
records into large and complex accoulilts".31

169
 Gebhard J. Selz

[11] Recently attention was drawn to the re-emergence of numerous burials - vir- dar-ur[udu]'
tually absent during the Uruk-period - a practice which continued into the following G I M - u [r u d u:
Early Dynastic times.32 As the observation of such changes in my opinion depends urudu/[gfr]
purely on archaeological misfortunes,33 there can be little doubt that in the period dNissaba -kl
labelled lamdat Na~r, as well as later the funeral practices and the cult of the dead -urudu:dgfr-
were focal points of religious beliefs, as in the somewhat later Royal Graves of Ur Igfr-zu-uruc
unearthed by Sir Leonard Woolley (ED 1ll).34 The admirable "harps" or "lyres"35 from (divine) copper
Ur may help explain the ancient cui tic contexts.36 To their appearance the Sumerians (divine) copper
might have ascribed the word me - I a m /I e m4,37 We may add that in these graves fish", "the (divil
also parts of weapons have been found.38 for ... ", 'a (div
cucumbers(??)"
copper dagger (
3 THE LATER EARLY DYNASTIC TIMES "the (divine) CO]
bread", "the (d
3.1 "Cultic objects" and related divinities in the Filra sources. teeth(?)" .
[16] Very like
[12] The evidence presented in the following paragraphs comes from the later Early
the text is inde(
Dynastic period. Written documents from the so-called Fara-period are the earliest
arise: 1. Is the 1
records that we begin to understand, if falteringly.39 It is assumed that by then the
of these couple1
advancing development of the redistributive economies and the accompanying trade
3. Is the deifica
led to more complex societies. This certainly had some impact on the reasoning of
spreading from
the 'theologians' of that time.40 At least some of the Fara god-lists are to be judged
there is certainl
in that light, and the famous za-m{-hymns surely represent some individuals efforts in
this regard. It seems to me that the composition of these hymns was strictly part of a [17] A rather
41
theological program to establish Enlil as the head of a common Sumerian pantheon. relevant to our
1. Divine/deij
[13] All this is not said to deny that the scribes of this period depended heavily on dm e nx- bar; 'a
their predecessors. The identification of 'forerunners' of the main lexical traditions (deified) Crow
among the Uruk-texts shows that the cultural continuity must not be underrated. (of) the Crown
dbendur-sag
[14] A. Westenholz has kindly drawn my attention to an early lexical series with ( - rna); "the S
a great number of double entries of the characteristic structure X - AN:X. This list Necklace"/3 dr
was recently termed "Lista NAGAR" or "Metal List".42 Copies of it are known from I am m a); "the
Uruk,43 Para, Abu ~alabTb, Ebla, Nippur, and Kis44 covering the periods from Uruk dtemen -ku; ,
(IVa+) III down to the Old Akkadian times. The extensive agreement between these be included hel
sources indicates that the text was part of the main scholarly tradition. Whereas the return later.81
interpretation of the diverse entries remains extremely difficult - various knives and 2. Deified pn
other metal instruments form a prominent part - the individual couplets might be haps "the Expe
understood as X - dX, as Westenholz proposes.45 temple(?)";84 dt
"the Temple-cc
[15] The g f r-section on Kis 1931.1284: I0-6:7, for example, runs as follows: [g f r] - try' ;8Sdg a 1- kc
u r [u d U V6 [dg f] r - u [r u d u] I [g f r - x - u r u d u] : [dg f r - x - u r u d u ]47 I [g f r - u d] u- Gudu-priest(?)'
ugr u rud u: [dg f] r-udu-ug7- uru d U48I [gf] r- ab-ru g7L u rud u: [dgfr- a b-ugr "the True Bake
u r u d u ]49I [ g f r - k U6?- dar - u r u d u] : d g ~r - k U6?- dar - u r u d uSoI g f r - s a - rs iL u r u dn a m - n i r89 "t

d u : dg f r - s a <- s i4'> - u r u d US1I g f r-[L U L - u r u d u ] : dg f[ r]- rL U L - u r u d u152I g f r- "the 'Lady (of(

s iIi g - u r u d u : dg f r - s iii g - u r u d U53I [g f r - u k U s?- dar - u r u d U ]'4 : [d g f r - u k us?]- the Pen";93 dn i

170
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

dar - u r [u d u ps / [g f r - z a] dim - u r u d u : [dg f] r - [z a] dim - u r u d u / [g f r]- r tiL

01 M- u [r u d u: [dig f r - t i -0 I M- u r u d US6 / g f r - a s gab - u r u d u:dg f r - as gab-
u r u d u / [g f r]- n inn is- k u s- u r u d u : [dg f r - n inn is- k us- a - u r u d UP7/ [g f r-
dN iss a b a - k us- u r u d u] : dg f r _dNiss a b a - k us- u r u d U58 / g f r - n i n d a
- u r u d u : dg f r - n i n d a - u r u d U59/60 g f r - g i -K A - u r u d u : dg f r - g i -K A - u r u d U61
/ g f r - z u - u r u d u : dg f r - z u - u r u d U62. Likely interpretations of these items are: "the
(divine) copper dagger", ... , "the (divine) copper dagger for killing sheep", "the
(divine) copper dagger for killing cows, "the (divine) copper dagger for splitting
fish", "the (divine) copper dagger for disembowelling", 6:1"the (divine) copper dagger
for ... ", 'a (divine) copper handweapon',64 "the (divine) copper dagger for 'splitting'
cucumbers(??)", "the (divine) copper dagger of the stone cutter", ... , "the (divine)
copper dagger of the leather-worker", "the (divine) copper dagger for cutting rushes",
"the (divine) copper dagger for reaping barley", "the (divine) copper dagger for cutting
bread", "the (divine) copper dagger ... ",6S "the (divine) copper dagger with saw-
teeth(?)".

[16] Very likely this list collects a number of items and their deified counterparts. If
the text is indeed dealing with the deification of inanimate objects, several questions
arise: I. Is the text dealing with a (standard) temple inventory? 2. Does the structure
of these couplets display the sort of 'Heaven mirroring Earth' dealt with below [59]?
3. Is the deification of such items to be taken as an example of W.G. Lambert's "aura
spreading from the deity proper"? At present, I would go no further than to say that
there is certainly some relation to the deified items attested in the Fara god-lists.oo
[17] A rather provisional survey of the god-lists reveals a number of divine names
relevant to our subject. Tentatively, they may be classified in six categories:
I. Divine/deified emblems and paraphernalia: dm e nx(=oA x EN); "the Crown";67
dm e nx- bar; 'a type of crown(?)', perhaps "the Turban(?)";68 dm e nx-I am m a; "the
(deified) Crown (is) a 'Protective Goddess' ";69 dn in - me nx- I am m a; "the Lady
(of) the Crown (is) a 'Protective Goddess'''; dIj A R - nun; "the Princely Ring(?);70
dbendur-sag; "the Staff (of) the Leader";71 dig-alim
( - m a); "the Stag Door" "Aurochs-door";72 dl am - sag - z a - gIn; "the Lapis Lazuli
Necklace";73 dn a - r u; "the Stela";74 tis a man; "the Nose-rope";75 dn i n - s i g4- t u ( -
I am m a); "the Lady Birth-Brick (is) a 'Protective Goddess' ";76 ciS U m; "the Saw(?)";77
dte men - k u; "the Holy Foundation Peg";78 dS u- n i r; "the Emblem";79 possibly to
be included here are names such as tin i n - P A; "the Lady Sceptre",80 to which I shall
return later.81
2. Deified professions/offices: d-sir-sir AB; "a (divine) Seaman(?)";82 da b g a I: e, per-
haps "the Expert (of) the temple(?)";83 db a ba r: e, perhaps: "the Brick-maker (of) the
temple(?)";84 de n - g u r7 "the Lord (of(? the Granary"; de n d i bx(=ME.MU)- u n u gki
"the Temple-cook(?) (of) Uruk"; dOAL.OA/OARA'a leading person in the dairy indus-
try' ;85dg a 1- k a I a m "the Leader of the Land (Sumer)(?)";86 dg u d U4- nun "the Princely
Gudu-priest(?)";87 dm a S - mas - z i "the Righteous Exorcist"; dm u b a I dim - z i - u n u g
"the True Baker/Cook (of) Uruk";88 dn a m - a b z u "the Function/Office (of) the Abzu";
dn a m - n i r89"the High Esteem(?)"; dlJ a m - n u n90 "the Princeliness(?)";91 dn i n - a pin
"the 'Lady (of(?) the) Plough"';92 dnin-gal-tur "the Lady, the Leading Person of
the Pen";93 dn i n - g u r7(:g u r7) "the Lady (of(? the Granaries";94 dn i n - k alS- k as-

171
 Gebhard J. Selz

s i "the Lady Barmaid";9s (dlnin -NAGAR/bu I u g4 "the Lady (of(? the Chisel";96 [20] However
dn i n - z a dim "the Lady Jeweller";97 dn u - nus - t u r "the Woman (of) the Sheep- of the type n i n
pen"; dn u - s a r(lk i r i6) "the Gardener(?);98 dp i s 3 n,,gga_u n u g 'a priest(?) of Uruk' ;99 of is that such
dsag-kud "the Tax Collector";IOo dsu-us-unug "the (divine) Chariot-Fighter(?) Remarkable in
(of) Uruk";lol dugula-unug "the Overseer (of) Uruk"; dumme(-da) "the Wet- want of a better
Nurse/Kindergartner"; (dU m b i s 3 g "the (divine) Writer");I02 dUt u 112"the Shepherd"l03 of these 'deities
etc. of phenomena s
3. 'Cultural achievements or properties': db a n - k u -I 3104" ... "; dDUIj.LAL2"the Bee's striking are the
Wax"(?); 105ciSe m - k i "the Incense"; 106dg i : b i I, dg i b i 16(=NE.GI), dIZT "the Burning names of the m
Reed, the Fire"; 107di z i - d a "the Warming Fire, the Roasting"; 108di z i - gar; "the Bra- treated by J.J. (
zier"; dS e n: "the Kettle"; 109di z i -I 3 "the Torch"; 110dUTUL "the Pot"; III da - r u "the
ExvotO(?)".112 [21] With reg
4. Musical instruments: dU b "the Drum(?)".113 a Ian. Howevel
5. Deified animals: da m - 3 - nun "the Mighty Aurochs"; 114db a r!nusen" ... "; 115 correct, it prove
"the Crow, Raven"; da m- g a 1- nun "the Great Princely Aurochs"; dg U4-
db u r usl11l1sen of correspondin
3-nun-gi4 "the Repulsing Princely Bull";116 dki_ki(nll.scn) 'a bird';117 dlugal-dar
"the Lord Cock(?)";118 dMI.Us-z i: "the True Ewe";119 dn i n - e m es "the Lady She- 3.2 "Cultic oi
ASS";120dnin-girimx(= lR.MUS.IjA.DlN.BALAG)'''the Lady (of(?) the) ... -snail";121
dn i n - IjIku6 "the Lady (of(?) the) ... -fish"; dn i n - k iii m "the Lady Mungo"; 122dn i n - [22] In the st
r i n4(Mus xMus)-ru(k"6l "the Lady (of(? a 'fish or snail' (?)"; dn i n - p i rig "the Lady power by Sargo
Lioness"; dn i n - sun "the Lady Cow"; dN1NOA-g U4-g a I "the Great Fattened Ox"; documents. Arr
dp i r i g:1 a m m a "the Lion(ess) (is) a 'Protective Goddess' ", dp i r i g-TUR "the Fiercy gods on variou:
Lion(ess)"; dUM.IjURl11l1scn 'a bird'.123 smaller number
6. Varia: dlugal-oUL.DU "the Lord: Statue";124 clme-lem4 "the Radiance"; dME_ all recipients oj
NU.NUS-S a4 "the 'Me' (of) the Lady(?)"; 125 dn i n - i I dum - m a "the Lady of the (so-
cial) group(?)";126 even more dubious remain dK1S(=ilx(?-la(?)127 and dnu-gal [23] Among 1
" 128 "cuI tic objects"
J. Images: a I
[IS] Due to my still restricted understanding of these divine names, this list is 2. Divine emf
m u S_dn i n - da
certainly incomplete and may contain errors. For the purpose of this paper, I simply
refer to divine names containing theriophoric elements or denoting deified animals "the Bronze Da
without attempting a methodical evaluation. m a) "the Stag
the Mountains'
[J9] It is in this period that we first meet deified paraphernalia, for example royal (dlz a - r a "the 1
insignia such as sceptre and crown.129 The question is: were these objects themselves 3. 'Paraphen
thought of as deities, or was the divine being an anthropomorphic god or goddess Leader"; dpA '
equipped with the characteristics or the essence of the object?130 At first glance, a i g i - d u "the S
name like dn i n - P A seems to warrant a translation "Lady of the Sceptre". 131But the tive Goddess";
parallel dm e nx;, apparently "the (deified) Crown" [if not to be read as dig i r - m e nx] Plucki ng". 152
appears also as dn i n - m e nx. This seems to indicate that indeed the objects were 4. Musical in:
considered as divine: the addition of the element n i n - to the name may therefore be 5. ProfessiOn!
due to a relatively new theological concept. Our dn i n - P A; would then not be "the z a dim "the L
Lady of the Sceptre", but "the Lady Sceptre". To underline this point, suffice it to say Wrestler(?)"); d
that dPA; also appears on its own. [Evidontly the same difficulties arise concerning 6. Deified ani
the interpretation of the deified animals of the type dn i n - x.] (dSa r 3 "the Fa
bis) "the Lady

172
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

[20] However, it is impossible to generalize the meaning of compound divine names

of the type n i n -"object", lug a I-"object", and n a m-"object".132 All one can be sure
of is that such deities are related to deified cultural achievements and institutions.
Remarkable in this respect are the deified professions or offices, and what I call, for
want of a better term, the 'deified cultural achievements or properties'. The existence
of these 'deities' displays not only an acute awareness of the structure of society and
of phenomena such as the division of labour, but of an entire cultural progress. 133Most
striking are the similarities between a huge number of these Hira-god names and the
names of the me enumerated in the famous 'list of the me', which has recently been
treated by J.J. Glassner.134

[21] With regard to the question of images, we may note the absence of the term
a I a n. However, if my interpretation of the god ellu g a I-DUL.DU (sub 6. Varia) is
correct, it proves that this cannot be taken as an argumentum e silentio for the absence
of corresponding beliefs in Fara. J35

3.2 "Cultic objects" in Old Sumerian 'LagaS'

[22] In the state of Lagas the last twenty or so years before the assumption of
power by Sargon of Akkade are rather well documented by nearly 2000 administrative
documents. Among them we find several texts listing offerings to a great number of
gods on various occasions. Another type of text records votive donations to a much
smaller number of deities.136 As is proven by the context of the documents in question,
all recipients of offerings or votive donations were deemed divine.137

[23] Among the recipients of such offerings 138or donations we can find several
"cultic objects", which we may tentatively group as follows:
I. Images: a I a n; "statue(s)"; 139n a -hi -a "stela(e)".14o
2. Divine emblems: 141(dd i m g a 1- a b s u) "the Great Pole (of) the Absu"; 142g i -
m u S _dn i n - dar "the Punting Pole/Steering Oar (of) Nindar"; 143g i si mm a r - u r u d u
"the Bronze Date-palm"; 144ljAR- S a r - r a "the Inscribed/Engraved Ring"; 145di g - a Ii m(-
m a) "the Stag Door", "Aurochs-door"; (I u g a 1- k u r - d (j b "the Lord who Smashes
the Mountains"); 146 (dS a man "the Nose-rope"); 147uzud- TAR "the ... She-goat"; 148
(d)Z a - r a "the Door Pivot"). 149

3. 'Paraphernalia and cultural achievements ': db end u r - sag "the Staff of the
Leader"; dpA "the Sceptre" and (dn i n-PA "the Lady (of(?) the) Sceptre");150 dpA_
i g i - d u "the Sceptre (of(?) the) Leader"; dpA_1 a mm a "the Sceptre (is) a Protec-
tive Goddess"; 151 (dTuG(?)- nun - n a) "the Princely Garment"); z (j - s i "the Sheep
Plucking".152
4. Musical instruments: b a I a g "Harp(s)"; 153u b5- k u "Holy Drum(s)".ls4
S. Professions: (dg a sam "the Expert"); elki n d a - z i "the Righteous Barber"; (dn i n-
z a di m "the Lady Jeweller"); (dS a g - k u d "the Tax Collector"); 155(dS u - k a I "the
Wrestler(?)"); dS ul-u t Ul12 "the Youth 'Shepherd'.
6. Deified animals: (Mf.us- s i g "the Youngl56 Ewe"); 157dn i n - d a rl5S "the Cock";
(dSa ra "the Falcon"),159 (dn i n - sara "the Lady Falcon"); (dn i n - k iii m(=RSP 460
bis) "the Lady Mungo"); (dnin-girim "the Lady (of(?) the) ... -snail");160 (dnin-

173
 Gebhard 1. Selz

r i n4 (MUSx MUS)- d a - r u "the Lady (of(? a 'fish or snail' "); (s u n "the Wild-Cow"); a theological 01
dn in - p i rig "the Lady Lioness". be connected w
7. Varia: gisgi g ir "the Chariot";. 6. As for deif
ANIMAL assumi
[24] We shall now look more closely at this list and try to shed some light on the
[25] If we no
function(s) of these objects.
find that the am
I. The a Ia n "statues" are, I think, the well-known 'votive figurines', 161amply at-
insignificant. 176
tested at several contemporary archaeological sites. The n a - r u - a "stela( e)", which
if compared w
occasionally bear images, play an important part in the votive inscriptions: they guar-
documents, DP
antee the inviolability and sacrosanctity of borders. 162At least in some cases, it seems
votive gifts, a f
highly probable that the da Ia nand dn a - f u - a 163attested in the Ur III economic doc-
DP 69 reads:
uments from Lagas-Girsu refer to the very same objects named in the Presargonic
(1:1) I zab
texts.
Kl 11m e nx e - 1
2. The divine emblems receiving offerings could be interpreted as secondary divini-
kaml I zabar
ties, deified only as a theological afterthought, as has been shown by Th. Paffrath 164for
sa-kam/ezel
Nin-Girsu's weapons s ar- u r, and s ar- g az. The same may apply to dl u g a 1- k u r-
na/lugal-/la
d U bl6S ,166"the Lord who Smashes the Mountains". In the case of the bronze palm
"I bronze-v
g is i m mar - u r u d u, and the nose rope ciS a man, there must be a connection with the
necklace (for) ]\
slain heroes, well-known from the later Nin-Girsu/Nin-urta traditions.167 Obviously,
(for) the stela:18
the bronze palm and the nose rope should belong to an older religious stratum. [At
boat, I crown,
present I have no clear idea about how the slain dl u g a 1- g i s i m m a rl68 is related to
the 'festival, wt
the homonymous 'tree god' and the comparablel69 ellu ga ]-ilisas al,170 dl u g a 1- si n i g
wife of Uru-inil
or clBAD-SINIG].171
DP 71, fror
3. With one exception the names in this group are all related to the concept of
menx-sag-si
rulership: The omission of other names for 'cultural achievements' may be due to
1 gu-za/dAB-
the fact that the temples increasingly depended on this central institution. As for the
za-ga (3:1) e2
term 'sheep plucking', this expression may refer to a place where this activity was
g a I-I a g aski_k
performed.172 Its occurrence, however, is less motivated by the importance of sheep-
"1 large spc
breeding to the Old Sumerian society than it is by the strong connection the rulers
I crown, I ned
had with this activity.173
necklace (for) t
4. As for musical instruments, there are several factors likely to playa part in their
eating festival 0
deification. First of all, their highly-impressive appearance is a factor, as we can
(these gifts) ex
gather from the pieces exhibited in the British Museum. Given the great importance
Sumerian literary documents ascribe to the 'awe-inspiring' appearance of gods, men, [26] It is evidl
and objects, this fact should certainly not be underestimated. Secondly, music is not the young anim
only for the pleasure of man and god, it also creates a means of communication Nanse", these ~
between our world and the realm of the divine. It is evidently due to this that music ceremony carrie
and musical instruments feature regularly in the context of death and afterlife. observation is s
5. It seems noteworthy that the number of attested deified professions in this period cult places in th
is rather small. I can find two possible reasons for this. In the first place, several
gods were connected with or assigned to special duties. The well-known dg a n - g f r, [27] It comes
"Maid-servant (of) the '(Princely) Path' ",174 for example, was considered to be the difficult to ima~
slaughterer (g i r i-I a) of Nin-Girsu. For the appointment of various gods to different crown and a ne(
duties one may also refer to the cylinders.of Gude'a.175 The idea behind the former
deified profession was now represented through individualistic deities. Secondly, the [28] One migt
type of sources in this period is somewhat different. The greater Hira god-list displays usmg crowns an

174
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

a theological or lexical ordering system, which is not always and not necessarily to
be connected with the cultic purpose of the Old Sumerian offering lists.
6. As for deified animals, we just note the two different types dANIMAL and dn i n-
ANIMALassuming that the latter belong to a more recent religious stratum.

[25] If we now look at the kinds of offerings attested for these divine objects, we
find that the amounts of any commodity allocated to them are usually rather small and
insignificant. 176We may tentatively interpret this as a sign of their minor importance, 177
if compared with the 'major' gods.17s However, it may not be that simple. Two
documents, DP 69 and DP 71 provide evidence that sacred objects themselves received
votive gifts, a practice which, as a rule, should have been restricted to 'major gods'.
DP 69 reads:
(I: I) I z a bar - del - m a - d i I m u n / I me nx- sag - s i - g a / I g u - z a / dn in-MAR.
KI/ I menx e-turl79 (2:1) I menx digi-ama-sell menx na-ru<-a>/sa6-sa6-
k a m /1 z a bar - d e 1- m a - d i I m u n (3: I) 1 me nx / I g u - z a/dn i n -MAR.KIf en - g i16-
sa - k a m / e z em - a mar - a - a - s i - g e - d a - k a / s a6- S a6 (4: 1) dam - u r u - i n i m - g i -
nallugal-llagaski-ka-fke41 a bi-ru 2.
"I bronze-vessel (in shape ot) a Dilmun boat, 1 crown, covering the head, I
necklace (for) Nin-MAR.KI; 1 crown (for) Etur;ISO 1 crown (for) Jgi'amase;ISI 1 crown
(for) the stela: 182(these gifts come) from Sasa. I bronze-vessel (in shape ot) a Dilmun
boat, 1 crown, I necklace (for) Nin-MAR.KI: (these gifts come) from En-gisa.183 At
the 'festival, when the young animals are 'filled' into the grown-ups'184 did Sasa, the
wife of Uru-inimgina, the king of Lagas, dedicate (these gifts) ex voto. 2nd year."
DP 71, from the same year, runs as follows: (1:1) I bur-bun-di-gu-Ial 1
menx-sag-si-ga/ I gu-za/dnanse/l menx/l gu-za/dgan-tur(2:1) I menx/
I gu-za/dAB-ir-nunll menx/I gu-za/ubs-ku/I menx/l gu-za/dnin-tu-
z a - g a (3: 1) e z e m - s e - k u - / dna n S e - k a / s a6- S a6 / dam - u r u - i n i m - g i - n a II u
gal-Iagaski-ka-ke4 a bi-ru 2.
"I large spouted(?) vessel, I crown, covering the head, 1 necklace (for) Nanse;
1 crown, 1 necklace (for) Gan-tur; 1 crown, 1 necklace (for) AB-irnun; I crown, 1
necklace (for) the Holy Drum; I crown, 1 necklace (for) Nintu-zaga. At the barley-
eating festival of Nanse did Sasa, the wife of Uru-inimgina, the king of Lagas, dedicate
(these gifts) ex voto. 2nd year."

[26] It is evident from these two texts that during two festivals, the "festival where
the young animals are filled into the grown-ups" and the "barley-eating festival of
Nanse", these gifts were delivered: in DP 69 they were given during a religious
ceremony carried out at GU'abba-E-Nin-MAR.KI, in DP 71 in the region of NINA. This
observation is supported by the names of the divine recipients, who had their main
cult places in these locations.

[27] It comes as no little surprise that a stela was furnished with a crown, which is
difficult to imagine (what would a stela do with a crown?); and a drum receiving a
crown and a necklace may arise even greater suspicion. How can this be explained?

[28] One might suggest that a drum was in some ways perceived as a human being
using crowns and necklaces. There may be a simpler explanation. Some of the divine

175
 Gebhard 1. Selz

objects, among them the drum, are known to have had various kjnds of cultic per- [32] Two ritua
sonnel: here are references to a I u - a I a n "a person in charge of the statue(s)"; 185to "mouth-opening'
a b a Ia g - f I, "carrier of the harp(s)"'86 and to a Iu - U b5- k u - g a, "a person in charge contextl99 (see a
of the Holy Drum".'87 One might surmise that crowns and necklaces were worn by Neo-Sumerian p
(d) g U - d e - a, the
cultic personnel during rituals. However, the underlying concept is that the recipient
of the crown was the drum, and not its attendant.'88 twice a month at
the name of Gue
3.3 "Cultic objects" in Third Millennium Ebla. The text of Gudl
<b a(?. Unfort
[29] Let us have a brief look at the Semitic-speaking area of this time. The subject of from the econorr
the reciprocal influences that the various cultures, e.g. the 'West-Semitic', 'Akkadian', accompanied one
and 'Sumerian' cultures, exerted on Mesopotamian civilization was highly complex
and far from being satisfyingly described. At present it is impossible to say which [33] This ritua
features were genuine to a certain culture and which were just taken over or modi- wailing processi(
fied. However, Ebla documents offer some striking parallels to the other evidence vations were mal
assembled here. For our investigation the West-Semitic god Rasap/Resep, widely of a procession il
worshipped in the Ebla region,189 is of major interest as various compound divine the 'mouth-open
names of the type Rasap-GN can be found in the Eblaitic economic documents.'9o Of this point any fur
special impact is TM.75.G.1764 which in IX 17-23 reads: were dedicated t
1 u d u pad gisg u - k a k - g f d d ra-sa-ap ,a-ta-niki (or 'a-da-NIki) ip-tur-is-lu s u- opening" was pe
d Us
"I sheep, provision (for) the spearl91 of Rasap of' Ada-NI, has Ip!ur-ISlu consigned/ 4.1.2 Other "Cll
delivered."'92 [34] Offering r
jects". While we
[30] There are several further attestations of offerings for divine symbols or "cultic prise that "cultic
objects" at Ebla, but their precise interpretation remains doubtful. In 1979 Pettinatol93 I:7-9 reads:
compiled a list of such recipients. The discussion of these items I will leave for 5 siJa zu-It
another occasion. We conclude this survey by mentioning a further important feature (for) the 'mouth
of the Ebla documents, the well-attested cult for the deceased kings.'94 who Smashes th
was originally a
observation that I
4 "CULTIC OBJECTS" AND GODS IN THE NEO-SUMERIAN PERIOD 14:18: su-nir-J
Lugal-kurdub, In;
4.] Features distinguishing divinities. Rituals. Therefore, it
one of Nin-Girsu
4.1.1 "Cui tic objects": statues. one) that flattens
[31] A great many references to "votive objects" can be found in the written sources gi's a r - g a z, "(tht
of the Neo-Sumerian period,'95 but I cannot discuss them en detail here. So far, we a mouth-opening
have only used offerings and donations as (outward) markers of divinity. There are nfg-sizkur
some additional characteristics which help us to identify "divine beings", such as the the Sargaz weape
important custom of giving names to "cultic objects", 196including statues.197 This h a, is mentioned
practise of 'name-giving' can be traced back to the Old Sumerian (or Lagas I) period the Sargaz remail
when it was also used for items other than statues and stelae. At this point, I would
simply like to refer to names given to the statues of Gude'a and of other Neo-Sumerian [35] Of course,
rulers. 198 pomorphic statue
not convince me.

176
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

[32] Two rituals, conventionally quoted after their first-millennium titles as pft pi:
"mouth-opening" and mrs Pi: "mouth-washing", are even more significant in our
l99
context (see also below sub [43]). To outline the function of these rituals in the
Neo-Sumerian period we should first mention the numerous offerings to (statues of)
(d)gU - d e - a, the famous ens i of Lagas-Girsu.20o He is said to have received offerings
twice a month at his "water drinking place" k i-a - n a g.201 In the relevant documents
the name of Gude'a occurs written with and without the divine determinative DIGIR.
The text of Gude' a' s statue R explicitly mentions the 'mouth-opening' -rite k a - d Ux-
<0 a(7. Unfortunately the context is destroyed.202 This ties in well with the evidence
from the economic texts according to which the offerings to the deified Gude'a were
accompanied once a year by a 'mouth-opening' ceremony.

[33] This ritual is attested for the third month,203 precisely the month in which a
wailing procession was held in honour of the god Nin-giszida in Girsu. These obser-
vations were made by W. Sallaberger, who stresses that the chronological coincidence
of a procession in honour of Nin-giszida, Gude'a's family god, and the performing of
the 'mouth-opening' for Gude'a's statue(s) cannot be accidental.20~ Without pushing
this point any further, we may simply note that two of the preserved statues of Gude'a
were dedicated to Nin-giszida.205 For our discussion the very fact that this "mouth-
opening" was performed repeatedly206 on a ruler's statue is significant enough.

4.1.2 Other "cui tic objects": weapons.

[34] Offering rites and 'name-giving' rituals207 are also attested for the "cultic ob-
jects". While we can understand that a statue's mouth was opened, it comes as a sur-
prise that "cultic objects" should have received the same treatment. CT 7, 16: 17765
I :7-9 reads:
5 s i I a z u - I u m dl u g a 1- k u r - dub k a - d Us- b a; "5 liter dates for Lugal-kurdub,
(for) the 'mouth-opening' ".20S The god Lugal-kurdub, as we have seen, "the Lord
who Smashes the Mountains" or "the Lord who Shatters the (foreign) Lands",209
was originally one of Nin-Girsu's weapons. This assumption is supported by the
observation that Lugal-kurdub is still described as a s u - n i r; "standard" in Gud. Cyl A
14:18: su-nir-mab-bi lugal-kur-dub sag-bi-a mu-DU "Its lofty standard,
Lugal-kurdub, marched at its head/ he placed at its head".2IO
Therefore, it seems probable that Lugal-kurdub was just a name or an epithet for
one of Nin-Girsu/-Nin-urta's well-known weapons, namely gi,s a r - u r, literally "(the
one) that flattens everything". And interestingly enough, its counter/part, the weapon
gi,s a r - g a z, "(the one) that smashes everything"211 is mentioned also in a context of
a mouth-opening rite. MVN 2, 172:23 (iv SS 6) has the following subscript:
n i g - s i z k u r - r a { r ra 1} s a r - g a z d n i n - g ir - sub a - f u - a "offeri ng matter; (when)
the Sargaz weapon was erected (before) Nin-Girsu." The 'mouth-opening', k a - d us-
h a, is mentioned in line 9. However, its proper connection with the setting up of
the Sargaz remains conjecturaJ.212

[35] Of course, one might argue that these 'weapons' were represented as anthro-
pomorphic statues. Given the quotation from the Gude'a Cylinder above, this does
not convince me. Such a purely metaphoric usage is highly improbable and, recalling

177
 Gebhard 1. Selz

P. Steinkeller's treatment of some divine standards in on the conference it seems out [41] W. Sallabe
of question here. assumes that the
of the deceased n
[36] A possible third reference to the ritual, dating from the reign of IbbT-Su' en, mention the occur
unfortunately does not help very much to solve this problem.213 but recall the imf

4.1.3 Other "cuI tic objects": musical instruments. [42] The cult of
[37] Roughly twenty years ago M. Civil demonstrated that the rituals of 'mouth- tion scenes' or th(
opening' and 'mouth-washing' date back to the Third Millennium. Starting his argu- means to elevate,
ments with a picture drawn from later traditions, he was able to prove it valid for they were venera
much earlier times.214 In spite of the methodological difficulties, one might there- incarnation of "th
fore be allowed in this context to refer to the late "Rituel du KalO", published by F.
Thureau-Dangin. This text offers undisputable indications that the deification of a kind
of "kettledrum", I iii z (== A.BXDUB), was achieved by "the mouth-washing ceremony 4.2 Features dis
of the copper kettledrum" (nILS pi lilissi siparri).215
[43] The eviden
[38] Taking up the issue of the 'musical instruments' in Neo-Sumerian times, nu- underwent rituals
merous offerings are attested for harps (b a I a g), occasionally written with the divine independent entit)
determinative. Like statues and other "cultic objects" they, too, bore names identifying this creature.232 3.
them as independent entities or individuals. The importance that names had for the clothing and wasl
peoples of the Ancient Orient can hardly be overestimated. Names virtually decided ensure their lives.
existence or non-existence.216 From the beginning 'votive inscriptions' display a deep
concern about the erasure of the votant's name. Numerous COIOUlfulcurses bear tes-
timony to this; damaging an identifying inscription was considered a matter of life 5 THE QUESTI
and death, for the donor as well as for the miscreant.217
[44] Already frc
[39] The inscriptions of Gude'a call two of Nin-Girsu's harps (b a I a g) by their names. It is an or
names: one was called us u m g a 1- k a I am - m a, meaning "dragon of the land (Su- divinities. Perhap~
mer)",218 the other lug a 1- i g i - bus "red-eyed 10rd".219 Both were doubtlessly per- herd (is) the (godc
ceived as personalized.220 Parallels to this can be found elsewhere during the Ur III aspect of this dei
period. From the time of Sulgi(r)'s wife Sulgi-simtum, we have records concerning years ago, U. Gel
offerings for a harp of Inana, named dn i n - i g i - z i - bar - r a, "lady, legitimately/truly Several offering I
looked upon (by a god)".221 In Umma, we find offerings for a harp of Gula named n a: S 1. A- tum a
dn i n - e - g a 1- e - s i "the lady is suited for the palace".222 Whether this harp is con- watartunI,235 was
nected with the b a I a g - U4- n U - a cctni n - i b - gal), "harp (of NinibgaJ) (for) the day and thus the moth
of the disappearance of the moon", remains unclear.223 This 'day of the disappearance genitive compoun,
of the moon' or 'black-moon day' certainly alludes to a mourning-ritual in which the ients of offerings.
harp played a part.224 dgdti n-an-na
the king" etc.238 I
4.1.4 Other "cultic objects": thrones. household) of the
[40] References to the deified thrones were collected by N. Schneider in 1947. Most who was represen
important is Enlil's deified throne dg u - z a _den -I f I-I <1,sometimes simply referred
to as "the (divine) throne" dg u - z a. This throne received offerings in the temples of 5.1 Compound (j

Enlil and Ninlil in Nippur.225 In order to a'ioid some common confusion, one has to
distinguish sharply between deified thrones of gods and deified thrones of (the Ur III) [45] At this poi I
rulers and nobles.226 Ancient Mesopota

178
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

[41] W. SalJaberger, following an observation made by J.-M. Durand for Mari,227

assumes that the offerings for the latter type of thrones were connected with the cult
of the deceased rulers (or nobles).228 In support of this thesis I would not only like to
mention the occurrence of 'thrones' found among the items in the "Riemchengebaude",
but recall the important part they played among the ED funerary furnishings.229

[42] The cult of these thrones is easier to understand from Neo-Sumerian 'presenta-
tion scenes' or the Early Dynastic 'symposium scenes'. In art thrones serve as a visual
means to elevate a person beyond the sphere of ordinary human life. In all probability
they were venerated as symbolic 'seats of power(s)' or, in Jacobsen's words, as an
incarnation of "the ruler metaphor".230

4.2 Features distinguishing divinities. Conclusions.

[43] The evidence gathered suggests that not only statues, but also "cultic objects"23I
underwent rituals which ensured their divinity: I. Name-giving, i.e. the creating of an
independent entity. 2. "Mouth-opening" and/or "Mouth-washing", i.e. the animation of
this creature.232 3. Induction i.e. providing for an appropriate cult-place.233 4. Offerings,
clothing and washing, i.e. the care and feeding of these now living gods, in order to
ensure their lives.234

5 THE QUESTION OF COMPOUND DIVINE NAMES

[44] Already from the Filra god-lists we know several examples of compound divine
names. It is an opinio communis that these are usually names of minor or secondary
divinities. Perhaps the best example is dSus-db a - b a6, tentatively rendered as "a shep-
herd (is) the (goddess) Baba"(?). Most likely, this name merely referred to a particular
aspect of this deity, perhaps represented physically through a special image. Some
years ago, U. Gelb drew attention to the compound divine names of the Ur III period.
Several offering lists dating to the reign of Sulgi mention a certain dg est i n - a n-
n a: S I . A- tum as addressee. The second element of this name, perhaps to be read
watartum,235 was identified by P. Steinkeller as the name of the wife of Ur-Nammu
and thus the mother of king Sulgi(-r) himself.236 I. J. Gelb interpreted these names as
genitive compounds, to be rendered as "DN of PN".m Accordingly, comparable recip-
ients of offerings, such as dg eS tin - a n - n a - a m a -I u g a I, "g eS tin - a n - n a - n i n,
dg est in - a n - n a - lug a I and so on, should be understood as "DN of the mother of
the king" etc.238 U. Gelb concluded that these names referred to the donor (or the
household) of the said statues, designating their origin. The question, then, remains
who was represented by these statues.

5. I Compound divine names referring to votive statues

[45] At this point we may recall the great importance of the ex-voto institution in
Ancient Mesopotamian religious beliefs.23Y In fact, the whole concept of veneration of

179
 Gebhard 1. Selz

"cultic objects" is understandable only within this frame-work. It is well-known that became a kind (
these ex-voto objects were offered to a god by the donor in order to ensure his life and (and named obj<
the life of his family. U. Gelb, who contributed so much to the understanding of this thoughts. This v
matter, correctly described the ex-voto institution as a "quid pro quo arrangement", to the statues of
a pact between the donor and the temple.240 Already in Old Sumerian times we can to a god-like st.
find an example for the donor's responsibility for the upkeep of her or his statue(s).
As I have tried to demonstrate elsewhere, there exists a most probable correlation [49] As for th
between the fashioning of a votive statue of a ruler's wife and some so-called sa - dUll all necessary re
offerings. Moreover, one can be quite certain that this statue, in this case the a I an- Thorkild 1acobs
S a6- S a6, receives, according to offering-lists, among various deities a smaller number
of offerings.241 These observations agree with the conclusions 1.1. Gelb has drawn [50] All kind~
from his discussion of the mentioned type of Ur III compound divine names: "the function, thus C(
records about these gods bearing double names were kept in order to identify the(ir) for a possible (
income, especially of their statues or statuettes". As an example for such statu(ett)es objects, as we a
Gelb referred explicitly to Presargonic Mari and to the Diyala Region (Tell Asmar,
Khafajah, and Tell Agrab).242 The question remains whether these compound names 5.3 The questi
refer to a kind of minor or secondary divinity; in other words does the composite
name type DN + PN, e.g. dgdtin-an-na+lugal, following 1.1. Gelb "Gestinana [51] Here the I
of the king",243 or dg est in - an - n a + S I. A - tum, "Gestinana of PN"244 identify the the limited scof
assumed statues as gods? This seems, at first sight, highly unlikely. Most probably, tioned above, I
the votive statuettes do represent the donor,245 as do the Old Sumerian statues of Sasa already in Old
and Lugal-anda.246 members. For tl
ity called dl am
[46] In most cases, the famolls statues of Gude'a are identified explicitly as the compound noun
ruler himself by an inscription on the right shoulder. That they represent the ruler dess of the king'
is generally accepted and beyond doubt. But what are our compound divine names which in some ~
then alluding to? I propose a slightly different interpretation of these names. In a a special, deifie
litteral sense, their meaning is "Gestinana: the king", and so on. It is my opinion that there often OCCl
this must be understood as "(to) Gestinana, (from) the king". This type of compound other compound
divine name of Ur III-times is therefore more or less just the elementary form of were in a simila
the earliest known votive inscriptions.247 Nevertheless, we have come to much the
same conclusion as 1.1. Gelb: these Ur III compollnd names refer to statu(ett)es of the 5.3.1 Images (
persons of the royal household dedicated to a certain deity.248 249 [52] In his dis(
ferungen ftir die
5.2. Votive objects as secondary divinities dsul-gi-ra, or
that even the bar
[47] As we have seen, besides the various "cultic objects", a number of votive statues This means that,
donated to certain gods receive offerings according to the Ur III offering lists. If we an abbreviated \
recall that "cuI tic objects" bore names and that 'mouth-openings' were performed at that this dl am m
least on statues, we cannot avoid the following question: what is it that distinguishes even after his d<
"cultic objects", and especially the votive statues, from the statue of a deity? I cannot dl am m a of the
find any distinguishing feature in the philological evidence.25o To me, this seems no the Roman emp'
coincidence (although that is an argumentum e silentio).
[53] The hypc
[48] By way of explanation, I would like to reconstruct the following sequential intended for imc
mechanism. The votive statue originally was a representation of the donor. The image tions.262 There (

180
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

became a kind of permanent locum tenens, a substitute for the donor. Like any image
(and named object), these statues were perceived as separate entities251 in the ancients'
thoughts. This was ensured by applying to them the same rituals252 which were applied
to the statues of gods. It was the timeless quality that would have elevated these items
to a god-like status.253 And, as a consequence, they could partake in the divine.

[49] As for the ED II statues from the Diyala-region, I would therefore like, with
all necessary reservations, to answer one of the last important questions raised by
Thorkild Jacobsen: "God or Worshipper?" Probably both.254

[SO] All kinds of statues as well as the other "cultic objects" have a messenger
function, thus connecting the human and the divine world. I cannot detect any evidence
for a possible distinction between adoration of gods and veneration of man-made
objects, as we are accustomed to in Christian churches.25S

5.3 The question of the ruler's deification

[5 I] Here the problem of the ruler's deification clearly comes into focus, even though
the limited scope of this paper will only allow me to make a few remarks. As men-
tioned above, I have tried to show elsewhere that a divine-like status was attributed
already in Old Sumerian times to the images of some living rulers or their family
members. For the Ur III period there are several attestations of offerings for a divin-
ity called ella m m a -I u g a 1.256The plural ellam m a -I u g a 1- k e4- n e proves that this
compound noun is a genitive construction, and accordingly means "Protective God-
dess of the king". This might be interpreted in two ways: either it could refer to a deity
which in some special way was responsible for the king's welfare or it could denote
a special, deified aspect ascribed to the king. Instead of the substitute name lug a I
there often occurs a specific royal name, ellam m a - R N.257 In comparison with the
other compound divine names discussed above, it seems obvious that these offerings
were in a similar way intended for various images of the ruler.

5.3.1 Images of the ruler as secondary divinities

[52] In his discussion of the sa-d uwdl am m a-I u g a 1- ke4- ne, translated as "Lie-
ferungen fi.ir die Genien der Konige",258 and the comparable attestations of dl am m a-
ds u 1- g i - r a, or ellam m a _damar _ciS u' en, W. Sallaberger comes to the conclusion
that even the bare name of the deified Ur III rulers in these lists is only an abbreviation.
This means that, at least in certain contexts, the name of the deified Ur III ruler is just
an abbreviated writing for *dl a m m a -dRN - a k.259 Furthermore, W. Sallaberger notes
that this dl a m m a is somehow independent from the king's life and has 'divine power'
even after his death.260 This leaves him with the following questions unanswered: Is
ella m m a of the king an independent divine entity? Is he or she, like the genius of
the Roman emperor a personification of the (divine) power of the ruler?261

[53] The hypothesis elaborated abQve which states that all these offerings were
intended for images of the Neo-Sumerian rulers would solve W. Sallaberger's ques-
tions.262 There only remains the need to explain what the element dl a m m a refers

181
 Gebhard 1. Selz

to. As most scholars would probably agree, I understand dl a m m a as a 'functional 6 CONCLUSI!

name', perhaps a kind of deified idea of protection.263 This usage is well-known from
the time of the Fara-texts onwards. Moreover, if we further take into account the fact [57] To close t
that in Early Dynastic times the functional title dl am m a was attributed to (the statues not be easy to
of) various divinities, perhaps depicting them in a certain attitude,264 I think we can time he is (the ~
safely assume that the Neo-Sumerian expression dl a mm a - RN alludes to a special referring to Tho!
function or even representation of the ruler.265 preliminary way
for our research
[54] The parallels observed by W. Sallaberger between the offerings to dl a m m a- influences every
RN in the one and the deified rulers in the other lists are best explained by the (or stone), and 1
assumption that these offerings were always intended for statues. If and how these divine, all of thi
statues actually portrayed the respective kings is a question not yet solved. It is to the mind of ;
interesting to note that Su-Su'en apparently pursued a special policy in erecting royal 'primitive' or 'il
statues of himself everywhere in the state, starting already at the beginning of his reign. millennium BC
If he did so, or had this done even in private houses, this may be safely understood still are confror
as a way of expressing and demanding the owner's loyalty to the king.266 a concept of "e
stress on " ... as '
5.3.2 Images of the ruler as functional divinities levels, includinf
[55] Various texts and numerous royal epithets show that protection of the people in heaven and, a
and its land was the main task to be performed by the king. But since the ruler in (his statue in
had to do so as a worldly representative of the gods, he needed to have a special considered to be
association with the divine sphere. Thus the concept of the Lamma-deities serving a modern term:
as a kind of mediator between the human and the divine world267 truly applied to SIT 200(+21
him. In connection with the deification of the Ur III kings it is perhaps more than en U4 digir (
a subordinate matter to note that, following a suggestion of P. Steinkeller, sometime i-nu DIGIR.lV
in the middle of Sulgi's reign the term for the denomination of the king's wife was digir pa-e gl
changed from dam to Iuk u r. Thus a kinship term was replaced by a priestly title DIGIR.MES u
usually applied to priestesses who acted as the junior wives of a god.268 "Incantation: wi
a god/the gods
[56] It seems beyond doubt that the cult of royal images originated in Presargonic
times and reached a certain climax under Naram-Sln and under SU-Su'en.269 Our ob- [58] On a mue
servations further lead to the conclusion that a ruler's name appearing with the divine tamians tried to
determinative during his lifetime is, in itself, no sufficient proof for the deification of they could thus
the living king. Such writings may refer to his statues or images, and not necessarily desire to avoid
to the king's person in the strictest sense. Of course, such a differentiation may be for one specific
judged to be of little practical value. Nevertheless, this means that caution is required
when using the term 'deification of the living king'; in a way this also underlines the [59] On the (
uniqueness of the deification of Naram-Sin, as described in the text of the so-called unknown to the
'Bassetki statue' .270 But even in this inscription, the building of a temple for the potamian cultLII
king incited by the City Fathers of Akkade in honour of his outstanding victories27! "sacred" shoulc
is the explicit mark of his divinity. And, beyond doubt, in this temple an image of not simply negl
Naram-Sln was present which people could worship. of central conc('
great whole. He
the consecratiOl
SIT 200(+2
an dim-rna

182
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

6 CONCLUSIONS AND THEORETICAL CONSEQUENCES

[57] To close this paper, it must be admitted that the evidence assembled here might
not be easy to digest. That Samas is the heavenly sun-god, and that at the same
time he is (the statue) in his Ebabbar in Sippar seems strange to us. By this we are
referring to Thorkild Jacobsen once more272 and I would like to discuss in a brief and
preliminary way the possible methodological implications of Jacobsen's observation
for our research.273 In general, I do not think it is sufficient to state that everything
influences everything. That the statue itself is man-made, a piece of decorated wood
(or stone), and the god, that harps and drums are musical instruments and somehow
divine, all of this seems problematic, even contradictory to us, but evidently was not
to the mind of ancient man.274 By stating this I do not intend to refer to an alleged
'primitive' or 'illogical' thinking of the ancient Mesopotamians, not even in the third
millennium BC.275 Human affairs are never determined by a single factor, but we
still are confronted with contradictions.276 Our argumentation is usually adjusted to
a concept of "either or ... ". In opposition to that, the Mesopotamians laid more
stress on " ... as well as ". In a holistic way their world was subdivided into different
levels, including nature, society, and metaphysics. Therefore Samas was the sun-god
in heaven and, at a different but equally true level of reality, he was personally present
in (his statue in) Ebabbar. Late texts provide evidence that the statue of Samas was
considered to be a place of 'epiphany' of the sun-god, if one is justified to apply such
a modern term:
SIT 200(+201, and cf. IV R 25b:41 ff):277 1-4:
en U4 digir dfm-ma alan-sikil-[la su-dura]
i-nu DIGIR.MES278 ib-ba-nu-u 0al-mu KU us-ta[k-li-lu]
digir pa-e gu-sa279_a kur-kur-ke4 II
DIGIR.MES us-ta-pu-u ina nap-Izar [matati]
"Incantation: when a godlthe gods was/were created, a pure statue was accomplished;
a godlthe gods became visible in all lands."

[58] On a much more theoretical level, one might even say that the Ancient Mesopo-
tamians tried to collect all plausible explanations for any given phenomenon, assuming
they could thus somehow better describe their environment.28o For some of us, in our
desire to avoid contradictions, it is of course difficult to accept different explanations
for one specific topic.

[59] On the other hand, a dualistic conception of the world was not altogether
unknown to the Mesopotamian peoples. It is true that when describing ancient Meso-
potamian culture, most of our dichotomic categories, as, for instance, "profane" and
"sacred" should only be applied with great caution.281 However, the basic facts were
not simply neglected; on the contrary the 'questions of life and death' were a matter
of central concern. Apparently such oppositions were understood as two halves of one
great whole. Heaven somehow mirrored earth and vice versa. Again the late ritual for
the consecration of a statue illustrates ~his point:
SIT 200(+201, and cf. IV R 25b:51 ff.): 11-13:
an dfm-ma ki-a dfm

183
 Gebhard J. Selz

ina AN-e ib-ba-ni ina Kl-ti MIN282

alan-ne-e an-sar ki-sar-ra-ta r dim l-ma
!fal-mu an-nu-Li ina kis-sat AN-e u KI-tim ib-ba-ni NOTES
"In heaven it (the statue) was created, in earth it was created;
This statue was created in the totality283 of heaven and earth." This article
Museum on
Such a perception of reality influenced nearly all thoughts at conscious and subcon- also to man
scious levels.28.! It is with hi)
additional n
questions in
[60] A statue of a god was an independent entity because it stood on a holy place, and invalual
and had the name of a god, the appearance of a god, and so on. It was these qualities C. Reichel,
of a statue, including its partaking in certain rituals, which left no doubt that it was additional a
Sumerian D
the god himself. 5 (Old Sum
2 See the disc
[61] The same holds true for the "cui tic objects": it is their function and their special 1987b, with
Isa 40,19-2(
attributes, including their participation in the holy rites, which made them god-like. Of 15-18.
course, on the level of 'reality' - to use an inappropriate modern word - the Sume- 3 For a recent
rians knew that those items were man-made objects. The evidence mentioned above 1992:xii "th
logical and:
for the relatively small gifts offered to them, proves that the Sumerian made relevant of course, al
distinctions.285 A hierarchy in divinity certainly was part of the historic development evidence. B
of the Mesopotamian pantheon, again reflecting reality. I would lik<
cient Syria
Mesopotami
[62] What I have tried to do in this paper is to give a sketch of the possible and 2, Leuven I
plausible ideological background of deification. In order to avoid inflation of this E. Porada, I
Third Mille)
special approach, I would finally like to stress that other explanations are of equal 4 This dichotc
and perhaps even greater importance. It is our task at least to try to understand 5 A quite sim
these long-past and distant times.286 Gradually we may learn about the ways these 6 However, tl
whether a '(
peoples conceived of their world and how they put reality into a conceptualized order, in Akkadiar
sometimes beyond the range of our sense and cognition.287 In this regard, Thorkild passim and
Jacobsen's contributions will remain stimulating for many more decades. assumption
gis-usan-
but an inder
7 See also G.
complicated
explains the
M. Dietrich
given by E.
as a "divine
see R.M. B,
A. Spycket
DIGIR-dete
8 Anthropomc
strange that
or no impa(
archaic Ur (;
sample, wit!
Presargonic
digir-a-
digir-a-z
brother" (cf.
type i n ime,
(is) Dumuzi
ds U d "Brotl

184
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

NOTES

This article is a revised, modified, and extended version of the lecture delivered at the British
Museum on April 4th 1994. The choice of this subject owes very much to Th. Jacobsen's work and
also to many stimulating discussions with A. Westenholz who also read a final draft of this paper.
It is with high esteem that 1 acknowledge my deep gratitude for his keen criticism as well as for the
additional references he so kindly provided. In addition, I wish to thank all those colleagues whose
questions incited some re-thinking of my arguments. I am further much indebted for comments
and invaluable help in improving my English to Prof. M.A. Brandes, Dr. T. Breckwoldt, St. Hsu,
C. Reichel, M.A., and 1. Roufberg. For references cf. the bibliography at the end of this article;
additional abbreviations follow W. von Soden, Akkadisches Handworlerbuch and Pennsylvania
Sumerian Dictionary (PSD) Vol. A/I; references to the votive inscriptions follow H. Steible, FADS
5 (Old Sumerian); B. Kienast, FADS 7 (Old Akkadian) and H. Steible, FADS 9 (Neo-Sumerian).
2 See the discussion of S. Schroer: [n [srael gab es Bilder, OBO 74, 1987, 196-221. cr. Th. Jacobsen
1987b, with specific ref. to Isa 44:16-19. Further references concerning Biblical "iconoclasm" are
Isa40,19-20;41,6-7;46,5-7;Dtn4,28;lsa 10,IO-12;Jer51, 17; Hab2, 18-19;Ps 115,4-8; 135,
15-18.
3 For a recent assessment of the relationship of both fields, see the statement of F.A.M. Wiggennann
1992:xii "the observed gap between art and texts is accidental, not necessary". - Although philo-
logical and archaeological research pursued somewhat isolated paths in the last decades, there were,
of course, always important contributions by several scholars using textual as well as archaeological
evidence. Besides the works of A. Green, F.A.M. Wiggermann, and 1. Winter (see bibliography),
I would like to mention the pertinent articles by W.G. Lambert, "Trees, Snakes and Gods in An-
cient Syria and Anatolia", BSOAS 48 (1985) 435-45 I; "The History of the mus-bus in Ancient
Mesopotamia", L'animal, I'homme, Ie dieu dans Ie Proche-Orient ancien (Les cahiers du CEPOA
2, Leuven 1985), 87-94; "Gilgamesh in Literature and Art: The Second and Third Millennia", Fs.
E. Porada, (MaillZ 1987), 37-52 + pI. VII-XI) and P. Steinkeller, "Early Semitic Literature and
Third Millennium Seals with Mythological Motifs", Quad. Sem. 18 (1992) 243-275 + PI. 1-8.
4 This dichotomy already played a considerable part in my 1992b article, see esp. 256f. and 261: 13.
5 A quite similar proposal has been made by W.G. Lambert 1990: 128f.; see note 16.
6 However, the DIGIR-sign does not always have a purely graphemic character. For a decision
whether a 'classifier' was actually read or not, we have only the evidence of Sumerian loanwords
in Akkadian (cf. St. Lieberman, Sumerian Loanwords in Old Babylonian Akkadian, HSMIHSS 22,
passim and cf. below n. 211). There are very few cases where a genitive construction disproves the
assumption of a determinative. For instance VAT 4704 (FADS 15/3 no. 115, forthcoming) 5: I: 1,6
g is - u s it n - mar - k a "66 handles for cart-whips" shows that in this case g isis not a determinative,
but an independent word (cr. M.A. Powell, BSA 6, I 10).
7 See also G.J. Selz 1992b. From the archaeologist's point of view, things may indeed look more
complicated, since no remains of such cultic statu(elt)es are identified with certainty. This easily
explains the enormous impact of the so-called Spycket - Hallo hypothesis until recently. Note that
M. Dietrich/ O. Loretz 1992: 19 still shared their scepticism. The latest account on this subject is
given by E. Matsushima 1993. In the Early Dynastic periods the horned crown, the "Hdrnerkrone",
as a "divine symbol" or "marker of divinity" for human-shaped images was not yet fully developed;
see R.M. Boehmer in B1V 7 (1967) 273ff. and RIA 4, 43lf.; for Presargonic divine statuettes cf.
A. Spycket 1981 :77-83. Note however, that in Presargonic times the horned crown as well as the
DIGIR-determinative is a sufficient but not a necessary mark of divinity.
8 Anthropomorphism, of course, presupposes a human-like concept of the divine. It seems rather
strange that in this respect the evidence provided by the early Presargonic onomasticon had little
or no impact on the respective discussions. Good examples for relevant names are lacking from
archaic Ur (see R.A. Di Vito, SI. PaM SM 16, 23f.). For the data from Para see the following random
sample, with quite reliable interpretations (for references cf. F. Pomponio, La prasopograjia dei leSli
Presargonici di Fara):
dig i r - a - In u(=g u 10) "The god (is) my father"; dig i r - a m a - g u 10 "The god(dess) is my mother";
digi r-a-zu(5) "The god (is) a healer (or (is) yourfather(?"; digi r-SeS-gulo "The god (is) my
brother" (cf. R. Di Vito, ibid. 84ff. 116f.); d ~_(d)u t u "Decision (of) Utu" (cf. the well attested name
type in i m(=K A)- D N - z i 'The word (of) DN (is) just/reliable"); lug a I_(d)d u m u - z i "AlThe king
(is) Dumuzi"; (d)s U d - d i - k u5- g u 10 "Sud (is) my judge"; ds u d - sip a "Sud (is) a shepherd"; s eS-
ds tt cI "Brother (of(? Sud"; u t u - d i - k U5 "Utu (is) a judge"; u t u - e n - e - b a b bar "Utu (is) the

185
 Gebhard 1. Selz

lord (of the temple) Ebabbar"; u t u - men - s u 13 "Utu (has) a far-reaching(?) crown"; u t u - s e S 18 Seen.16.F
"Utu (is) a brother". Furthermore, in a considerable number, if not in all, of the PN's containing example CO
en, lug a I, n i n, and so on, these 'titles' are substitutes for a DN, as demonstrated by this writer perhaps, CO
in OLZ 85 (I <)90) 303; for a different opinion see F. Pomponiol A. Alberti, Sf. PoM SM 13, 7f. ship, the he
and somewhat hesitating A. Westenholz, OSP I, 6-8. are at least
The Semi/ic Personal NaJrlesjrol1l Abu Salabikh and Ebla provide similar features (see R.D. Biggs. a topic disc
ARES I 92ff.), e.g.: i-Ium-a-ba, il-su-a-ba "God/his god is a brother"; /-lu/ll-I/Ia-Iik, il-stl-J/1a-lik shape of) a
"Godl his god is a counselor", and so on. 19 This buildir
9 Presumably much of what I am going to say about the practices of the rulers and the members was partly (
of the ruling families is also relevant for ordinary people. Clearly, the main difference is that. Uruk YO. 1
being perso/lae publicae, the beliefs of the former were a public alTair, while information on the some 3,5m
commoner remains very scanty indeed. objects exc,
10 See G.J. Selz 1992b:248ff. which the I;
II I think that for methodical reasons the cult of images (of human beings) and the cult of (images excavation I
of) the deceased should be kept apart from the ancestral cult, notwithstanding the fact that this Deutschen (
communication provides clear evidence for their affiliation. Cf. below [32]f. [54]. [56] and nn. 200. Ausgrabung
228. 235. 249. 261. II f. A recel
12 Th. Paffrath 1913. To this development Paffrath devoted the chapter Wafj"en und Wafj"en/rager (pp. 124-13
entwickeln sicli Zll GOllheiten (pp. 61-67). On p. 66 he states that it could easily happen, "daB assessments
man anfing, diese gdttliche Yerehrung auch auf andere, dem Hauptgott vielleicht besonders nahe System: Thl
aufgestellte Darstellungen zu iibertragen". numerous r,
13 See B. Landsberger 1947174. Developmel
14 JCS 21 (1967); see further Th. Jacobsen 1970: 1-38 and 1987b. An outspoken follower of such an "Settlement
evolutionistic approach to the Mesopotamian religion was K. Oberhuber; see his recent summary (91-106), b,
"Yom Praanthropomorphismus zum anthropomorphen Pantheon" in 1991 :25-33. P. Charvat 1993:3 20 For a list 01
"The anthropomorphic forms of the gods, which came to rule supreme, were imposed relatively UVB 15 (19
late and supplanted the older forms slowly and only with difficulty." Nevertheless, Charvat remark- 21 See UVB I"
ably modifies older evolutionistic approaches on p. 16: The "early tendency to give situationally 22 See illustrat
determined, nonhuman form to the numinous, however, probably at no time excluded attribution 23 See illustrat
also of human forms." For an earlier discussion see B. Hruska, ArOr 39 (1971) 190-199. 24 See the illu
15 N. Schneider 1947: 65. "Wie sich die Sumerer den gdttlichen Charakter dieser selbstgezimmerten than life siz,
Gegenstande vorstellten, entzieht sich unserer Uberlegung." P. Amiet, D
16 It is, however, difficult to accept this explanation as sufficient for all the early divine symbols. Charvat 19S
esp. for those referred to by Th. 1acobsen in his 1967 article, e.g. the Us water-bird for Nanse. representati(
Us- b i "goose" or "swan(?)" for Ningal etc.; see also the discussion by K.R. Maxwell-Hyslop, "The 25 It is general
Goddess Nanse. An Attempt to Identify Her Representation", Iraq 54 (1992) 79-82. Much the historic Me!
same holds true for the Uruk cult symbols dealt with by K. Szarzynska in 1987/88; see also nn. 26 In RA 87 (I
17. 26. Note that in a similar way J. Krecher, RIA 3, 495 distinguishes these "Gdttersymbole im as "god syr
strengen Sinn" from "Gdttersymbole im weiteren Sinn", "wo der Gegenstand ... in einer gegebenen "symbol of
Situation oder einem bestimmten Kontext neben der Gottheit selbst, in einer Reihe mit ihr steht." several offe
A rather clear Early Dynastic attestation of a divine symbol in the former sense is, compared "Morning II
with later traditions, provided by an oath by the 'dagger of Lugal-asal' ("Lord (of the) poplar"). temples es (
mentioned in a North-Babylonian 'Kudurru' (see I.1. Gelb et aI., OIP 104 No. 36 I07ff.); see further "the house (
1. Krecher, RIA 3, 495f. A. Falkenstein, NG I, 655 (with older lit.); K. van Lerberghe, Zikir .l:lIIl1illl the cult of I
(Fs. Kraus) 253ff.; further the ljammu-rapT year date 26, etc. of Inana go
See also nn. 17f. 169f. nothing defi
17 See W. G. Lambert 1990, esp. 123f. and 127ft". and the very similar views expressed by Th. G. (see also U.
Pinches, PSBA 37 (1915) 95. As for the alleged 'preanthropomorphic' stage of Sumerian religion of the MUS
Lambert states: "Supporting evidence is lacking". Cf. also F.A.M. Wiggermann 1994: 225t".; A. exhaustive t
Green 1994:247. 1987/88.
Note that, in the case of the "cultic objects", Lambert, op.cit. 129, takes a position similar to 27 These heads
Paffrath's, but to an even greater extent; "The aura of a god in his temple could so attach itself Chagar Baz,
to the temple, or architectural parts of it in particular, also to implements he used, and to the city der Archdo/,
which housed the temple, in such a way that these various things also became gods and received 28 M.E.L. Mal
otferings as a mark 01' the fact." Hrouda, De,
Some of the oldest cult symbols in Archaic Uruk, apparently mainly architectural parts, were 29 For the date
discussed by K. Szarzynska in her 1987/88 article. Note that the Uruk 'cult symbols' stand at the Bildwerke a
beginning of the written tradition. It is pro~en by their occurrence with the DIGIR-sign that they 30 For a detaile
could represent a specific divinity in writing and in art. Therefore they do not fall into the scope of the adjacent
the present article. Note further that, according to the information available, all this neither confirms zum TAVO,
nor disproves the possibility of an anthropomorphic representation of the 'divine'. H.1. Nissen

186
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

18 See n. 16. For a general assessment of this problem see J. Krecher, RIA 3, 495-498. A rather dubious
example constitutes the numerous ship-models accompanying so many Early Dynastic burials. They,
perhaps, could be interpreted as symbols for the moon god Nanna(r). (See mas u - n i r - an - n a "the
ship, the heavenly emblem" discussed by W. Sallaberger 1993: 181 f.) However, other connotations
are at least equally likely. They may refer to the dead's need to cross the river of the underworld,
a topic discussed in 1995. Note also that the items z a bar - d e 1- m a - d i 1m u n "bronze-vessel (in
shape of) a Dilmun boat" (cf. below sub 125]) were often given as votive gifts to various gods.
19 This building dates to the archaeological level Uruk IVa. It had no visible access from outside and
was partly dug into the ground, thus destroying the northern corner of the "Steinstifttempel" (layer
Uruk VI). To the excavators it bore resemblance to a tomb. The central rectangular room measured
some 3,5m x 6m. It was found empty in part but contained the remains of a funeral pile. The
objects excavated there were covered with a layer of bitumen. A corridor of about 2m width, in
which the largest number of objects were found, surrounded this central room. See the preliminary
excavation reports (= Vorldufiger Bericht iiber die VOIl1Delltschell Archdologischen Institut und der
Deutschen Orient-Gesellschafi aus Miffelll der Deutschell Forschungsgemeinschaft ulltemommenell
Ausgrabullgen ill Urllk-Warka = UVB) UVB 14 (1958) 24ff.; UVB 15 (1959) 8ff.; UVB 17 (1961)
II f. A recent English summary may be found in P. Charvat 1993: I28ff. The whole chapter 5.1.1.
(pp. 124-135) provides concise information about the excavations of Archaic Uruk. - For recent
assessments of Uruk's role in early Mesopotamian history see now also G. Algaze, The Uruk World
System: The DYllamics o{ Expansion of Early Mesopotamian Civilization. (Chicago 1993) (with
numerous references to earlier literature); further the articles of P. Steinkeller, "Early Political
Development in Mesopotamia and the Origin of the Sargonic Empire" (107-129) and H.-J. Nissen,
"Settlement Patterns and Material Culture of the Akkadian Period: Continuity and Discontinuity"
(91-106), both in: M. Liverani (Ed.) 1993.
20 For a list of these objects see the excavation reports UVB 14 (1958) 30-35 and Tafel 12 and 13;
UVB 15 (1959) 8-11 and Tafel 39 a-d.
21 See UVB 14 (1958) 28-30 and Tafel 34. 36. 401".
22 See illustrations UVB 14 (1958) Tafel 37; UVB 15 (1959) Tafel 15.
23 See illustrations UVB 15 (1959) Tafel 17. 18.
24 See the illustrations UVB 15 (1959) Tafel 19. One also should mention the fragments of a more
than life size statue of an artificial concrete-like stone (see J. Jordan, WVDOG 5 I (1928) 68 n. 94;
P. Amiet, Die Kunst des Alten Oriellts (=L'Arr Antique du Proche-Orient), (Freiburg 1977) 450; P.
Charvat 1993: 129), which played an important part in the earlier discussions of 'anthropomorphic'
representation of gods; cf. van Dijk 1967 and E. Strom menger, BaM 6 (1973) 19-27.
25 It is generally accepted that these ceremonial burials of temple inventory were customary in proto-
historic Mesopotamia; cf. B. Hrouda, BaM 5 (1970) 345-7; E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :9ff.
26 In RA 87 (1993) 7-28. While mentioning the widely accepted interpretation of some Uruk signs
as "god symbols" or "processional standards" she stresses the overwhelming importance of the
"symbol of Inana", the MUS-sign. By comparison with later philological data, she identifies in
several offering lists names for different manifestations of Inana as the planet Venus: dinana-':!lid
"Morning Inana", dillana-sig "Evening Inana" and <liliana-null "Princely Inana". Accordingly, the
temples esC _(d)i nana) 'the main cult precinct in Uruk'; e-nu n/agru n-i nana, e-nild-i nana,
'the house of the rest of [nan a" and e-AN-KJ, "the House of Heaven and Earth" are associated with
the cult of Inana. As a result of Szarzynska's article there can be little doubt that the astral aspects
of lnana go back as far as Uruk IV, that means very close to the invention of writing. However,
nothing definite can be said about the possibility of representing Inana in anthropomorphic guise
(see also U. Seidl, RIA 5, 87). Note that following W. Andrae, the widely accepted interpretation
of the MUS-sign is that of a door-post made of reed (cf. above n. 17). The most recent and rather
exhaustive treatment of the different signs representing such reed poles is provided by K. Szarzynska
1987/88.
27 These heads were found in the Grey Eye-Temple; see M.E.L. Mallowan, "Excavations at Brak and
Chagar Bazar", Iraq 31 (1947) 43.53.91-93 + pI. I-II; cf. B. Hrouda, Vorderasien I. Handbuch
der Archiiologie, (Mlinchen 1971), 89f.
28 M.E.L. Mallowan, Iraq 31 (1947) 43. 91-93; but cf. P. Amiet, Die Kunst des Alten Orient, 471; B.
Hrouda, Der Alte Orient. Geschichle und Kliitur des allen Vorderasien, (Mlinchen 1991), 455.
29 For the elate of the Uruk sculpture cf. the discussion by B. Hrouda, "Zur Datierung frUhsumerischer
Bildwerke aus Uruk-Warka", BaM 5 (1970) 33-44.
30 For a detailed revision of the archaeologial and chronological problems involved concerning this and
the adjacent periods see U. Finkbeiner/ W. Rtillig, Je/llldat Nay - period or regional stvle; Beihe.fie
~Uln TAVO, Reihe B Nr. 62. In our context, special attention should be paid to the contribution of
H.J. Nissen concerning the chronological arrangement of the Jamdat Nasr-tablets (pp. 320f.) and

187
 Gebhard J. Selz

the archaic Ur-tablets (pp. 316[,). See now also RJ. Matthews, "Defining the Style of the Period: classificatio
Jemdet Nasr 1926-28", fraq 54 (1992) 1-34. and the ref 01
Note that the assessment of the development of the Mesopotamian society in protohistoric and 41 G.1. Selz I (
Presargonic periods is somewhat controversial. Cf. the articles of H. Nissen and P. Stein keller 42 Called "Lis
quoted in n. 19. 1993.
31 See R.K. Englund/ J.-P. Gregoire 1991 :9. Note that the 'Vessels-List' from Uruk was also copied 43 Various con
(or preserved) in North-Babylonian Jamdat Na~r: see R.K. Englund/ J.-P. Gregoire 1991 :242, and stein, ATV,
R.K. Englund/ H.1. Nissen 1993:32. 44 With the h(
32 Cf. P. Charvat 1993:302-316, who repeatedly stresses the increasing importance of burial customs Nissen 199:
and the worship of the deceased ancestors. For recent accounts of the Mesopotamian attitude towards Ur-A: The
death and afterlife see for example: M. Bayliss 1973; Mesopotamia 8, 1980; J. Bottero ZA 73 (1983) R,K. EnglUi
153-203; K. Spronk 1985; A. Tsukimoto 1985; J.S. Cooper 1991; B, Groneberg, AoF 17 (1990) by A. Cavi
244-261; GJ. Selz 1995, Falkenstein,
33 Since the earliest times onwards, numerous burials are attested. The dead were buried in cemeteries Uruk IV-G,
or in intra-mural burials underneath the houses; cf. B. Hrouda, loco cit. (in n. 28) 51 f. For a survey a: MEE 3 I
of the various burials and their distribution in space and time see E. Strommenger, RIA 3,581-593 AI (A): SI
and BaM 3 (1964) 157-173. A2 (B): Sf
34 For their dating cf. W.F. Albright, BASOI? 60 (1935), 6; H.1. Nissen, Zur Datierung des Kdnigs- Bl (C): fA
ji-iedhofs von VI', Bonn 1966; D.T. Potts in: U. Finkbeiner/ W. Rollig 1986:23 and H.1. Nissen in: B2 (D): fA
U. Finkbeiner/ W. Rollig 1986:316f. B3 (E): fA.
35 For a discussion about the reconstruction of these instruments and their precise denomination in B4 (F): fA:
terms of musicological classification see W. Stauder, Die Hwj'en und Leiern del' Sumerer. Frankfurt B5 (G): fA
a.M. 1957: H. Hartmann, Die Musik del' sUl11erischen Kultur. Frankfurt a,M. 1960, 19-36. C: CBS 14
36 These were found in the so-called "royal tombs" or the "death pits". Especially the multiple burials o (H): Spe
in some of these tombs caused some bewilderment. Sir Leonard Woolley insisted on seeing in these E: Chicago
side-burials human sacrifices; for a re-evaluation of the burial complexes at Ur cf. P.R.S. Moorey. F (I): Gur
Expedition, Fall 1977, 24ff.; S. Pollock: "Chronology of the Royal Cemetery of Ur", Iraq 47 (1985) Kis-tablet p
129-158. cf. further P.R.S. Moorey: "Where did they Bury the Kings of the IIIrd Dynasty of Ur?" well-known
Iraq 46 (1984) Iff.; also P. Michalowski, OrNS 46 (1977) 220-225. perhaps fM
P. Charvat, in reviewing the documented changes occurring from the Jamdat Na~r- to the Early HhXI:288ff
Dynastic periods, has recently offered a new interpretation of their significance. He departs from the 45 N~te that tJ
reconstructed situation of the Surrupak polity, which he depicts as headed by "local elites who built 73, G. Petti
the first unified body of Early Dynastic Sumer" and who "took a series of well discernible measures 1980) 401,
to render their economic, social and spiritual supremacy unquestionable". He further remarks that 33-37 argw
"they even attempted to direct spiritual developments in contemporary communities, incorporating writing for
various local or even social estate divinities into the official cults which they controlled" (Charvat aus Erz her;
1993:307). Applying this picture to the burial practices at Ur, he concludes: "The whole Ur situation write: "Dies
acquires features pointing in the direction of deification of the local elite, perceived as a constructing (Zeichen GI
agent of the existing social order" (p. 309). However, such reconstructions are difficult to establish qualifiziert,
and certainly reflect only half of the truth. Cf. T. Eickhoff: Grab und Grabbeigabe, Bestallungssittell sollte, aus d
del' Nekropole von Tall Ahmad al Hallu und anderer friihdynastischer Begriibnisstdtten ir/'l siidlichen that AN in (
Mesopotam.ien und in Luristan. Mlinchener Vorderasiatische Studien (B. Hrouda, Ed.) Bd. XIV adds u r u d l
(Mlinchen, Wien 1993), in such case
37 See U. Winter 1994, esp. 126f27 In her note, Winter refers to Angim 147, where a weapon several othe
(perhaps the spear of I. 144 and not a mace) of Ninurta is described: (giSt u k u I) n f me - I e m4- and I u - I u (
a - n i k a I a m - m a [du I - I a] kakku a pululyu melal1l1ni!u matu [katmat] "(the weapon) whose of the paral
dread aura covers the land". Note that this list describing Ninurta's arsenal starts with the maces [s] u m- ku
(d)S a r - u r/ll r4 and (d):; a r - g a z, which are dealt with below.
I ds u m - k i:
38 See c.L. Woolley UE II pI. 227; see also E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :83f. holy knife, (
39 Our main sources are the god-lists of Fara (including the zil-mf-hymns) and Abu-SaiabTi), for which Here, it see
see M. Krebernik 1986:161-203; P. Mander 1986; G.1. Selz 1992a:196ff,; 212ff. For the problems correct, an i
with a secure interpretation of many of these divine names see M. Krebernik 1986: 163f. Some of that referent
the following interpretations are based on M. Krebernik's ideas, who unfortunatedly presents little 46 Note that u
evidence for his interesting suggestions. Further evidence is provided by the onomasticon, see F. cf. the prec(
Pomponio 1987; A. Archi (Ed.) 1988b; cf. also M. Krebernik 1984, 47 The first tWI
40 P. Charvat 1993:313, for example, writes concerning the Fara divinity lists: "In addition to main ENGAR(
Sumerian gods they subsume several hundred other names in the case of which they elevate to ne- d u.
supranatural status various service personnel of the divine oikoi (divine cooks of Uruk, a divine In Fara SF (
48
cauldron, and a divine overseer), including actual and real officials such as SANGA:DUB (... ) as In Fara SF (
49
well as various natural substances, (reeds) and human products including beeswax, incense, metal- In Para SF (
50
and clay vessels .... This somewhat strange lliTaY apparently represents an attempt at a systematic In Fara SF (
51

188
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

classification of both animate and inanimate notions which were considered of major importance
and therefore presumably had a bearing on contemporary social equilibrium."
41 GJ. Selz 1992a, esp. 196-200.
42 Called "Lista NAGAR" by G. Pettinato, MEE 3, 73ff.; "Metal List" by R.K. Englundl H. Nissen
1993.
43 Various connections between SF 8 and 9 with Uruk-Ill tablets were already observed by A. Falken-
stein, ATU 462; cf. A. Cavigneaux, Stllner 33 (1977) I 15f. + fig. 12c.
44 With the help of A. Westenholz and of G. Pettinato, MEE 3, 77, as well as R.K. Englundl HJ.
Nissen 1993:3259 the following sources came to my knowledge:
Ur-A: The Uruk-IIl (=Jamdat-Nasr) and Uruk IV predecessors of this list are now treated by
R.K. Englundl H.J. Nissen 1993: 32-34 with fig. 14f. and 134--141. W 24012/3 (1) was published
by A. Cavigneaux, SUll1er 33 (1977) 115 fig. 12c; id., BaM 22 (1991) 96 (1). In addition, A.
Falkenstein, ATU 462 mentions W 13946 a-n, W 14265 as belonging to this group of texts. (Uruk,
Uruk IV-Gamdat Na~r)
a: MEE 3 No. 26 + 76 (Ebla, Early Dynastic)
A I (A): SF 9 col. 5: 16ff. (Fara, Early Dynastic)
A2 (B): SF 8 (Fara, Early Dynastic)
B I (C): lAS 14 (Abu ~alabTb, Early Dynastic-Fara-type)
B2 (D): lAS 13 (Abu SalabTb, Early Dynastic-Fara-type)
B3 (E): lAS 15 (Abu ~alabTb, Early Dynastic-Fara-type)
B4 (F): lAS 16 (Abu SalabTb, Early Dynastic-Fara-type)
B5 (G): lAS 17 (Abu SalabTb, Early Dynastic-Fara-lype)
C: CBS 14182 (unpublished; Nippur(?), Early Dynastic-Fara-type);
D (H): Speleers, RIAA no. 46 ((?), Early Dynastic - Presargonic);
E: Chicago Oriental Institute A 3670 ((?), Early Dynastic - Presargonic);
F (I): Gurney, Iraq 31 (1969) 3fT. (Kis, Sargonic). Following the information concerning the
Kis-tablet provided by P.R.S. Moorey apud Gurney, op. cit. 3 this text comes perhaps from "the
well-known Temple of Ishtar(Ninlil) at Ehursagkalamma" Somehow related appear lAS 29 and
perhaps lAS 30 with similar word-pairs. Note that the resemblance of the pertinenl passages in
tIbX1:288ff. remains superficial.
45 Note that this was rejected by O.R. Gurney, Iraq 31 (1969) 3, as "improbable"; as for MEE 3,
73, G. Pettinato in: Dio nella Bibbia e nelle culture ad essa cOnlemporanee e conl1esse (Torino
1980) 40 I, though I could nOI get hold of this book. In 1981 A.A. Vaiman, CRRAI 28 (1982)
33-37 argued for an interpretation of the sign AN in these and in related contexts as an early
writing for an -n a which he rendered as "iron". (Following Vaiman, an - bar denotes '''Eisen'
aus Erz herausgeschmolzen", but cf. F. Joannes, RIA 8, 97f.). R.K. Englundl H. Nissen 1993: 34
write: "Diese nicht wei tel' qualifizierten Bezeichnungen etwa fUr verschiedene Sorten von Messern
(Zeichen GIR2,,) odeI' Bohrern (NAGAR) wurden jedoch in der Regel auch durch den Zusatz AN
qualifiziert, das vermutlich eine Legierung des Metalls Kupfer (AN ::::0 AN.NA = Zinn?) andeuten
sollte, aus der das Objekt gegossen wurde". However, for several reasons it seems improbable to me
that AN in our lexical list denotes a sort of metal. Firstly, it is not only the Kis text that consistently
adds u ru d u to the various entries. Even in other texts the sign occasionally occurs and presumably
in such cases u I'u d u is not a pure graphic determinative (cf. MEE 3,81 1153ff.). Secondly, there are
several other names for metal attested in this list, such as a - g a 1'5(Kis: a gar, (=SIG7) = abiiru(m))
and I u -I u (RIAA 46: a - g a r5- g a r5; Kis: I (i? -I u) = lult/(m) "antimony(?)". Thirdly, with the help
of the parallels the collated text SF 9 10: 18-11:2 is to be reconstructed in the following way: I
[sjum-kill [1 dsum-kuj/[I sum-ku-sig17jlI dsum-ku-si[gl7jll I sum-ku-babbarl
I ds u m - k u - b a b bar, perhaps to be interpreted as: "(the) holy/shining/metal knife, (the divine)
holy knife, (the) golden knife, (the divine) golden knife, (the) silver knife, (the divine) silver knife".
Here, it seems quite undisputable that AN is not designating any metal and if this assumption is
correct, an interpretation of AN as classifying DINGIR-sign is the most obvious. I would suggest
that reference is made in these texts to a (standardized) temple inventory.
46 Note that u I' u d u is probably a graphic determinative; it is usually not written in the forerunners;
cf. the preceding note.
47 The first two objects in SF 92:8-11 are: (d)g fr- Cil S 1M M A R:M E; (d)g fr- GIS 1M MAR:
ENG A R (collated), Ebla traditions represent the former as GIS 1 M MAR, the latter as (d)g i-
n e - d u.
48 In Fara SF 92:12-13 II Ebla 67f.: (d)gfr:udu.
49 In Fara SF 9 2: 14--15 II lAS 13 2: 1-2 II Ebla 691'.: (d)g f r:a b.
50 In Fara SF 92:16-17 II lAS 132':3-411 Ebla 71f.: (d)gfr:ku6.
51 In Fara SF 92:18-1911 (?) lAS 132':5-6 11145:4-5 II Ebla 73f.: (d)gfr:sa.

189
 Gebhard J. Selz

52 SF 98:20-21 (dlgfr:LAK 242(?) (not transliterated by A. Deimel); Ebla 75f.: (dlgfr-LUL; lAS 73 See M. Civi
132':7-8 (dlLUL. If it is not too far-fetched to compare here the names of modern implements 74 Cf. MEJdln
like dovetail- or foxtail-saws ("Fuchsschwanz") a reading k as might be considered. 75 See the disc
53 lAS 13 2' :9-1 0: (dlASARI; SF 9 8:22-9: I: (dlg f r- ASARI. See also the comments of M. Krebernik 76 Cf. P. Mane
on AN.ASAR and dasar, dnin-asar in 1986:192. SF I 3:2 a s
54 Broken in SF 9; lAS 132':11-12: (dlukus-gfr; Ebla 79f.: (dlgfr-ukus; E: (=A 3670) 2':6'-7': connection'
[u] k (\ S - g f r, du k u s - g f r; 77 For this ide
55 The restoration after the earlier parallels remains doubtful. Mander 198
56 SF 93:6-7 II lAS 132':15-16 II Ebla 83f.: (dlgfr-ti. list'. discus~
57 Broken in SF 9. lAS 13 3' :2-3: (dlTIR. U.TIR; Ebla 87f. has dg f r - n 1- n i5(N E). (divine) s u [
58 Broken in SF9.IAS 133':4-5: (d)gfr-NISSABA; Ebla 89f.: (dlgfr-NAGA. dgfr-sum
59 The Kis-tradition is paralleled by Ebla 91f.; in SF 99:14-15 I would like to read (d)fpAD1_gfr, 78 Here teme
though SUR instead of PAD is not absolutely excluded. In the former case the meaning would be S. Dunham,
something like "the knife (for) meals". other interp
lAS 133':6-7 (1114): (eI)gfr-SUR, apparently understood as referring to SUR "half-loaf (of) bread". the like. As
60 G. Pettinato's reconstruction of these lines remains somewhat problematic. The items are attested translation"
in the Ebla-AbST traditions (see the following note). But at this point they infer an additional line For the can
dU(sar)-gfr in SF 99:16-17 and dgfr-KAxSAR(= 10) in the AbST-tradition. that ku in t
61 In lAS 133':10-11 these items are followed by dgfr-SAL+AS, con:esponding to the (dlgfr-sal metal'. Met;
in SF 9 3: 18-19 and in Ebla and RIAA 46; in Kis they are probably mentioned in II. 6: 10f. as Ellis YNER
(ell;;u m - s a I-I a "the thin (or broad?) knife". 79 SF 5/6:43.-
62 Note that G. Pettinato proposes a different order. According to my reconstruction these items are attested und
without parallel in the older texts, in the similar way as the older (dlU (s ,\ r) - g f rand (d)g f r- in Fish, Cat
KAxSAR(=IO) are not attested in the Kis text. were weapo
63 Tentatively, I take sa - f s i 1 as a variant writing for sit - su I z U iiast7(IIl), SlSalU(m) meaning some- cases they c
thing like "to disembowel"; cf. GJ. Selz AoF 16 (1989) 381. 80 It is not al'A
64 Compare g i s - s iIi g - g a, G.R. Castelino, Two Sulgi Hymns (BC), SS 42,269. Is there any connec- the sceptre"
tion with the god dASARI from Old Sumerian Lagas (TSA I, DP 53, Nik I 23)? 81 Here I wou"
65 Cf., perhaps, g f r - dUll "abtrennenO)" in H. Behrensl H. Steible, FAOS 6, 144. are clearly i
66 This seems clear in the case of ds u m for which see below sub [17] and n. 45. Perhaps dn i n- treated by E
NAGARIb ulu g4 and elSEN should be mentioned also. Girsu by a
67 Written GA x EN. It appears that the inscribed EN is an indicator of meaning (Sinnzeichen), not of dedicated b'
pronunciation. The later writing men = GA x ME+EN; adds me as a phonetic indicator, perhaps spear-blade:
influenced by (secondary) interpretation of the word as "Me (=divine powers) and object incorpo- millennium
rating these and En (= priestly function)". As A. Falkenstein has noted in ZA 56 (1964) 65, there are 82 See B. Lane
some reasons for supporting a disyllabic origin of the word 1m e n/. The Akkadian me'iJl1L1111 may in 83 Interpretatio
fact indicate that the word Imenl originated as a compound noun. See further Y. Gong, Studiell ZlIr 84 Interpretatio
Bildung und Entwicklung del' Keilschri/izeichen. Antiquates Bd. 7, 54121, 13625, (Hamburg 1993.) 1986:52 no.
68 Understood as an abbreviated writing for the Old Sumerian me nx- b a r- s u, which is attested as a 85 Following II
votive gift to gods among other types of crowns in Old Sumerian Lagas (GJ. Selz, FAOS 15/2 no. in ED Ui A
116 (=BIN 8,390. I propose to take bar-su as a variant spelling of bar-si(-ig), bar-sig, 86 SF I 9:10;
translated by PSD B 126 as "sash", "shawl". me nx- bar - s u may therefore tentatively be rendered reads an - g
as "turban"; see FAOS 15/2, p. 635. Krebernik I
69 Or, alternatively, to be understood as: ella III m a - m e nx; "The protective goddess (provides/is (lor compound.
of? the crown"? Cf. M. Krebernik 1986: 163f. and the names with the element LAMMA in SF I and KALAl
I :26If. See also below n. 151. should be al
70 Cf. the IjA R - s a r - r a "inscribed/engraved ring" below [23], which is kown to have received 87 See P. Mar
offerings in Old Sumerian Lagas. probabl y rei
71 Cf. also dopa PAP: b i 1(2)-sag "The elder (is) the leader" (Lagas: elp a - b 11- s a g) attested likewise of the Princ
in Fara and Abu ~alabTb; P. Mander 1986:65; cf. also BM 3, 26 10:3' (Lagas-riddles). 88 Alternativel
72 See P. Mander 1986:65. The interpretation of this name is generally accepted: See Th. Jacobsen. KldNANN,
JNES 2 (1948) 118f.; A. Sjoberg, ZA NF 21 (1963) 262; A. Falkenstein, AnOr 30, 76f9, D.O. 89 Thus in SF
Edzardl W.G. Lambert, RIA 5, 36. A different 0,;;inion was expressed by Th. Jacobsen, Treasures (jf writing for'
Darkness 81 f.; id., The HQ/ps that once ... 430-2. There he translates the name as "the doorleaf of (SF I) II dn
the honored one", based on a lim = kabtu(m). I would, with most scholars, consider the underlying perhaps be \
Akkadian equivalent (AHw 418; CAD K 24f.) to be a late, secondary development. in the "list \
However, the name of this god is a good example for my hypothesis that much more is involved 90 This seems
in the deification of 'parts of the temples' tRan just the spreading aura of the god. i g and i g - g a I some of the
Farber-F1Ug
are metaphors for the borderline or the thresh hold between this and the other world. See A. Sjoberg,
this context.
ibid.; GJ. Selz 1995 and cf. Gud. Cyl B 6:21.

190
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

73 See M. Civil, OA 21 (1982) 19ff.; P. Mander 1986:61 :no.189; M. Krebernik 1986: 195.
74 Cf. ME_(d)n a - ru in lAS 47 rev. ii 6 II SF 57 rev. vi 10.
75 See the discussions of' M. Krebernik 1986:202 and P. Mander 1986:57f.
76 Cf. P. Mander 1986:65:no. 238, the form cis i g4 - t u is not attested; see also n. 151. Note that in
SF I 3:2 a second dn i n - s i g4- t U occurs without the LAMMA-sign; s. M. Krebernik 1986:200. A
connection with diu g a 1- s i g4 remains doubtful (P. Mander, ibid.).
77 For this identification see H. Waetzoldt, OA 29 (1990) 21; cf. also the earlier discussion by P.
Mander 1986:601'., who considers a Semitic interpretation as "name". In the lexical 'deification
list', discussed above sub [14]-[16], the gfr-section is followed by an enumeration of various
(divine) sum-items (see also n. 45). An translation as "knife" seems also plausible. Note the deity
dgfr-sum (SF I 19:4') is perhaps alluding to the sample of these "(divine) daggers and knives".
78 Here t e men is taken in its original sense "foundation peg", for which see the important article by
S. Dunham, "The Sumerian Words for Foundation." Part I: Temen. RA 80 (1986) 31-64. However,
other interpretations also seem plausible, for instance "the holy or shininglpure foundation", or
the like. As for the translation of k LI, I stick to the conventional rendering as "holy", even if a
translation "shining", as proposed by D.O. Edzard, may better fit the semantic range of the word.
For the conceptual implications such a word may have had, see U. Winter 1994. We may note
that k LI in this case perhaps conveys the connotation of 'shining, brilliant, glittering or sparkling
metal'. Metal foundation pegs or nails are richly documented in Mesopotamian sources; cf. R. S.
Ellis YNER 2, esp. 46fT.
79 SF 5/6:43. - Cf. further the discussion of s u - n i r by W. Sallaberger 1993: 181 f. and ds u - n i r - g a I.
attested under Su-ilisu as the deified emblem of Nanna( -r), or the description of a s u - n i r - z a bar
in Fish, Cal. 551, discussed by J.J.A. van Dijk, JCS 19 (1965) 23f. In some cases such s u - n i r's
were weapons (cf. E. Braun-Holzinger's treatment of the "Symbolwaffen" in 1991 :32f.85); in other
cases they bore emblematic animals (cf. [34] and n. 159).
80 It is not always clear if such names should be understood as genitive compounds, e.g. "Lady (of)
the sceptre".
81 Here I would like to mention some Early Dynastic weapons from 'Lagas' which, by their inscription,
are clearly identified as 'votive objects' and are not included in H. Steible's FAOS 5. All three are
treated by E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :88 (MW 1-3): MW I, a 'copper' -dagger is dedicated to Nin-
Girsu by a certain GIS. N I sag - g a "PN, the temple-administrator", MW 2, a knife-blade, is
dedicated by an unknown person to Nin-Girsu-Bagara for 'the life of E'anatum' and MW 3, a
spear-blade, mentions a 'king of Kis'. However, the most popular 'votive weapon' of the third
millennium was the club-head, attested in numerous copies; cf. E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :42ff.
82 See B. Landsberger, WdO I (1960); R.D. Biggs, OIP 99 54:98-99; P. Mander I986:44:no. 48.
83 Interpretation doubtful; cf. the comments by P. Mander 1986: 51 :no. 94.
84 Interpretation supported by the corresponding deity in the Ab~T: dUD.TA~.ALAN; cf. P. Mander
1986:52 no. 98 ..
85 Following M. Krebernik 1986: 193 probably to be connected with the profession GAL.GA/GARA
in ED Lu A 20; cf. below nn, 86. 93. Note also dGAL.GA.URU, M. Krebernik, ibid.
86 SF I 9: 10; or is the meaning simply a writing for GAL:UN "supervisor"? P. Mander 1986:83
reads an - g a 1- k a I a m. Some other names beginning with GAL may belong to this group; see M.
Krebernik 1986: 193f. Note that GAL:KALAM/UN in Old Sumerian Lagas is (always(? a genitive
compound. (This supports the interpretation proposed for our divine name.) In the Lagas texts UN
and KALAM are not distinguished. It is not clear yet for which instances the reading kin g a I
shou Id be adopted; cf. G.1. Selz, FAOS 1511, 85 f.
87 See P. Mander 1986:36, 44 and M. Krebernik 1984:229f. If this interpretation is correct, nun
probably refers to the god Enki. Therefore, the name should perhaps be understood as "Gudu-priest
of the Prince(=Enki)".
88 Alternatively, following P. Mander 1986:97, to be interpreted as a syllabic writing for (u) m u n ze reO.
KidNANNA).
89 Thus in SF I 7: 17'; cf. the writing dn a m - n i r in the z a - m f-hymns I. 148. For NAM as older
writing for "lord" see W.G. Lambert, OA 20 (1981) 95. Cf. also the variant writing [d[ r n i nl_ u r t a
(SF I) II dn a m- u r t a (Ab~ god-list): P. Mander 1986: 113. Given this, these three names should
perhaps be understood as "Lord (of) xy" etc. Compare, however, the names for functions or offices
in the "list of the me's" in the following note.
90 This seems the best opportunity to point out the conceptual similarities between our divinities and
some of the me's mentioned in the famous 'list of the me's' in 1110110 and Ellki. For these see G.
Farber-FIUgge, SI. Pohl 10, 97-115 and the interesting treatment by J.J. Glassner 1992:55-86. In
this context, I would like to refer to the following me's, grouped according to our present purpose:

191
 Gebhard J. Selz

I. Functions/offices: n a m - e n "office/function of an En"; n a m - I a gar; "office of a Lagar"; n a m- 104 Cf. P. Man

dig i r "function of a god/godship"; n a m - sip a "shepherdship"; n a m -I u g a I "kingship"; n a m- ban/gur?,
n a r "office/function of a singer/musician"; n a III - a b - b a "office/function of an elder"; etc. my discussi,
2. Arts: n a m- nag a r "the art of building"; n a m- t i b ira "the art of the copper-smith"; n a Ill- II) 49 Iff.
dub - sa r "the art of writing"; n a Ill- s i III Ug "the art of the blacksmith"; n a m - a s gab "the art 105 For dub-I
of leatherwork"; n a m _a z I a g, "the art of laundering"; n am - sid i m "the art of building"; n a m - position in .
ad-KID "the art of reed-working". some doubt
3. Illsignia: a g a - z i - m a b "legitimate lofty crown"; gisg u - z a - n a m -I u g a I "throne (of) kingship; = RSP 210
g i d r i(PA)- m a h "lofty sceptre"; sib ire 5 k i r i "shepherd's crook (and) nose-rope"; t Lig - m a b equally pos:
"lofty garment";- (gis)s u - n i r; "standard". perhaps LA
4. Musical illstruments: a) t i g i - k u "holy tympanum" ("Hackbrett"); I i -I i -I s - k u "holy timbal"; 106 See M. Kre
u b "drum"; me - z e 'a sort of sistrum(?), ("Klangstab(?)") b); k u 5 - a - I a "small drum "C)
107 See P. Man
5. Cultural achievements: i z i - m Li- m Li "kindle a fire"; i z i - t e - t e "extinguish a fire"; i m - r i-a- of 'deified
g (1- gar - r a "gathering of the kin"; d i - k Us "to judge". Cloud" (P.
a) The interpretation of these instruments is rather uncertain. For the first three one might assume even the far
an onomatopoeic origin; cf. also to b a I a g in n. 153. Wiggermani
b) So following K. Yolk, FAOS 18, 101 (disc.; bibl.); CAD Mil 239: "a type of drum". c) See CAD 108 Cf. P. Mane
All 377f. in M. Kreb<
91 But cf. dnam-urta; P. Mander 1986:113, which points to an explanation as a 'variation' of possibility (
n a m < > n i n. dn a m - a b z u above may, accordingly, be taken for dn i n - a b z u; see also n. 89. Goddda-b
92 Or, dn i n- eng a r? Cf. dn i n-GANA - dn i n-APIN in the Ab$ god-list II. 72f.; cf. P. Mander 1986: further M. f
25, 47, reading dn i n - a S a2. = i.M/am sit
93 This interpretation is based on the profession g a I:t u r in ED LLi A 28; cf. nn. 85f.; see P. Mander S/I, 250). P
1986:62. should also
94 SF I 5: 10'; lAS 83 = Ab$T god-list I. 323: dn i n - g u r7- g u r7 (P. Mander 1986:30); SF I 20:6': 109 = ruqqu etc
de n - g U f7-
Steinkeller,
95 Cf. W.G. Lambert, OA 20 (1981) 85; P. Mander 1986:59; see also the DN dn i n - k a - s i SF 5/6:48. /a I ( a) m u/
96 Cf. P. Mander 1968;56 and also the zit - m I-hymn II. 221-227 which supports our interpretation. See Note that s(
further the relationship to dn i n- n i gIn (P. Mander 1986: 92. 110. 124), presumably an abbreviated 110 M. Krebern
form of the later dn i n -n i gIn - gar - r a "Lady who has set up the residence" (cf. K. Tallqvist St.Or interpretatio
7,416; and M. Krebernik 1986: 199). These names, of course, have nothing to do with the 'primeval' 13, 157:60fl
dn i n - b u lug and den - b ul u g (cf. P. Mander 1968:60 and J.J.A. van Dijk, AcOr 28 (1964/65) uncertain if
6ff.). =dlugal-i
97 See P. Mander I986:43:no. 37; III SF18:14;a
98 Uncertain; cf. P. Mander 1986:69.
cf. also the I
99 For the reading of this name see W.G. Lambert, N.A.B. U. 1993:82 who translates the god as p. 90) reads
"Drain-pipe-of-Uruk"; further J.J.A. van Dijk SCL II 52 n. 18. M. Krebernik 1986: 196 sticks to the
112 Cf. the com
reading dm e s - san g a - u n u gki; id., RIA 8, 94f., esp. for me s - sag g a as an alleged profession
113 SF 1 obv. 9
(ED LLi A 47; cf. above nn. 85f. 93). Perhaps pis a n, like me z e m (AHw 867 s.v. pWsallnu(m) reads dUPI:
denotes a kind of larger vessel or box, case; /p i s a n/ < /p i - s a g/. (Assuming that pi, like s i I a,
114 Lit.: "the au
n i n d a (n i n d a), and g u r, originally was a measuring 'container'). Note also SID = u m b is a g; 115 Dubious; cf
SID x A = u m b i sag "e. Schreiber" (AHW 1395). 116 Cf. P. Man(
100 See P. Mander 1986:26 = AbS god-list I. 120. Cf. also dl u g a 1- k u d (- d a) P. Mander 1986: 112; preting NUl
z a - m i-hymns II. 200-202. 117 Cf. the disc
101 According to M. Krebernik 1986:165, belonging to the divine kitchen personnel of Uruk, even
1986:194. "
though no evidence for this has been provided. P. Mander 1986:61, reads d5 u - u 5 - u_rLi_ga I and 118 Probable inl
considers a connection (following W.G. Lambert) with K. Tallqvist, 51.Or. 7, 468 5 u S(SlI-lIS)_ a b z u 119 See SF I I ~
= re 'arm), utulmahhum, or 5 u - u is "rete". To A. Westenholz lowe the proposal to see in 5 u - u S inNikI21
an early syllabic ;;'~'iting for the well-known profession IS, usually read as k u 57. [Probably two in reading!
different professions were written with this sign: cf. GJ. Selz, FAOS 1511, p. 87.] As R.H. Beal s i I a4-MI2 ;
in N.A.B.U. 1992: no.48 has demonstrated the reading IS = kiza is in all liklihood S (I 5, which, 36f.; W. He
following him, should be rendered as "chariot-fighter". Hereby the profession-name /5 u 5/ is clearly transcriptior
connected with /s u s/ = sahiipu(m) "to cover, overwhelm" etc. (CAD S 30r.; AHw 1004). However, A parallel
given the evidence of theVlexical traditions quoted by Beal (cf. CAD N/2, 29 (s.v. naspantu(m ama-gulO
things are not yet definetly settled. refers. See
102 Cf. P. Mander 1986:97; P. Steinkeller, OA 20 (1981) 24723 See also M. Krebernik 1986: 175 who Sundry and
reads d5 e n; if so, these names belong to group 3: see n. 109. names whic
103 For a possible different interpretation see P. ~ander 1986:66, but cf. my article about ds ul- ut u 112 120 See the disc
in RA 83 (1989) 7-12 and the discussion of D.O. Edzard 1993: 203f. Note also dsul-utul12 in 121 See M. Krel
SF I 8:29.

192
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

104 Cf. P. Mander 1986:44:no.45 with n. 19; M. Krebernik 1986: 192. If there is really a variant
ban / g u r?, an interpretation of this divinity as a deified measuring vessel seems possible; cf. also
my discussion of a probable etymology for the goddess dn iss a b a ( - k) in FS. A. Sjoberg (OPSNK F
II) 491 ff.
105 For dub -I it I = ilesh7ru(m) see the dictionaries. I cannot see why this deity is included in this
position in SF I 13:5'. (P. Mander 1986 reads dLAK 584-d us.) K. Yolk (pers. comm.) expressed
some doubts that LAK 584 (=DUG"xljJ) corresponds to the later LAL (=TAxljI) = ZATU 327
= RSP 210; similar signs are LAK 559 = Elles 291, corresponding to TA; a relationship seems
equally possible between Elles 293 and LAK 587. Another candidate for a predecessor of LAL is
perhaps LAK 587 (=TAxNI), probably better than LAK 588 (=DUGxNI).
106 See M. Krebernik 1986: 202; differently P. Mander, OA 19 (1980) 188 ad c.
107 See, P'. Mander 1986: 54. 98. ~t is s?metimes difficult to ,distinruish such nam~s from the names
of deified natural phenomena' as, for Instance, dd u n gag a, (d u n - g a = upu(m), urpu(m) "the
Cloud" (P. Mander I986:54f.), e1ud - g u r, (du d - g II - r a - r a) "the Storm" (P. Mander 1986:65);
even the famous an z Lilllllscnoriginally may belong to this type of gods: "Heavy Cloud", see F.A.M.
Wiggermann 1994:243.
108 Cf. P. Mander 1986: 68. 98. Cf. the interpretation of W.G. Lambert AfO 28 (1981/82) 171, quoted
in M. Krebernik 1984:264 as de - p it r = "(mount) Dabar". However, if this reading is correct. the
possibility of a loanword from diporu(m) "torch" might be preferred. [With the former compare the
God dd a - bar; cf. P. Mander I 986:64f.:no. 236 with ref. to W.G. Lambert Iraq 45 (1983) 84.; see
further M. Krebernik I984:263f.] My proposal is based on the context in SF I and on i z i - tag - g a
= i.falam .filahhul1u (MSL 13, I57:74ff.; AHw 1128; CAD SII, 78) and .fllmlna (AHw 1206; CAD
SII, 250). Alt~;'natively, an interpretation as dizi-bar(a) "The Spreading Fire" (cf. PSD B 146)
should also be taken into consideration.
109 = ruqqu etc.; cf. P. Steinkeller, OA 20 (1981) 244; or perhaps = d u riO = pOSIU "axe"? Following
Steinkeller, ibid. 247, refelTing to a suggestion of M. Civil and to MSL 14, 356:21-23 a reading
/a I (a) m u/ or /k i I'b a n/ cannot be excluded. P. Mander 1986:67 proposes du m b i sag: see n. 102.
Note that so-called 'metal-list' (n. 44) begins with SENI
110 M. Krebernik 1986: 165. P. Mander 1986: 98 reads db a 1'7-1 a and the variant as db f 1-13. My
interpretation is based on diporu(m), gizi/1iJ MSL 7, 24: 270fT. and the parallel to d i z i - gar (s. MSL
13, I57:60ff; GJ. Selz N.A.B. U. 1989: no.38). Note also da m a - i z i-I 3 in SF I 8:3. It is, however,
uncertain if these names refer to the procedure as such or to the implements; see also ell u g a I-NE
= dl u g a 1- i z i(?) (M. Krebernik 1986: 195, cr. further n. 108.
III SF I 8: 14; a rather dubious interpretation. My reading follows a proposal of M. Krebernik 1986: 175f.;
cf. also the following eIUnJL-k u 1- a b [a.il "the Pot (of) Kulaba". P. Mander 1986:82 (cr. collation
p. 90) reads differently.
112 Cf. the comments of P. Mander 1986:53: no. 102.
113 SF I obv. 9:9, cf. ME.LIPIS in SF 56 rev. 6:21; see P. Mander 1986:98. M. Krebernik 1986: 176
reads dUPIS.
114 Lit.: "the aurochs (with) princely legs".; cf. also da m-SE+NAM in P. Mander 1986:67:no.301.
115 Dubious; cf. M. Krebernik 1986: 192f.
116 Cf. P. Mander I986:47:no.69-70: "manzo, la cui forza nessuno puo contenere", apparently inter-
preting NUN as a writing for the negative prefix /n u/-.
117 Cf. the discussion by P. Mander 1986:43:no. 30; J.J.M. Roberts 1972:41; see also M. Krebernnik
1986: 194. Note the variant(?) name dn i n - k i - k illlllsen in SF I 6:6.
118 Probable interpretation of P. Mander 1986:68: no. 344.
119 See SF I 18:15' ancl cf. the PN M f. Us-sig-ama-gulo; "the (divine) young ewe is my mother"
in Nik I 216:1, GJ. Selz, FAOS 15/1,147. For two reasons I clo not follow J. Bauer's suggestion
in reading k i rx;, proposed in AfO 36/37 (1989/90) 87: I. There are numerous occurrences of
s i I a4-M12 and M12-S i I a4 which is a very likely candidate for the reading k i rll (cf. MSL 8/1,
36f.; W. Heimpel BSA 7 (1993) 115ff.); 2. Given the variation of the sign order, the sign-by-sign
transcription seems always preferable.
A parallel is provided by the famous gocldess dn i n - s Lin; (see below) to whom the PN s Lin-
a m a - g u 10 "the wi Ici-cow (is) my mother" (DP 112 9: 18, STH I, 21 10: 16 and passim) evidently
refers. See also below [23] M f. Us- s i g "the young ewe" ancl u z u d- TAR "the ... -she-goat".
Sundry and numerous theriophoric names are not dealt with at any length. If any, such are the
names which may be related to 'totemism'.
120 See the discussion of P. Mander 1986:53mo.100.
121 See M. Krebernik I984:233ff.; icl. 1986: 197.

193
 Gebhard 1. Selz

122 For this deity see the exhaustive discussion of M. Krebernik I984:287ff. alan-lug;
123 Special difficulties are presented by the pairs of primeval gods de n - U Ij : dn i n - U Ij etc. which Of special i
were studied by J.J.A. van Dijk, AcGr 28 (1964) 7ff., and which are attested in Hira and Abu two differer
SalabTh; cf. P. Mander 1986:66:no.273-283. [k] us ala
124 My interpretation is based on the assumption that dDOL.DU is a variant of DOL, equally written an-da-nu
AN.DUL = salmu(m) "statue" (cf. B. Kienast FGAS 8, 273ff.), perhaps in more precise meaning similar narr
like the Gen;lan "Standbild". For the doubtful variant writing dl u ga I-D 0 L.k U7 one might refer names is re
to k u7(-k U7) = da.fpu(III), 1//(/lqU(II/), liJbu(m); cf. P. Mander I983:48:no. 79, 121. 123. city-god (N
125 See SF I 9:28; for NU.NUS as Emesal-fonn for m u nus see M. Krebernik 1986: 163. dei fication ,
126 Doubtful; see CAD IIJ p. 82 s.v. illalu; cl'. P. Mander 1986:56; F. Carrou(\ AS} 5 (1983) 40:29. 140 Alongside \
both with ref. to M.A. Powell, GrNS 45 (1976) 102f.ls-19 and M. Krebernik 1986: 198. Cf. also to a na-ru
the Semitic god lIlal in 1.J.M. Roberts 1972:35. 59f. For the deified group cf. also im-ri-a-gu- Further sou
gar - r a above n. 90. M.A. Powell, loc. cit., refers to the god's explanation as lIaggiJru raba .fa Allu the god (Ni
"the great carpenter of Anu" and to SF 12: 19-20: dn i n -n a gar - a b z u / dn i n - i I d u. Note Ean. 1
127 CI'. P. Mander I968:46f.:no. 64-68. P. Steinkeller's suggestion in ZA 77 (1987) 166 that the DN name of the
dKIS-la and dKIS-la-zi are early writings for the goddess La~, the wife of Nergal (cf. W.G. 141 At present,
Lambert, RIA 6, 5061'.), was rejected by W.G. Lambert, ZA 80 (1990) 48f. objects". TI
128 Uncertain whether this name belongs to our subject or not. If so, it has to be connected to n a4- symbols wh
n u - g a I; another explanation assumes a writing for dl u g a I, better dig i r -I u g a I; see P. Mander originally.,.,
1986:60:no. 181. came at one
129 As noted above (n. 90), the royal insignia are enumerated among the me which Inana obtains from cultic items
Enki. The Fara god names are surely a reflection of the increasing importance of social stratification. all. See als(
See further l. Seibert, Hirl - Herde - Konig 1968; H. Waetzoldt, RIA 4, 424; I. Krecher, RIA 5. 142 d i mgal is
109-114. For a discussion of these "regalia" cf. the comments of H. Steible, FAGS I. 18-20 on Umma. See
UET6102:18-22. 143 DP 55 5:6.
In the context of our discussion, the observed parallels between the Fara-gods and the 'list of 144 See TSA I ~
the me' are quite significant. The usage of me, designating a dynamistic power as well as the cf. also n. 2
object(s) into which this power focuses, clearly demonstrates that the meanings of Sumerian "m e" 145 DP 55 5:1.
are correctly compared with mana or orenda, known from other cultural contexts, which play such 146 Or: "Lord v
an important part in modern concepts of the history of religions. It follows that the Fara gods are a personal,
to be understood as manifestations, if not personifications of such divine powers. attested in 1
130 That they were all perceived as human-like is doubtful, even given the evidence from Old Sumerian see below r
Lagas discussed below. Already in 1915 Th. G. Pinches noted in PSBA 37. 95 "that offerings to [47 The occurre
these objects are much more probable than offerings on their behalf' and "that things belonging though no s
to, and constantly used by, a person came to be regarded in a sense, as a part of their being, and 148 Fd 75 1:5;
were, like a person's clothes, imbued with a measure of their spirit." 149 Only in PN
131 See above n. 80. Cf. also the compound names dn i n - P A - e - g a I (and dn i n - e - g a I) and dn i n- if this nam(
PA-gal: u k kin. M. Krebern
132 Elusive, already on grammatical grounds. Ur-Nanse f;
150
133 Most important, as elsewhere in antiquity, numerous cuneiform sources repeatedly treated the in-
151 Cf. also the
stitution of kingship. However, mere 'sociological' explanations of such deities do certainly not
names:dn i n
provide a sufficient understanding of their essence (cf. P. Charvat, quoted in nn. 36; 40). Thus far.
lamma "tt
I have no clear idea about the (historical) origins of such gods and their relationship to the Sume-
tive Godde~
rian/Mesopotamian concept of an integral and complete world. Most probably, they are related to
look"; dl a,
the notion of the ailia.
"the Protec
134 See J.J. Glassner 1992.
I am m a, dr
135 Likewise, dn a - r u and ds u - n i r are attested. The reference to "the Drum" remains dubious.
136 The pertinent documents from Lagas are: donations concerning dn a n S e and related deities, which 152 See TSA I
are listed in Fo 13 (Lug. 2/2), DP 72 (Lug. 2/8), DP 71 (Ukg. L 2/2) FAGS 1512 no. 116 (= BIN locale. Prot
8,390) (Ukg. L [x]/8]); reference to dnin-MAR.KI and related deities occurs in DP 69 (Ukg. L 2). 153 There is sor
137 There are very few exceptions, as e.g. the g a I a-priests in Fo 93 10: II, which were included there by I.A. Blac
because of this list's special motive, probably the burial of Bara-namtara, and because of these cult- 47) and the
singers' special role in the accompanying rituals (see my 1995 article Den Fiihrmanl1 bezahlel1'). See also E.
In cases where just the name of a temple is recorded, e.g. e - dam, e - dam - u t u 1- g a Ikl, and Sail aberger
e - t U I' or g an u n - maD, these stand, in all likelihood, for the divine owner. [ omit the question of Para-tablet
'deified places', most popular among the Semitic speaking people of that time (cf. J.J.M. Roberts 154 For u bs(=A
I 972:57ff.). Deirnel, An
138 In this list I have included some items for which offerings are not yet attested, but which were Note that UI
considered to be divine on the basis of otiler criteria, e.g. taking the place of a DN in personal implies an
names. These names are given in brackets. (FS. M. Ci\
139 Besides eight sundry "statues of the inner quarters" (a I an - e - s a - g a) listed in TSA I, DP 53 and Certainly k
Nik I 23 (FAGS 1511 I55f1'.) we should mention the alan-ur-dnanse, alan-en-te-me-na, Cf. above n

194
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

alan-Iugal-an-da, alan-bara-nam-tar-ra and the alan-sa6-sa6 (see GJ. Selz 1992b).

Of special interest in our context is the fact that the texts refer to the statue of Lugal-anda under
two different names: DP 66 6:7-8 adduces offerings for dn i n - r g f r 1 - [s 1 u - g f r - nun - s ern u 1 -
[k]us alan-Iugal-an-da, the votive inscription Lug. 15 3':3'names the ruler's statue lugal-
an-da-nu-bun-ga gf[r-nu]n-se nu-[kusi. [t seems very likely that the two different but
similar names refer to Olle and the sallie statue. One might even guess that the difference in the
names is related to the fact that in religious contexts the ruler (Lugal-anda) could represent the
city-god (Nin-Girsu). [f this assumption is granted, this clearly sheds some light on the process of
deification and corroborates our interpretation of the pertinent royal images below [52Jff ..
140 Alongside with the a I an's (s. the preceeding note), TSA I, DP 53, and Nik [ 23 mention offerings
to a n a - f U - a. Likewise, in Lug. 15, a stela and Lugal-anda's statue occur in parallel positions.
Further sources, Ean. I. rev. 10:23-29 and Enl. 30 2:3'-6', suggest that on the stela an image of
the god (Nin-Girsu) was depicted.
Note Ean. I rev. 10:23-25: n a - f U - a m u - b i I [1- a n u m u - b i s i - e "he verily proclaimed the
name of the stela - it is not a human's name".
141 At present, I cannot make a general valid distinction between symbols or emblems and "cui tic
objects". The 'Punting Pole of Nindar' as well as the 'Spear of Rasap' were, in all likelihood,
symbols which could represent the respective gods. There is good reason to doubt that such symbols
originally were votive gifts, notwithstanding the probability that the actual specimen of such symbols
came at one stage to the temple's treasure as votive gifts. The latter was probably the rule with other
cultic items such as musical instruments or various vessels with little or no emblematic function at
all. See also nn. 16-18.26.79.
142 dim g a I is often used as metaphor for temples. The deity originally belonged to the pantheon of
Umma. See also A. Falkenstein, AnOr 3067; A. Sjoberg, TCS 36726 and esp. Gud. Cyl. A 22:9-16.
143 DP 555:6. See already dnin-gisal-su "the Lady (of(?)) the 'Blade of an Oar'" in SF 16:14.
144 See TSA I 9:3, DP 539:9, to be restored in Nik [ 23. Cf. GISIM[MAR]x[ ] in P. Mander 1986: 156;
cf. also n. 207.
145 DP 55 5: I.
146 Or: "Lord who Shatters the (foreign) Lands"; cf. W.G. Lambert, RIA 7,145. Originally perhaps just
a personal name, as in DP 136 I: 12 (courtesy A. Westenholz). As a god's name he is (perhaps)
attested in the profession-name iii i b (?)- lug a 1- k u r - dub in RTC 61 10:9(??) /I Nik [ 53 9: I I;
see below n. 166.
147 The occurrence of an e-dsaman-ka apparently attests to a cult of this god in the state of Lagas,
though no supporting evidence can be provided (cf. DP 93 7: I, 2744:4, cf. Ukg. 8 3' :5').
148 Fd 75 I :5; the context remains somewhat dubious; probably not a recipient of sacrifices.
149 Only in PN of the type ur-dza-ra; cf. DP 141 5:1. In SF 17:14 a deity dnin-UL.1j1 is attested:
if this name is to be connected with dh e - d U7 = d hi-il-nlln "the (divine) lintel" (KA V 50 1:9; cf.
M. Krebernik 1986:200), it belongs to this group of deities.
150 Ur-Nanse fashioned a statue of this deity; cf. Urn. 25 4:3f. 5 J 6:7f.
151 Cf. also the above quoted Fara-names, probably alluding to a Protective Goddess, and the following
names:dn i n - sun -I a m m a "Ninsun (is) a 'Protective Goddess'''; (za-mf II. 83f.); dn i n - s i g4- t u-
I a m m a "the Lady (of) the 'Birth Brick' (is) a 'Protective Goddess'''; dl am m a - a m a "the Protec-
tive Goddess (is like) a mother"; "I am m a - i g i - b u I "the Protective Goddess (has) an apotropaic
look"; dlamma-ka-pirig; "the Protective Goddess (has) a lion's mouth"; dlamma-pirig
"the Protective Goddess (is) a lion"; further dnin-E.SAG.SUR-Iamma, "nin-eden-gi6-
I a mm a, dn i n- g i - U9-1 a m m a, dn i n - NUN -I am m a, "N 1N - z i -I am m a.
152 See TSA I 8: 10, DP 53 8: 15, Nik 1 23 10: 12. Used as a nomen actionis, temporis, and nomen
locale. Probably the place-name is intended here.
153 There is some evidence that b a I a g (in later texts) may designate a drum, as most recently discussed
by l.A. Black, Au!' Or. 9 (FS. Civil) (1991) 2839 However, given the early sign forms (cf. ZATU no.
47) and the possible onomatopoeic form */b I a g/, the term probably refers to a string instrument.
See also E.BALAG = t i g ix l. Klein, Three Sulgi Hymns, 120 to Sulgi D 367; PSD B 78; W.
Sallaberger 1993: 142668. H. Steiblel F. YIidiz now read, without discussion, in a newly published
Fara-tablet S. 954 I u - e- t i g i,(=BALAG) "Leute des Etigi", lSI. Mill. 43 (1993), 22.
154 For u bs(=AB.KID,AB x KID) as an older writing for (kus)u b = uppu(m), huppu(m); see already A.
Deimel, AnOr 2, 23f. and cf. MSL 14, 506:2 lubl = AB x ME.EN: = hU-i~P-PU : 111(/,\:-ki sa Ii-/li-sil
Note that UppU(I11) I and 11(AHw 1424) and the variants l~uppu(II1); are probably related. The writing
implies an instrument covered with a cow's hide; s. further ISL 489f. and l.A. Black, Aul. Or. 9
(FS. M. Civil) 2839
Certainly k II means "fit for cultic purpose", but it may also allude to the metal parts of the drum.
Cf. above note 78.

195
 Gebhard 1. Selz

ISS See the PN a m a r_ds a g - k u d in Fd 64 5:2 and cf. DP 577 7:3, 590 5:4. him among
156 s i g apparently refers to the age of the animal; see GJ. Selz, OLZ 88 (1993) 272. Besides the
157 Attested only in the PN M f. U8- S i g - a m a - g ulO "DN (is) my mother" in Nik I 2 I 6: I, GJ. Selz, through the
FAOS IS/I, 147. 168 See the pre.
158 See above the Fara god-name diu g a 1- dar. Of course, our dn i n - dar is certainly a male deity the Palm".
alsol this god. Th
159 Cf. the torso of a copper bird inscribed with a dedication inscription of king Sulgi(-r) (Sulgi 36); designates tl
see E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :379 with PI. 24; A. Poebel, PBS V no. 41, photo on pI. cii. Originally gisimmar
this bird apparently was attached to the top of a staff or pole. We are almost certainly confronted assigned the
with an actual specimen of a part of a 5 u -n i r "emblem". a- r $i,ulpl r
160 For the distinction between dnin-kilin/m(=RSP 460 bis) and dnin-girim see M. Krebernik fb-IL.IL'
1984:260-262. may bear te
161 E. Braun-Holzinger 1977; GJ. Selz 1992b: 254f.; cf. n. 139f. 169 These three
162 Cf. especially the alleged divine origin of the city's borderlines in Ean. I (= The stela of vultures); stresses the
Ent. 28, Luzag. 2, etc. In a broader sense, more or less all monuments commonly labelled 'Ancient see P. Stein
Kudurrus' (cf. I.J. Gelb et aI., alP 104) fit into this category. One might ask if the enigmatic phrase (1924125) 7
in Ean. I rev. 10:23-25 does not refer to the 'divine' status of the 'stela of vultures': n a - hi - a gods' is pel
m u - b i I u - a n u m u - b i s i - e (s. n. 140 above). For the /lame of this stela I propose the following vine", foliOl
translation: "Nin-Girsu, the lord, (provides) the crown for Lumma (=E'anatum), (provides) life (for) always undt
the Pirig-edena-canal". For the whole passage cf. H. Steible FAOS 5/1, 144 and 5/2, 6If:102-103; 170 The (origin<
J.S. Cooper, SARI I, 37. Recently P.
For this interpretation cf. the translation of Ukg. 39: I by H. Steible FAOS 5/1, 349: dn i n- 'god who i~
g f r - s u G A N A. - z i - u r u - i n i m - g i - n a - k a "Ningirsu (besitzt wieder) die rechten Felder des widely used
Uru'inimgina", which was questioned by J. Bauer, AoN 21, 10. He translates z i as "bestellen" and Mieroop, ib
explicitly refers to Ukg 48: I db a - b a6-m e nx- z i - u r u - i n i m- g i -n a - k a. This, following Bauer, 171 Late traditio
accordingly should be translated as "Baba (is the one who) arranges/dresses the crown for PN". tamarisk, th
Apparently this is based on a (primary) verbal usage of /z i/o However, given the common usage of GIS el-Iu a~
/ z i /, some doubts remain. I 992:8f.) fo
Therefore, I would like to substantiate my diverging interpretation. As in the case of the name the tamarisl
of the 'stela of vultures', translated above, I assume that in Ukg. 39 and 48 (both being names of 18-20'). dB
'votive objects' I) we are confronted with nominal sentences. As it seems to me, Sumerian nominal of dl u g a 1-
sentences impart two possibilities of interpretation (quite similar to the different function of the A. Catagno
genitive as subjeclivus or objeclivus). The first is the well-known subject-predicative construction as Lambert, RI
in de n -I f 1- bad "Enlil (is) the wall" etc. The latter is an object-predicative construction. Especially 172 There are 0
among personal names there are numerous examples in which the latter interpretation is much more 173 To me, it Sl
satisfying, e.g.: ad - d a - s u - s i k i I "The (divine(?)" father (has) pure hands"; a m a - n u m u n- z i sheep-pluck
'The mother (has) a legitimate/true offspring"; e - a n z uJ11usen"The house(=fami Iy(? (has) an Anzu- significance
bird (as emblem)"; e - N I R - z i "The house (=family) (has) true splendour/(or a legitimate heir(? 174 This is the
// n i n - N IR - z i; lug a 1- m e - g a 1- g a I "The king (has) great 'me's"; etc. However, as long as 175 Gud. Cyl. I
no (grammatical) proof is available, an interpretation as genitive compound cannot be excluded at below in n.
least in some cases. 176 Exceptions
163 See A. Falkenstein, AnOr 30, 28f.; W. Sallaberger 1993:2881338 special fune
164 Th. Paffrath 1913:61-66. a prominenl
165 See A. Falkenstein, AnOr 30, 82f., who considers a possible identity with gis!; a r - iI r; cf. the dis- 177 Cf. the coni
cussion thereof by J.S. Cooper, AnOr 52, 1591. 178 A typical e:
166 Nik I 53 9: I I attests to a dun - d un dam - i sib -I u g a 1- k u r - dub; e.g. "PN: (to) the wife of the 179 The offerin
purification priest (of) Lugalkurdub"; note that in the parallel in RTC 61 10:9 the is ibis more (and his enl
than doubtful. The context of the text(s) favours this interpretation. W.G. Lambert, RIA 7, 147 180 The name (
reads ME - lu g a 1- k u r - d ii b, taking the whole as a personal name. Other ME-names of this type presumably
remain so far unattested in the contemporary documents. 181 The name I
167 It is far beyond the range of this paper to go into further detail. The reader is therefore safely referred probably ht
to two excellent sketches of the my tho-religious complex of the u r - sag - u gs- g a; "slain heroes" paralleled a
and dig i r-u gs- g a "slain gods", one by J.S. Cooper, AnOr 52, 141-154, and the other, even more RTC 14 rev
sophisticated, by J.J.A van Dijk, Lugal-UD-me-16m-bi NIR-GAL2 I 11-18. For the god "King Date 182 The docum
Palm" (Iugal-gisgisimmar) see W.G. Lambert, RIA 7, 139f.; F.A.M. Wiggennann 1992:154. TSA I 9:4,
One should note that similar mythological figures playa very important part in (late) ritual texts. In placed near
his chapter "Inventory of Monsters. Brief discussions" F.A.M. Wiggermann 1992: 143-185 provides specified as
in concise paragraphs up-to-date information about these divinities and demons in the circle of the the inner ql
Nin-Girsu - Nin-urta - Marduk tradition . moved arOl
r have excluded from the current discussion the 'lion-headed eagle' (m use n)- a n z u /a n z UIllUSCIl, 183 J.N. Postgal
although the an z iinluscn is well attested in the third millennium and the later tradition counts is certainly

196
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

him among the ur-sag-ugs-ga or ur-sag-dabs-ba (cf. J.S. Cooper, AnOr 52, 143:Table 13).
Besides the immense problems such a discussion would have involved, its exclusion is justified
through the observation that for Anzu, as far as I know, no offerings are attested.
168 See the preceeding note. As in similar cases, later traditions reinterpret(?) the name as "Lord of
the Palm". In Old Sumerian Lagas the g is i m mar - u r u d u (see above [23]) certainly refers to
this god. This is supported by the observation that in the Gude'a cylinders the trophy g i s i mm a r;
designates the dead (or killed) warrior. Cf. Cyl. A 26: 1-2: S u - g a -I a m k a - me-I e m4 - b a us u m -
gisimmar-bi im-ma-ab-dabs-be "In the Sugalam, its (= the temple's) terrifying gate, he
assigned the 'basilisk' and the 'date palm' to their duties." [n Gud. Fragm. I 2':2'-5'we read:
a-f$ulpl [x bur]-sag-[ga] ur-sag-ga-liln gisimmar-e kur-ki-sikil-a nl be-mi-
I b - I L. I L "my father(?), the ... of the mountains is a hero; a date palm, which on a pure place
may bear terrifying splendor."
169 These three 'tree-gods' were recently treated by P. Steinkeller, Quad. Selll. 18 (1992) 269ff., who
stresses the 'Semitic origin' of these gods. Note that later tradition identifies all of them with Nergal;
see P. Steinkeller, Quad. Sel11. IS (1992) 26981, with ref. to the 'Weidner List' II. I lOa-I 16 AjK 2
(1924125) 72 = A. Cavigneaux, Texles sealaires . " 19SI, 90-91. To be added to these three 'tree
gods' is perhaps dn i n - g is - z i - d a, whose name should perhaps be interpreted as "Lord of the
vine", following W.G. Lambert, HSS 37, 300. However, it remains doubtful if all these names were
always understood as genitive compounds.
170 The (original(? Akkadian name is d bel-~arbi "Lord of the poplar"; s. M. Krebernik, RIA 7, II 5f.
Recently P. Steinkeller, Quad. Sem. IS (1992) 270f. proposed an identification of this god with the
'god who is bending a tree', well attested on Sargonic seals. The poplar (which species(? was
widely used for various tools and for roofing; see M.A. Powell, BSA 6 (1992) 10Sff. M. van de
Mieroop, ibid. 160; J.-R. Kupper, ibid. 166; J.N. Postgate, ibid. 179, IS3.
171 Late traditions call the !liss i n i g = blnu(m); "tamarisk" "the bone of divinity, the consecrated
t_an:arisk, the holy wood for the imag;e yf the statues" G1R.PAD.DU DIGIR-ti gisSINIG qud-du-i
GIS e/-Iu alla bu-un-na-ni-e NU.MES (Sep lemutti ina bit ameli parasu II. SI f.; F.A.M. Wiggermann
I992:Sf.) followed by a description of their distinct appearances. For the millennia old traditions of
the tamarisk in ritual contexts cp., for example, M. Krebernik 19S4:92-104 CBeschworungen Nr.
IS-20'). dBAD-SINIG, even in Fara, is probably to be read as dbel-bln(i). the Akkadian equivalent
of diu g a 1- sin i g. This is supported by the evidence from the Mari onomasticon, according to
A. Catagnote in NA.B.U. 1994:no.17. For its function as an epithet of Nergal see already W.G.
Lambert, RIA 7, 15 I. See further M.A. Powell, BSA 6 (1992) 106f.; M. van de Mieroop ibid. 160;
172 There are other names of places attested as recipients of offerings, such as TAR-SAR-a etc.
173 To me, it seems significant that the e - g a I, "the palace" is repeatedly mentioned as the place of
sheep-plucking. One might reasonably take this as a reflection of the shepherd-metaphor, whose
significance in Mesopotamian thinking can hardly be overestimated.
174 This is the name of Girsu's procession street.
175 Gud. Cyl. B 6:S 12:25; see the translation of Jacobsen 1987a:430--436 and the passage quoted
below in n. 220.
176 Exceptions in this respect are the gods dig-alim(-ma) and dkinda-zi. Both had gained a
special function in the Girsu pantheon, the former as Nin-Girsu's (and Baba's) child, the latter as
a prominent figure in Nin-Girsu's court.
177 Cf. the contribution of J. Klein in this volume.
17S A typical example can be found in Nik I 23 (cf. FAOS 15/1, I55ff).
179 The offerings for this temple are probably intended for Nin-MAR.K1's consort dn i n - mll S - bar
(and his entourage).
180 The name of this recipient means something like "shepherd's pen" and is as a topographical name
presumably substituted for Nin-MAR.KI's consort dn i n - m u s - bar; cf. the preceeding note.
lSI The name means "Before the Mother!" and designates a minor god in Nin-MAR.KI's entourage,
probably her child. The special relationship to a god, expressed by the meaning of this name is
paralleled already by some PN, from Fara: i g i_de n -I 11- s e SRU 31 rev. IV I or i g i - u t u - s e
RTC 14 rev. 4:6.
IS2 The documents provide information about three stelae in the Lagas state. One was, according to
TSA 1 9:4, DP 53 9: 10, and Nik I 23 II :2, set up in the region of NINA. The two others were
placed near the Nin-MAR.KI sanctuaries in Gu'aba-E-Nin-MAR.Kl. According DP 55, they were
specified as na-fu-a-bar-ta-gub-ba "stela set up outside" and na-fu-a-e-sa-ga "stela of
the inner quarters". It cannot be excluded, however, that these names are referring to just one stela,
moved around during one of the processions so well documented in later periods.
183 J.N. Postgate asked about the possible origin of these objects. For an answer, the case of en - g i 16- S a
is certainly much more telling than that of the ruler's wife Sasa:

197
 Gebhard 1. Selz

A certain e n- g i 16- S a occupied a higher position as cup-bearer (s a g i) in the children's estate stases of B;
(Geme-Nanse); see FAOS 15/2 322 to STH I, 30 9: I with ref. to RTC 53 1:2, 4:3 and VAT 4419 or, followir
(= VS 25 no. 14 = FAOS 15/3 no. 6) 1:2, 5:4'(receiving fodder); further DP 43 8: I (he is providing town),' (cf.
slaugther-cattle for offerings); DP 157 1:2, 160 1:2 (receives barley as cup-bearer of Geme-Nanse's (is?) Baba"
estate); DP 2182:8 (carrying off slaughter-cattle at a festival for the confinement of Bara-namtara); we may ha'
RTC 51 7: I; RTC 66 6:6 (responsible for sa - d Uw [x] - t u r - I' a); Fa 54 4:5 (note that in Fa 54 discussed b
2:1-2 uru-inim GALKALAM appears among the purveyors of the mas-da-ri-a) and VAT to the repre
4825 (FAOS 15/3 no. 84) 3:2, transferring small cattle (mas-da-ri-a) to the administrator ur- 126 (3). Cf
digi-ama-se). 198 Cf. Gud. S
Most important is DP 1323:13-4:2: en-giwsa dam-fl-[G]ALKALAM fxLensf-ka "PN ama-digi
(gives a present to) the wife of II, ... the ens i's supervisor"; in DP 226 3: I 0 II Fa 173 3:7 the determines
supervisor's name is u I' _dn i n - g f r - s u. These observations indicate that all the donations of DP Gude'a, the
69 come from the royal households which were under the ultimate direction of Sasa. Apparently Gud. SI. B
the royal households and the households of the gods were less separated than one might suspect. 201 f. 217 2
The great influence exerted by en - g i 16- s a and his occurrence together with Sasa recall the Gud. St. C
passage of the Manistusu-Obelisk A3 xiv 7-10: I u r u - i n i m - g i - n a dum u en - g i 16- S a ens f - life of Gud.
I a g a Ski. [lowe the observation of this puzzling parallel to A. Westenholz.] Of course, that might Gud. SI. D
be pure coincidence. ke4 g u -d.
DP 1323:13,2263:9 und Fa 1733:6 list a person named en-giI6-sa among the ar-tu-mf eign lands (
"female house-servants". Gud. St. E (
184 This interpretation follows a plausible suggestion by J. Bauer, AjO 36/37 (1989190) 88f. See further, "my lady h;
M.E. Cohen, The Cultic Calendars of the Ancient Near East, (Bethesda 1993), 58ff. Gud. St. H (
185 Cf.AN-igi-dulu-alaninDP 1149:16, 11510:7,TSA 134:1, 149:4, 1510:5,STH I, 179:8, sfr-ta/gLI
188:5,243:14; sag-en-ne-su l(i-alan; Fa 162:3; VAT 4463 (=FAOS 15/3, no. 97) 10:8. mother Bab
186 Fa 93 12:3, 118 2:4 = n{i balamgi: Lu IV 174 = MSL 12, 134: 174. Gud. SI. T '
187 DP 127 7;8, 134 8:2; Fd 180 4:7; note I U - u bs- k ll- g a - D U "the person who stands beside the Gude'a, the
Holy Drum" in Nik I 53 6: 10l Gud. SI. K
188 This proves that one cannot think of these 'holy items' simply in the sense of votive gifts collected me, who 10
for the temple's treasure chests. That would fall short of any real understanding of the ideological Gud. SI. M
concepts involved. Prof. M.A. Brandes kindly communicated to me his idea that "crown" and note']'
"necklace" could be used here in a somewhat transferred meaning, e.g. denoting a wreath or a Gud. St. N
garland, festoon. [Nevertheless, in g(i-za the element za (originally) must refer to stone.] him life".
189 Cf. P. Xella, HSAO 2, 352ff.; id. Itesli rilllali di Ugaril I (1981) 109. III; note, in our context, the Gud. St. 0 I
equation of Rasap/Resef with Nergal: C.H. Gordon, Hebrew Sludies 23 (1982) 33; M. Krebernik, upon him".
ZA 73 (1983) 31; P. Matthiae, Contributi e materiali di archeologia orientale I (1986) 343ft". 356ff.; (Gud. SI. P
P. Matthiae, OA 2 (1963) 47-63; W.F. Albright, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan, 143f., (Garden Gud. St. Q
City, 1968). R.A. Stieglitz, Eblaitica 2, 8326 See also the monograph by W. Fulco, The Canaanite II (1936-3"
God Reep, AOS Essays 8 (1976). Gud. St. R I
190 See. G. Pettinato 1979:25f.(= OA 18 (1979) 109f.); L. Cagni, HSAO 2, 193. 197f. F. Pomponio, Gud. St. Z I
Adamma paredra di Rasap, SEL 10 (1993) 1-7; P. Xella, UF 15 (1983) 288-290; M. Dahood, UF Gud. 81: (fl
I I (1979) 144f.; id., BiOr 38 (1981) 380. dUII-gaba
191 For this term cf. H. Waetzoldt, OA 29 (1990) 2-6; cf. G. Conti, Quad.Sem. 17 (1990) 139:479. Urna. II 6:
192 For inscribed weapons as "votive gifts" see E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :26f. 42ff. 83f. 88If.; cf. further loves; my Ii
H. Behrens, "Eine Axt fiir Nergal" in: FS. A. Sachs (OPSNKF 9), 27-32. Nammahni
193 Pettinato 1979: 27f.(= OA 18 (1979) I II f.). Sulgi 25" (to
194 See A. Archi, ZA 76 (1986) 213ff.; P. Fronzaroli, Quad. Sem. 15 (1988) pp. 1-33; id., N.A.B. U. 1989: Sulgi 26 (t(
no.2; P. Xella, HSAO 2, 349-358, esp. 357 for the interpretation of these ancestors as "vergottlichte "Sulgi(r)(, \
Gestalten". below nn. 2
195 Incomplete lists are found in N. Schneider, AnOr 19, 89f. 99; a collection of references for the Amar-Su'en
deified thrones was published by him in his 1947 article. dsu'en ki
196 U. Gelb's article, "The Names of Ex- Voto Objects in Ancient Mesopotamia" Journal orlhe Amer- An earlier
ican Name Society Vol. 4 (1956) 65-69. Relevant Old Sumerian references are easily found in H. should speal
Behrensl H. Steible, FAOS 6, 235f., and esp. 282; see also n. 207 below. 53:1: dba-l
197 The question of the god-like status of such images was the subject of 1992b; cf. also the following RN".A. We
note. We may also mention the numerous year names which, starting with the Akkade period (cf. A. the goddess
Westenholz, OSP 2, 203), commemorate the fashioning of statues (of gods and rulers) in much the However, Iii
same manner as the fabrication of other "cultic objects" (cf. RIA 2, I 331f. and the works concerning Pertinent to
the Isin-Larsa year names by M. Sigrist (and A.H. Kromholz), Institule of Archaeology Publicalions, nam -5 i ta
Assyriological Series, Vol. I-III (Berrien Springs, 1986-1990). . nam-5ita
Little is known about the names of the statues of major gods. One might even doubt if they had courtesy A.
similar descriptive names. The statue of Enlil was Enlil, and that was it. However, in the hypo-

198
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

stases of Baba as dI a m m a - s i I a - s f r - S f r ( - r a) 'The Protecti ve Goddess of the Narrow Streets"

or, following a suggestion of A. Westenholz "The Protective Goddess of all the back alleys (in
town)" (cf. Urningirsu I. 2; Urbaba 5; Urgar 3 and see n. 198) or ds II S _db a - b a6 "A shepherd
(is?) Baba", or, alternatively and perhaps better "The chariot-fighter (of) Baba"; cf. n. 101 above)
we may have references to specific statues. Some of the Akkadian Ur III compound divine names,
discussed by 1.1. Gelb in 1987: I27ff. may as a second element not contain a PN but in fact allude
to the representation of the deity, as do the comparable Sumerian compound names collected ibid.
126 (3). Cf. with a similar assumption W. Sallaberger 1993:44188
198 Cf. Gud. St. A (to Nin-bursag = Nintu) 3:5-4:2: nin-an-ki-a nam-tar-re-de/dnin-tul
a m a - dig i r - r e - n e - k e4 g U - d e - a I u - e - d u - a - k a n a m - t i -I a - n i m u - s u "The lady who
determines the fate in heaven and earth, Nintu, the mother of the gods, may prolong the life of
Gude'a, the temple-builder".
Gud. St. B (to Nin-Girsu) 7:17: nam-ti nfg-ba-gulO "life be my allotment!"; cf. below nn.
20 If. 217 249, 253.
Gud. St. C (to Nin-giszida) 3:18-4:4: gu-de-a-Iu-e-du-a-ka nam-ti-Ia-ni be-sll "the
life of Gude'a, the temple-builder be longl"
Gud. St. 0 (to Nin-Girsu) 5:2-7: lugal a-dugud-da-ni kur-e nu-fL-e dnin-gfr-su-
ke4 gu-de-a lu e-dll-a-ra nam-dulO mu-ni-tar "the lord, whose pressing arm the for-
eign lands cannot bear, Nin-Girsu decided for Gude'a, the temple-builder a good fate".
Gud. St. E (to Baba) 9:1-3: nin-gulO ba-zi-ge nam-ti rba1/u4-dulIl(=SAG)-gaba I-du
"my lady has raised me; life is allotted; at the appointed day I? set it up"; cf. below Gud. 81.
Gud. St. H (to Baba) 3: 1-5: n i n dum u - k i-a g - a n - k u - g a - k e41 a m a _db a - b a61 e - s i I a - sf r-
s f r - tal g II- d e - a n a m - tim u - n a - sum "My lady, the beloved daughter of the pure An, the
mother Baba, gave life to Gude'a from (her temple) TN".
Gud. St. I (to Nin-giszida?) 5:3-6: gu-de-a lu-e-dll-a-ka nam-ti-ii'mu-na-sum "To
Gude'a, the temple-builder, life is given".
GUd. St. K (to Nin-Girsu(?)) 2':6'-8': [x] lugal-ni/[kil-ag-me/[nam]-ti-gulO be-sll "For
me, who loves his lord ... , my life may be long".
Gud. St. M (to Gestin-anna) 3:2: n a m- sit a - e b a - 0 U "she attends to prayers" [see end of this
note']'
Gud. St. N (to Gestin-anna) 3:4-5: dgestin-an-na-ke4/nam-rtil mu-na-sum "DN gave
him life".
Gud. St. 0 (to Gestin-anna) 3:2-3: dgestin-an-na-ke4/igi-zi mu-iii-bar "ON looked truly
upon him".
(Gud. St. P 5:3-6 = St. C 3: 18-4: I)
Gud. St. Q (to Nin-giszida) 2:4: e - g ulO 1- 0 U "In my house it stands" (following S. Levy, AIO
I I (1936-37) 152, but cf. H. Steible, FAGS 9,2 p. 78:4).
Gud. St. R (to Nin-MAR.KI(? 4:6: [gill - d e - a m a- r x 1 "Gude' a has ... me".
Gud. St. Z (to 0: only traces of the statue's name!
Gud. 81: (from Ninalla, Ur-Baba's daughter, to Nin-[subur?]) 2:8-9: nin-gulo gll ma-de U4-
duwgaba I-du "my lady called me; at the appointed day I? set it up".
Urna. II 6: I u - dig i r - r a - n i k i-a g - men a m- t i - g ulO be - s II "I am the man whom his god
loves; my life may be long".
Nammahni I see below n. 202.
Sulgi 25' (to Nanna(r: dn ann a bad -[x?- glulO "Nanna(r) (is) my [... (?)1 wail".
Sulgi 26 (to Nin-DAR-a) 2:1-4: dsul-gi ra-sumL[d]nin-DAR_ral [zi1-sa-g,\ILuru-na
"Sulgi(r)(, who has been given) strength by Nin-DAR-a, (is) the breath of life of his city"; see
below nn. 262, 264.
Amar-Su'en 3 (to Amar-Su'en; no donor mentioned I copies of a statue's inscription): da m a r-
ds u ' e n k i-a g - u r iski_ m a "Amar-Su'en, the beloved (of the city) Ur".
'An earlier occurrence in Luzag. 13:14-18 refers expicitly to the prayer (nam-sita) which Enlil
should speak on the ruler's behalf before the sky-god An. A similar instance can be found in Ukg.
53:1: dba-ba6 nam-sita-uru-inim-gi-na-ka-ke4 ba-OU "ON attends to the prayers of
RN". A. Westenholz reminded me that our names basically express the same idea as the name of
the goddess dtasl11i'lum.
However, like for s i z k u r, the meaning 'offering' and even 'rite' is well established for n a m- sit a.
Pertinent to our subject is the clay figurine of an animal from the Ur III cemetery with the inscription:
n a m -s ita a g rig _dn ann a "Offering: the "teward of the (moon-god) Nanna(r)". (Alternatively
n a m - sit a might be understodd as a hypocoristic.) (CBS 1720 I [U. 9549]; unpublished photograph,
courtesy A. Westenholz.).

199
 Gebhard 1. Selz

199 See H. Zimmern, BBR no. 31 ,2ff.; id. "Das vermutliche babylonische Vorbild des Pehta und Mam- 209 Cf. W.G. Lan
buha der Mandaer," in: Orientalische Sludien (FS. Th. Noldeke) Bd. II, 959-967 (Gieszen 1906); 210 Note that dlu1
O.R. Gurneyl P Hulin, SIT lJ, Nos. 198ff. see M. Civil, JNES 26 (1967) 211; Th. Jacobsen 1987:23- 211 Of course, fo]
28; M. Dietrichl O. Loretz 1992:25-37 cf. W. Mayer OrNS 47 (1978) 431 ff. Cf. also CT 17 39:73f.: analyzed as g
a - g u b - b a k a -I u b - b a - dig i r - r e - e - nell agubbfi 11115 pe .fa ill, quoted in CAD M/2, I 12. everything". r
200 See W. Sallaberger 1993:94 and Tab. 28. nounced. Well
20 I Lit. "place(, where helhis statue) drinks water", e.g. the place where the libations for the dead < gis-nim-
(nobles) were held. Note Gud. St. B 7:49-55: alan-e ... na4esi-am6 ki-a-nag-e ba-ba-DU log". Cf. abov
"this statue ... is (fashioned solely from) diorite. It shall stand at the libation-place". There is the 212 Cf. W. Sallah
possibility that the offerings were actually meant for this very statue. This is, to my knowledge, so opening of G
far the only example explicitly connecting ancestoral worship (k i - a- n a g) with votive figurines. die 'Mundoffr
Cf. E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :228ff. 263; further J. Klein, (FS. Sjoberg), 294ff. difference rna
202 See Gud. St. R 4:3ff. (H. Steible, FA OS 9, I 242f. and cf. the remarks of W. Sallaberger 1993:2811303). Girsu, being;
Other references for the 'mouth-opening' of the (deified) statue of Gude'a are lIT 3, 5271 obv. the deified "cr
9, ITF 5, 692 rev. 2; STA 8, II :5. That the statue was able to speak, thus mediating between 213 See H. Steibl
man and god, is proven by Gud. St. B 7:21-25: gu-de-a alan-e KA im-ma-sum-mu alan ka ki dub - :
lug a 1- g ulO u - n a - dUll "Gude'a gives order to the statue: 'Statue, speak to my lord' (as follows)" the climax of
(cf. J. Klein, FS. Sjoberg, 295) and Nammabni I 2:2-6: dlamma-sila-sfr-sfr-ra kisal-dba- opening rite sl
b a6- k a k U4- k U4 - d a - n i a I a n - e n i n - g u 10 g e Ii t (1- g a - n i m u - n a - n i - r u - g (i s i z k u r - g ulO of W. Sallabe
be - n a - be "(PN dedicated her statuette with the name:) 'When Lamma-silasirsira is entering that -/b a! refe
Baba's courtyard this statue shall speak 'My lady shall lower her ears to him (=Nammabni)!' sumes. Folio\>.
(as) my prayer". The whole concept is apparently older and was by no means restricted to the than a perforn
'Sumerian' south. Cf., for example, MP 25 (= Kienast, FAOS 7, 19f.): PN SAGI LUGAL DUL-.~L{ 214 M. Civil, JNE
di nan a xZA.zA SAG.RIG9 DUL UMUS.GAL MU-.fLt "PN, the cupbearer (of) the king, donated 215 F. Thureau-D.
his statue to DN: 'Statue of great understandinglintelligence' is its name." Other examples for the for precisely t
statue's ability to speak on the donor's behalf are collected by E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :2386S3-6S5 ceremonies th,
Note that E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :219622 and 266 denies that the statue R represents Gudea. The no. I): 12 DII
partially-preserved name of the statue favors her assumption; see n. 198. "12 divine co
203 W. Sallaberger 1993: 281 ff., cf. esp. n. 1303 with ref. to TCTI I, 1021 + 4' :3' f. (no date preserved): shall (then) c(
"(Bier) [I] u I [I u g] a I G u - d e - a k a d US-d e ge n - n a (fijr [denj]enigen (oder: [den K]onig), der a 'bull') and I
gegangen ist, urn Gude'a den Mund zu Offnen". The picture (
204 W. Sallaberger 1993:282. in "Seleukidis
205 Note that no statue of Nin-giszida has an identifying shoulder inscription. this text had i
206 The annual repetition of this rite and the wailing procession for Nin-giszida is perhaps to be a new ox-hide
connected with the fact that the god was conceived as a 'Dumuzi-figure', related to nature's cycles. drum:: r dl m
Another proposal is advanced by W. Sallaberger 1993:282. d rna l-an-na-r
207 Compare, for example, the 'olives' of the m u - b i -type of Uru-inimgina (Ukg. 39-57. 61), all These late n
giving the names of 'votive objects' which are unfortunately not preserved. In our context note ritual was perl
Ukg. 36:1-2: gisimmar a-zi-da a-gub-a lugal eriduki-se nu-kus mu-bi "The date 216 For the rulers'
palm, standing at the right side: the lord never tires on behalf of Eridu". Is it too far-fetched to FAOS 8,149 (
assume a connection with the g is i m m a I' - U I' Ud u, discussed above sub [23]7 (s.v . .fakanum
Perhaps En. I 2 3:6 (cf. H. Steible, FAOS 5/2 86:6) is an early reference to such a ritual in votive Death, and Gl
inscriptions. Historiograph~
From the Sargonic period cf. bar a ban sur - a n - n a "altar, (named) table of An" Sal' CIS: 13 II 217 Cf. the blessin
Sar A 1:[13]. St. B 7:65-9::
See further Ur-Ningirsu 12 with n i n - g u 10 be - m a - z i - z i, the name of a human-headed bull, and 28 (clay cone~
compare the name of the mace-head Nammabni 5:12-13: lugal-gul() ba-zi-ge be-ma-da- 12-15; Urnam
zi-zi; 'Lagas' 51 gives the name of a steatite vessel as digir-gulO I til al ba-ni-dull "my Amarsuen 3 (
(family) god requested life there"; 'Lagas' 54 names a granite vessel nin-gulO en-gulO be-tar 2: I I; IbbTsuen
"my lady truly took care of me"; see further the names of the stone vessel 'Lagas' 55, the alabaster 28 (obsidian v
vessel 'Lagas' 56; Ur-Nin. I (stone vessel) 11-12: lugal-gulo nam-ti-gulO he-su-re "my Curses and l
lord Nin-Girsu may prolong my life". V
32-49.
Note that, with the exception of the references from Sargon's inscriptions, all these votive inscrip- 218 See A. Falken:
tions come from Lagas. kalam-mab
208 Cf. W. Sallaberger 1993:2811304; the context indicates that the ritual was applied to this god's statue. of us u m = L
We recall Th. Paffrath's 1913 thesis quoted above, who saw in the deification of these weapons of 1992:166ff.; c
Nin-Girsu a typical example of a secondary development; see also A. Falkenstein, AnOr 30, 82f. 219 Cf. A. Falken~
A very different interpretation of ka-dus-ba)1ere was proposed by W.G. Lambert, RIA 7 147: 220 Gud. CyL B I
"snarling". Cf. also u4-ka-dus-a = lIill1ru(m) "panther", also the name of a stellar constellation aI-gar mi-r
(CAD N/2, 234f.; see NabnTtu XXI 265 (= MSL 16,199:265); FAM. Wiggennann, 1994:223 225f.).
243[, U4 - k a - d us- a "the Roaring Day" evidently belongs to the group of deified natural phenomena.

200
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

209 Cf. W.G. Lambert, RIA 7, 147.

210 Note that ell u g a 1- k u r- dub should not be identified with Anw; cf. F.A.M. Wiggermann 1992: 160.
211 Of course, for the names of both weapons there exists a certain possibility that they should be
analyzed as g is - s a r -lIr "wood that flattens everything" and g is - s a r - g a z "wood that smashes
everything". It is evident that in a number of cases the supposed 'determinative' was actually pro-
nounced. Well-known are the instances of various tree-names and wooden objects, e.g. g i s i mm a r
< It is - n i 111- bar, also written gisg i s i nl III a r "date-palnl" or g i s - u r = gusiiru(111) "trunk, beanl,
log". Cf. above n. 6.
212 Cf. W. Sallaberger 1993:278f. Note his statement on p. 281: "1m Gegensatz daw (i.e. the mouth-
opening of Gude'a's statue) erfolgt bei del' Weihe der Gotterwaffe sa r - g a z fUr Ningirsu
die 'Mundolfnung' einmalig beim Aufstellen des Kultobjektes." If W. Sallaberger is right, this
difference may well reflect an ancient distinction in the character of the two gods: The one, Nin-
Girsu, being a Dumuzi-like figure, firmly connected with nature's cycles, the other being one of
the deified "cultic objects".
213 See H. Steible, FAOS 9,2 (Ibbfsuen A 9-10:23-24: ezem-mah za-mu a-tus-a-elnanna-
ka ki dub-sen-e sag/kal dUs-bu-ba mus nu-tum-mu-de "That at the 'main festival,
the climax of the year, at the bathing ritual of Nanna, at the place of the treasure-chest, its mouth-
opening rite shall never cease ... " For the translation cf. the comments of H. Steible, ibid. 290f. and
of W. Sallaberger 1993:192911-914; further P. Steinkeller, OA 23 (1984) 39. It seems quite certain
that -/b a/ refers to the bur - s a k a n - k u - s i gl7 "the golden Sakan-vessel", as W. Sallaberger as-
sumes. Following him, this may rather indicate the usage of this vessel in the 'mouth-opening' rite
than a performance of this ritual on the vessel itself. But corn,rare n. 215.
214 M. Civil, .fNES 26 (1967) 211; cf. G.J. Selz 1992b:255. 2665 .
215 F. Thureau-Dangin, Ril. Acc. 30f. iii 23; see further 16f. iii 15ff. This ritual was performed here
for precisely the same purpose as it was in the case of the statues: to achieve and ensure by these
ceremonies the divinity of man-made objects. In our context, note as well pp. 26f. i 7f. (= IV R 23
no. I): 12 DIGIR.MES ZABAR a-na sA ABxDUB ZABAR RU-/1W ABxDUB ZABAR Ie-rim
"12 divine copper images you shall place into the copper kettledrum, the copper kettledrum you
shall (then) cover (with the ox-hide)"; cf. further id. Ril. Acc. AO 6479 4 ii 8 (mouth-washing of
a 'bull') and Ril. Acc. AO 6460 68:28f. (mouth-washing of a 'torch').
The picture of our quotation is now completed by the prayer W 20030/1, edited by W.R. Mayer
in "Seleukidische Rituale aus Warka mit Emesal-Gebeten", OrNS 47 (1978) 432ff. Following him,
this text had its liturgical 'place' in the ritual concerning the covering of the said ketlledrum with
a new ox-hide, precisely before the slaughter of the meat. Note I. 35f., probably relating to the
drum:: r dim-me-er-bi 11 dnanna-gin7 se-er-zi mu-mu-da-ke4 II DIGIR su-ti ki-l1/a
d fnaLan-na-ri li-<Ie-di>-i.f sci-ru-ru "may this god, like the Moon-god, be renewed in brilliance".
These late references may ask for a reinterpretation of the texts quoted in n. 213: perhaps the
ritual was performed for the vessel itself.
216 For the rulers' endeavour to ensure the commemoration of their names see, for example, B. Kienast,
FAOS 8,149 (s.v. mu (a) and (b), 160 (s.v. su-zi(-r) and su-zi-ih), 262 (s.v. pasalum), 280f.
(s.v. sakanum (b)) 302f1'. (s.v. SUII1U111(a) and (b)) etc.; CI. Wilcke, CRRA/17, 91f. (to U~-Nal11mu's
Dealh, and Cilgames and fJuwawa etc.); most recently P. Michalowski, "Memory and Deed: The
Historiography of the Political Expansion of the Akkad State" in Liverani 1993:69-90, esp. 89f.
217 Cf. the blessings in Gud. SI. P 3: 13-5:8, Sulgi 26 (statue) 4:23-27, and the curse formulas in Gud.
SI. B 7:65-9:26 (cf. 1. Klein FS. Sjoberg 295ff.; below n. 2 I 7, 253); SI. C 3: 18-4: 17; Urnammu
28 (clay cones) 2: 1-14; Urnammu 29 (stela) b) 2:5'-1 "; Urnammu 40 (bottom of a marble-vessel)
12-15; Urnammu 47 (calcite tablet) 2:7-4:12; Sulgi 46 (pearl) 12-16; Sulgi 65 (calcite-vessel) 7-14;
Amarsuen 3 (several copies chiefly on bricks, originally belonging to a statue's pedestal?) I: 13-
2:1 I; Ibbfsuen A 9-10 (copy) 65-72; Ur 19 (marble-vessel) 1'-7'; Ur 21 (calcite vessel) 5'-17';
28 (obsidian vessel) 1'-7'; Utubegal 7 (bronze-vessel) 1- I2.
Curses and blessings are combined, for example, in Gud. I 3:11-4:5, Amars. 12 (door-socket)
32-49.
218 See A. Falkenstein, AilOr 30, I 13, and note that the year Gud. 3 was called m u b a I a gus u m g a 1-
k a I a m-m a b a - d f m- m a cf. 1. Black, Aul. Or. 9 (FS. Civil) 2840. - For a comprehensive account
of us u m = basl11u and us u m g a I see A. Westenholz OSP 2, p. 42 and F.A.M. Wiggermann
1992: I66ff.; cf. id. 1994:227. 233.
219 Cf. A. Falkenstein, AilOr 30, 82.
220 Gud. Cy I. B 10:9-1 I : I: t i - g i4 n f g - d u I 0- g e s i - s~\ - a - d a k i s a I - e - n inn u h u I - a s i-a - d a
ai-gar mi-rf-tum nfg-e-du,o-ga ur-sag gestug,ug-fxLa-ra dnin-gfr-su-ra e-

20]
 Gebhard 1. Selz

n inn u d u 10- big a - g a - dan ark i-a g - a - n ius u m g a J - k a I a m - mae n _dn i n - g f r - s u - r a refer to K.7
me-ni-da mu-na-da-DIB-da-se-ga-dabade-ga-daigi fr-pa-da fr-sig-da sa- 1-12 +pl. I;
a - N IR - t a a N I R b a - dee n - n a s 11 a b - g i m z i - g a - n i i7bur an u n - g i m b u I u b - b a - n i Isa 14: 19.
a-ma-ru-gim sa-ga-KA-ni kur gu-erfm-gal-den-Ifl-Ia-ka a-gim ... balag-ga- 230 Cpo Th. Jac(
ni lugal-igi-bus-11m en-dnin-gfr-su-ra me-ni-da mu-na-da-DIB-e "In order to Braun-Holz]
have the Tigi-Harp, the sweet instrument, correctly tuned, to let rejoice the courtyard of the Eninnu 231 It is obviow
in joy, that Algar and MirHum, the instruments of the 'sweet house' (= the private quarters) kneel W.G. Lamb
before the ... attentive hero, before Nin-Girsu, in Eninnu was his beloved bard, Usumgal-kalama, necessary, b
going about his duties for the lord Nin-Girsu. In order to soothe the heart, to soothe the soul, to between the
remover?) tears from teary eyes, to keep grief from the lord's grievous heart, which is rising like 'Lagas'. Fo]
the (waves of the) ocean, frightening like the Euphrates, despoiling(?) like the flood, who makes 232 That this 'c
the assemblance of Enlil's foes like water was his harp Lugal-igi-hus, going about his duties the Nambur
for the lord Nin-Girsu." V
Zimmern, E
221 AnOr 7,90; see W. Sallaberger 1993:220. This harp of Inana occurs repeatedly and was final~ performed (
taken over in the great god-list An = Anum as an individual deity. See W. Sallaberger 1993:8837 , 233 As 1.1. Wint,
220. and "cultic ,
The interpretation of this name asks for some comments. i g i - z i - bar is regularly mentioned by placing"
in connectiorl with a ruler's election and RN i g i - z i - b a r- r a - 0 N "RN, truly/legitmately looked 234 Perhaps the
upon by ON" is attested already in Presargonic times; see H. Behrens/ H. Steible, FAOS 6 168f.
if not consti
Apparently Nin-Girsu's temple a (/ e) - b u Ii played a major part in such election ceremonies and
gis-gfd-l(
therefore bore the epithet e - i g i - z i - bar - r a "temple(, in which the god) truly has looked (upon the mace, the c
ruler)" > "temple (ot) election". This interpretation seems preferable to A. Falkenstein's rendering
later, probal
as "das er freundlich angeschaut hatte" AnOr 30, 167 n. 5.; cf. H. Steible, FA OS 512, 106f. references f
In my opinion, however, it remains doubtful whether the referent of the action (of Inana(? is see, for the
the unnamed "queen" or whether not rather this 'harp', legitimated by Inana, is called 'lady of and cf. also
election'. 217; id.: 19'
222 AUCT I, 969 obv. 4ff.: (x) ki-l-Ium-ma ba-a-e dnin-e-gal-e-si balag-a-ni a-rLl-a- statuettes re
lug a I. In the well-attested name-formation 01' the type /- * e - s i / s i refers to the aptness of the
235 For a diffen
subject to be fit for his/her duty. Is n inhere a designation for the queen or the harp?
236 P. Steinke'"
223 Cf. W. Sallaberger 1993: Tab. 80; the supplementary dn i n - i b - g a I is attested only once (CST 782,
5514:3, whe
but cl'. also YOS 4, 207, ibid. Tab. 81 out of' seven texts tabulated. (The following recipient is
Ur-Nammu.
always dg u -I a - umm aki; "Gula of Umma".)
had died, Su
224 Cf. B. Landsberger, LSS 6/1-2, 141ff. W. Sallaberger 1993:60fl'. (with lit.), 88.
of Gestin-ar
225 Cf. W. Sallaberger 1993:99f429 Apparently these offerings are referring to Enlil's throne made by
with dgest
Amar-Su'en and commemorated in the year name AS 3. The little list provided by Sallaberger,
underlying]
ibid., gives good examples of the kind of "cultic objects" mentioned amongst the recipients of
otferings in this period. Note: da - b a-de n -I f 1- g i n7 S u - n i r_de n -I f I-I a "The emblem of Enlil, members of
(named) 'Who is like Enlil' "; a I a n -I u g a I "The statue (of) the king"; dna-ra-am-dsu'en "Naram- while this s
all for an al
Sin"; ds a r - r u- G [Mill "Sargon", gu-NE 'a cupboard(?)' (cf. op. cit. 117532); gisb a d "threshing
to deny that
sledge(?)" (cf. P. Steinkeller, Iraq 52 (1990) 1919), gis-su4-a "a stool"; (d)balag "harp/lyre";
even the aft
gis gig i r "a chariot" and g u f7 "a granary".
237 I. J. Gelb I(
226 For offerings to the thrones of the latter persons see the references of W. Sallaberger 1993: 147696
Some texts however do not favour a sharp distinction between the two kinds of thrones: cf. N. to "larger st
Schneider, DDU 107 with the sequence: gisgu-za-ur-dnammu - gisgu-za-den-Ifl - ki- statues, as ~
gisgu_za_dsul_gi U clamar_dsu'en. the 'votive
named in th
227 J.-M. Durand in: (E. Levy (ed.) Le systeme palatial ... (1987) 107ff.) identified a room behind the
throne room as e _gisg u - z a -b i-a "house of the various thrones" as a place where the kispliln offer- 238 The remark:
ings for the dead were accomplished; compare W. Sallaberger 1993: I47f.; cf. further P. Matthiae, to display a
UF II (1979) 566. 239 Voti ve offer
228 In noticing that the offerings to these thrones were attested only at the end of the corresponding sacrificali e
rulers' reign, he proposed a connection between these offerings for the throne and the ancestral 240 "The assura
cult; see W. Sallaberger 1993: 147f. Note that those offerings were usually performed in Ur, but in income for]
the 10th month (ezem-ab-e) in Nippur, too. W. Sallaberger 1993: 147698, following Moorey, Iraq benefit as Ie
46 (1984), 1-18, proposes to see in gisgu_za a place of veneration of the deceased ruler, perhaps 241 See G.J. Sei
somewhere in the palace. 242 I.1. Gelb 19
Of special interest are the references for the throne of Sulgi, discussed by W. Sallaberger 1993:28. 243 I.1. Gelb 19
32. 147. 160;cI'.51. 244 For SI.A-tw
229 Cf. D. Foxvog 1980. As for the rulers, funer3lj rituals for the provision of "thrones" to sit on in the 3 (1981) 77
Netherworld are attested all over the Ancient Near East. A good example is provided by the ritual 245 1.1. Gelb I(
text KTU 1.161 :20-26 which, according to M. Dietrich/ O. Loretz 1991 b), concerns the furniture anything eh
accompanying the funeral of a king, especially his throne. For the Neo-Assyrian period one might alleged diff(

202
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

refer to K.7856+K.6323+K. 14-241 +80-7-19, 122 (ADD 978); see J. McGinnis, 5MB III (1987),
1-12 +pl. I; cf. W. von Soden, Z4 43 (1936), 255; T. Kwasman, OrNS 57 (1988), 79*. See also
Isa 14:19.
230 Cpo Th. Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness. (New Haven and London 1976), 75-91; s. further E.
Braun-Holzinger 1991 :344ft.
231 It is obvious that not every item in a temple was conceived of as 'divine'. Therefore, in my opinion,
W.G. Lambert's explanation of a deification of such implements (see above no. 17) describes a
necessary, but not a sufficient condition for such a process. Note for instance the careful distinction
between the verbs used for fashioning statues (t u) and objects (d f m) in the inscriptions from
'Lagas'. For the latest discussion cf. E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :221. 223. 228.
232 That this 'animation' purported much more than a 'metaphorical' notion can be deduced from
the Namburbi-ritual KAR 90: 15 (cf. also OrNS 36 (1967), 21 f.:9) or from Craig, ABRT [ 60:9 =
Zimmern, BBR no. 100:9 etc. where the rituals k a -I u b- u - d a and k a - d US-ll- d a are said to be
performed on a patient; cf. further references in CAD M/2, I 12.
233 As 1.1. Winter suggested during the discussion following this communication, the induction of statues
and "cultic objects" should be considered as a further rite establishing their divinity: "consecration
by placing" cf. GJ. Selz I992b:252-254.
234 Perhaps the bathing rituals, attested since Presargonic times are to be connected with the ensuring,
if not constituting of divinity. In our context compare Sulgi R I. SO: fs i ta-saj:('-5? TUKUL.1AN
gis-gfd-Ida] su-n i r a-rtus-a] igi -se i m-da'-x. according to PSD All, 194 "the five-headed
mace, the divine(?) weapon, spear and emblem are (ritually) washed ... ". As in periods much
later, probably there existed also clothing rituals for divine statues, as one might deduce from the
references for (the washing of) the ancestors' garments, attested already in the Presargonic period;
see, for the time being, J. Bauer, ZDMG Suppl. 1,1 (1969) 1082; further H. Waetzoldt, RIA 6, 28ff.,
and cf. also the recent discussions of the (later) lubu.ftu-ceremony by E. Matsushima 1993:207-
217; id.: 1994: 177-200. How these clothes for the ancestors relate to the known examples of stone
statuettes remains highly problematic; cf. E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :229+693
235 For a different interpretation see 1.1. Gelb 1987: 130.
236 P. Steinkeller, "More on Ur III Royal Wives", AS) 3 (1981) 77f. He explicitly refers to TCL 2,
5514:3, where the offering to dg est i n - a n - n a: SI.A- t um is preceded by one to the k i-a - nag of
Ur-Nammu. Steinkeller writes: 'These data combined offer a strong indication that, after SI.A-t um
had died, Sulgi established her official cult, in which she was venerated as one of the personifications
of Gestin-anna". Here, Steinkeller evidently assumes that Watartum after her death was identified
with dg est in - a n - n a. [ am not sure that I believe this. The best way to understand the concept
underlying this cult is the assumption that SI.A- tum was represented in a statue, as were other
members of the ruling families in Sumer. Accordingly, that Sulgi(r)'s mother must have been dead
while this statue received offerings is not very convincing. In addition, I can see no evidence at
all for an assumption that any 'identification with Gestin-ana' plays a part here. This is not said
to deny that such statue(tte)s were also made memoriae aeterl1ae, to ensure posthumous fame and
even the after-life of the dedicator. [More on this subject can be found below sub [53]ff.]
237 1. J. Gelb 1987: 126. On p. 137 he distinguishes other types of compound divine names as referring
to "larger statues, as presumably of the gods bearing [these] compound names" from "the smaller
statues, as presumably those of type (4) Personal ON". He further connects the latter names with
the 'votive figurines' and on p. 136 he explicitly states that "the votant is the person who was
named in the second element of this compound" (of type 4).
238 The remarks of P. Steinkeller, AS) 3 (1981) 82: I5, referred to by U. Gelb 1987: 126, seem to me
to display a certain reluctance to interpret all these names in this same way.
239 Votive offerings at Ebla prove the broad distribution of this institution; see L. Cagni, Offerte
sacrificali e votive ad Ebla" in HSAO 2, 181-198; B. Kienast! H. Waetzoldt, Eblaitica 2, 53.
240 "The assurance of continued health and prosperity for the donor and his family and of continued
income for the upkeep of the gods, that is, of the priests of the temple. The pact worked to mutual
benefit as long as the income provided by the votant lasted." Gelb 1987: 138.
241 See GJ. Selz 1992b: 24828, 254f.
242 U. Gelb 1987: 1371'. Note that in this quotation "their statues" apparently refers to the "gods".
243 U. Gelb 1987: 134; also interpreted as a genitive compound by D.O. Edzard in RIA 3, 300.
244 For SI.A-lum, probably to be read Watartul11, as the name of Sulgir's mother cf. P. Steinkeller, AS)
3 (1981) 77f.; vgl. I.J. Gelb 1987:130.134.
245 l.J. Gelb 1987: 138 did not mention the possibility that these compound names could refer to
anything else than representations of donors. [The exceptions mentioned here in n. 237 refer to
alleged different name-types.] Following him. the offerings were strictly intended "to provide the

203
 Gebhard 1. Selz

temple with means to support the ex-voto permanently". I agree, as far as the so called sa - dUll 251 For this, see
offerings are concerned, attested both for 'votive figurines' and statues of gods. Nevertheless, the 252 One should
term g i s - tag "to offer, to consecrate", likewise attested for both kinds of statu(ett)es, seems to performed n
me to entail the divinity of the recipient. see W' Yo
246 Concerning an Early Dynastic 'votive figurine' from Tell Asmar, Th. Jacobsen 1989 proposed an ('Lebendigk
interpretation as an image of a god, thus taking up much earlier arguments of H. Frankfort from 253 Note the fol
Sculpture of the Third Millenllium B.C.fi-om Tell Asmar and Kh/ajoh, (alP 44). alan igi-z
Note that Akkadian rulers repeatedly refer to their tamf!um "likeness" presented to various gods; be a statue,
cf. B. Kienast, FAOS 8, 307; see also the references for ALAN/(AN.)DUL-su and DULl11i-lne, ibid. on the modi
2731T sub salmum. [An Old Babylonian copy of IbbTsuen A II rev. also uses the term tam.mum; following Vv
see also Su~uen A 26 112').] 254 To prevent a
247 See 33 of the introduction to my UGASL and cf. R. van Oriel, JAOS 93 (1973), 67ff. The names statue autorr
of the divine addressee and of the donor provide clearly the basic form of the votive inscription. Note that R
This follows from the inscribed statuettes from Nippur, published by A. Goetze in JCS 23 (1970) figurines' a
391T. (A later example is perhaps found on a Puzur-Insusinak inscription (= Elam 6 in B. Kienast, und ihrem G
FAOS 7, 331 f.), where the dedication formula <A MU.NA.RU> is inserted. The omission of the practice was
dedication formula does not permit the wide-spread assumption of a different function of such texts parti ci pan ts'
("standard inscription", "identifying Inscription", etc.). Cf. E.A. Braun-Holzinger 1977: 17. 19 and Whether the
cf. her remarks to this problem in 1991 :84f31-1 this commul
248 U. Gelb's general interpretation of these double names as genitive compounds is, as far as I can see, 255 The venerat
without convincing evidence. Note that the said Gestinana Nin-)Azimu'a), the sister of Dumuzi differentia tie
and the consort of Nin-giszida (Gud. St. 0; Lagas), owes her special function for the Ur III rulers concept of r
perhaps to their connection with Uruk: cf. CI. Wilcke, La voix de I'opposition ... (1973) 61; H. ordering sys
Steible, FAOS 9,2 73ff.; A. Falkenstein, AnOr 30, 73f. question of t
249 Of course one might also assume that the family god was represented. That such images existed is and other th
well attested in Old Sumerian votive inscriptions from Lagas. That, indeed, requires a discussion 1044-1046.
of a possible relationship between the images of the 'personal' gods and the donors themselves, to is next to ne
which I hope to return elsewhere. The problems are even further complicated due to the probable the concepts
connection such figurines had with ancestral worship (Gud. St. B 7:49-55: see E. Braun-Holzinger described di
1977 28f. and cf. n. 20 I). The situation given in our third millennium texts is perhaps best explained monotheism
by the assumption of the following historical development. The human-shaped figurines, and - to 256 See W. SaiL
a less obvious extent - special objects had to fulfill the task of represe17lario in abselltia. Their 257 The distribu
purpose was twofold. Dedicated to the temples, they were expected to pray for the life of the and 'RN = e
donor and his family. After the dedicator's death, they quite naturally represented the deceased not "king" were
only toward the god(s) but also toward his family. (This custom was perhaps initiated by practices 258 W. Sallabeq
stemming from the Semitic-influenced area, cf. R. Mayer-Opificius 1988:2571'1'.) It follows that 259 In this resp(
offerings for such statues likewise fulfilled two tasks. In the context of the ex-voto or prebend clusions hav
institution they were intended for the care 01' the temple and its owner(s), while in the context of Befund steh
after-life they could provide for the needs of the deceased. The latter type of offering in connection KN'''.
with the 'timeless quality' of such figurines finally led to the 'deification' of such statues. This 260 W. Sallabeq
process is apparently paralleled by the deification of the deceased. And, interestingly enough, und unterscl
A. Tsukimoto in 1985: 105386 noted that in Japan after a timespan between 33 or 50 years, dead 261 W. Sallaber
ancestors were deemed to become gods. As a result of a historical process and given their functional tergestalt va
context, one understands that such statuettes, independent entities, bore 'divine-ness' in themselves. der (gdttlich
- This interpretation is corroborated by the Bible, Nuzi, Ugarit, and Emar materials collected and eigene Gest,
discussed by O. Loretz 1992, elaborating on the origin and interpretation of the Biblical 'Teraphim'. nte 'fUrbitte
Of special importance here are the following remarks (p. I63f.): "ResUmierend ist festzuhalten, daB I am indeb
in den Nuzi-Texten einerseits zwischen den verschieden graBen iltilliJ. Figuren und den etell1l1UI 'guardian sr
sowie andererseits zwischen den DINGIR.ERIN(.MES) zu unterscheiden ist und diese im Kult sumablyeve
der Familie insgesamt eine zentrale Rolle spielen. Nimmt man an, daB die elemmii die jUngst (that) made
Verstorbenen der Familie umfassen und erst im Laufe der Zeit zu ili'illii gezahlt werden, kdnnte man gestion that
vielleicht vorsichtig folgern, daB wir in DINGIR.ERlN(.MES) einen Sammelbegriff fUr die iltillrl the major dl
und elemmii einer Familie vor Augen haben." See further H. Rouillardl J. Trapper, VT 37 (1987) while the B3
340-361. "Mesopotan
250 The above mentioned DIGIR-sign is little more than a heuristic tool and its function seems over- I98ff. Perha
estimated, especially in the third millennium. In Presargonic and Sargonic times Semitic gods, for and which v
example, consistently lack the determinative when written syllabically. On the other hand, during image, i.e. t
and after the Akkade period its usage became rather more extensive: former divine epithets, "cultic the cult of i
objects", and the names of some rulers are now in many cases written with this determinative. Of 262 Cf. nn. 217
course, this is not said in order to deny the importance of careful observations of the written form; blessing at t
it is only mentioned to stress the absence of a general valid distinction. The statue v

204
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

251 For this, see my article 1992b:255f.

252 One should mention here the fact that in ancient Egypt similarly the "Mundoffnungsritual" was
performed not only on statues but on temples, various cultic implements, and even on mummies;
see LdA Vol. 4, (Wiesbaden) 1982, 223f.; further Vol. I, (Wiesbaden) 1975, 793ff. s.v. "Bild
('Lebendigkeit' eines Bildes)".
253 Note the following comparison in Gud. St. B 7:56-59: nfg-a-zi-ga-ka lu-nam-mi-gul-e
a Iani g i - z u dn i n - g fr- s u - k a- ka m "Nobody shall destroy it (the statue) by force, as if it would
be a statue of (the god) Nin-Girsu"; see Cl. Wilcke, JNES 27 (1968), 232. Our translation relies
on the modified interpretation of J. Klein, FS. Sjoberg, 296, whereas H. Steible, FAOS 9, I 173,
following Wilcke, joins the phrase of II. 58-59 with the following text.
254 To prevent any possible misunderstanding, I do not suggest that every votive object, not even every
statue automatically became a "cult object" in its own right, but some did.
Note that R. Mayer-Opificius I 988:266ff. proposes for the North-Mesopotamian and Syrian 'votive
figurines' a connection with the cult of deceased royal persons: "Ein Totenopfer vor den FUrsten
und ihrem Gefolge - nicht am Grabe - ist daher als Sitte ... anzunehmen". According to her, this
practice was taken over in the south. There it mingled with the older idea of the higher festival's
participants' perpetual representation before the gods which it partially supplanted (pp. 262f.).
Whether there existed two different sources which finally led to the sort of deification discussed in
this communication needs further investigation.
255 The veneration of saints remained disputed among the Christian churches over centuries. The
differentiation betweenlatria (adoralio) and dulia (veneralio) was necessary in order to maintain the
concept of monotheism. Nevertheless, the veneration of saints still reflects a hierarchic theological
ordering system: the saints functioning as mediators to God. Even closer to our subject is the related
question of the veneration of relics, especially of such 'secondary relics' as clothes, wooden objects,
and other things which came into physical contact with holy persons or things; see RGG3 Vol. 5,
1044-1046. As helpful as such comparisons may be for understanding Mesopotamian religion, there
is next to no evidence that similar distinctions were applied. It somehow even seems to contradict
the concepts of a polytheistic religion. [From another point of view one might even say that the
described differentiation is only learned theological speculation in order to maintain the dogma of
monotheism, to cope with the omnipresent and inherent polytheistic tendencies.)
256 See W. Sallaberger 1993:863601', 102.
257 The distribution proposed by H. Waetzoldt, N.A.B. U. 1990: no.47 between lug a I = 'worldly ruler'
and 'RN = deified king' was disputed by W. Sallaberger 1993:95410 who stresses that "Sulgi" and
"king" were equivalent (but admits that absence of year dates makes any decision difficult).
258 W. Sallaberger 1993:85f.
259 In this respect he differs from H. Waetzoldt, N.A.B.U. 1990: no.47. Since W. Sallaberger's con-
clusions have far-reaching consequences, we may quote the relevant passage in full: "Nach diesem
Befund steht der Name des vergottlichten Konigs in den Opferlisten nul' verkUrzt fUr 'Genius des
KN'''.
260 W. Sallaberger 1993:86: "Der dlama des Konigs wirkt demnach Uber den Tod des Hen'schers hinaus
und unterscheidet sich nicht von dem des lebenden Konigs."
261 W. Sallaberger, ibid.: "Wurde der dlama, 'Schutzgott, Genius', des Konigs als eine eigene Got-
tergestalt vorgestellt, odeI' meint er, etwa dem romischen genius vergleichbar, eine 'Personifikation'
der (gottlichen) Macht des Kaisers? Oder schlieBt vielmehr diese Vorstellung ein Bild von dlama als
eigene Gestalt gar nicht aus? Und ist dies diesel be odeI' eine andere Gottergestalt als die wohlbekan-
nte 'fUrbittende Gottin'?"
I am indebted to A. Westenholz who reminded me of the much closer parallel of the Babylonian
'guardian spirits' ifllln and iSlarum, .fedum and lal11assum (cf. nn. 262, 263). I also agree that pre-
sumably every human possessed a Lamma, and that it is only the fact that "the king being the king
(that) made his dlamma a state affair". Westenholz further made, in ARES I 107, the interesting sug-
gestion that sedLim and famassum denote something comparable to CG. lung's animus and anima,
the major difference being that we conceive them "to be within us, as part of our 'unconscious',
while the Babylonians imagined them as beings outside ourselves" (pel's. comm.; cf. also the chapter
"Mesopotamian 'Psychology'" in A.L. Oppenheim, Ancienl Mesopotamia, (Chicago 1964, 19725)
I98ff. Perhaps one should visualize the Lamma as that part of the human which is of divine origin
and which will outlive the decaying flesh, particularly when the Lamma is embodied in a physical
image, i.e. by Oppenheim's "external soul". As a result of this, the undoubted connection between
the cult or images and the cult of ancestry seems oosier to comprehend.
262 Cf. nn. 217. 261. 263. According to these and many other passages I would like to see in the
blessing at the end of the statue Sulgi 264:23-27, quoted in n. 264, an actual speech of the statue.
The statue will be the 'Protective deity' of any eventual benefactor. [The idea of Lamma probably

205
 Gebhart 1. Selz

refers to the mediating power of such statues, conveying the pious' pleas to the gods, and protection achievemer
is the normal outcome of such an action. But note that a edu lellll1.l1 and ullIkku leml1.u also are and cultivat
attested.] (including \
263 It was often disputed whether dl a m m a has to be considered as a proper divinity. D. FoxvoglW. especially!
HeimpeI/A.D. Kilmer, RIA 6,447 write: "Although L(amma) came to be conceptualized with the gul-laba
general notion of its agency in good fortune and protection, it appears to have its origins in the day, in my I
supra-natural realm of demons, not divinities." In the Presargonic sources I cannot find proof for this lands I did
assumption. The attested occurrences of ella mm a in the Fara god-lists, the offering lists, and the Sulgi(-r), a
personal names clearly seem to point to an identification as 'functional divine name', designating 266 Cf. W. Sail.
the ability of protecting ascribed to certain gods, and perhaps even the (deified) idea of protective in Esnunna
power proper. However, if the thoughts expressed above in n. 261 are not completely out of place, Ihe Rulers {
there must be more involved than just the "idea of protective power". Two famous passages in a custom e,
of Gude'a demonstrate beyond doubt that god and man alike possessed a Lamma (and an Udug) 267 Attributed I
(Gud. Cyl A 3:18~21 (referring to Gatumdu(g), B 2:7~IO (referring to Gude'a). I propose that any dlamma a
of these divine and consequently eternal geniuses could be represented as a statue. 43-45,69,
264 This seems to follow from such Lamma-names as ellamma-sita4-e (5. H. Steible, FADS 5/2, king's role
10:4), dlamma-enku-e-gu-eden-na (s. A. Falkenstein, AnDr 30,81), or ellamma-sila- 268 Cf. P Steini
sfr-sfr-ra in n. 198 above. 269 See my att
From the Neo-Sumerian period we have the fragment of a statue (Sulgi 26) which perhaps repre- I 992b:258f.
sented the king SUlgi(-r) himself (this is the conclusion of R. Zettler, FS. Sjoberg, 65ff.; denied ~y 270 Cf. the tran:
E. Braun-Holzinger 1991 :219622; see now the discussion of C. Suter, JCS 43-45 (1991 ~93) 661'). "(Naram-Si'l
The upper part of the statue is unfortunately broken, but the torso suggested to Zettler that the statue siegreich be
was holding a type of vessel which connects it with some 'libation activity'. It is, however, not seine Stadt
altogether clear if the statue was a representation of the king Sulgi himself. According to II. I: 1~13 Enki in Eric
the statue was dedicated to Nindar(a) by elsu 1- g i - k i - U 1'5- S a6- k a I a m - m a (- k a), an official in Akkade ihn
charge of offerings (I u - n f g - g i s - tag - g a). [The only other reference to this name known to me Note that
is the hypocoristicon elsu 1- g i - k i - u r5- S a6 in CT 7: 12939 2:6 and HLC 10 pI. 53 2: II11 7: 13.J (1983/84) 5
The following a I a n - a - n i m u - t u "he fashioned his statue" refers, according to the translations 271 This connec
of Civil, FS. Sjoberg, 53 ("his statue") and H. Steible, FAOS 9,2 179 ("seine (eigene) Statue") to is importanl
this official, not to the king. The name of the statue however (see above n. 198) favours Zettler's DIGIR ma.
interpretation. [E. BraunHolzinger's comparison with the name in Gud. St. R 1991 :219622 does not a - k a - deki
fully convince me.J Not insignificant is the name of the official in charge, which one may translate Kienast, Na
as "(the divine king) Sulgi (of(? the place of the favorable decisions (= lerlUIIl) (alternatively: the 272 These and r
place of the joy) of the land". The connotations remain unclear to me; see also W.H.Ph. Romer, also P. VeYI
SKIZ 197f.: k i - H A R - S a6( - g e) "Mittel zur Freude"; D.O. Edzard/ CI. Wilcke, AOAT 25, 168. introduction
Most important "in our context is the blessing of II. 4:24~27: U4 - u I-I f - a - s e I [I gi,u dun 1- n a- toires?"
SU M-da lu-ba dlamma-a-ni be-me mu-gulO be-pa-de en-gulo IJe-tar-re "Forever: 273 Cf. Th. laco
the man who stokes the oven with wood, this man's Lamma I shall be. May he invoke my name; way (e.g in
may he take care of me". ancients. I S
This passage clearly corroborates my assumptions concerning the relationship between the concept a given pher
of Lamma and a ruler's deification: It is the statue, at least in origin, to which this idea of deification of explanati,
applied. [If this statue were to represent the said official, one would have to assume that this concept better unden
of ella m m a applied to virtually any statue!] See also the following note. or events-
265 My proposition is that the Neo-Sumerian ruler was conceived of as divine because of the (outstand- The reader r
ing) fulfilment of his responsibilities for his people and his land. The term (d)1a m m a, as applied gains the ilT
to several (statues of) Neo-Sumerian rulers, refers to this special function he was supposed to carry See also the
out, and to which the royal epithets allude (cf. W.W. Hallo AOS 43:61 ff.): Cf. Sulgi(-r): ds u 1- g i 274 I surmise th:
digir-kalam-ma-na (Sulgi 56 1~2); DIGIR ma-liu da-mim (Sulgi 63 2~3)); (Amar-Su'en): At the sam(
digir-zi-kalam-ma-na (Amar-Su'en 8 obv. 10), digir-zi dutu-kalam-ma-na (A mar- items. Wher
Suen 6:IO~II); (SO-Sin): digir-ra-ni (SO-Suen 109, II 9, 12 12) digir-ki-ag-ga-a-ni accoutremen
(SO-Suen 3 9); (lbbT-Su'en): digir-kalam-ma-na (IbbTsuen I 1:2,64,9-107.34, II obv. 5) = 1.S. Coop,
cf. below n. 271. ordained per
Note also SB 328: lu g a 1- m e - e n a - gad I a m m a - b i - i m k a I - g a - gas I r - b i - i m "I am the so everybod.
king; my anns(lmy power) are one of a 'Lamma'; this is a song of my valour". In 1983, in
From Old Babylonian times we have an interesting ~arallelism in an AmmT-ditana year name (23) questions; cf
which records the entering of a I a m - a I a m - a -n i i:J I am m a _"I a III m a "his (= the ruler's) statues 100 he write
and the Lamma-deities" into Ebabbar. homme et vc
Note that ds u 1- g i occurs in over 200 PNs i's a 'theophoric' element. A considerable number of aussi comm(
them are in praise of the ruler's outstanding qualities; cf. H. Limet, L'al1lhropollymie, 176ff. pour la logic
I assume that the way the Ur III kings connected their deification with their special qualities A descripti'
resumed an idea first attested under Naram-Si'n; see nn. 269f. But, instead of the praise of military is far beyon(

206
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

achievements of Sargonic times they concentrated now on peaceful deeds, such as building canals
and cultivating fields, cattle-raising; see e.g. CI. Wilcke, CRRAI 17,92. These are the main subjects
(including writing, accounting and music) dealt with in Sulgi-hymn C; see further SB 246-259 and
especially Sulgi(-r)'s self-praise in SB 3221'1'.: u4-ne-e lllu-sar-ra-gulO-a uru nU-lllu-un-
g u I - I a b it d n u - III U - U n - s e - g a - g u 10 k u r k i - s i g - g i III n u - m u - u n - dub - b a - g u I0 "On that
day, in my inscription (one may read): cities I did not destroy, walls I did not pull down; the foreign
lands 1 did not shake like reeds". However, a phrase like s ul- g i dig i rna m- k a I a g - a "(! am)
Sulgi(-r), a god in valour" (Sulgi B I. 82) may reflect the Sargonic traditions.
266 Cf. W. Sallaberger 1993: 106+480. At this point we may also mention the famous Sil-Su'en-temple
in Esnunna: see. H. Frankfort, S. Lloyd, and Th. Jacobsen, The Cill1ilsin Temple and the Palace of
the Rulers at Tell ASl11ar, (OIP 43, Chicago 1940). With this building, SU-Su'en probably relied on
a custom established under Naram-Sln; cr. below [56].
267 Attributed to god and man alike, this is probably more accurate than the usual description of
d I a m m a a s 'Protective Deity', protection just being her most popular task. Cf. C. Suter in }CS
43--45, 69, concerning a special sort of royal images, the kid-carriers, "it most likely evoked the
king's role as a mediator between divine and human spheres".
268 Cf. P Steinkeller, AS} 3 (1981) 81 f.
269 See my attempt to differentiate between the various possible roots of a ruler's deification in
I992b:258f.; cf. also the following note.
270 Cf. the translation of lines 10-56 by B. Kienast, FAOS 7, (Nartiln~ln I) 81ff. :
"(Naram-Sln hat) durch die Liebe, die lSlar ihm erwiesen hat, neun Schlachten in einem Jahr
siegreich bestanden .... Weil er in dieser Notlage die Fundamente seiner Stadt gefestigt hatte, hat
seine Stadt bei IStar in E'ana, bei Enlil in Nippur, bei Dagan in Tuttul, bei Ninhursaga in Kes, bei
Enki in Eridu, bei Sin in Ur, bei Samas in Sippar (und) bei Nergal in Kutha ZlII; Gotte ihrer Stadt
Akkade ihn sich erbeten und inmitten von Akkade seinen Tempel errichtet."
Note that a different interpretation of this inscription was proposed by H. Hirsch AfO 29/30
(1983/84) 58-61.
271 This connection between the deification and the outstanding (military) achievements of Naram-Sln
is important (cf. already W. Farber OrNS 52 (1983), 67f.). See further: (Sar-kali-sarrT) da-I1/./11I
D!GIR /11a-ti UR!ki "der Machtige, del' Gott des Landes Akkade", Sks B 4:3; digir-ur-sag-
a - k it - dekl "Gott (und) Held von Akkade" S-29; see also the discussion of d a m- ina n a by B.
Kienast, Naramsln mut clINANNA, OrNS 59 (1990) 196-203.
272 These and related questions are authoritatively discussed by Th. Jacobsen 1987b, esp. 16-20. See
also P. Veyne 1983 whose whole research centers around our subject. Accordingly, he begins his
introduction with the question "Comment peut-on croire it moitie ou croire it des choses contradic-
toires?"
273 Cf. Th. Jacobsen 1987b: 18f. Jacobsen stresses that our thoughts are basically structured in a dualistic
way (e.g in "is and is not", or in "real or unreal") as compared to a 'monistic' perception of the
ancients. I suspect that a major difference lies within our need for a single exclusive explanation for
a given phenomenon, whereas the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia readily accepted different levels
of explanation. In an additive approach they apparently thought that in this way they might gain a
better understanding of their world. They did not easily dismiss momentary or 'fleeting' observations
or events - Jacobsen refers to Akkadian salT in opposition to kenu - as insignificant, as we do.
The reader may allow for the remark that, in comparison with modern 20th century psychology, one
gains the impression that ancient Mesopotamian thought was by no means altogether 'primitive'.
See also the following notes.
274 ! surmise that the 'mystical' explanation favored by Jacobsen (cf. no. 276) is only one possibility.
At the same time the ancients knew, of course, that statues and objects were highly precious
items. When Lugal-zagesi plundered the temples of 'Lagas' and stripped the cultic statues of their
accoutrements, this was clearly incited by greed too; see Ukg. 16 = H. Steible, FAOS 5/1, 3331'f.
= J.S. Cooper, SARI I pp. 78f. Until recently in the Catholic church even outside the mass, only
ordained persons were allowed to touch the (holy) communion cup with their bare hands, but even
so everybody knew - and saw - that it was originally just a precious golden cup.
In 1983, in his important essay Les Crecs OIlI-ils cru (I leurs mythes? Paul Veyne discussed simi lar
questions; cf. especially the chapter Pluralite et analogie des II/andes de verite (1983:28-38). On p.
100 he writes: "quand les hommes dependent d'un homme tout-puissant, ils Ie pratiquent comme
homme et voient en lui un simple mortel, selon I'optique des valets de chambre, mais ils Ie pratiquent
aussi comille leur maitre et Ie voient donc au,5si comme un dieu. La pluralite des verites choquante
pour la logique, est la consequence normale de la pluralite des forces."
A description of the difference between the mental concepts of Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia
is far beyond our subject. However, it seems unlikely that the Mesopotamians ever expressed the

207
 Gebhard 1. Selz

same sort of scepticism well-known from Greek authors. How far already Herodotus was estranged should be ex
from the mythic perception of the world can be seen by a passage from his lSI. VII 152:3: "As for never accide
me, T feel obliged to render what I was told, but I'm not obliged to believe in everything; and this
is valid for my whole work"; cf. Veyne 1983:24. How Pausanias and others dealt with the 'mythic
truths' is the central subject of P. Veyne's thougthful 1983 essay.
275 Following L. Levy-Bruhl's concept of a 'primitive mentality', allegedly indifferent to logical incon-
sistencies, it was W. F. Albright who repeatedly used the terms 'prelogical' or 'protological' think-
ing. H. Frankfort in his famous work The Intellectual Adventure of Allcient Mall, (Chicago 1964),
termed much the same 'mythopoetical' thinking. These interpretations were convincingly criticized
by E.E. Evans-Pritchard who gave in his Theories of Primitive Religion (Oxford 1965, 19726, 78-
99) also a very fair evaluation of Levy-Bruhl's theories. Note that Th. Jacobsen 1987b:29 explicitly
refers to L. Levy-Bruhl. See further P.B. Machinist" Uber das SelbstbewuBtsein in Mesopotamien"
274-280, ill: S.N. Eisenstadt (ed.), Kulturen del' Achsenzeit. Ihre Urspriinge und ihre Vieltillt. (Teill,
Frankfurt 1987) P. Veyne 1983: 144f33; G. Lewis, "Magic, Religion and the Rationality of Belief'
572-575, in: T. Ingold (ed.), Companion Encyclopedia of Anthropology, (London and New York
1994.).
276 Th. Jacobsen 1987b:22f. explains the evidence in the following words: "A cult statue is a foreshad-
owing of and a stage in a divine presence, a theophany" ... 'The statue (is) mystically becoming
what it represents, the god, without however, in any way limiting the god, who remains transcen-
dent." ... "It becomes transubstantiated".
277 This text refers to a statue of the moon-god.
278 Note that MES is missing in I. 201 as in IV R 25b iii 42f. Our writing, however, proves the reading
iluliUi instead of An; cf. also RAcc. 120: 17 and CAD A/2, 2021.
279 IV R 25b reads gu-si-a.
280 The phenomenon of the Mesopotamian "Listenwissenschaft" is closely related to this task collecting
and ordering even the strangest names, sometimes beyond any obvious practical purpose.
28J A good critical survey of the impact these 'Durckheimian' categories had, and of the pitfalls
they provide for modern researchers, is given by 1. Goody, "Religion and Ritual: The Definition
Problem", British Journal of Sociology 12 (1961) 142-164.
282 Following SIT 20 I; 200 has instead the 'chiastic writing': [a n d i] m - m a ina AN-e ib-b[a]-nu r ina
KI1-tim ib-ba-nu ki dim-mao
283 Of course, to be taken from kis.fatu(m), not from kiadu(m); cf. M. Dietrich I O. Loretz 1992: 32.
284 To A. and U. Westenholz I owe the reference and translation of a passage from the Diviner's
Manual (A.L. Oppenheim JNES 33 (1974) 200:38ff.): 'The signs of earth together with those of
the sky produce a signal, heaven and earth both bring us portents, each separately but not different,
since sky and earth are interconnected." Admittedly the wording of this quotations looks somewhat
'late' and the elaborate scheme of the creation of the universe as described in Eniima elfs IV 135-
V 66 comes to mind; cf. W.G. Lambert, "The Cosmology of Sumer and Babylon" 55-59 in: C.
Blacker I M. Loewe (eds.), Ancient Cosmologies. (London 1975). For modern man an allusion to
the 'Heavenly Jerusalem' may help to understand the underlying notion (cf. Ree3 Vol. 3, p. 339).
The great age of this "mirroring" may, on a more restricted level, be inferred from such obser-
vations as the one A. Falkenstein made in respect to the relationship between Nin-Girsu and Baba
as depicted in Gude'a's inscriptions: this relationship looks much "wie eine in neusumerischer Zeit
iibliche Ehe" (AnOr 30, 64).
285 Cf. the distinction of gods, demons, and monsters by F.A.M. Wiggermann 1994:223-226 and, more
cautiously, by A. Green J994:246-248. There is actual evidence for sllch differentiations: cf. the
description of the seven monsters in the Ijendursaga-hymn II. 78-85. However, it remains quite
uncertain if the Mesopotamians bothered about such niceties every time and everywhere. Note that
for the deified ruler Gilgames there is now a 'votive inscription', published by M. Krebernik in
AoF 21 (1994) 5-12, wherein Gilgames is treated just like a 'normal greater god'.
286 We do not have and never will have an immediate understanding of these ancient cultures. The
hermeneutic principle sensus non est inferendus sed efferendus cannot be detached from the rule
"if the wrong questions are posed, the answers obtained will be wrong or at least misleading" as
A.L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia 28, has put it. Therefore questions concerning religious or
ideological concepts cannot be fully matched by economical or sociological answers, as important
as they may be.
287 Earlier J.J.A. van Dijk brought this way of thinking to the point, when he wrote about broadly-used
Sumerian literary comparisons: "Die sog. sum<;rischen literarischen Vergleiche sind keine Analogien,
sondern Identifikationen: das eine ist nicht wie das andere, nein, es isl das andere." (1967:234). In
a slightly different way T would like to formulate that analogies are not only possible but 'true',
because analogous items partake in the same 'idea', hence the use of the classifiers in Sumerian

208
 Gebhard 1. Selz

should be explained. For the ancient Mesopotamians, analogous features were something substantial,
never accidental. They were signs or expressions of a reality behincI the isolated things.

209
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

Glassner, I.J. -
Green, A. - 199
Green, M.W., Ni
Selected Bibliography: der Deutsch
Bd. 2. Berli
Archi, A. - 1988a: Cult of Ancestors and Tutelary God at Ebla. in: Y.L. Arbeitman (Ed.): Hallo, W.W. -
FUCUS: A Semitic/Afrasian Gathering in Remembrance of Albert Ehrmann. Amsterdam Context II (
Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science. Series IV. Current Issues in Lin- - 1987: The (
guistic Theory 58. Amsterdam/ Philadelphia 1988, 103-122. In: FS. Cro.
- 1988b (ed.): Eblaite Personal Names and Semitic Name-Giving. Papers of a Symposium - 1988: Texts
held in Rome July 15-17, 1985. Archivi Reali di Ebla. Studi I. Roma 1988 (1988),54-
Bayliss, M. 1973: The Cult of the Dead Kin in Assyria and Babylonia, Iraq 35 (1973) I 15-125. Jacobsen, Th. -
Braun-Holzinger, E. A. - 1977: Friihdynastische Seterstatuetten, Abhandlungen der Deutschen - 1970: Towar,
Orient-Gesellschaft Nr. 19. Berlin 1977. Cambridge
- 1991: Mesopotamische Weihgaben derfriihdynastischen bis altbabylonischen Zeit. Heidel- - 1987a: The J
berger Studien zum Alten Orient Bd. 3. Heidelberg 1991. 1987.
Charvat, Petr: Ancient Mesopotamia. Humankind's Long Journey into Civilization. Disserta- - 1987b: The
tiones orientales No. 47. Oriental Institute, Prague 1993. - 1989: God c
Cooper, I.S. The Fate of Mankind: Death and Afterlife in Ancient Mesopotamia. In: Death and Kienast, B. - 19'
Afterlife. Perspectives of World Religions (H. Obayashi (Ed.. Contribution 10 the Study 42 (1973) 4
of Religions n. II (New York etc.) 1991,19-33. Krebernik, M, -
Cross, Frank Moore (FS.): Ancient Israelite Religion. Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross talistik Bd.
(P.D. Miller, P.D. Hanson, S.D. McBride). Philadelphia 1987. - 1986: Die G
Curtis, Edward M.: Images in Mesopotamia and the Bible. A comparative study, in: Scripture Kobayashi, T. -
in Context Ill. Ancient Near Eastern Texts and Studies Vol. 8. Lewiston, Queenstown, Orient. Rep,
Lampeter 1990. - 1989: Was 1
Dietrich, M.I Loretz, O. - 1991 a: Zur Debatte Uber "Funerary Rituals and Beatific Afterlife in Near Easter
Ugarit Texts and in the Bible". UF 23 (1991) 85-90. [see under Spronk, K.] Kutscher. R. - I'
- 1991 b: Grabbeigaben fUr den verstorbenen Konig. Bemerkungen zur Neuausgabe von RS Lambert, W,G. -
34.126 = KTU 1.161. UF 23 (1991) 103-106. RHR 207 (I
- 1992: "lahwe und seine Aschera". Anthropomorphes Kultbild in Mesopotamien, Ugarit Landsberger, B
und Israel. Das biblische Bilderverbot [USL 9], MUnster 1992. Vniversitesi.
CRRAI 35: Ellis, M. delong (Ed.): Nippur at the Centennial. Papers Read at the 35e Rencontre cessible pub
Assyriologique lnternationale, Philadelphia, 1988. OPSNKF 14, Philadelphia 1992. and Monogl
Di Vito, R. A. - 1993: Studies in Third Millennium Personal Names. The Designation and Liverani, M. - I(
Conception of the Personal God. St. Pohl SM 16. Roma 1993. Traditions. )
Englund, R.K.I Gregoire, l.-P. - 1991: The Proto-Cuneiform Textsfjom Jemdet Nasr. I. Copies, Loretz, O. - 19(
transliterations and glossary. Materialien ZLI den frLihen Schrifterzeugnissen des Vorderen Nuzi, Emar
Orients Bd. I. Berlin 1991. MES/ ins itt
Englund, R.K.I Nissen, H. - 1993: Die lexikalischen Listen der archaischen Texte aus Uruk. Mander, P. - 198
Ausgrabungen der Deutsch en Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka, Bd. 13 = Archais- di Studi Asi
che Texte aus Uruk, Bd. 3. Berlin 1993. Matsushima, E. -
Edzard, D.O. - 1993: Private Frommigkeit in Sumer. In: Official Cull and Popular Religion in and their inti
the Ancient Near East (Ed. E. Matsushima), Heidelberg 1993, 195-208. Near East (I
Foxvog, Daniel A. - 1980: Funerary Furnishings in an early Sumerian text from Adab. In: - 1994: On th,
Death in Mesopotamia, CRRAI 26; Mesopotamia 8, 67-75. Copenhagen 1980. Babylonia, f
Gelb, I.J.I Steinkeller, P.I Whiting, R.M.: Earliest Land Tenure System in the Near East. Ancient Mayer-Opificius,
Kudurrus, OIP 104. (Chicago 1991). UF 13 (198
Ge1b, 1.1. - 1987: Compound Divine Names in the Ur III Period. In: AOS 67 (FS. E. Reiner) - 1988: Gedan
125-138. (New Haven 1987). inandum (n

210
 Gebhard 1. Selz

Glassner, J.1. - 1992: Inana et les me. In: CRRAI 35, 55-86.
Green, A. - 1994: Mischwesen B. RIA 8, 246-264.
Green, M. W., Nissen, H. J. - 1987: Zeichenliste del' archaischen Texte aus Uruk. Abhandlungen
der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk- Warka Bd. II. Archaische Texte aus Uruk
Bd. 2. Berlin 1987.
Hallo, W.W. - 1983: Cult Statues and Divine Image: A preliminary study. In: Scripture in
Context II (W.W. Hallol lC. Moyerl L.G. Perdue (Eds.)), 6-11. Winona Lake 1983.
- 1987: The Origins of the Sacrificial Cult: New Evidence from Mesopotamia and Israel.
In: FS. Cross 1987,3-13.
- 1988: Texts, Statues and the Cult of the Divine King. Velus Testamentum Supp/. Vol. 40
(1988), 54-66.
Jacobsen, Th. - 1967: Some Sumerian City Names, JCS 21 (1967) 100-103.
- 1970: Toward the Image of Tammuz and other Essays on Mesopotamian Historv and Culture,
Cambridge Mass. 1970.
- 1987a: The Harps that Once .... Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven and London
1987.
- 1987b: The Graven Image. In: FS. Cross 1987, 15-32.
- 1989: God or Worshipper? (FS. H. Kantor) SAOC 47 (1989) 125-130 + PI. 20-22.
Kienast, B. - 1973: Del' Weg zur Einheit Babyloniens unter staatsrechtlichen Aspekten, OrNS
42 (1973) 489-50 I.
Krebernik, M. - 1984: Die Beschworungen aus Fara und Ebla. Texte und Studien zur Orien-
talistik Bd. 2. Hildesheim etc. 1984.
- 1986: Die Gotterlisten aus Fara. ZA 76 (1986), 161-203.
Kobayashi, T. - 1988: A Study of the Peg Figurine with the Inscription of Enannatum I.
Orient. Report of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan Vol 24 (1988) 1-17.
- 1989: Was Mesandu the Personal Deity of Enentarzi? Orient. Report of the Society for
Near Eastern Studies in Japan Vol 25 (1989), 22-40.
Kutscher. R. - 1964: An offering to the Statue of Sulgi. Tel Aviv I 1974),55-59.
Lambert, W.G. - 1990: Ancient Mesopotamian Gods. Superstition, Philosophy, Theology.
RHR 207 (1990) 115-130.
Landsberger, Benno - 1947174: Die geistigen Leistungen der Sumerer (Ankara
Vniversitesi, Dil ve TarifJ-Cograf),a Fakultesi Dergisi, 3 (1945) 150-58). This nearly inac-
cessible publication is now available in an English translation by M. Del. Ellis in: Sources
and Monographs on the Ancient Near East, Vol 1/2, 13-18. Los Angeles 1974.
Liverani, M. - 1993 (Ed.): M. Liverani: Akkad: The First World Empire. Structure, Ideology,
Traditions. History o/Ancient Near East/Studies V. Padova 1993.
Loretz, O. - 1992: Die Teraphim als "Ahnen-Gotter-Figur(in)en" im Lichte der Texte aus
Nuzi, Emar und Ugarit. Anmerkungen zu iltinu/ ilh, ilhm/ 'lhym und DINGIR.ERIN.
MESI ins ibn. UF 24 (1992) 133-178.
Mander, P. - 1986: /I Pantheon di Abu-$alablkh, Istituto Universitario Orientale, Dipartimento
di Studi Asiatici, Series Minor XXVI, Napoli 1986.
Matsushima, E. - 1993: Divine Statues in Ancient Mesopotamia: their Fashioning and Clothing
and their interaction with the society. In: Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient
Near East (Ed. E. Matsushima), Heidelberg 1993, 209-219.
- 1994: On the Material Related to the Clothing Ceremony - lubustu in Later Periods in
Babylonia, ASJ 16 (1994) 177-200.
Mayer-Opificius, R. - 1981: Archaologischer Kommentar zur Statue des Idrimi von Alalab.
UF 13 (1981) 279-290.
- 1988: Gedanken zur Bedeutung frlihdynastischer Rundbilder. In: Ad bene et fideliter sem-
inandum (FS. K. Deller). AOAT 220, 247-268+ Abb. 1-12. Neukirchen-Vluyn 1988.

211
 The holy drum, the spear, and the harp

Michatowski, P. - 1987: "Charisma and Control: On continuity and change in Early Mesopotamian - 1994: Mis,
bureaucratic systems." SAOC 46 (1987) 55-68. Wilcke, CI. - 1
Oberhuber, K. - 1963: Der numinose Begriff ME im Sumerischen. Innsbrucker Beitrage zur Winter, U. - I'
Kulturwissenschaft Sonderheft 17. Innsbruck 1963. Mesopotal
- 1991: Linguistisch-philologische Prolegomena zur altorientalischen Religionsgeschichte. - 1994: Radi
Innsbrucker Beitrage zur Kulturwissenschaft. Vortrage und Kleinere Schriften 53. Inns- A Volume,
bruck 1991. Khanna) r
Paffrath, Th. - 1913: Zur Gotterlehre in den altbabylonischen Konigsinschriften, Studien zur Wrede, H. - IS
Kultur und Geschichte des Altertums, Bd. 6, 5. und 6. Heft, Paderborn 1913, reprint 1967. chen Kaisl
Pettinato, G. - 1979: Culto ufficiale ad Ebla durante il regno di lbbi-Sipis, Orientis Antiqui
Collectio, Vol. 16 (1979) (= OA 18 (1979) 85-215 + Tavv. I-XlI).
Pomponio, F. - 1987: La prosopografia dei testi Presargonici di Fara. Studi Semitici NS, Vol.
3. Roma 1987.
Price, F. - 1980: Man and God: Sacrifice in the Roman Imperial Cult, in: The Journal of
Roman Studies, Vol 70 (1980) 28-43
- 1984: Rituals and Power: The Roman Imperial Cult in Asia Minor. Cambridge 1984.
Reiner, E. - 1987: Language, Literature, and History: Philological Studies presented to Erica
Reiner. F. Rochberg-Halton (Ed.) = AOS 67, 1987.
Roberts, ] .J.M. - 1972: The Earliest Semitic Pantheon. A Study of the Semitic Deities Attested
in Mesopotamia before Ur Ill. Baltimore, London 1972.
Sallaberger, W. - 1993: Der kultische Kalender der Ur III-Zeit. Untersuchungen zur Assyri-
ologie und Vorderasiatischen Archaologie, Bd. 7/1-2. Berlin, New York 1993.
Schneider, N. - 1947: Gotterthrone in Ur III und ihr Kult. OrNs 16 (1947) 56-65.
Selz, GJ. - 1992a: Enlil und Nippur nach prasargonischen Quellen. In: CRRAI 35, 189-225
(written 1988).
- 1992b: Eine Kultstatue der HelTschergemahlin Sasa. Ein Beitrag zum Problem der Vergot-
tlichung. ASJ 14 (1992) 245-268.
- 1995: Den Fahrmann bezahlenl Eine lexikalisch-kulturhistorische Skizze zu den Bedeu-
tungen von addir. AoF 22 (1995) 179-209.
Smith, S. - 1925: The Babylonian Ritual for the Consecration and Induction of a Divine Statue.
JRAS 1925, 37-60.
Spronk, K. - 1986: Beatific Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East. AOAT
219, Neukirchen Vluyn 1986.
Spycket, A. - 1960: La deesse Lama, RA 54 (1960) 73-84.
- 1981: La statuaire du Proche-Orient Ancien, HdO VIII. Abt., I. Bd., 2. Abschnitt, B-
Vorderasien, Lieferung 2. Leiden-Koln 1981.
Szarzynska, K, - 1987/88; Some of the Oldest Cult Symbols in Archaic Uruk. JEOL 30
(1987/88) 3-21.
- 1994: Offerings for the Goddess Inana in Archaic Uruk. RA 87 (1993) 7-28.
Tsukimoto, A. - 1985: Untersuchungen zur Totenpfiege (kispum) im alten Mesopotamien. AOAT
216. Neukirchen- Vluyn 1985.
van der Toorn, K. - 1991: Funerary Rituals and Beatific Afterlife in Ugarit Texts and in the
Bible. BiOr 48 (1991) 40-66. [see under Spronk, K.]
van Dijk, I.I.A. - 1967: Einige Bemerkungen zu sumerischen religionsgeschichtlichen Proble-
men. OLZ 62 (1967) 229-244 (Rez. zu Oberhuber 1963.)
Veyne, P. - 1983: Les Grecs ont-its cru Ii leurs mythes? Essai sur l'imagination constituante.
Paris 1983. German translation as: Glaubten die Griechen an ihre My then? Ein Versuch
iiber die konstitutive Einbildungskraft. Frankfurt 1987.
Wiggermann, F.A.M. - 1992: Mesopotamian Protective Spirits: The Ritual Texts. Cuneiform
Monographs I, Groningen 1992.

212
 Gebhard 1. Selz

- 1994: Mischwesen A: RIA 8, 222-244.

Wilcke, Cl. - 1974: Zum Konigtum in der Ur III-Zeit. CRRAI 19 (1971) Paris 1974. 177-232.
Winter, U. - 1992: 'Idols of the King': Royal Images as Recipients of Ritual Action in Ancient
Mesopotamia. Journal of Ritual Studies 6 (1992) 13-42.
- 1994: Radiances as an Aesthetic Value in the Art of Mesopotamia. Art. The Integral Vision.
A Volume of Essay in Felicitation of Kapila Vatsyayan (B.N. Saraswatils.c. Malik! Madhu
Khanna) New Delhi 1994.
Wrede, H. - 1981: Consecratio in formam deorum. Vergottlichte Privatpersonen in der Romis-
chen Kaiserzeit. Mainz 1981.

213
 HOW THE COMMON MAN INFLUENCES
THE GODS OF SUMER

Alasdair Livingstone

The phrase "the grass roots of ancient religion" is one which would perhaps have
appealed to Jacobsen. For Jacobsen ancient religion was not simply a collection
of artefacts to be recorded and writings to be translated but the thoughts which
must have motivated the human beings who produced these things. In his studies
of Mesopotamian religion he was frequently concerned to explain the relationship of
numinous phenomena or their apprehension by ancient man to the specific commu-
nities in which they arose. His studies of the Sumerian pantheon and its fate and
history were not restricted to the third millennium Be but range down through the
Old Babylonian and Kassite periods into Neo-Assyrian times and even through the
post-Seleucid age into the Islamic era.
It is partly with this background of Jacobsen's own interests in mind that the
present writer has chosen the subject of the common man's influence on the gods for
this paper. It has often been remarked that the subject of personal cult is a difficult
one. While personal names offer abundant evidence of what we would call religious
awareness, other information seems to be scarce. The purpose here will be firstly to
adduce some new evidence, secondly to attempt to answer some questions posed by
the new evidence and finally to broach the difficult question of what can be meant by
influencing gods.
Formal editions of the new texts to be presented below will be given elsewhere. I
For present purposes the texts will be given in excerpt in translation, and organized
in such a way as to address their significance for the religion of the "common man".
The new evidence falls conveniently into two categories, a simple one in which the
common man is put in the position of dictator, and a more complex one in which by
his actions he conveniently brings the great gods to heel.
For the first category, the history of research is brief. Less than ten years ago, in
1985, R. Borger, in the van Dijk Festschrift, published his copy of an enigmatic text
with the following comment: "Unfortunately one has to face the fact that now, even
after the 'incomplete state' of K 2438 has been substantially remedied, the text does
not suffer from excessive clarity. One may perhaps forgive me that I have not got up
the courage to publish my transliteration together with my copy."2
Recognizing a parallel in an unpublished Sippar tablet, according to its colophon a

I The writer has an edition of the Assyrian and Babylonian calendar texts in an advanced stage of
preparation. For an account of the genres and a discussion of some of the classificatory problems see his
contribution 'The case of the hemerologies: Offitial Cult, Learned Formulation and Popular Practice', in:
Eiko Matsushima (ed.), Official Cult and Popular Religion in the Ancient Near EaST, (Heidelberg, 1993),
97-113.
2 R. Borger, "Einige Texte religiosen Inhalts", OrNS 54 (1985), 14-26.

215
 Alasdair Livingstone

copy of a Borsippa tablet, the present writer made his own transliteration. A translation the number th
of the full text is given here: on a base of j
common to thl
In the month of Nisan. [The first day] is the day of Enlil, a favourable day. antiquity. At a
2 He should get a new hair-do, wash and purify himself. in the theoreti
3 He should rub himself with oil and perfume, clothe himself with a clean garment. A, 1.16.3
4 You should soak (his) leather sandales and a linen [garment] of his in [beer and Moving ff(
wine]. has hitherto b
5-8 Soap plant [... ] On the morning (previously) agreed with him he should bind a deities may cc
lapis stone to the seam of his garment. You go to the house of the bird-catcher place, like mu
and [you buy] two doves, male and [female]. You return to your house. In the here would in
courtyard, where the horses are harnessed [to the wagon], you sprinkle pure water.
9 You set up a portable altar [... ] You sprinkle fine flour on it. A dad
10 You provide scones, honey [and butter]. On the 10th (
II Two porous vessels: [One you ... ]; one you fill with first-class beer. should drink I
12 You close the curtains and pour out three heaps of flour. should prostra
13 ] and lay on the portable altar. spare his pOSS
14 ] you say. You release the fetters(?) of the (two) doves.
15 ] You make a decision for the two doves. 2 Nissaba
16 ] Samas, it is but YOU who are the judge, (you say). On the 20th d
17 [Whatever he says, release the [clenched fist] of god, king, prince or boss! do something
18 You let the male dove fly [to the east], the female dove to the west.
19 [Whatever he says, god, king, prince or boss will be well-disposed]. [A strong 3 Baba, Din~
day, your month.] On the 29th d,
midday before
Eliminating from this the sundry items which form, in various subtle permutations, this way his sl
the building blocks of ancient Mesopotamian rituals, the unique elements remaining
are the making of a decision for two doves of opposite sex and their release in 4 Samas and
opposite compass directions, the choice of incantation ("0 Samas, YOU are the judge On the 30th d;
of heaven and underworld", whether this is significant for the subject matter or not), will grow old
the lapis stone and the phrase: "Whatever he says to God, King, Prince, or Boss (that
is IDIMlkabtu), will be acceptable." Herein lies part of the justification for the title 5 Sakkan
of this paper. The individual for whom the ritual is carried out is one who is, within On the 1st day
the social hierarchy, not only below the king and the prince, but also below normal himself before
authority, the kabtu, that is to say, it is the common man. The purpose of the ritual is god.
to place the common man in a position where he ostensibly dictates his will to those
above him, in the last instance the god. All this takes place not within the sacred 6 Erdkigal
confines of a temple, but in circumstances not lacking in the fresh, earthy pregnance On the 6th of I
sometimes referred to by Jacobsen with regard to Sumerian literature and religion: an old woman.
the house of the bird-catcher, the courtyard where the horses are harnessed, and so
on. 7 Nergal
The term 'strong day', u d - k a Ia g, belongs to the technical vocabulary of the On the 16th of
ancient science of u d - dug - g a, uttuku, 'good days'. A brief note is appropriate here heart in his hal
concerning strong days and their calculati9n. In connection with the organised release
3 A. Sjoberg, "D(
of birds a special number system, known as the tertiary system, Sumerian pes, was
significance of th(
used. This is not base three in the modern sense, but a system which revolves around version of the anci

216
 How the common man influences the gods of sumer

the number three as a unit. As is well known, the Sumerian number system operates
on a base of five, amplified superficially to correspond to the base of ten possessed
common to the Semitic languages. So the use of a tertiary system could suggest great
antiquity. At any rate, we note in passing that the tertiary system found a place at least
in the theoretical Old Babylonian school curriculum, as represented by Examenstext
A, 1.16.3
Moving from the general to the specific, a second genre of texts of which no edition
has hitherto been published can be adduced, in which it is explained how specific
deities may conveniently be brought to heel. The actions and activities specified take
place, like much of the rest of life, in a calendrical setting. The first example given
here would in effect be, in modern terms, an insurance policy against acts of god.

Adad
On the 10th day of the month of Elul he should prostrate himself before SIn. He
should drink milk and rub himself with fine oil. On the 16th day, at daybreak, he
should prostrate himself before Adad, dedicate a gift; in an inundation Adad will
spare his possessions.

2 Nissaba
On the 20th day of Elul he should dedicate gifts to Uras and Nissaba; Nissaba will
do something broken off for him.

3 Baba, Dingir-mah, Adad and /star

On the 29th day of Arahsamna he should prostrate himself at sunrise before Baba, at
midday before Dingir-mah, in the evening before Adad and at night before IStar: In
this way his sheep and cattle will increase.

4 Samas and Ninurta

On the 30th day of Arahsamma he should dedicate a gift to Samas and Ninurta: he
will grow old within his own family, possessing grain and silver.

5 Sakkan
On the Ist day of Kislim he should libate water before the homecoming herds, prostrate
himself before Sakkan .... Profit will be set for him, he will have the attention of the
god.

6 Ereskigal
On the 6th of Kislim at dead of night he should libate water before Ereskigal and kiss
an old woman. Sorcery will not come near him and he wi II be free of trouble.

7 Nergal
On the 16th of Kislim he should prostrate himself before Nergal and hold a date-palm
heart in his hand; highway and thoroughfare will be safe for him.

3 A. Sjoberg, "Del' Examenstext A", Z4 64 (1975), 137-176, esp. I. 15. The editor did not realise the
significance of the pes but was able to save himself from error by following the correct Babylonian
version of the ancient scribe.

217
 Alasdair Livingstone

8 !Star 2) With regar

On the 30th day of Kislim he should prostrate himself before IStar and kiss a slave-girl; of the ritual for
IStar will constantly follow him with good things. This occurs -
318, in both As
9 The Anunnaki within the corr,
On the 20th of Tebet he should libate water left and right westwards for the Anunnaki; has been most
he will walk a straight path. has been misse,
Apart from
10 lstar again: brought forwarl
On the 25th of Tebet he should make a woman of the street pregnant; IStar will look the outset is the
at him with favour for the game (sinnista sa saqi lidri, istar ana melalti ana damiqti but wrongly -
ippallassu) ! Sennacherib ani
would stand an
II Samas is ellalu, NA4.A
On the 20th of Sabat he should prostrate himself before Samas. He should drink no precisely this st
water: his manly strength will know no end. aua, "You ellal,
to the amuletic
12 Ea use in making
On the 24th of Sabat he should prostrate himself before Ea at the bank of the river, by W.G. Lam!:
not drink any export. He won't suffer from cramps (or: pace medical experts, some A.R. George a~
other disease: mungu). bird release ex:
These specific examples, directly involving a significant cross-section of the Su- whatever the m
mero-Babylonian pantheon, and covering an array of pastimes and concerns which A further al
might be part of the daily life of the common man, set my first general example - of relevant to the
releasing birds - in a certain perspective. While the evidence already adduced more e - g a I -k U4 - r a
than justifies the title of this paper, some additional dimensions can be broached by A wider asp
posing a few questions. animals to abs(
Here the anima
1) How widespread was knowledge and use of this material in the ancient world? the context is 0
2) Did it exist in isolation or does it exhibit a practical relationship with other texts
and genres? 3) Is there a I
3) Is there any connection between this material - orientated as it is to specific Attentions to S:
individuals and their lives on the one hand and the monthly cycle of festivals - the 20th as the
associated primarily with temples, on the other? part of popular
4) Does the implicit social stratification have any wider implications for ancient Lambert where
Mesopotamian literature or society? day!"8 One ma
1) In the case of the first question - how widespread the material was - the answer pregnant on the
is quite clear. Releasing birds and occasional attention to deities with a specified result the day of the 5
- i.e. he should make an offering to X then he will experience Y is a characteristic
feature of the so-called Babylonian Almanach, and this text is already to be found
around the 13th century Be, not only spread to non-central locations within Babylonia 4 Cf. in particular
such as Bakr-Awa and Dur-Kurigalzu C'Aqar-quf), but also very much further afield, 5 W.G. Lambert, "
at Emar, as well as at Ugarit in Syria and Ijattusas in Anatolia. In the first millennium 6 A.R. George, "S(
7 See for the pres
practically all the major sites in B41bylonia and Assyria have yielded material of this
Landsberger (Chic<
kind and in those cases where individual literary archives can be reconstructed, u d- Birmingham.
dug - g a, uttuka of one kind or another are almost omnipresent. 8 BWL p.22 I.

218
 How the common man influences the gods of sumer

2) With regard to the practical relationship with other texts and genres, the example
of the ritual for releasing doves can once again be taken, as it is particularly instructive.
This occurs - though hitherto unrecognized as such - in a medical context, BAM
318, in both Assyria and Babylonia. The ritual, as outlined and defined above, occurs
within the correspondence of Assurbanipal or Esarhaddon with learned scribes, and
has been most recently edited by H. Hunger in SAA VIII, no. 231 where this point
has been missed and the translation needs adjusting.4
Apart from actual occurrences of the ritual itself, two related areas should be
brought forward for notice. An important feature of the bird release ritual quoted at
the outset is the use of a stone characterised as aban qabe u magari and commonly _
but wrongly - translated as amulet. The point is that some passages, inscriptions of
Sennacherib and Esarhaddon, apply the term to colossi or to objects on which the king
would stand and which would have required men and machinery to Iift. The stone
is ellalu, NA4A.LAL. One could cite a line from Lugale (XI, 25 and 27) concerning
precisely this stone: g est u - t uk u L (J x NE - m e - e n, that is ellalu ras umi mu~~alu
aUa, "You ella/u-stone, are clever but also quarrelsome!", where the cleverness alludes
to the amuletic property and the quarrelsomeness conceivably related to the stone's
use in making maceheads. The aban qabe u magari has recently been characterised
by W.G. Lambert5 as a stone of speaking and hearing (and being heard), and by
A.R. George as a stone for improving communication between man and god.6 The
bird release example shows the use of this stone in an extremely practical context:
whatever the man says (qaba) will be agreeable to the god (magir).
A further area which must at least be mentioned in the present context as being
relevant to the cult of the common man is that of the unfortunately unedited series
e - g a I - k U4- r a.7
A wider aspect is that of the namburba rituals which employ the device of releasing
animals to absolve from supposed misdemeanor or uncleanliness of various kinds.
Here the animal release as a cultic building block constitutes a common element but
the context is otherwise completely different.

3) Is there a connection with the monthly cycle of festivals? It would seem, yes.
Attentions to Samas on the 20th day of the month can scarcely be dissociated from
the 20th as the day of Samas. Were one to pose the question whether this was really
part of popular culture, one would at least recall the literary fragment edited by W.G.
Lambert where the fowler addresses Samas, "0 Samas, today is the 20th, your bright
day!"8 One may doubt whether the advisability of making 'a woman of the street'
pregnant on the 25th can or should be dissociated from the 25th day of the month as
the day of the sada~u, 'procession', of IStar of Babylon.

4 Cf. in particularthe writer's forthcoming review of SAA YIIl in AfO.

5 W.G. Lambert, "The twenty-one 'poultices' ", AIISf 30 (1980), 77-83.
6 A.R. George, "Sennacherib and the tablet of destinies", Iraq 48 (1986), 133-46.
7 See for the present J.Y. Kinnier Wilson, "An Introduction to Babylonian Psychiatry", AS 16, FS
Landsberger (Chicago, 1965), p.289ff .. An edition of e _Oga I - k U4 - r a is to be prepared by F_ Reynolds,
Birmingham.
8 BWL p.22 I.

219
 Alasdair Livingstone

4) Do these texts have any wider implication for ancient Mesopotamian society
or religion? The various examples cited above pertaining to particular deities would
have to be related to existing knowledge of the cult of those deities. Going beyond
the obvious, an additional point can be made concerning the texts adduced and quoted
from, namely literary calendar texts. A purely philological classification of these texts
resulted in groups corresponding to obvious social strata. The texts quoted above stand
out from the others in having a much higher proportion of sukenu, 'prostration', which
reinforces their appropriateness for the common man, since prostration is cheap. The
texts also have a higher proportion of subject matter corresponding to the daily life In this paper I of
of a society dependant on an agricultural and pastoral economy. phenomenon. B~
third millenniurr
In conclusion, the problem of what is meant by influencing the gods may be addressed ing a language
and the opening catch-phrase of "grass-roots" religion once more considered. several phenomc
As far as influencing the gods is concerned, this is, from a modern scientific point there are links t
of view, nonsense - or is it? Provided that the various items in the bird release ritual to time about th
were taken sufficiently seriously, and that the birds co-ope,ated in obligingly taking off the unwary (see
in the appropriate directions, and so on, the ritual might well have sufficiently boosted problems are im
the man's self-confidence. Modern medicine has increasingly accepted the role of A fundamenl
psychological states in clinical conditions, but the genuine, scientific, psychological an arm of the III
element in ancient religion is one which has not yet been seriously investigated. flooded by risir
Grass-roots religion? For obvious reasons the concentration of research is pri- (Figure I). The
marily on the religion of the great palace and temple establishments. An interesting wind- and watel
reflection on popular religion can be obtained from what was left after these insti- subsidence, pos~
tutions no longer existed. Three examples - one each for Sumer, Babylonia and or reversals in t
Assyria can briefly be cited. The example stretching furthest back in time incidentally knowing the exa
stretches furthest forward in history: the cult of Dumuzi-Tammuz among the Sabaeans the sea advance,
at ljarran, as attested in an Arabic manuscript - the Fihrist of ibn al-Nadim of the passed modern ~
8th century AD. This was in fact referred to by Jacobsen, who unfortunately did time before 10(
not realise that Arabic tuqus buqiit, which he translated as the "rites of the rattle" modern level ar
could not, for various reasons, mean this, and that buqiit is without doubt an educated below the mode
Arabic attempt to reproduce a colloquial Aramaic feminine plural participle, boqiiith, to happen quite
possibly with palatalisation, thus the rites of the wailing women, agreeing better with The evidenc
Jacobsen's own interpretation of the Sabaean rite.9 One could refer here in passing to severe problem
the alternation of Tu'uz, "Tammuz" and qanfn, "wailing" in the names of the relevant of dates particul
month in Palmyrene, Petrene and North-west Arabian (Mada'in Sala~) Aramaic. Im- they are used in
portant Babylonian survivals include the cult of NabG at l:Ia~ra, on which much light satisfied with ra
has been thrown by recent Iraq DOA excavations. The Assyrian example is in a sense Archaeologists j
the most remarkable. From the second and third centuries AD there is a considerable into calendar ye
corpus of Aramaic votive inscriptions dedicated to Assur and Mullissu. A systematic they are doing.
collection of the dates of these offerings shows that they agree perfectly with the dates is particularly c
required by the Assyrian cult calendar dating back to at least the 11th century Be - Essentially,
a striking example of the persistence of grass-roots religion.lo phrates and Kar
some of which
land as survive~
time, with Ntitz
9 T. Jacobsen, in: Unity and Diversity, ed. H. Goedicke and J. Roberts, p. 72.
10 B. Aggoula, Inscriptions Aramiennes d'Assur.

220
 SUMERIAN ORIGINS

Julian Reade

In this paper I offer what seems to me the most plausible explanation for the Sumerian
phenomenon. By phenomenon I mean the presence in southern Mesopotamia, in the
third millennium BC, of a long-established urban culture dominated by people speak-
ing a language structurally unrelated to those of their neighbours. There are really
several phenomena here, such as culture, language, race and ethnic identification, but
there are links between them. So much, good and bad, has been written from time
to time about the origin of the Sumerians that the subject constitutes a minefield for
the unwary (see especially Jones 1969), but it is no good pretending that difficult
problems are insoluble and best ignored.
A fundamental piece of evidence is that 15,000 or so years ago the Persian Gulf, as
an arm of the Indian Ocean, did not exist. It developed when the area was gradually
flooded by rising sea-levels caused by polar melting as the latest Ice Age ended
(Figure 1). The margins of error of radiocarbon dates, the processes of alluviation,
wind- and water-action and erosion, the likelihood of periodic and irregular alluvial
subsidence, possible tectonic movement, and fluctuations and occasional interruptions
or reversals in the rate of the sea-level rise itself, eliminate any prospect of our ever
knowing the exact location of the entire coastline at any particular date, but essentially
the sea advanced from Musandam and the Straits of Hormuzd, over millennia, till it
passed modern sea-level around, very approximately, 6500 BC; thereafter, until some
time before 1000 AD, it fluctuated, possibly reaching maxima 1-2 m. above the
modern level around 6000, 4000, 3000 and 1500 BC, and dropping back towards or
below the modern level around 5000, 3500, 2000, and 500 Be. Changes were liable
to happen quite rapidly.
The evidence has been well presented by Potts (1992: 12-16), though there is a
severe problem with all such "absolute" dates. It is often very difficult to tell what kind
of dates particular scholars are using. Radiocarbon dates are not only approximate, but
they are used in different ways. Geologists, working on vast time-scales, are generally
satisfied with raw dates, whether based on radiocarbon or other radioactive isotopes.
Archaeologists frequently calibrate them where possible, translating radiocarbon years
into calendar years by whatever scheme they have to hand, but not always saying what
they are doing. Here, at the interface between geology and archaeology, the situation
is particularly confused, but this does not affect the broad picture.
Essentially, during the time of rising water, the combined waters of Tigris, Eu-
phrates and Karun flowed through what is now the Gulf to the sea, through a landscape
some of which probably consisted of the same mixture of desert, marsh, lake and dry
land as survives in southern Mesopotamj.a today. All this has been known for a long
time, with Niitzel in a series of papers (1975; 1976a, b; 1978; 1979) particularly keen

221
 Julian Reade

to draw the matter to the attention of Mesopotamian scholars, but its implications of survival ani
have not been fully digested. specialized -
Secondly we need to consider the life-style of people who became known to the different life-s1
Greeks, thousands of years later, as Ichthyophagoi, fish-eaters. The term was applied pendent prima
to groups of people who shared a distinctive life-style essentially based on marine farmers; they;
resources - fish, shellfish, turtles, marine mammals and so forth. The shores of the tides. This agg
Indian Ocean, the Gulf, and seas throughout the world, are ringed by middens attesting ate forms of S(
to this life-style; the oldest accessible surviving middens are naturally situated above may have had
the maximum sea-level, reached about 4000 Be, and only some on high ground Olmec civiliza
are likely to be older than this, but they and later ones must represent the ultimate evolution, whi,
stages of a human adaptation that had existed long before, along shores that are now potamia have i
below sea-level, with no relevant limit to its backward extension in time. Marine with people ff(
environments provide outstandingly reliable sources of food. There is a contrast with been rightly cr
the erratic evolution of inland agriculture, reflecting the difficulties encountered by the marshes, I<
early farmers in coping with unsure harvests, storage problems, and various competit- southern Mes(
ive pressures; time and again, to judge from breaks in cultural sequence, these early of food.
farming communities seem to have collapsed. For their lesser-known contemporaries, This is the
the hunter-gatherers of the shore, food-supplies remained relatively secure. third millennia
Nonetheless the very nature of fish-eating commonly dictates a linear pattern of (1954: 69) anc
meagre settlement along marine shores, incompatible with the development of large taken by SeaL
centres. There are two major exceptions: extensive inland lake-systems; and deltaic or likely place fa
estuarine regions where marine and fresh-water resources come together in abundance. In these circun
The fish-eaters who exploited the Arabian and eastern Iranian coasts of the Indian the historical S
Ocean would have been close in life-style and perhaps in origin to those exploiting eaters of the pi
the waters of the river which once ran the length of the Gulf. During the retreat of we do, many
the Gulf coastline, these people would have had the opportunity both of expanding Arabia or Mes
north-westward along the changing river and of maintaining contact with each other perhaps Dravil
along the nearby Arabian and Iranian shores, through undefined areas of estuary, lake Gulf, or some
and marsh. The most advantageous points for permanent or ceremonial contact would more satisfactl
have been located in the upper Gulf or southern Mesopotamia, somewhere upstream sources, a terr
of wherever the river mouth happened to be at any particular time. Eventually, when third millenni,
sea-level was highest, suitable sites were places like Eridu, Ur, Uruk, the Lagash languages hav
region, and Susa. and even Dra-
Fish-eating as a life-style does not preclude trade, exchange, and other relation- remote possibl
ships with groups utilizing alternative resources. In recent times, for instance, dried the Indian OCI
fish has been an important commodity traded inland, as food or fodder, from coastal indigenous tril
communities in eastern Arabia. The fish-eaters of antiquity clearly had links inland There are
from a very early date, as attested by many finds of shell ornaments at distant pre- of Sumerian c
historic sites. For instance, at Ganj Dareh, near Kermanshah on the Iranian plateau, or below the
there was a necklace incorporating Gulf (or possibly Mediterranean) shells; this is though a start
dated about 7500-7000 Be (Smith 1974). At Arpachiyah in northern Iraq there was Schick 1990).
a necklace of the Halaf period, say 5000 Be, incorporating not only obsidian beads the Sumerian
from Turkey but also cowrie-shells (Mallowan 1935: 97, pI. Xla). Some sug~
This leads on to another and more familiar perspective from which southern Me- Dynastic mate
sopotamia may be seen as having a specia"1advantage for social development. In brief, other sites on
communities sited at locations with the widest range of resources have the best chance Mesopotamiar

222
 Sumerian origins

of survival and growth, not only for obvious practical reasons - they are not over-
specialized - but also because the locations are those where people adapted to entirely
different life-styles may meet and interact. In southern Mesopotamia communities de-
pendent primarily on aquatic resources encountered pastoralists and eventually arable
farmers; they also possessed the palm-tree, irrigated in a specific way related to the
tides. This agglomeration of resources provides the background against which elabor-
ate forms of society may develop; aquatic resources, with their exceptional reliability,
may have had comparable significance in the emergence of the Indus, Egyptian and
Olmec civilizations. Many scholars have studied the agricultural revolution and state
evolution, which happened all over the Middle East, and developments in south Meso-
potamia have sometimes been viewed agrocentrically as one example of this process,
with people from upstream gradually taming the alluvial valley, but this viewpoint has
been rightly criticized by Oates (1960: 49). When agriculture was evolving elsewhere,
the marshes, lakes, estuaries and sea already provided, for pre-existing inhabitants of
southern Mesopotamia and the Upper Gulf, steady and effectively limitless supplies
of food.
This is the background out of which Sumerian civilization emerged in the fourth-
third millennia Be; it is also the landscape to which it retreated at the end. Landsberger
(1954: 69) and Jacobsen (1976: 190) have commented on the "neo-Sumerian" names
taken by Sealand kings of the second millennium; remote marsh settlements are a
likely place for the language to have survived longest after it was dead in the cities.
In these circumstances, we might reasonably expect the core of the language spoken by
the historical Sumerians to be descended from a language or languages spoken by fish-
eaters of the prehistoric Gulf. We might also expect to find in their language, as indeed
we do, many Semitic loanwords from the pastoral and agricultural communities of
Arabia or Mesopotamia, while there should be other loanwords from the neighbouring,
perhaps Dravidian-speaking, communities of Iran. If the prehistoric inhabitants of the
Gulf, or some of them, were indeed speaking a pre-Sumerian language, we have a
more satisfactory geographical base for the Sumerian which we know from historical
sources, a territory far more extensive than the restricted Sumerian homeland of the
third millennium Be. So far, no attempts to relate Sumerian to any group of living
languages have been accepted; Nissen (1993: 9) lists "Turkish, Hungarian, Basque
and even Dravidian", and there are probably more. If we still wish to explore the
remote possibility of some demonstrable relationship, we should perhaps look along
the Indian Ocean coastline on both sides of the Straits of Hormuzd, eastward to the
indigenous tribes of India and south-westward to the Gulf of Aden and beyond.
There are various places where we may look for physical evidence of the origins
of Sumerian culture and possible links with the Gulf. One is in remains under water
or below the water table, things that remain virtually unknown in the Middle East
though a start has been made on off-shore pre-pottery sites near Haifa (Galili and
Schick 1990). Another is in readily accessible archaeological remains. Lastly there is
the Sumerian written tradition.
Some suggestive evidence, given the established continuity of Ubaid-Uruk-Early
Dynastic material culture in Sumerian Mesopotamia itself, lies in the middens and
other sites on the Gulf coast which have produced Ubaid-related pottery of possibly
Mesopotamian origin. There are many situated on the Arabian side of the Gulf as far

223
 Julian Reade

south-east as the Oman peninsula (Potts 1992: 54-61), and there is at least one on account itself c(
the Iranian side (Pezard 1914: 13-19). When finds of this nature were first studied, Gulf di ved for I
they were interpreted as evidence for Mesopotamians spreading tentatively down the have some rele
Gulf, predecessors of the historical "sea-trading merchants of Ur" (Oates et al. 1977; reflecting event
Oates 1986; but compare Galbraith and Roaf, n.d.); Potts (1992: 56) still writes of south Mesopota
the "first contacts" between eastern Arabia and Ubaid Mesopotamia. An alternative is Much the m
that these contacts had existed since time immemorial. In that case the Ubaid-related it is myth, there
pottery would represent the tangible remains of social and cultural relationships which This is because
already reached, with remote inherited links and drastic local adaptations, all the way tradition, closel:
down the Gulf. One might predict that, in slightly earlier drowned settlements, one by reference to
should find Ubaid-related or pre-Ubaid pottery of yet earlier varieties. Significant subsidence or th
archaeological evidence for continuing contacts through the Uruk period have yet to However that m
be found; one reason could be the low sea-level around 3500 Be, as many coastal for instance, su
sites of the time will have disappeared. From the late fourth millennium on there is for the phenom
again evidence for long-distance contact, with the presence of lamdat Nasr pottery in independently il
the Oman peninsula around 3000 Be (Potts 1992: 72-6). ently unaware (
Otherwise the archaeological evidence is unimpressive. There are the isolated occasionally qu
visible resemblances between architectural traditions of the Uruk period, preserved in sea-level. Th
in the reed structures of today's Marsh Arabs, and the buildings shown on eastern Within Mes
Iranian carvings of the Intercultural Style of the mid-third millennium (Delougaz creation story c
1960; al-Gailani 1975). Because fish have always been eaten in Mesopotamia (e.g. acteristic percel
Potts 1992: 25), the presence of fish-bones in the early levels at Eridu and elsewhere
southern Mesol=
is unremarkable. was once watel
Finally there is the Mesopotamian written tradition. In one respect the best this the process of .
can do is indicate that, shortly before 3000 Be, the Sumerian language was probably the Mesopotami
being used for the earliest known substantial body of documents written at Uruk. It is of a struggle be
uncertain whether the script of these documents was the result of rapid invention or rationalized to a
long evolution, and some other language or languages may have been involved in the any need for a
process. Still, as Nissen writes (1993: 117), referring to this archive, "most scholars may have seem
familiar with the problem ... are nonetheless inclined to link proto-cuneiform with indefinitely, oth
the Sumerians." of the parallel
The same documents also indicate that there were significant commercial and the triumph of
other links, again shortly before 3000 Be, between Uruk and a place known as
myths have a h
Dilmun (Nissen 1986). Whatever exactly was meant by Dilmun at this period, it Ubaid-Uruk per
was presumably situated on the shores of the Gulf. In later literary tradition Dilmun Finally then
enjoyed a semi-magical status, and was home to Utnapishtim, survivor of the Flood.
of its god Enki,
Alster (1983: 59-60) has argued that Dilmun's literary status resulted from the unique
Dilmun (e.g. lal
position of Bahrain as a prosperous trading centre in historical times. Nashef (1986:
cult-centre at E
346, 351), while supporting him, acknowledges in a footnote that "certain relations animals (Figs 2
between the two areas go back to the Ubaid period". (Fig. 4), the Me
Nearly all the rest is myth, known from versions written down and recast hundreds
the dugong (Fi2
or thousands of years later, and we certainly cannot use myth to prove history. To take
215). Both spei
one very simple example, the expedition of Gilgamesh to Dilmun, and the account
populations. En
of his obtaining the plant of life by diving, is manifestly useless as evidence for
other Seven Sa~
Sumerian contacts with the Gulf in the p;'esumed era of Gilgamesh himself in the
4) "the seven b
early third millennium. Such contacts there must indeed have been, but the Gilgamesh
the river, who e

224
 Sumerian origins

account itself could derive from later Mesopotamian knowledge of how people in the
Gulf dived for pearls or coral. Nonetheless there are occasional traditions which may
have some relevance to Sumerian origins, and which may perhaps be explained as
reftecting events of the long prehistoric period during which the Gulf and parts of
south Mesopotamia were disappearing, or liable to disappear, below the sea.
Much the most obvious is the story of the Flood. While Utnapishtim's account of
it is myth, there could be a link with some genuine event of the early third millennium.
This is because the Flood is mentioned as a significant event in the Sumerian king-list
tradition, closely followed by the names of historical kings, and it could be explained
by reference to geographical circumstances such as changing river-courses, alluvial
subsidence or the ftuctuating sea-level at the time of the Early Dynastic I-II transition.
However that may be, it is notorious that Flood stories exist worldwide. Woods (1911),
for instance, summarized their extent, and listed various explanations then proposed
for the phenomenon. One of them, of course, was that disastrous ftoods happened
independently in many parts of the world, but he and his contemporaries were appar-
ently unaware of the most impressive natural disaster of all, the long-drawn-out but
occasionally quite rapid loss of huge areas of coastline, caused by post-glacial rises
in sea-level. That process alone may be adequate explanation of the universal myth.
Within Mesopotamia there is also a special version of the myth, reftected in the
creation story of Enuma Elish. It was Thorkild Jacobsen (1976: 168-9), with char-
acteristic perception and imagination, who commented on the appropriateness, in a
southern Mesopotamian context, of a creation story which asserted that all the world
was once water. Whether or not we follow the detailed parallel he drew, between
the process of creation as described and the emergence of land, it is the case that
the Mesopotamian creation story does reftect what actually happened. While the story
of a struggle between contending natural forces, personified in gods, was eventually
rationalized to apply potentially to all kinds of human experience, thereby superseding
any need for a literal interpretation, there were undoubtedly long phases when it
may have seemed to the inhabitants of Sumer that the waters would continue to rise
indefinitely, others when they seemed to be reluctantly retreating. Semitists are aware
of the parallel between the triumph of Marduk over Tiamat in Mesopotamia, and
the triumph of Ba'al over Yamm on the Mediterranean coast. The theory that such
myths have a historical basis presupposes a long period of oral tradition through the
Ubaid-Uruk periods, but it might be more surprising if this were not the case.
Finally there is prestige of the southernmost Sumerian city of Eridu and the status
of its god Enki, the water-god, lord of creation, and incidentally a god associated with
Dilmun (e.g. Jacobsen 1976: 110-116). It is understandable that a water-god, with his
cult-centre at Eridu, should be fed with offerings of fish and symbolized by aquatic
animals (Figs 2, 3). While his turtle could be either a fresh- or a salt-water variety
(Fig. 4), the Merman and Goat-fish are obviously based on marine mammals such as
the dugong (Fig. 5), which still inhabits the Gulf (Sheppard, Price and Roberts 1992:
215). Both species have in the past provided significant food resources for coastal
populations. Enki was also god of wisdom, closely associated with Adapa and the
other Seven Sages who taught wisdom to manKind, e.g. in Reiner's translation (1961:
4) "the seven brilliant apkallu's, puradu-fish of the sea, [sev]en apkallu's 'grown' in
the river, who ensure the correct functioning of heaven and earth." Enki was original

225
 Julian Reade

owner of the very attributes of civilization, which Ishtar and Ninurta, gods of fertility (1979) On the
and agriculture, wished to appropriate for themselves (Jacobsen 1976: 114, 132). tributions t,
These myths appear to regard civilization as based on aquatic resources. Oates, (1960) U
Leaving myth aside, however, we have three hypotheses to consider. One is that (1986) The Gl
the Ages: tJ
fish-eaters, Ichthyophagoi, once inhabited the Gulf and reached southern Mesopotamia;
Oates, J., T.E ..
the existence of such people has to be tested through evidence most of which is now
Antiquity 5
below the water-table or literally underwater. Another hypothesis, perhaps impossible Pezard, M. (191,
to test, is that they or some of them spoke a pre-Sumerian language. A third, fitting the lications de
archaeological evidence so far available, is that Ubaid-Uruk civilization in southern Potts, D.T. (199
Mesopotamia was based on an exceptional coming together of resources in which the Reiner, E. (196
aquatic element was not merely contributary but crucial. Roaf, M. (1990)
Safar, F., M.A.
Sheppard, C., A
References and proces.
Smith, P.E.L. (1
Alster, B. (1983) Dilmun, Bahrain, and the alleged Paradise in Sumerian myth and literature. In Woods, F.H. (I(
D.T. Potts, (editor), Dilmun: new studies in the archaeology and early history of Bahrain TV: 545-5:
(Berliner Beitrage zum Vorderen Orient, 2): 39-74.
Delougaz, P. (1960) Architectural representations on steatite vases. Iraq 22: 90-95.
Emerson Tennent, J. (1861) Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon. London. Figures
al-Gailani. (1975) "Steatite" stone vessels from Mesopotamia and elsewhere. Sumer 31: 41-48.
Galbraith, J.1. and M.D. Roaf, n.d. (1993?) Seafaring merchants of Ur revisited. London School Fig. 1 Succes,
of Economics Statistics Pre-Print Series, no. 9. Fig. 2 Turtle I

Galili, E. and T. Schick (1990) Basketry and a wooden bowl from the Pottery Neolithic Fig. 3 Enki aI
submerged site of Kefar Samir. Journal of the Israel Prehistoric Society (N.S.) 23: 142*- Fig. 4 Turtle I
152*. Fig. S Dugon,
Jacobsen, T. (1976) The Treasures of Darkness: a history of Mesopotamian religion. New
Haven/London.
Jones, T. (1969) Editor, The Sumerian problem. New York &c.
Landsberger, B. (1954) Assyrische Konigsliste und "dunkles Zeitalter". JCS 8 (1-3): 31-45,
46-73, 106-133.
Mallowan, M.E.L. and J.e. Rose (1935) Excavations at Tall Arpachiyah, 1933. Iraq 2 (I):
1-178.
Nashef, K. (1986) The deities of Dilmun. In H.A. Al Khalifa and M. Rice (editors), Bahrain
through the Ages: the archaeology: 340-366. London &c.
Nissen, H.J. (1986) The occurrence of Dilmun in the oldest texts of Mesopotamia. In H.A.
Al Khalifa and M. Rice (editors), Bahrain through the Ages: the archaeology: 335-339.
London &c.
(1993) In H.J. Nissen, P. Damerow and R.K. Englund, Archaic Bookkeeping: writing and
techniques of economic administration in the ancient Near East. Chicago/London.
Nutzel, W. (1975) The formation of the Arabian Gulf from 14000 BC. Sumer 31: 101-9.
(1976a) Kann die Naturwissenschaft der mesopotamischen Archaologie neue Impulse geben?
ZA 66: 120-134.
(1976b) The climate changes of Mesopotamia and bordering areas, 14000-2000 BC. Sumer
32: 11-24.
(1978) To which depths are "prehistorical civilizations" to be found beneath the present
alluvial plains of Mesopotamia? Sumer 3'4: 17-26.

226
 Sumerian origins

(1979) On the geographical position of as yet unexplored early Mesopotamian cultures: con-
tributions to the theoretical archaeology. JAOS 99: 288-296.
Oates, (1960) Ur and Eridu, the prehistory. Iraq 22: 32-50.
(1986) The Gulf in prehistory. In H. A. AI Khalifa and M. Rice (editors), Bahrain through
the Ages: the archaeology: 79-86. London.
Oates, J., T.E. Davidson, D. Kamilli, and H. McKerrell (1977) Seafaring merchants of Ur?
Antiquity 51: 221-34.
Pezard, M. (1914) Mission a Bender-Bouchir: documents archeologiques et epigraphiques (Pub-
lications de la Mission Archeologique de Perse, 15). Paris.
Potts, D.T. (1992) The Arabian Gulf in Antiquity, vol. 1. Oxford. First printed, 1990.
Reiner, E. (1961) The etiological myth of the "Seven Sages". Orientalia 30: I-II.
Roaf, M. (1990) Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York/Oxford.
Safar, F., M.A. Mustafa and S. Lloyd (1981) Eridu. Baghdad.
Sheppard, c., A. Price and C. Roberts (1992) Marine ecology of the Arabian region: patterns
and processes in extreme tropical environmellts. London (Academic Press).
Smith, P.E.L. (1974) Ganj Dareh Tepe. Paleorient 2(1): 207-208.
Woods, F.H. (1974) Deluge. In J. Hastings (editor), Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, vol
IV: 545-557. Edinburgh/New York. First printed, 1911.

Figures

Fig. 1 Successive Gulf coastlines (after Roaf 1990: 20, 65)

Fig. 2 Turtle of Enki: detail of Sealand kudurru, about 1100 BC (WA 102485)
Fig. 3 Enki and goat-fish: detail of cylinder-seal, about 2100 BC (WA 103232)
Fig. 4 Turtle (drawn by Ann Searight)
Fig. 5 Dugong (Emerson Tennent 1861: 69)

227
 Julian Reade

approximate extent of The Gulf

15000 Be

12500 Be
~
WB 10000 Be

WBl 7500 Be

EZJ, present day

r----~
~
'- ___
:
J
possible
;n
maximum
Mesopotamia

Fig. 3

0__ ~ __ -L __ ~~2~00km

Fig. 1

Fig. 5
Fig. 2
 Sumerian origins

,
I
,,
,
,
I

/
_,---- -- --_-_

Fig. 3 Fig. 4
 ABBREVIATIONS

DN Deity's Name; PN Personal Name; RN Royal Name; TN Temple Name;

EWO Enki and the World Order; LAK A. Deimel, Liste der Archaishen Keilschrift-
zeichen [1922]

INDEX

1 GODS AND DEMONS 102 (epithet a Ii m- m a)

Annunftum
Adad s. !Skur 63 (wailing rites)
Adapa Antu
77 (sacred marriage)
225 (and Enki)
Anunnal Anunnaku
Adgarkidu
103 (strengthen arms of Martu); 117, 120,
10563 (daughter of Numusda, wife of
122, 124, (acclaim Enki after ordering
Martu) the world); 122 (Sumer dedicated to An,
Alia Enlil, and the A.); 218 ( brought to heel
4062 (vizier of Ningiszida); 41 (in Sume-
in ritual)
rian Laments) Anzu s. Imdugud
Allaguia Anzud s. Imdugud
41 (dying god in Sumerian laments) ArurLI
A//atum I 18 (receives office from Enki); 125 (in
6242 (Kizab ritual) connection with birthing)
Amausumgal Asakku
4 (in Zami Hymn associated with sheep 142 (possible representation); 14265 (as
pen) cyclopic monster)
Ani Anu Asallubi
33 (god of herding region); 42 (Ninmada 7 (Marduk); 33 (god of southern marshes)
snake charmer of An or Enlil); 67 (with Asari
19053, 19064 (in Old Sumerian Lagas)
Inanna and Nanaya); 68 (Nanaya 'like
Asgi
An' and 'feminine star of An'); 77 (ak/fu
33 ('He of the Testicle'; god of herding
festival and sacred marriage); 102 (fa-
region, son of Ninbursaga and Sulpae)
ther of Martu); 103 (father of lSkur and
Asnan s. Ezina
Saman); l03f. (with Uras or Ninbursaga,
Asratu s. Gubarra
both mother of Martu); I 19 (Enki makes Assur
justice with A.); 122 (Sumer dedicated to 160, 164 (temple in Assur; Assyrian Enlil;
An, Enlil, and the Anunna); 126 (Nin- TN Rlmum, 'Wild Bull' originally Akka-
is(s)ina lover of A.); 161 (relation to TN dian); 220 (survival of cult)
e-an-na); 199198 (Enlil addresses A. on Azimua
behalf of ruler) 4062 (wife of Ningiszida)
Angal I Anu raMi Baba
3411,4288,44 (,Great An', name of !staran); 33 (goddess of farming region); 199197
198
69, 10349 (designation of An, father of (dS II S - B.); 199 (names of Gudea Sta-
Nanaya and Martu) tues to B.); 217 brought to heel in ritual)
AN-Martu Basmu s. Mussatur, Usum

231
Bel 5 (on Akkadian seals); 33 (god of south- 199198 (names
74 (receives iron arrows in ritual); 79 (in ern marshes); 88 (raw sexuality); I 17ff. 204248 (specia
Palmyra) (Enki and the World Order); 134 (rela- Gibil I Girra
Bizilla tion to Enlil in EWO); 141 (in judgement 5 (with rays 0
58f. (,She who is Pleasing'; reading; linked scene with bird-man); 171, 19187 (n u n in (dG ib i 16, 'thE
to Nanaya; also dNin-zfl-zfl, dNin- dG u d U4- nun probably refers to Enki); Gilgames
z f I, dZ i 1- z ii, dZ ii, dZ f1, dG a san - z f 1- 218 (brought to heel in ritual); 225 (pres- 13612, 139 (or
z f 1, dZ f 1- z i 1); 5922(var. dBi-li-la); 73124 tige of E. and Eridu; associated with tur- source); 137f.
(in takultu ritual) tle, Merman, Goat-fish; wisdom, sages, inscription tre
Dabar attributes of civilization; historical inter- (expedition to
193108 mount) Dabar; spelled dd e - par pretation) Girra s. Gibil
and dda-bar, uncertain) Enkidu GirtabluUu
Belat-subner 92f. (sexual initiation of E.); I37ff. (in 144 (scorpion
60 (introduced from Esnunna in Ur III art) Giszida
period); 6242 (kizab ritual); 63 (wailing Enkimdu 4063 (form of
104, 105 (,farmer' and 'lord of ditch and
rites) Gubarra IAsratu
canal'; listed with Martu in laments); 109 105 (wife of ~
Belat-terraban
(Dumuzi-E. contest); 118 (entrusted with Gula
60 (introduced from Esnunna in Ur TIl
agricultural constructions by Enki)
period); 6242 (Kizab ritual); 63 (wailing 178 (Harp of
Enlil
rites) Haburftum
33 (god of farming region); 35 (father of
Bel-bini s. Lugalsinig v 6242 (Kizah ri
Ninazu); 42 (Ninmada snake charmer of
Bel-!/arbi s. Lugalasal ljendursag
An or E.); I 19 (Enki decides fates with
Beltu-sa-RU 171 ('Staff of
E.); 122 (Sumer dedicated to An, E., and
77 (Istar, Nanaya, and B. in akitu cere- ljanbi
the Anunna); 129, 134 (relation to Enki
mony) 143 (father of
in EWO); 161 (ASIur is the Assyrian E.);
Bilila s. Bizilla 161 (relation to TN e - k u r; epithet k u r-
ljumbaba s. lj
Damu ljumunzer I ljum
g a I, 'Great Mountain'); 99198 (E. speaks
33, 3411 (grouped with chthonic deities) prayer for ruler to An); 202225 (emblem
ljuwawal ljumb,
Dannina 137ff. (in art;
of E. named Aba-Enlilgin, 'who is like
3515 (netherwold dragon) Enlil '); 216 (I st of Nisan day of E.) Igalima
Dingirmab Enzak 3629 (represen
217 (brought to heel in ritual) 16213 (sanctuary on Failaka) ('the Stag Do~
Dumuzi I Tammu::. Ereskigal of the honore!
2 (human figure with spikey hair in ED 34 (Netherworld deity; snake symbolism; Imdugud IAnzu
III art); 33 (god of herding region); 85ff. associated with constellation Hydra); 217 141 (slain hel
(D. and lnanna; love poetry); 109 (D. and (brought to heel in ritual) eagle in older
Enkimdu contest); 10563 (brother of Etana headed bird n
Gestinanna); 109 ( D. and Inanna; love 135 ff. (in art); 150 fig. 7 (female Etana) (numbering fi
poetry); 118 (entrusted with herding by Ezina I Asnan Fifty' ?); 1931
6 (goddess of grain; representations); 4389
Enki); 220 (cult among the Sabaeans at natural pheno
(-an formation of Asn-Gn); I 18 (entrusted
ljarran; wailing women) 'slain heroes';
with the growing of plants by Enki); 12735
Dumuziabzu 201210 (notto
(in EWO)
33 (goddess of southern marshes) dub)
Gansura s. Kanisurra
Dungu-Elamma Inan(n)a I !Star
Gasanzilzil s. Bizilla
105 (listed with Martu in laments) 25 (relation t,
Gazba I Gazbaba
Ea s. Enki 70 (daughter of Nanaya); 77 (daughter of of herding re
Enbilulu Ezida/Nanaya) seal); 57ff. (r(
117, 121 (entrusted with the twin rivers Gestinanna giance of Isin
by Enki) 4062 (wife of Ningiszida); 10563 (sister of Venus); 85ff.
Enki I Ea Dumuzi, and as belet !/eri wife of Martu); etry); 101 ('Iii

232
 199198 (names of Gudea Statues to G.); 111hymn); 74125 (of Arbela; temple, rit-
204248 (special function for Ur III Kings) uals); 109 (I. and Dumuzi; love poetry);
Gibil / Girra 118, I25ff. (complains about not receiv-
5 (with rays on Akkadian seals); 172 ing specific office from Enki); I27f., 130f.
(dG i b i 16, 'the Burning Reed') (goddess of war and strife; does not fit
Gilgames into Enki's peaceful world); 12530 (holds
13612, 139 (on back of eagle in classical measuring rod and line); 139 (present at
source); 137f. (in art); 208285 (in votive Killing of Bull of Heaven on NA seal);
inscription treated as normal god); 224 139f. (Burney Relief and I.'s descent);
(expedition to Dilmun; historicity) 14046 (brought down from heaven by sage;
Girra s. Gibil possible illustration); 140 (as KiWi god-
Girtablullu dess of prostitutes); 161 ('Lady of
144 (scorpion-man) Heaven'; relation to TN e-an-na); 163
Giszida (te~l2le e - e den - n a at Sippar); 18726
4063 (form of Ningiszida); 42 (MUS-symbol; morning and evening star;
Gubarra /Asratu temples in Archaic Uruk; dl. - bud, dr._
105 (wife of Martu) s i g, dr. - nun); 178 (harp of Inanna named
Gula Ninigizibarra); 217f. (brought to heel in
178 (Harp of G.); s. Ninibgal ritual); 2 I9 (procession on 25th of the
Haburftum month); 226 (steels attributes of civiliza-
V 6242 (Kizab ritual) tion)
Inninsaga
ljendursag
6023 (name of Nanaya)
171 (,Staff of the Leader')
Insusinak
Ijanbi 2 ('Lord of Susa'; origin); 34 (Nether-
143 (father of Pazuzu) world god; identified with Ninurta); 35
ljumbaba s. Ijuwawa (and mustJussu); 37tf. (nature and icono-
ljumunzer / Ijumun!!ir s. Martulaanki graphy; snake symbolism)
Ijuwawa/ ljumbaba /pa'um/lppu
137ff. (in art; depicted as LalJlnu) 36f. ('viper', vizier of Ningiszida and
Igalima Ninazu)
3629 (represented by lion scimitar); 19072 Ippu s. Ipa'um
('the Stag Door'; Jacobsen: 'the doorleaf Irkalla
of the honored one') 4284 (underworld deity)
Imdugud /Anzu Imina
141 (slain hero; depicted as lion-headed 4284 (,Victory'; manifestation of ISlar;
eagle in older art); 142 (in later art lion- snake god in the court of Ningiszida); 70
(Nanaya); 76 (in Arbela)
headed bird monster [lion-griffin]); 1606
Isimu/ Usmu
(numbering fifty in Eninnu, 'House,
6 (two-faced vizier of Enki/Ea)
Fifty'?); 193107 (Heavy Cloud'; deified
ISkur/ Adad
natural phenomenon); 196167 (among the 7 (on Akkadian seals; holding whip); 33
'slain heroes'; no offerings in OSum Lagas); (god of herding region); 6242 (kizall rit-
201210 (not to be identified with Lugalkur- ual); 69 (god in Larsa); 71 (of Namar/
dub) Namri); 102 (epithet a lim - m a); 103 (like
Inan(n)a / Utar Martu son of An); I 18 (entrusted with
25 (relation to moon god); 33 (goddess the rains by Enki); 142 (and slain heroes;
of herding region); 49 (with Istaran on thunderbolts of A. held by Ninurta); 217
seal); 57ff. (relation to Nanaya); 69 (alle- (brought to heel ritual)
giance of Isin kings to Ninsianna/Inannal Isne-karab
Venus); 85ff. (I. and Dumuzi; love po- 45 (servant of Tnsusinak)
etry); 101 (,life-breath of wives/children' Uta ran

233
 34 (Netherworld god; identified with Nin- Latarak 37 (a type of e
urta); 42ff. (nature and iconography; snake 105 (listed with Martu in lament) Mussatur / Basml
symbolism); 49 (with Islar on seal); 74 Lugalsinig / Bel-bini 35 (Hydra); ~
(lstar weeps over 1.); 105 (listed with 174, 197J7J (also dBAD.SINIG, probably (entwined dra;
Martu in laments); 163 (relation to TN Bel-bini) (dragon snake
e - dim - g a 1- k a I a m - m a) Lugalasal / Bel-.yarbi M~ltum
18616 (,Lord of the Poplar'; dagger of L.);
Kanisurra / Gansura 35 (,Death', IT
1971691 (Bel-:farbi; identified with god
6242 (Gansura; kizab ritual); n (belet dragon's head
bending a tree on Akkadian seals)
kasscipati); 77 (daughter of Ezida/Nanaya) Nabu
Lugalgirra
Kattillu s. Mussagkal 35 (and mush
34 (war god)
KiWi Lugalsaduku of Nanaya); 7
140 (name of lnanna as goddess of pros- 4174 (corrupt form of Lugalsapar) survi ves at 1:12
titutes; connection with Burney Relief) Lugalsapar Namrat
Kulla 4174 ('Lord of the Net'; name of Alia) 107 (,Fairy'; ,
118 (entrusted with clay works by Enki) Lugalsude Na(n)nali s. N,
Kulullu 41 (dying god in Sumerian laments) Nanaya
144 (fish-man) Malah 57ff. (my thole
Kumulmul 7 (Sailor'; name of Sirsir) presentation);
4284 (wife of Sara) Manzat (spelled dNin-1
Kusarikku 44 (,Rainbow', wife of Istaran) (an- )na/ni); 15
142 (bull-man); 144 Mar-biti Nanna/ Su'en (S,
75 (together with Nanaya)
Kusu (masc.) 11 (form and 0
Marduk
6f. (courtier of Enlil) graphy; conne
7 (Sirsir name of M.); 35, 3629, 48 (and
Kusu (fem.) (iconography):
mus~u.l:Su); n (MA festival); 163 (rela-
different iconl
7 (name of Nis(s)aba)
tion to TN e - d u r - a n - k i); 225 (and Tia-
Uigamal Ijarran); 33 (gl
mat; historical basis of myth)
45 (servant of Insusinak) aya daughter 0
Martu / Amurru
Laguda 99ff. (character; cult; mythology) S.); 163 (relati,
7f. (has connections with Persian Gulf) Martulaanki / Ijumun:fir g a I and vars.)
La~mu 104 (aspect of Martu) Nanse
2 (identification; variants); 6 (minion of Medimsa/ Sala(S) 33 (goddess 0
Enki/a in Akkadian art); 138 (apotropaic; 7 (wife of Adad; nude female divinity on 121 (entrusted
Ijuwawa depicted as L.); 144 Akkadian seals) (receives no 0
Lamastu Meslamtaea connection wit
142f. (baby-snatching she-demon; in art) 33 (god of farming region); 34 (war god); us, us- b i, Us-
Lamma / Lamassu 3629 (weapons) Napirisa
10119 (guarding King); 171 (in dm e nx- Messanga-Unugki s. Pisansag-Unuga 45 (torso dedil
Lamma, dNin-menx-lamma); 19069 Muati Ninazu
6023 (and Nanaya); 70 (dialogue between 34 (Netherw01
(names with L.); 171 (dNin-sig4-tu-
I.); In (dpirig:I.); 173 PA_I.); 1951S1 Nanaya and M.); 73 (husband of Nanaya) iconography; s
Mullissu
(in DN's); 198197 (dl.-sila-sfr-sfr Nergal
220 (survival of cult) 16
(-ra; 181 dl.-lugal,dl.-RN;sa-du1o- lllu1dMUS 35 (paired '"
dl. -Iugal- ke4-ne); 205261 (as 'external Larsa); 71 (ofT
263 3413,48 (constellation Hydra)
soul'); 182+ (deified idea of protection); Musdama band of La:f); I
206264 (and deification of ruler); 20626S; 118 (entrusted with architecture by Enki) Resep); 217 (b
206263, 207267 (of both god and man, Mushus/ Mushussu Nindara
s. U dug) 34ft. (drag~n associated with chthonic 199198 (dedica
Las gods); 36 (development of form); 35, 48 Ningal
i94127 (wife of Nergal; spelling dKIS- (of Marduk and NaUl); 144 (dragon) 23 (wife of Nc
Ia ( - z i ) rejected) Mussagkal / Kattillu Ningirsu

234
 37 (a type of dragon; also Saggal/Sagkal)
Mussatur I Basmu
35 (Hydra); 39 (vizier of Tispak); 4070
(entwined dragon snakes); 4172, 4Sff.
(dragon snake); 144
Miitum
35 (,Death', messenger of Ereskigal, with
dragon's head)
Naba
35 (and musfJuHu); 71 ff., 77. (husband
of Nanaya); 79 (Syriac Nebo); 220 (cult
survi ves at I:Jadra)
Namrat
107 (,Fairy'; wife of Numusda)
Na(n)nali s. Nanaya
Nanaya
57ff. (mythology and cult); 71 (MB re-
presentation); 79 (late representation); 70
(spelled dNin-na-na-a in Mari; also (d)Na_
(an-)na/ni); 199198 (dedication to N.)
Nannal Su'en (Sin)
II (form and origin of name); I If. (icono-
graphy; connection with boat god); 19f.
(iconography); 21 (the two names have
different iconological meaning); 27 (of
Ijarran); 33 (god of herding region); (Nan-
aya daughter of S.); 105 (Numusda son of
S.); 163 (relation to TN e- gi s- n u/n Uw
g a I and vars.)
Nanse
33 (goddess of southern marshes); I IS,
121 (entrusted with the sea by Enki); liS
(receives no office from Enki); 125f. (in
connection with fishing); bird of Nanse s.
us, us-bi, Us-kLl-ga
Napirisa
45 (torso dedicated to N. and Insusinak)
Ninazu
34 (Netherworld god); 35f. (nature and
iconography; snake symbolism; weapons)
Nergal
3516 (paired with Ereskigal); 69 (god in
Larsa); 71 (ofNamar/Namri); 194127(hus-
band of Laif); 19S189 (equated with Rasap/
Refep); 217 (brought to heel in ritual)
Nindara
199198 (dedication to N.)
Ningal
23 (wife of Nanna; bird symbol)
Ningirsu
235
33 (god oHarming region); 39 (and plough);
141f. (and slain heroes); 195139 (OSum
king represents N.?); 196162 (and 'Stele
of the Vultures'); 174 (and slain heroes);
174 (his 'slaughterer' dgan-gfr); 199198
(names of Gudea Statues to N.); 17S (harps
of N.)
Ningiszida
34 (Netherworld god); 35 (and musfJussu);
39ff. (nature and iconography; snake sym-
bolism); 4062 (husband of Gestinannai
Azimua); [99198 (names of Gudea Statues
to N.); 177 (wailing procession for N. co-
incides with 'mouth-opening' of Gudea's
statue; N. Gudea's family god); 200206
(Oumuzi-figure)
Ningublaga
33 (god of herding region)
Ninbursaga
33 (goddess of herding region); 103f.
(mother of Martu); 199198 (name of Gudea
St. to N.=Nintu)
Ninibgal
I7S+223 (harp of N.; name of Gula?)
Ninildumma
172, 194126 ('the Lady of the social group');
naggiiru ra.ba sa Anu
Ninis(s)ina
33 (goddess of farming region); 69 (alle-
giance of lsin Kings to N.); I IS (receives
no office from Enki); 125f. (in connection
with sex)
Ninkasi
19295
Ninki
43 (in an oath; avenges with snake)
Ninlil/Sud
33 (goddess of farming region); 35
(mother of Ninazu); 3955 (grain goddess
on Akkadian seals)
Ninmada
39 (god of agriculture); 42 (chthonic god;
snake charmer of An or Enlil)
Ninmab
161 (relation to TN e - m a b)
Ninmarki
33 (goddess of southern marshes); 19i79
(Ninmusbar consort of N.); 199198 (name
of Gudea Statue to N.)
Ninmug
lIS (receives no office from Enki); 125f.
(in connection with jewelry)
Ninmusbar (dNin-mus-bar) Numusda 3629 (,Hero (
197179 (consort of Ninmarki; offerings) 105 (father-in-law of Martu, son of Su'en, Ninazu)
Ninnanaya s. Nanaya lord of (N)inab); 107 (husband of Nam- Sulazida
Ninnigin rat) 3629 ('Hero c
19296 (earlier form of Ninnigingarra) dNUN s. Bizilla Ninazu)
Ninnigin(garra) Oannes s. Uanna Sulpae
Pabilsag
19296 (dn in - n i gIn - gar - r a, 'Lady who 33 (god of he
33 (god of farming region); 19071 ('the
has set up the Residence'; earlier form Sulsagana
Elder (is) the Leader'; OSum)
dN i n - n i gIn) 3629 (represer
Pazuzu
Ninninna Sulutul
142f. (protective demon against Lamastu;
14038 ('Lady Owl'; connection with Bur- 192103
in art)
ney Relief) Pisansag-Unuga Sunir
Ninsianna 105 (listed with Martu in lament); 19299 171, 19179 ('(
69 (lnannalYenus; allegiance of lsin kings (reading and interpretation) weapons, in s
to N.) Ramman 4389 (formation with -an) animals)
Ninsirsir s. Sirsir Rasap I Resep Sunirgal
Ninsun 176+189 (equated with Nergal; spear of R.) 19179 (embler
33 (goddess of herding region); 6242 (Ki- Resef Sunirzabar
zab ritual); 193119 (referred to by sun 79 (with Nanai in Palmyra) 19179
'wild cow' alone in OSum PN); 172 ('the Ruspan dTAG s. Bizill
4389 (formation with -an) dTAG.NUN
Lady Cow')
Saggal / Sagkal s. mussagkal
Ninsubur 5919 (1 Uttu;
Saggar/Saggar
199198 (dedication to N.) 2649 (Syrian moon god)
Tammuz s. Du
Nintinugga Saman Tasmetum
6242 (Kizab ritual) 102 (epithets alim-ma and ur-sag- 71,73,75 (wi
Nintu s. Ninbursaga gal); 103 (son of An); 104 (=summannu, Nanaya); 199
Ninurta 'lead-rope'); 171+75 (dSaman, 'the Nose- Tiamat
3411 (Tispak and lnsusinak identified with rope'); 173, 195147 (OSum Lagas; tem- 3846 (Tispak (
N.); 39 (with plough); 141f. (and slain ple) Sea'); 142 (n
heroes); 142 (fighting AnzulAsakku in tem- Sin s. Nanna 48f., 225 (bat
ple of N. at Nimrud; holding thunderbolts Sirsir / Ninsirsir historical basi
of Adad); 19189 (spelled dnam-urta in 7 (name of Marduk; connection with boat Tispak
Ab~ god list); 217 (brought to heel in rit- god of art uncertain); 46f. (connection 34 (NetherwOl
ual); 226 (steals attributes of civilization) with boat god uncertain); 171+82 (OSum) (nature and ic
Ninzil s. Bizilla Sud s. Ninlil ism)
Ninzilzil s. Bizilla Su'en (Sin) s. Nanna Uanna/Oannes
Nirah/lrhan Suhenunna 140 (and the
3411,41, 42f. (snake god; son and mes- 104 (,He of the Thriving Body'; epithet tions)
of Martu) Udug/ Sedu
senger of ntaran)
Sumukan / Sak(k)an
Nissaba 205261, 206263
104f. (listed with Martu in laments); 118
6 (goddess of grain; representations); 33 as 'external sc
(entrusted with animal life by Enki); 217
(goddess of farming region); 3955 (Ninlill and man; den
(brought to heel in ritual)
Sud grain goddess on Akkadian seals ra- presented by ~
Sakan s. Sumukan
ther than Nis(s)aba); 118 (receives no of- Sala(:;') s. Medimsa Ugallu
fice from Enki); 125f. (in connection with Samas s. Utu 142 (lion-dem
clerking and surveying); 12530, 126 (has Sara Utu)
measuring rod and line); 19058 (var. NAGA); 33 (god of herding region); 4284 (husband U4 -ka-dus-ba / U
193104; 217 (brought to heel in ritual) of Kumulmul) 36 (lion-griffir
Nudimmud Sedu s. Udug (=nimru, a co
6 (and ApsO in Zami Hymn) Sulagubbu dei fied natural

236
 3629 (,Hero of the Left Hand'; mace of Ukadub!J.u s. U4-ka-dus-ba
Ninazu) UlmaSfrum
Sulazida 63 (wailing rites)
3629 (,Hero of the Right Hand'; mace of Umum
Ninazu) SO (deified 'Day')
Sulpae Uras (masc.)
33 (god of herding region) 77 (Nanaya child of U.); s. e-ibbi-Anum
Sulsagana Uras (fem.)
3629 (represented by eagle scimitar) l03f. (wife of An, mother of Martu)
1l1L11
dUR.GU.LA
Sulutul
192103 3413 (constellation Leo)
Sunir Uridiml11u
144 ('Mad Lion')
171, 19179 (,emblem'; in some cases
USl11il s. Isimu
weapons, in some cases with emblematic
Usur-amassa
animals)
'74136 (statue of U.)
Sunirgal
Usuml Basmu
19179 (emblem of Nanna)
201218 (a type of dragon)
Sunirzabar
Usumgal I Usumgallu
19179 4172 (a type of dragon paired with Basl11u);
dTAG s. Bizilla 201218
dTAG.NUN Usumursag
5919 (1 Uttu; possibly related to Bizilla) 39 (a type of dragon; vizier of Tispak)
Tammuz s. Dumuzi Utnapistim
Tasmetum 224f. (in Dilmun; Flood; historicity)
71, 73, 75 (wife of Nabti; associated with Uttu
Nanaya); 19919S 5919 (spider goddess of weaving; spel-
Tiall1ar ling dTAG.NUN rejected); liS (entrusted
3S46 (Tispak abarak Tiamrim 'steward of with weaving by Enki); 126f. (goddess of
Sea'); 142 (monstrous creatures of T.); weaving and of sex)
4Sf., 225 (battle of T. and MardukIBa'l; Utu I Samas
historical basis) 5 (on Akkadian seals); 7 (connection with
Tispak boat god); 25 (one leg protruding from
34 (Netherworld deity and warrior); 44ff. skirt); 33 (god of herding region); 69 (royal
(nature and iconography; snake symbol- statues for U. in Larsa); liS, 124 (en-
ism) trusted with demarcation and justice by
Uanna/Oannes Enki); 142 (in judgement scene with Iion-
140 (and the Seven Sages; representa- demon); 161 (relation to TN e - b a r6- b a r6);
tions) 163 (relation to TN e-d i -k Us- ka I am-
Udugl Sedu m a); 217f. (brought to heel in ritual); 219
205261, 206263 (U. and LammalLamasslI (20th of the month day of S)
as 'external souls'; both possesed by god Zababa
and man; denote idea of protection; re- 3629 (weapons Igalima and Sulsagana)
presented by statues) Zil s. Bizilla
Ugallu Zilzil s. Bizilla
142 (lion-demon; in judgement scene with Zizan
Utu) 4389 (formation with -an)
U4-ka-dus-ha I Ukaduhhu
36 (lion-griffin; holding weapons); 20020S 2 DEIFIED MISCELLANEA
(=nimru, a constellation; 'Roaring Day'
deified natural phenomenon)

237
 202225 ('who is like Enlil'; emblem of 193108 mount) Dabar7) 170 ('copper
Enlil) c1de-par var. gfr:ab)
d _ J93108 (reading uncertain, s. dizi-da; (mount) dgfr_asgab(urUdu)
a ru
172 ('the Ex voto') Dabar or < diparu, 'torch') 171 ('copperd
dabgal:e ddimgal-absu dgfr-CaSIMMAR
173 ('the Great Pole (of) the Absu'; OSum)
171 ('the Expert of the Temple') 18947
dDUH.LAL2
alan dgir-CilSIMMAR
172 ('the Bee's Wax')
173 (various statues receive offerings; ddun-ga s. ddungaga 18946
OSum); 194139 (of rulers); 174 (identified ddunaaaa dgir-KAxSAR
with 'votive figures') 19315'7 (and ddun-ga upu, urpu, 'the 19060
alan-e-sa-ga cIgir-ku6_dar<urudu
Cloud')
194139 (receive offerings) ddurlO s. dsen 170 ('copper
alan-Iugal den-gur7 var. dgir:ku6)
202225 ('the statue of the king'; cultic ob- 171 ('the Lord of the Granary'); 19294 dgir_LUL(urudu)
ject; also (statues of) Sargon and Naram- den-UH 170 ('copper
sin) 194 v(and dnin-UIj; primeval gods) LAK 242 (7
dam-a-nun dendi bx (ME.MU)-unugkl dgfr_ninda(urudu)
172 ('the Mighty Aurochs') 171 ('the Temple-cook of Uruk') 171 ('copper
dam-gal-nun dGAL.GA/GARA vars. dgir:PAD
171 ('a leading person in the dairy indus-
172 ('the Great Princely Aurochs') d gir -ninnis-ku5 -a'
try')
dama-izi-la 171 ('copper (
dGAL.GA.URU
193110 var. dgir-nl-ni5
19185
dam-SE+NAM dgir- (d)Nissaba-kt
dgal-kalam
J93114 171 ('the Leader of the Land (Sumer),); 171 ('copper (
dASARI var. dgir-NAO
19186 (or 'supervisor')
19053 (var. dgfr-ASARI); 19064 (in OSum dgan-gfr dgir-sal
Lagas) 174 (,Maid-servant (of) the (Princely) Path'; 19060
gi'bad slaughterer of Ningirsu) dgir-SAL+AS
202225 (,threshing sledge'; cultic object) dgasam J9060
dBAD.SINIG 173 ('the Expert'; OSum) dgfr _silig(urudu)
174, 197171 (for Bel-blni) dgestin-an-na 170 ('copper h,
dbabar:e J79 (dg.-nin, 'g. of the queen'; c1g.-ama- dgir -sa < -si4 > (uru
171 ('the Brick-maker of the Temple') lugal, 'g. of the mother of the king', dg._ 170 ('copper (
(d)balag lugal, 'g. of the King'; compound divine var. dgir:sa)
173 ('Harp(s)'; receives offerings; OSum); names); 204248 (special function for Ur dgir-sum
J78 (names of harps of Ningirsu, Inanna, III rulers) 19177 (divine'
Gula, Ninibgal); 202225 (cultic object; re- dgesti n-an-na-SI .A-tum dgir-ti _GIM(urudu)
ceives offerings; Ur Ill) 179+236 (compound divine names) 171 ('7'); var.
gi-mus-dNin-dar dgir:U
balag-u4 -nu-a
173 ('the Punting Pole/Steering Oar (of)
178 ('harp (for) the day of the disappear- 19060
Nindar'); receives offerings; OSum) cIgir _udu_ug7(urudu
ance of the moon'; of Ninibgal)
dgi-ne-du
dban-ku-Ia 170 ('copper (
J8947
172 ('7') var. dgir:udu)
c1gibiI6(NE.GI)
dbarlllusen dgir-ukus_dar(urudl
172 ('the Burning Reed')
172 (7) gisgigir J70f. ('copper I
dbar7-la s. dizi-Ia 174 ('the Chariot'; receives offerings; bers'; var. gir-I
dbfl-Ia s. c1izi-la OSum); 202225 (cultic object; Ur 1If) dgir_zadim(urudu)
dburuslllUSCIl dgfr(urudu) 171 ('copper d
172 ('the Crow/Raven') J70 ('copper dagger') gis-gid-da
c1da-bar dgfr-ab-ug7 (urudu) 203234 ('spear'

238
 170 ('copper dagger for ki lling cows'; gis-su4 -a
vaL gfr:iib) 202225 ('a stool'; cultic object)
dgfr_asgab(urudu) gisimmar (urudu)
171 ('copper dagger of the leather-worker') 173 ('the (Bronze) Date-Palm'; receives
dgfr-GISIMMAR:ENGAR offerings: OSum); 174 (connection with
18947 slain heroes); 197168 (in Gudea; identical
dgfr-GISIMMAR:ME with dLugal-gisimmar); 200207
gisgu_za
18946
dgfr-KAxSAR 178f. ('throne', of rulers; connected to
19060 cult of deceased rulers; as funerary fur-
dgfr_ku6_dar(urUdU) nishing)
dgu-za( _den-HI-Iii)
170 ('copper dagger for splitting fish';
var. dgfr: kU6) 178 (,throne (of Enlil)'; receives offer-
dgfr_LUL(urudu) ings in Nippur)
gli-NE
170 ('copper dagger for var. dgfr-
202225 ('cupboard'; cultic object)
LAK 242 (?))
dgudu4-nun
dgfr_ninda(UrUdU)
171 ('the Princely Gudu-priest'; nun refers
171 ('copper dagger for cutting bread';
to Enki)
vars. dgfr:PAD, dgfr-SUR) dgu4-ii-nun-gi4
dgfr-ninnis -kus _a(urudu)
172 ('the Repulsing Princely Bull')
171 ('copper dagger for cutting rushes'; gUl'7
var. dgfr-nl-nis) 202225 (,granary'; cultic object; Ur III);
dgfr- (d)Nissaba-kus (urudu) s. den-gur7, dnin-gur7
171 ('copper dagger for reaping barley'; dljAR-nun
var. dgfr-NAGA) 171 (,Princely Ring')
dgfr-sal HAR-sar-ra
19060 u 173, 19070 ('the Inscribed/Engraved Ring';
dgfr-SAL+AS OSum; receives offerings)
19060 dbendur-sag
dgfr_silig(Urudu) 171 ('Staff of the Leader'); 173 (OSum)
170 ('copper handweapon'; val'. dgfr-ASARI) dig-alim-ma
dgfr-sa < -si4 > (lliudu) 171 ('the Stag Door'; Jacobsen: 'the door-
170 ('copper dagger for disembowling'; leaf of the honored one'); 173 (OSum
vaL dgfr:sa) Lagas); 197176 (special function in pan-
dgfr-sum theon)
dTgi-ama-se
19177 (divine 'daggers and knives')
dgfr_ti_GTM(urudu) 175, 197181 (,Before the Mother!'; god in
17 I ('?'); var. dgfr-ti) Ninmarki's entourage)
d IZI
dgfr:U
172 ('the Fire')
19060
dizi-da
dgfr-udu_ug7(lIIUdU)
172 ('the Warming Fire', 'the Roasting');
170 ('copper dagger for killing sheep';
193108 (reading dd e - par doubted)
val'. dgfr:udu) dizi-iTar
dgfr _uklis_dar(lIIudu)
193110
170f. ('copper dagger for splitting cucum- dizi-lii
bers'; var. gfr-uklis) 172 ('the Torch'); 193110 (alternatively
dgfr_zadim(urudu)
dbar7-lii, val'. dbn-lii)
171 ('copper dagger of the stone cutter') dki_ki(lllusell)
gis-gfd-da 172 ('a bird'); 193117 (cf. dnin_ki_ki"llISell)
203234 ('spear', ritually washed) dkindii-zi

239
 173 ('the Righteous Barber'; receives of- 171 ('the Righteous Exorcist') 195143 ('tt
ferings; OSum); 197176 (special function dme-lem4 Oar')
in pantheon) 172 ('the Radiance') dnin-gur7( -gl
dKIS-la d ME.NU.NUS-s~ 171 ('the
172 ('the me (of) the Lady') d nin_ljlku6
172 (dubious); 194127 (and dKIS-la-zi
dmenx(GAxEN) 172 ('the
not writings of La!!?)
171 ('Crown'); 172 (interpretation) dnin-ib-gal
dlam-sag-za-gln
171 ('the Lapis Lazuli Necklace')
menx-bar 178+223 (n
171 (,Turban' or another kind of crown) dnin-igi-zi-b,
" lamma-enku-e-au-eden-na dmenx-Iamma
206264 0 178 ('lady
171 ('the Crown is a Protective Goddess')
dlamma-Iugal (by a god:
dMi.Us-sig
dnin-ildu
181 (,Protective Goddess of the King') 173, 196157 ('the Young Ewe'; in OSum
"Lamma-menx PN) 194126
19069 dMLus-zi dnin-ildum-n
dlamma-si la-sf r-sfr( -ra) 172 ('the true Ewe') 172 ('the
198197 ('the Protective Goddess of the "mubaldi m-zi -unug dNin-ka-si
Narrow Streets', or 'the Protective God- 171 ('the True Baker/Cook of Uruk') 19295
dess of all the back alleys'); 206264 dNa-rue -a) dnin-kaI5-ka~
171 ('the Stele'); 173 (OSum; receiving 171 ('the
dlamma-sita4 -e
offerings); 174 (bear images; guarantee dnin_ki_kimUS(
206264
dUPIS s. dub borders; identified with 'Ancient Kudur- dnin-kilim
rus'); 197182 (location of stelae in Lagas 172 ('the.
"Iugal
state) dnin-NAGAI
194128
dnam-abzu 171 ('the I
dLugal-dar
171 ('the Function/Office of the Abzu'); dnin-nagar -al
172 ('the Lord Cock')
19J91 (or for "nin-abzu) 194126
dlugal-DUL.DU
"nam-nir dnin-nigln
172 ('the Lord Statue') 17 J ('the High Esteem'; spelled "nam-nir
(d)lugal_(iS)gisimmar 19296 (abb
in Zami Hymns)
174, 196167 (one of the 'slain heroes'); gar-ra, 'L,
dnam-nun
197168 (in later tradition 'Lord of the Palm'; dence')
171 ('the Princeliness')
earlier 'Lord Palm'); s. gi s i m mar(u rud u) dnin-apin dnin-nigln-ga
171 ('the Lady (of? the) Plough'); 19291 19296 (,L,
lugal-igi-bus
178 (,red-eyed lord'; name of Ningirsu's (or dnin-engar) dence')
harp) dNin-dar s. gi-mus-dN. dnin-PA
dLugal-izi 173 ('the Cock'; male deity) 171 ('the I
193110 dnin-e-gal-e-si of the Scel
"Lugal-kud-da 178 ('the lady is suited for the palace'; (OSum)
19ioO name of Gula's harp) dnin-pirig
(")Lugal-kur-dCib dnin-emes 172 ('the
172 ('the Lady She-Ass') offerinO"s
173 ('the Lord who Smashes the Moun-
tains'; OSum); 174, 19616S.166 (isib-I.);
dnin-engar dnin-rin4 'Cwn
19292 (or dnin-apin) 172 ('the
177 (Ur III; I. - k a -d Ux- b a, 'snarling', or dnin-gal-tur
connection with 'mouth-opening' ritual); 173f. (OSI
171 ('the Lady, the leading Person of the
201211 (not to be identified with AnzO); dNi n-sig4 -tu(
Pen')
177 (epithet of one of Ningirsu's weapons) 171 ('the I
dnin-GANA2
tive Godd(
dLugal-sig4 19292
19176 dnin-sun
dnin-girimx (IR.MUS.ljA.DIN.BALAG)
dLUL 172 ('the Lady (of? the) .... -snail'); 173 193119 (ref
19052 (for dgfr-LUL) (OSum) PN); 172 (
dmas-mas-zi dnin-gisal-su dnin-sara

240
 195143 ('the Lady (of 7) the 'Blade of an 173 ('the Lady Falcon'; OSum)
Oar') dnin-UH sden-UH
dnin-gur7( -gur7) dnin-zactim ~
171 ('the Lady (of 7 the) Granaries') 172 ('the Lady Jeweller'); 173 (OSum)
d nin_ljlku6 dNINDA-gu4-gal
172 ('the Lady (of 7 the) ... -fish') 172 ('the Great Fattened Ox')
dnin-ib-gal dnu-gal
172 (dubious)
178+223 (name of Gula7)
dnu-nus-tur
dnin- igi-zi-bar-ra
172 ('the Women of the Sheep-pen')
178 (,lady, legitimately/truly looked upon dpA
(by a god)'; harp of Inanna) 172 (deified sceptre); 173 (OSum)
dnin-ildu dpA-igi-du
194126 173 ('the Sceptre (of 7 the) Leader')
dnin-ildum-ma dPA-Lamma
172 ('the Lady of the (social) group') 173 ('the Sceptre (is) a Protective God-
dNin-ka-si dess')
19295 dpirig: lamma
dnin-kals-kas-si 172 ('the Lion(ess) is a Protective God-
171 ('the Lady Barmaid') dess')
dnin_ki_killlusen s. dki_ki(lllusen) dpirig-TUR
dnin-kilim 172 ('the Fiercy Lion(ess)')
dpisansagga-unug
172 ('the Lady Mungo'); 173 (OSum)
dnin-NAGAR / bulug4 172 ('a priest of Uruk');
19299 (reading and interpretation)
171 ('the Lady of the Chisel')
Rasap
dnin-nagar-abzu
176 (spear of R. receives offering)
194126
dsag-kud
dnin-nigln
172 ('the Tax Collector'); 173 (OSum)
19296 (abbreviated form of later dnin-nig]n- dSaman
gar-ra, 'Lady who has set up the Resi- 17 I ('the Nose-rope'); 173 (OSum Lagas;
dence') temple); 174 (connection with slain heroes)
dnin-nigln-gar-ra dSig4 -tu
19296 ('Lady who has set up the Resi- 19 I76 (,Birth-Brick')
dence') dSirsir
dnin-PA 171 ('a Seaman' 7)
171 ('the Lady Sceptre'); 19180 (or 'Lady sun
of the Sceptre'); 172 (interpretation); 173 174 ('the Wild-Cow')
(OSum) (giS)sar-gaz
dnin-pirig 174 (weapon of Ningirsu); 177+211
(giS)sar-ur
172 ('the Lady Lioness'); 174 (receives
174 (weapon of Ningirsu); 177+211
offerings; OSum)
dSara
dnin-rin4 (MUS x MUS) (_da)_ru(ku6)
173 ('the Falcon'; OSum)
172 ('the Lady (of 7) a fish or snail' 7);
dsem-ki
173f. (OSum)
172 ('the Incense')
dNin-sig4-tu( -Iamma) d
Sen
171 ('the Lady Birth-Brick (is) a Protec- 192102 (or dumbisag); 172 ('the Kettle');
tive Goddess') 193109 (=ruqqu; or read ddurlO, 'axe')
dnin-sun si<a-sag-5
193119 (referred to by sun alone in OSum 203234 ('five-headed mace', ritually washed)
PN); 172 ('the Lady Cow') dsu-kal
dnin-sara 173 ('the Wrestler'; OSum)

241
dSu-nir dUTUL-kul-aba4 42 (oflstaran i
l71 ('the Emblem') 193111 ('the Pot of Kulaba') ing Pole of th
dSu-nir-gal dutul12 IStaran)
19179 (emblem of Nanna) 172 ('the Shepherd') e-dur-an-ki
dsu-us-unug Uz s. uzud 162 ('House, I
172 ('the Chariot-Fighter of Uruk'); 192101 uzud(UZ)- TA R e-eden-na
(reading and interpretation) 173 ('the ... She-goat'; OSum) 163 ('House c
dza-ra e-engur-ra
sul-utul12
192103; 173 ('the Youth Shepherd') 173 ('the Door Pivot'; in OSum PN) 160 (,House I
dSum zu-si 163
l71 ('the Saw'); 19177 ('knife' also plau- 173 ('the Sheep Plucking'); 1951S2 (prob- e-gal-gu-la
ably place-name); 174 (connection with 16213 (Enzak'
sible)
dsum-ku rulers) e-gal-mab
18949 ('holy/shining/metal knife') 162 ('Huge p,
dsum-ku-babbar 3 TEMPLES e-galga-sii
18945 ('silver knife') 163 (,House g
dsum-ku-sigI7 agrun-lnanna s. e-nun-Inanna e-gasan-kalam-rr
18945 ('golden knife') an-ta-sur-ra 74 (perhaps 01
clsum-sal-Ia 163 e-gestu
19060 ('the thin (or broad?) knife') ba-gar 161 (,House, ,
dsus-clBa-ba6 163 (of Ningirsu in Lagas; interpretation e-gi6-par-imin-b
199197 ('a Shepherd (is?) Baba', or 'the uncertain) 162 (,House, (
Chariot-fighter of Baba'); 179 e / bttu Priestly Shrine
dtemen-ku 159 ('house', 'temple(-complex)', 'room' * e-gi r 14-zal-an -k
171 ('the Holy Foundation Peg') etc.); 164 (in PN's) 164 (,House, ~
dTUG-nun-na e-abzu Earth'; Mari; ,
173 ('the Princely Garment'; OSum) 163 ('House of the Subterranean Waters') e-gissu-bi-du lo-g
TUKUL.AN e-ad-gi4 -gi4 163 ('House \I
203234 ('divine weapon', ritually washed) 163 ('House giving Advice') e-gis-nu / nu II-ga
dub e-am-kur-kur-ra 163 (' Albaster
172 ('the Drum'); 193113 (or dUPIS) 165 ('House, Wild Bull of the Lands'; of
e-gu4-du7-sar
ubs-kll Enlil in Assur; name originally Sumerian)
160 ('House tl
173 ('Holy Drum(s)'; receive(s) offerings; e-amas-ku
e-be-ga1-kalam-n
OSum) 162 (,House, a Bright Sheepfold')
163 (,House, I
dud-gu-ra-ra e-an-na
e-bi-li
193107 ('the Storm') 66f.; 68; 77; 78 (Aramaic); 161 ('House
163 ('House 0
dud-gur of the Above, House of Heaven'; of An
e-bi-li-an-na
193107 ('the Storm') and Inanna in Uruk); 164 (in PN's)
71,74 ('House
dUD.TAK4.ALAN e-an-glm
of Nanaya in l
19 I84 (craftsman god) 160 ('House, like Heaven')
dUM.ljURlllllscn of Anu and Al
e-an-ki
18726 (in archaic Uruk) e-bi-li-diri-ga
172 ('a bird')
e-an-gim-ku-ga 74 (,House of:
dUmbisag
172 ('the Writer'); 192102 (or ciSe n) 160 ('House, Bright like Heaven') Nanaya in Uru
clumme(-da) e-bar6-bar6 e-bur-sag( -gal)-kl
172 ('the Wet-Nurse/Kindergartner') 160 ('Shinning/White House'); 161 (rela- 161 ('House t
usumgal-kalam-ma tion of TN to Utu); 164 (in PN's) Range of all t~
178 ('dragon of the land (Sumer)', name e-di-kus-kalam-ma sur); 164 (TN i
of Ningirsu's harp) 163 (,House, Judge of the Land'; relation e-i7-1u-ru- gu-kala
dUTUL to Utu) 162f. (,House,
172 ('the pot') e-dim-gal-kalam-ma e-ibbi-Anum

242
 42 (ofIStaran in Der); 163 CHouse, Moor- 77 (of Uras in Dilbat)
ing Pole of the Land'; relation to TN to e-iti-da
IStaran) 68f. ('House of the Month'; of Nanaya in
e-dur-an-ki Ur)
l62 ('House, Bond of Heaven and Earth') e-ki -tus-gal-an-na
e-eden-na 162 ('House, Great Abode of Heaven')
163 (,House of the Steppe') e-kis-nu-gal
e-engur-ra 163 (interpretation; 'House which is not
160 (,House of the Subterranean Sea'); Kis' ?)
e-kun4-an-ku-ga
l63
162 ('House, Staircase of Bright Heaven')
e-gal-gu-la
e-kur
16213 (Enzak's sanctuary on Failaka)
160 ('House, Mountain'); 161 (relation of
e-gal-mab
TN to Enlil)
162 ('Huge Palace') e-mab
e-galga-sll 160 (,Huge/Greatest House'); 161 (rela-
163 CHouse giving Extensive Counsel') tion of TN to mother goddess)
e-gasan-kalam-ma e-me-lims-bus
74 (perhaps of IStar of Arbela; rites) 162 (,House having Aweful Radiance')
e-gestu e-me-ur4 -ur4
161 ('House, Wisdom'; interpretation) 66f. (of Nanaya in Uruk); 75 ('House,
e-gi6-par-imin-bi which gathers the me's); 75141 (ofIStar in
162 ('House, (consisting) of Seven Larsa, of Nanaya in Uruk); 77 (offerings)
Priestly Shrines') e-dNa-na-ia
e-girl4 -zal-an-ki 61 (Uruk); 67; 72113
164 (,House, Splendor of Heaven and e-nad-Inanna
18726 (of Inanna in archaic Uruk)
Earth'; Mari; TN originally Sumerian)
e-nf-gal-su-I im-gur -ru
e-gissu-bi-dulo-ga
162 ('House bearing Great Awe (and) Ra-
163 ('House whose Shade is Good')
diance')
e-gis-nu / nu II-gal
e-ninnu
163 (' Albaster House') 1606 ('House, Fifty'; interpretation); 164
e-gu4 -du7-sar (in PN's)
160 ('House that ... s Perfect Oxen') e-nun / agrun-Inanna
e-be-gal-kalam-ma 18726 (of Inanna in archaic Uruk)
163 ('House, Abundance of the Land') (e- )sag
e-bi-li 16426 (s. Res)
163 ('House of Luxuriance') e-sag-fl
e-bi-li-an-na 73, 77 (Nanaya, daughter-in-law of e.);
71,74 (,House of the Luxuriance of Heaven'; 159 CHouse that Raises the Head'); 161
of Nanaya in Uruk); 77 (sacred marriage e-clsaman
of Anu and Antu in e.) 195147 (OSum Lagas)
e-bi-li-diri-ga e-sa-ga,
1941,9 (statues of 'inner quarters' receiv-
74 (,House of Surpassing Luxuriance'; of
ing offerings; OSum); 197182 (stelae of
Nanaya in Uruk)
e.)
e-bur -sage -gal )-kur -kur-ra
e-sa-bul-Ia
161 (,House being the (Big) Mountain
69 (of Nanaya in Larsa)
Range of all the Lands'; of Assur in As- e-sar-ra
sur); 164 (TN implies political programme?) 76 (in Assur houses chapel of Nanaya)
e- i7-1u-ru-gu-kalam- ma e-su-me-sa4
162f. ('House, Ordeal Ri ver of the Land') 163 (of Ninurta in Nippur; interpretation
e-ibbi-Anum uncertain)

243
 darTnllsen
e-temen-nf -gllr -ru 175 ('to dedicate ex voto'; OSum lists of
votives); 180f., 204247 (compound divine 172,196158 ('c
162 ('House, Awe-inspiring Foundation')
names primitive votive inscriptions) dar)
e-tur
abzul apsa di-ku5
197180 ('shepherd's pen'; recipient of of-
5f. (cosmic water; associated with Nudim- 163 ('judge'; e
ferings)
mud (Enki) in zami Hymn); 171 (dn a m- (di-qu5-gal d S(
e-tur-kalam-ma
abzu); 173 (ddi mgal-absu); 19191; s. dingir (digir)
70 (of the gods of Uruk)
sus - a b z u, e - a b z u 168 (divine de
e-ub-imin
ad-s34 times read); 1
160 (,House, Seven Corners/Niches')
8921 ('to croon'; 'to lament') 18617 (for culti
e-ur5-sa-ba agrig-dNanna 204250 (functio
75, 77f. ('House, Oracle of the Heart'; of 199198 ('steward of Nanna'; unpub. Ur III timated)
Nanaya in Borsippa and Babylon) figurine) dingir-kalam-ma-
e-zi-da alan 204265 (ruler a:
73, 75 (Nanaya in e.); 77 (Gazbaba and 172 (not deified in ED III); 172, 194139 dingir-numun-zi-:
Kanisurra daughters of e'/Nanaya) (receiving offerings; of rulers); 177+202
40 ('a god of I
es-gal ('mouth-opening' ritual; statues speak on
Ningiszida)
s. iri 12-gal behalf of donor; connection with ances-
dingir-ug5-ga
es-g;i6-zal teral worship); 180 (donations for upkeep
196167('slain g
63 of voti ve statue)
duh-Ial/ iskiiru
es-dlnanna alim-ma
193105 ('bee's
18726 (of Inanna in archaic Uruk) 102 ('bison'; Martu)
musa1na ling)
gi6-p a r I giptiru
3738 (loanword from Akkadian; 'viper') du-mu-sa6-e-ke4
62; s. e - g i6- par - i min - b i
an 65 ('sweet chil
ib (d)DUL(.DU) s.
162 (an-na, 'of above', 'of heaven'; in
66f. (oval temple of Nanaya)
TN's); 18945 (in X : AN.X in ED lexical dumu-an-na
iri l2-gal
texts not for 'tin' or 'iron'); s. m a-s u- 103 ('son of A
76 (of Nanaya and IStar in Uruk)
nir-an-na dumu-zi-Ie-an-gal
pa-pa\} 69 ('pleasing d;
AN.DULI salmu
64f. (cella, bedroom) 194124 ("statue'; spelled also (d)DUL.DU, aya)
Res DUL; s. dL u ~ a I-DUL.DU, 'the Lord dungu
77; 164 (genuinely Akkadian TN); s. Beltu- Statue'); 2042 6 (of Akkadian rulers) 193107('cloud':
sa-Res an-gal-ri-a el bttu
rfmum 10349 ('engendered by great An'; Martu) 159 ('house', 't
165 (of Assur in Assur; name originally an-ki etc.); 164 (in P
Akkadian) 162f. ('universe')
e-gal-ku4 -ra
sa-ga-a an-ku-se-tu-da
103 ('born from bright An'; Martu) 219 (magical ril
76 ('in the Midst'; chapel of Nanaya in
balag mon man)
Esarra)
195153 (in earlier texts 'harp'; onomato- egi-gu-la
ti-ra-as
poeic); 178 (names of harps of Ningirsu, 73123 ('great pr
163 ([tira'as]; interpretation uncertain)
Inanna, Gula, Ninibgal) egi-zi-da
u6-nir 73123 ('true pril
balag-fl
159 ('ziggurat') 176 (,carrier of the harp(s)'; ntis balamgi) en
bansur-an-na 185f.8 (i n PN's
4 WORDS 200207 ('table of An'; name of altar) en-sa-tum-a-gar
bar-si I sig s. bar-su 4069 ('lord of n
Sumerian bar-su ithet of Ningisz
19068 (ED III for bar - s i( - i g), bar - s i g,
endibx(ME.MU)
alma 'sash', 'shawl')
171 ('temple cc
130 (,waterlsemen'; in mythology of Enki) bulug4
171 ('chisel'; in ED III DN) engurlapsu
a-ru

244
 darnlUSell
6 (fifty Laamu's of e); s. e-engur-ra
172,196158 ('cock' in dl ugal-dar, dn i n- er-uru-nigin-na
dar) 62 (,wailing procession'; cult of Nanaya);
di-ku5 77 (late form of ritual)
163 (,judge'; epithet of Utu/Samas), cf. 5 erl girranum
(di-qu5-gal d SamaS) 63 (wailing rites; cult of Nanaya and other
dingir (digir) goddesses)
168 (divine determinative); 1856 (some- EREN+X
7
times read); 185 (not necessary); 169, 12 (sphinx-like monster accompanying boat
god)
18617 (forcultic symbols in Archaic Uruk);
ese-za-gln
204250 (function of determinative overes-
126 ('gleaming measuring line'; in hands
timated)
of Nissaba and lnanna)
dingir-kalam-ma-na
gag
204265 (ruler as 'god of his land') 9341 (vulva as 'wedge')
dingir-numun-zi-zi-da GAL.GA/GARA
40 ('a god of much good progeny', 19185 (leading person in dairy industry;
Ningiszida) ED L~i A 20)
dingir-ug5-ga gal:tur
196167 (,slain gods'; and NinurtalNingirsu) 93
192 ('leading person of the pen', ED L~i
duh-Ial I iskiiru A 28)
193105 ('bee's wax'; in ON; ED III spel- GALUN I KALAM.ak
ling) 19186 ('supervisor'; dgal-kalam)
du-mu-sa6-e-ke4 gal4-la
65 ('sweet child of the temple'; Nanaya) 93 ('vulva')
(d)OUL(.OU) s. AN.OUL gal
162 (,big'; in TN's)
dumu-an-na
gasan-gu-eden-na
103 ('son of An'; Martu, !Skur, Saman)
105 (lMlet ~eri; Gubarral Asratu); 10563
dumu-zi-le-an-gal-Ia
(Gestinanna)
69 ('pleasing daughter of great An'; Nan-
gi-dis-ninda
aya)
126 (measuring rod; in hand of Nissaba
dungu
and Inanna)
193107 ('cloud'; s. ddungaga, ddun-ga) girf-Ia
e I bltu 174 (dg an -g f r 'slaughterer' of Ningirsu)
159 ('house', 'temple( -complex)" 'room' glr-gub
etc.); 164 (in PN's) 12012 ('to be responsible for'; EWO 136)
e-gal-ku4-ra gis-nu II-gal
219 (magical ritual related to cult of com- 163 (,alabaster'; in TN e-)
mon man) gis-usan-mar-ka
egi-gu-la 1856 (,handle for cart-whip')
73123 ('great princess'; Nanaya) gi'gu-kak-gfd
egi-zi-da 176+191 ('spear' of Rasap; Elba)
73123 (,true princess'; Nanaya) gu-za-Ia-kur-ra
4063 (,chair-bearer of the netherworld',
en
Ningiszida)
I 85f.8 (in PN's substitute for ON)
gLI-de
en-sa-tum-a-gar
12015 ('to invoke', 'to call upon')
4069 (,lord of meadows and estates', ep-
gudu4
ithet of Ningiszida) 3849 (g. of Tispak on Akkadian Seal)
endibx(ME.MU) gudu4-abzu
17J (,temple cook'; in ON) 4389 (epithet of Nirab)
engur/apsu bi-li I kuzbu s. e-bi-li

245
 68, 70, 75 ('sensuality' of Nanaya); 94 206264 ('place of the favourable decisions'; 171 (,exorcist
('to feel good') in PN) me
hu-rf-in ki-zab s. nfg-ki-zab 119f. ('powers
, 3634 (denotes eagle part of mu,;;~u~'su) kingalx 123; 129 (ass
19186 (reading of GALUN/KALAM) 19190 (concepl
bur-sag-Mar-tu
kirll (MI.SILA4, SILA4.MI) fied professior
10236 (Jebel Bisri) 193119 (in third millennium sources; not
194129 (dynarr
bus MLUs=kirx)
162 (in TN's) object in whicl
ku.g mana or orenc
i-Iu 1605 ('white', 'bright', 'shining', 'holy',
8921 ('sad song', 'lamentation') me-lam
'scared', 'brand-new'); 162 ('bright'; 111
162 (read me-
ib TN's); 19178 (semantics; 'holy')
66f. (oval temple of Nanaya) me-Iims I lem4
kur-gal
igi-zi-bar 161 ('great mountain'; epithet of Enlil; 16215 (reading
202221 (in connection with election) 172 (dm e -I e I
relation to e - k u r)
me-ze
ildum I illatu kur-Mar-tu
194126 ('(social) group') 10236 (perhaps Jebel Bisri) 19290 (a sort c
kUS7 men
im-imin-na
103 ('seven winds'; of Martu) 192101 (and sus two different professions) 19067 (later sp
lal origin, cf. AkI<
im-ri-a-gu-gar-ra
193105 (ED III spelling with LAK 584, menx (GA x EN)
19290 (,gathering of the kin'); 194126 (dei-
fied group)
LAK 587 or LAK 588 uncertain) 19067 (older sl
lam-sag s. dlam-sag-za-gin menx-bar-su
in-nin-sag-fl
1592 ('lady raising the head')
ILl-alan 19068 (OSum
176 ('person in charge of the statue(s)')
mes-sagga (SAN
izi-da lu-bur-sag-ga
193108 (in dizi-da, 'the Warming Fire'; 19299 (professl
102 ('man of the hills'; Martu)
ED III spelling of i z i - tag - g a, iStital11 mf-mul-An
lu-ub5-kLl-ga
176 ('person in charge of the Holy Drum') 68 (,feminine
sita~~unu)
izi-tag s. izi-da lu-ub5-kll-ga-DU MI.SILA4 s. kil
ka-du8-ba I pit pI 198187 ('the person who stands beside the MI.U8(kirx) s. I
177f. (,mouth-opening' ritual; once a year Holy Drum') mu
for statue of deified Gudea); 20020S ('snarl- lugal 196162 ('name'
ing'); 178 (of 'kettledrum' in late ritual); 185f8 (in PN's substitute for ON); 194128 198196 (of ex
205232 (performed on a patient); 205252 (spelled n u - g a I in ED 1Il source?); 172f. Gudea Statues)
(in Egypt) (1.+ object in ED III ON's); 181ff. (deifi- uals; name of h
ka-1uh-ha I l11ispi cation of ruler; dlamma-I., dlamma- (importance of
177f.' (,mouth-washing' ritual); 201215 (of RN) mu-Iu-bur-sag-ga
a bull; of a torch in late rituals); 203232 lukur 102 ('man of t
182+268 (denomination of king's wife mu-I u- lSI -kum-rr
(performed on a patient)
changed from dam to lu k u r, originally 104 (epithet of
kalam
denoting wife of a god) mu-Iu-sfzkur-ra.k
162 ('the Land', 'Land Sumer'; in TN's);
ma-an-na 104 (epithet of
164 (political implication in TN's) 62 ('boat of Heaven', holiday; cult of
kas-de-a mu-Iu-za-ab-ba.k
Nanaya) 104 (lhel sapat
63f. (in cult of Nanaya) ma-dilmun
munus s. NU.N
ki-a-nag 18i8 (models)
177+201 (offerings for Gudea at his 'water "munzer (KIdNA
ma-su-nir-an-na
drinking place'; connection of ancestoral 18718 (in connection with ship-models in 19188 (Syllabic
worship with votive figurines) burials) interpretations)
ki_ki(l11uscn) mus-ama s. l11u
mah
172, 193177 (a bird; in ED III PN's) (62 ('huge', 'great', 'greatest'; in TN's) na-ri-unu-gal-Ia
mas-mas 4063 (,advisor c
ki-urs-sa6

246
 171 ('exorcist'; in ED III ON) nam-sita
me 199198 ('prayer'; 'offering', 'rite')
119f. ('powers'; in connection with Enki); nam/NAM
123; 129 (assonance with mu, 'water'); 171,19189 (dnam/nam-nir, 'the High
19190 (conceptual similarity between dei- Esteem'; older writing for 'lord', cf. dn i n-
fied profession/offices and list of m.); urta, var. Ab~ god list dnam-urta);
194129 (dynamistic power, as well as the 19291 (variation n a m / n in in Ed III); lnf.
object in which it focuses; compared with (n. + object in ED III DN's)
mana or orenda); 173 nf
me-lam 162 (in TN's)
nfg-ki-zab
162 (read me-lims)
62 ('provisions for the place of disappear-
me-lims / lem4
ance'; cult of Nanaya and other deities)
1621s (reading I i m5 instead of I am); 170;
nfg-mu lo-us-sa
In (dm e -I e m4)
107 ('marriage gifts', 'bride-price'); 10886
me-ze nln
19290 (a sort of sistrum) 19189,19291 (variation nam/nin in ED
men Ill); Inf. (in ED 1II ON's n i n + object)
19067 (later spelling of me nx; bisyllabic nin-bi-Ii
origin, cf. Akkadian me 'anum) 67, 69 ('lady of sensuality'; Nanaya)
men, (OAxEN) nin
19067 (older spelling of men) 18Sf8 (in PN's substitute for DN)
menx-bar-su nin-hi-li-a-su-du7
19068 (OSum Lagas; 'turban') 68 ('lady with perfect sensuality'; Nanaya)
mes-sagga (SANGA) nin-ki.k
43 ('lady of the earth'; in connection with
19299 (professional name)
snakes)
mf-mul-An
nin-ummeda-a
68 (,feminine star of An'; Nanaya)
67 ('lady nursemaid'; Nanaya)
Mf.SILA4 s. kirll 111
n 1115
Mf.Us(kirx) s. kirll 170, 19057 ('rushes'; in ED III ON, var.
mu Ebla n I-n is)
196162 ('name' of Stele of the Vultures); NU.NUS
198196 (of ex voto objects); 199198 (of 171,194125 (in dME.NU.NUS.-sa4; ES for
Gudea Statues); 177+207 (name giving rit- m u nus)
uals; name of human-headed bull); 178+2161 nun
(importance of names; of harps of deities) 171,19187 (in dgudu4-nun probably re-
mu-Iu-bur-sag-ga ferring to Enki)
102 ('man of the hills'; Martu) pa-pab
mu-Iu-ISI-kum-ma.k 64f. (cella, bedroom)
104 (epithet ofIjumunzer) pes
mu-Iu-sfzkur-ra.k 216f. ('three'; tertiary number system)
pirig /pirikku
104 (epithet of Saman)
363 (denotes lion part of l11ushus'su); 67
mu-Iu-za-ab-ba.k
(lion symbol for Nanaya); In d~p.- I a m m a,
104 (lbel sapat tamti; epithet of Subenuna)
ctp. _TUR, dn i n - p.)
munus s. NU.NUS
pisan /l!isannu
"munzer (KId NANNA) 192 9 (a kind of larger vessel or box, <
19 188 (Syllabic spelling mu-zi; different pi - s a g)
interpretations) sa-dull
mus-ama s. Illll'ama 180+
245
(offeri ngs for statues of gods or
na-ri-unu-gal-Ia votants)
4063 (,advisor of netherworld', Ningiszida) sag-fl

247
 1592 ('raising the head'; in e.-) 203231 ('to fashion' said of statues; for 62 ('waving
saman / summannu other objects d f m) aya)
104,17175 ('Lead-rope', 'Nose-rope', ON) gi'tukul zi-Ie
3843 (denotes 'mace' of Ninazu); 24 (em- 69 ('pleasin~
sig
196156 (refers to age in MI.Us-s i g, 'young blem of moon god) zil
ewe') tur 5914 ('to bel
4 ('sheep-pen'; in connection with zfl
sig4 -tu
AmausumgallDumuzi) 5914 ('to rna
171, 19176 ('Birth-Brick'; in DN's)
Us / rakabu
SILA4.MI s. kirll 12012 ('drive/steer', object me, 'powers')
sfzkur-e-gal Akkadian
Us
63 (in cult of Nanaya) 18616 (water bird of Nanse)
sfzkur-gu-Ia aban qabe u m,
us-bi
62 (in cult of Nanaya) 18616 ('goose/swan' of Nanse) 219 (improv
sfzkur- dSin us-ku-ga man and god
64 127 ('noble bird'; symbol of Nanse) abarakku
su-Iim u6-nir 3846 (Tispak
162 (in TN's) 159 ('ziqqurat') of Sea')
su-zi Us-sig apsu s. abzu;
162 (in TN's) 193119 ('(divine) young ewe', in EO III belet ~eri s. g
sa-si / su PN) bel mitrati
19063 ('to disembowel') ub 104 (epithet
195154 ('drum', older spelling u bs; cov- bel sade
sen
ered with a cow's hide) 102 ('lord of
193109 ('kettle'; ruqqu; in ON dsen read-
ubs (AB.KID, AB x KID) bel sapat tamti
ing uncertain) 195154 (older spelling of u b, 'drum') 104 (epithet I
su ud-dug-ga / uttuk~t bftu s. e / bftu
3734 ('paw' of mus~ussu dragon) 216,218 ('good days'; in hemerologies)
dii'ik sade
su-nir ud-kalag
19179 ('emblem'; symbolic weapon, or 104 (epithet I
216f. ('strong day'; in hemerologies)
dfk bftu
bearing emblematic animal); 1961S9 (ac- umun-ki-sur-ra.k
tual specimen, torso of copper bird in- 76 ('arousin~
104 (epithet of Subenuna)
scribed by Sulgi); 177 (Lugalkurdub as umun-slta-mab volving Nana
dipiiru
emblem); 202225 (emblem of Enlilnamed 104 (lbel mitrati; epithet of Subenuna)
19310S (,tord
Aba-Enlilgin, 'who is like Enlil'); 203234 ur-sao
(ritually washed); s. m a - s u -n i r - a n - n a 37~2 (Tispak 'warrior' of the gods); 39sS ellalu
na4 suba
(epithet of us u m dragon and other mon- 219 (a stone;
sters) etemmu
125f. (of Ninisina; sexual significance)
ur-sag-gal . 204249 (cult 0
SUM
102 ('great warrior'; Martu) of statues)
171, 19177 ('saw', 'knife'; in DN's)
ur-sag-ugs-ga girranum s. er
sus (IS)
196167 ('slain heroes'; and Ninurta/Ningir- ~urpalu
19io1 (and k u S7 two different profes-
su); 141f. (iconography) 3843 ('mace'
sions; syllabic spelling in OSum dS u - U s-
UtUl12 kuzbu s. bi-1i /
un u g; 'chariot-fighter'); 199197 (dS. - dB a- 172, 192103 ('sheperd'; in EO III DN's) lubustu
b a6) uz-sag-kur 77 (clothing
sus-abzu 104 (lmarkas mati; epithet of Saman)
(for statues (
192101 (=re'um, utulma~~um) uZll-du
early sources)
temen 10676 ('meat')
markas mati
16i6 (original meaning); 171, 1917s (Foun- zabar-del-ma-dilmun
dation Peg) 1871S (,bronze vessel (in shape of) a Oil-
ti-GIM s. dgfr_ti_GIM(urudLl) mun boat'); 175
tu zi-ga-ze-na

248
 62 ('waving of palm fronds'; cult of Nan- 104 (epithet of Saman)
aya) me'anu s. men
zi-Ie mls pf s. ka-Iub-ba
69 ('pleasing'; Nanaya) mu s. ainul
zil 129 (assonance with me, 'power')
5914 ('to be/make great') mullilu
zfl 140 ('purifier'; of fish-apkallu's)
5914 ('to make pleasing') muttallik sade
102 (epithet of Saman)
Akkadian naggaru
126
194 (Ninildumma is n. rabu sa Anu)
abcm qabe u magari namburbu
219 (improves communication between 219 (and popular cult)
man and god) ntiS balamgi s. balag-f1
abarakku niphu
3846 (Tispak is abarak Tiamtim, 'steward
v

5 (solar disk of Utu/Samas)

of Sea') pirikku s. pirig
apsu s. abzu; engur pisannu s. pisan
belet ~eri s. gasan-gu-eden-na pTt pf s. ka-dus-ba
bel mitrati qinnazu
104 (epithet of Subenuna) 7 (whip of ISkur/Adad)
bel sade rakabu s. Us I rakabu
102 (,lord of the mountains'; Martu) Jalmu s. AN.DOL
bel sapat tamti JilJatum
104 (epithet of Subenuna) 70 ('sexual joy'; Nanaya)
bltu s. el bltu sar kissatim
da'ik sade 164 ('king of the universe'; craving for
104 (epithet of bum u n z i r) unity in OB omens)
dfk bltu sassaru
76 ('arousing of the temple'; ritual In- 5 (saw of Utu/Samas)
volving Nanaya) sukenu
diparu 220 (prostration; in popular cult)
19310S ('torch'; dde-par < d.?) summannu s. saman
ellalu surinnu
219 (a stone; amuletic properties) 24 (emblem of moon god)
etemmu sutummu
. 204249 (cult of dead ancestors; deification 65 ('treasury'; where Nanaya sits)
of statues) takultu
girranum s. er 73 (ritual involving Nanaya)
lJurpalu tamsllu
3843 ('mace' of Tispak) 204
246
('likeness' presented by Akkadian
kuzbu s. bi-lil kuzbu rulers to various gods)
lubustu upu s. urpu
77 (clothing ritual for Nanaya); 203234 urpu
(for statues of deities and ancestors in 107
193 (dd u ngaga and dd un - ga = upu,
early sources) U., 'the Cloud')
markas mati uttuku s. ud-dug-ga

249