The Literature of Ancient Sumer

by Black, Jeremy; Cunningham, Graham; Robson, Eleanor; Zólyomi, Gábor

• ISBN13: 9780199296330
• ISBN10: 0199296332
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-06-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

These translations of Sumerian literature constitute the most comprehensive collection ever published of the world's earliest literature. The compositions in this book were mainly inscribed on clay tablets dating to the 18th century BCE, the period from which the most extensive literary records have been recovered. They encompass a wide range of different genres which will be familiar to modern readers, such as narrative myths, lyrical hymns, proverbs, and love poetry, as well as much that will be less familiar. The compositions provide a stimulating insight into the culture of the world's first urban civilization, as well as extending our understanding of literary strategies and of such universal themes as love, sex, political ambition, and our desire to explain the world to ourselves. The translations thus provide an opportunity to appreciate an ancient literature in terms both of its own identity and of its similarities to much that has followed.

Author Biography

Jeremy Black was University Lecturer in Akkadian and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford. Graham Cunningham is Researcher at the Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. Eleanor Robson is University Lecturer in History of Science and Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Gabor Zolyomi is Head of the Department of Assyriology and Hebrew Studies, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. x
How to use this book	p. xiii
Chronological table	p. xvii
Introduction	p. xix
The literature of ancient Sumer	p. xix
The tablets of ancient Sumer	p. xxx
The scribes of ancient Sumer	p. xl
The study of ancient Sumer	p. l
Further reading	p. lxii
Heroes and Kings	p. 1
Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana	p. 3
Lugalbanda in the mountain cave	p. 11
Lugalbanda and the Anzud bird	p. 22
Gilgames, Enkidu, and the Underworld	p. 31
Sargon and Ur-Zababa	p. 40
The building of Ningirsu's temple (extract)	p. 44
An adab to An for Lipit-Estar	p. 52
A prayer for Samsu-iluna	p. 54
The death of Ur-Namma	p. 56
Inana and Dumuzid	p. 63
Inana's descent to the Underworld	p. 65
Dumuzid's dream	p. 77
Ploughing with the jewels	p. 84
Dumuzid and Enkimdu	p. 86
A love song for Su-Suen	p. 88
Inana and Isme-Dagan	p. 90
A hymn to Inana	p. 92
Enlil and Ninlil	p. 100
Enlil and Ninlil	p. 102
Enlil and Sud	p. 106
Enlil and Nam-zid-tara	p. 112
Sulgi and Ninlil's barge	p. 113
The cursing of Agade	p. 116
The Moon-God Nanna-Suen	p. 126
The lament for Sumer and Urim	p. 127
A balbale to Nanna	p. 142
A sir-namgala to Nanna	p. 144
The herds of Nanna	p. 145
Nanna-Suen's journey to Nibru	p. 147
The Warrior Gods Nergal, Numusda, and Ninurta	p. 155
The dedication of an axe to Nergal	p. 157
An adab to Nergal for Su-ilisu	p. 158
A hymn to Numusda for Sin-iqisam	p. 161
Ninurta's exploits	p. 163
Ninurta's return to Nibru	p. 181
A balbale to Ninurta	p. 186
Love and Sex	p. 188
Lu-digira's message to his mother	p. 190
A lullaby for a son of Sulgi	p. 193
A tigi to Nintud-Aruru	p. 195
Inana and Su-kale-tuda	p. 197
A love song for Isme-Dagan	p. 205
A balbale to Inana and Dumuzid	p. 206
The Natural Order	p. 210
The Flood story	p. 212
Enki and the world order	p. 215
The debate between Sheep and Grain	p. 225
The debate between Bird and Fish	p. 230
The heron and the turtle	p. 235
The home of the fish	p. 240
The Hymnic Genres	p. 245
An adab to Bau for Isme-Dagan	p. 247
A balbale to Ningiszida	p. 250
A kungar to Inana and Dumuzid	p. 252
A sir-gida to Ninisina	p. 254
A sir-namgala to Ninisina for Lipit-Estar	p. 257
A sir-namsub to Utu	p. 259
A sir-namursaga to Inana for Iddin-Dagan	p. 262
A sir-sag-hula to Damgalnuna	p. 269
A tigi to Enki for Ur-Ninurta	p. 270
An ululumama to Suen for Ibbi-Suen	p. 272
Scribes and Learning	p. 275
A supervisor's advice to a young scribe	p. 277
Letter from Nabi-Enlil to Ilum-puzura	p. 281
Proverbs: collection 25	p. 282
The instructions of Suruppag	p. 284
A hymn to Nisaba	p. 292
A hymn to Haia for Rim-Sin	p. 294
A hymn to Ninkasi	p. 297
The Decad, a Scribal Curriculum	p. 299
Literary catalogue from Nibru	p. 301
A praise poem of Sulgi	p. 304
A praise poem of Lipit-Estar	p. 308
The song of the hoe	p. 311
The exaltation of Inana	p. 315
Enlil in the E-kur	p. 320
The Kes temple hymn	p. 325
Enki's journey to Nibru	p. 330
Inana and Ebih	p. 334
A hymn to Nungal	p. 339
Gilgames and Huwawa	p. 343
Other thematic groupings	p. 353
Index of compositions by ETCSL catalogue number	p. 358
Glossary of Sumerian names	p. 360
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