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Our dance is trance, Paint my eyes red, Lips slightly parted, wet iron and ash, I breathe you out, You hold me in, One move, one cut, thousand more, they fold, mother soaks, stars behind open eyes, every drop marks our path. Hands melt in hours, body warm, stone of yours Twin snakes of bones, dance of souls. Not mine or yours. Chameleon daggers, battle stars, morning awaits, dusk to dust cover us. Witness of the Moon, child of Bloom, Legit forged in battle, Take by two, left as one Sacred kingdom of sun, Grey of food, black fruit: sweetness of soul, Drip on my chin, flow free in chant. Now altar of yours. I eat your rage, take your blade, Feed my hunger, tear apart, clothes torn, ripped wings, morning sparks. That's when you rule, I give my body, will is yours, till the next night... When blade of hunger comes. Gold and red, skins are shred. Breath the earth as I demand. Crescent moons, between knees, ringed sun, crowned path. I touch ruby and emerald, Became a prism, to peel the sun. My voice is river, your body is the current. Mountains of will around, shoulder blades to hold, tells a story of the old. Now we curve into one again, Fed for good, left to loose, Eyes became mouth, spreads us. Freedom of day and night, Felt more sacred, than one of the eye. Other is turned to whisper of trust. Pantheon without us. How could they bear that was told Laws became our holds. Until we meet again: in echoes, breathes. Not day and night, but warmth and light.
0
Sep 7, 2025
Sep 7, 2025 at 9:52 AM UTC
ist-one
Altar of Ishtar
Our dance is trance, Paint my eyes red, Lips slightly parted, wet iron and ash, I breathe you out, You hold me in, One move, one cut, thousand more, they fold, mother soaks, stars behind open eyes, every drop marks our path. Hands melt in hours, body warm, stone of yours Twin snakes of bones, dance of souls. Not mine or yours. Chameleon daggers, battle stars, morning awaits, dusk to dust cover us. Witness of the Moon, child of Bloom, Legit forged in battle, Take by two, left as one Sacred kingdom of sun, Grey of food, black fruit: sweetness of soul, Drip on my chin, flow free in chant. Now altar of yours. I eat your rage, take your blade, Feed my hunger, tear apart, clothes torn, ripped wings, morning sparks. That's when you rule, I give my body, will is yours, till the next night... When blade of hunger comes. Gold and red, skins are shred. Breath the earth as I demand. Crescent moons, between knees, ringed sun, crowned path. I touch ruby and emerald, Became a prism, to peel the sun. My voice is river, your body is the current. Mountains of will around, shoulder blades to hold, tells a story of the old. Now we curve into one again, Fed for good, left to loose, Eyes became mouth, spreads us. Freedom of day and night, Felt more sacred, than one of the eye. Other is turned to whisper of trust. Pantheon without us. How could they bear that was told Laws became our holds. Until we meet again: in echoes, breathes. Not day and night, but warmth and light.
Continue reading...
63
When I wake up, it is void. Then the room unfolds around me – a cold stroke of reality. It brushes my skin, crawling up my legs, slowly warming as it spreads. A hand, unseen, caresses reality into my chest. It straddles me, then softly grips my neck. The pulse in my ears – slow – becomes the drums of war, calling a name: Ishtar. It’s time. Breathe for me, sweat for me. Let the footsteps of your fight feed the ground. Soak it in my will – become my altar. Your sword bears my truth. Crescent moons – my mark – cover your back. Eight-pointed stars – my sign – won’t leave you in the dark.
0
Sep 4, 2025
Sep 4, 2025 at 8:59 AM UTC
ist-one
Every Day is War - Ishtar
When I wake up, it is void. Then the room unfolds around me – a cold stroke of reality. It brushes my skin, crawling up my legs, slowly warming as it spreads. A hand, unseen, caresses reality into my chest. It straddles me, then softly grips my neck. The pulse in my ears – slow – becomes the drums of war, calling a name: Ishtar. It’s time. Breathe for me, sweat for me. Let the footsteps of your fight feed the ground. Soak it in my will – become my altar. Your sword bears my truth. Crescent moons – my mark – cover your back. Eight-pointed stars – my sign – won’t leave you in the dark.
Continue reading...
33
Love not the empress curve of your cheek, The many-storied, empty ziggurat of belief, The man-handled, baked brick built so high, Your grotty thighs are pasted with all your lovers, Your lacquered heart is glazed by luminous grief, Head-bearer of broken vases as your crown, Filled with dry dust from liquid stars.
0
Aug 12, 2020
Aug 12, 2020 at 11:04 PM UTC
ChrisSaitta
The Sumerian Goddess Grows Old
Love not the empress curve of your cheek, The many-storied, empty ziggurat of belief, The man-handled, baked brick built so high, Your grotty thighs are pasted with all your lovers, Your lacquered heart is glazed by luminous grief, Head-bearer of broken vases as your crown, Filled with dry dust from liquid stars.
Continue reading...
7
Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. Her bio appears after her poems, and it is a fascinating bio... Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain, dark like a mother's womb... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair stands on end as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fine-eyed fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's Holy One, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Gishbanda, Ningishzida The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Untitled Heresies: The ur Poems & GAUD said, “Let there be LIGHT VERSE to illuminate the ‘nature’ of my Curse!” —michael r. burch reverse the Curse with LIGHT VERSE! recant the cant with an illuminating chant ,etc. —michael r. burch Can the darkness of Christianity with its “eternal hell” be repealed via humor? It’s time to recant the cant, please pardon the puns. if ur GAUD is good, half the Bible is libel. —michael r. burch Christianity replaces Santa Claus with Jesus, so swell, and coal, ashes and soot with an “eternal hell.” —Michael R. Burch day eight of the Divine Plan by michael r. burch the earth’s a-stir with a GAUDLY whirr... the L(AWE)D’s been creatin’! com(men)ce t’ matin’! hatch lotsa babies he’ll infect with rabies then ban from college for seekin’ knowledge like curious eve! dear chilluns, don’t grieve, be(lie)ve the Deceiver! (never ask why ur Cupid wanted eve stupid, animalistic, and naked.) ah-men! Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 6:08 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 42" translation
Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. Her bio appears after her poems, and it is a fascinating bio... Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain, dark like a mother's womb... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair stands on end as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fine-eyed fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's Holy One, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Gishbanda, Ningishzida The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Untitled Heresies: The ur Poems & GAUD said, “Let there be LIGHT VERSE to illuminate the ‘nature’ of my Curse!” —michael r. burch reverse the Curse with LIGHT VERSE! recant the cant with an illuminating chant ,etc. —michael r. burch Can the darkness of Christianity with its “eternal hell” be repealed via humor? It’s time to recant the cant, please pardon the puns. if ur GAUD is good, half the Bible is libel. —michael r. burch Christianity replaces Santa Claus with Jesus, so swell, and coal, ashes and soot with an “eternal hell.” —Michael R. Burch day eight of the Divine Plan by michael r. burch the earth’s a-stir with a GAUDLY whirr... the L(AWE)D’s been creatin’! com(men)ce t’ matin’! hatch lotsa babies he’ll infect with rabies then ban from college for seekin’ knowledge like curious eve! dear chilluns, don’t grieve, be(lie)ve the Deceiver! (never ask why ur Cupid wanted eve stupid, animalistic, and naked.) ah-men! Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
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Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Zabalam, Inanna, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise!
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 6:05 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 26" translation
Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Zabalam, Inanna, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise!
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Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Saragon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Sirara, Nanshe, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 6:02 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 22" translation
Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Saragon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Sirara, Nanshe, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
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Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Enheduanna, the daughter of King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur.  Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Badtibira, Dumuzi, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
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Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:57 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 17" translation
Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Enheduanna, the daughter of King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is one of the first women we know by name. She was high priestess of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur.  Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Badtibira, Dumuzi, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
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Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains! ... Ninhursag was the goddess of nature and animals, both wild and tame. She was also the goddess of the womb and form-shaping. And she was the patron deity of Kesh. This page contains modern English translations of a number of poems written by Enheduanna: "The Exaltation of Inanna" "Hymn to Inanna" "Lament to the Spirit of War" and several Temple Hymns Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history, the first known author of prayers and hymns, and the first librarian and anthologist. Enheduanna was an innovator, doing things that had never been done before, as she said herself: These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, Inanna, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. —Enheduanna, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. Far ahead of her time, Enheduanna reigned supreme as the greatest female poet until she (finally!) had serious competition with the births, more than 1500 years later, of poets like Sappho of ****** Erinna, Korinna (all three circa 600 BCE), Tzu Yeh, Sui Hui, Anyte of Tegea, Sulpicia, Zu Hui and Ono no Komachi. "You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil!" Enheduanna was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess! —Enheduanna, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. She was also the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook, and the first poet to write in the first person. Her Sumerian Temple Hymns was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed in closing: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." Today poems and songs are still being assembled via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as I explain in the notes that follow my translations of her poems.—MRB Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain, dark like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair stands on end as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fine-eyed fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's Holy One, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Ningishzida was a deity of the Netherworld: he was the chair-bearer who carried notable persons to their destination. The ancient Sumerians believed the Netherworld was set deep in the mountains, so a mountain shrine was perhaps a "natural" for Ningishzida. The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts Nin-me-šara by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady arrayed in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, Inanna, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day has become favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carries herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! [Earlier Version] Lady of all divine powers, Lady of the all-resplendent light, Righteous Lady clothed in heavenly radiance, Beloved Lady of An and Uraš, Mistress of heaven with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess, Powerful Mistress who has seized all seven divine powers, My lady, you are the guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the divine powers, You hold the divine powers in your hand, You have gathered up the divine powers, You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! Like a dragon you have spewed venom on foreign lands that know you not! When you roar like Iškur at the earth, nothing can withstand you! Like a flood descending on alien lands, O Powerful One of heaven and earth, you will teach them to fear Inanna! Excerpt from “Hymn to Inanna” aka “Inanna C.” by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Great-hearted Mistress, wild rambunctious Lady, exalted among the Anuna, exalted in all lands, great Daughter of Nanna, eminent among the Igigi gods, magnificent Lady who gathers the divine powers of heaven and earth, who rivals even An, mightiest among the great gods! She who rules the gods and makes their verdicts final as the Anuna gods crawl before her, fearing her perilous word. She whose intentions confound even An, yet he dare not countermand her. She reverses course but no one knows when or why. She perfects the great divine powers; she seizes the shepherd's crook and assumes command. No one questions her magnificence, her preeminence. Like a mighty shackle she constrains the gods. Her splendor shrouds the mountains, makes crooked roads straight. Her bellows fill lesser gods with fear. Her howls make the Anuna gods tremble like reeds. Hearing her roars, they hide together. Without Inanna, An makes no decisions, Enlil decrees no destinies. Who questions a Queen who towers over mountains? Wherever she speaks, cities become ruins and haunts for ghosts, shrines become wastes. When her wrath makes people tremble, the fever and distress they feel are like a man caught in the coils of an ulu demon. Temple Hymn 1: an Excerpt to E-Abzu, the Temple of Enki in Eridu by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch House of the Ziggurat, sprouted from heaven and earth! Great hall of Eridu, foundation of heaven and earth! Deep-sea shrine built for your Lord, by the sacred canals! Yours is the Ziggurat, the shrine that reaches heaven! Lord Enki holds court in your House of subterranean waters, takes his seat upon your throne! Temple Hymn 2: an Excerpt to E-Kur, the Temple of Enlil in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Great House of the Mountain, shrine where destinies are determined. Foundation of your high-raised Ziggurat, home of Enlil. Your door beam is a mountaintop pinnacle, your pilasters summits. Your base is rooted in heaven and earth, and serves them both. Your lord, the great lord Enlil, the good lord, the lord of limitless heaven, the god who determines destinies, the Great Mountain Enlil, has erected his house in your holy court and taken his seat on your dais. Temple Hymn 3 to E-Kiur, the Temple of Ninlil in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch (Ninlil was Enlil’s consort and her shrine in Nippur was also called the House of Tummal.) O Tummal, deemed exceedingly worthy by the divine powers, inspiring awe and dread! Formidable foundation, your radiance spans the abzu. Ancient city, your marshlands remain green with mature reeds and new shoots. Your interior, a mountain of plenteous abundance. For your New Year’s feasts, you are wondrously adorned, as the great queen of Kiur stands as Enlil’s equal. Your lady, mother Ninlil, beloved wife of Enlil, has erected her house in your holy court, O House of Tummal, and has taken her place upon your dais. Temple Hymn 4: an Excerpt to E-melem-huc, the Temple of Nuska in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch (Nuska was Enlil’s servant and divine vizier.) O house of furious radiance, wrapped in terrifying light. Magnificent shrine, assigned the divine powers by heaven. Treasury of Enlil, founded by the divine powers. Worthy of nobility, your noble head exalted in princeship, counselor of E-kur. Your rampart like a huge horn. Your house, the platform of heaven. In the River Ordeal, where great judgments are rendered and mighty suits settled, your verdicts allow the righteous to live but consign evil hearts to final darkness. *** River Ordeal, we require your wisdom. Only you know, in your turbulent depths, the heart of this maiden, or sorceress, whether she is pure or full of mischief. Thus we have bound her hands and feet. Only you can free her, if she is innocent. Surely the gods would not let us drown an innocent girl! River Ordeal, we require your wisdom. —Michael R. Burch Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains! ... NOTE: Ninhursag was the goddess of nature and animals, wild and tame. She was also the goddess of the womb and form-shaping. And she was the patron deity of Kesh. Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? NOTES The name En-hedu-anna, probably either a title or adopted, was apparently compiled from "En" (Chief Priest or Priestess), "hedu" (Ornament) and "Ana" (of Heaven). She was considered to be the Ornament of Heaven. Enheduanna was the first royal daughter known to have been given the title "En" in a line that would extend for five hundred years. Enheduanna would serve as En, or High Priestess, during the reigns of her father Sargon, her brother Rimush, and perhaps under his successors Manishtushu and Naram-Sin. Sumerian literature is the earliest known human literature and the Sumerian language is the oldest language for which writing exists. Enheduanna is the first named Sumerian writer, and thus she is the first writer known by name in human history. She also read and wrote Akkadian. William Hallo called her the Shakespeare of her time. Enheduanna may have been the first feminist, or at least the first feminist we know by name. In one of her poems the goddess Inanna kills An, the former chief deity in the Mesopotamian pantheon, and thus becomes the supreme leader of the gods. It seems Enheduanna may have "promoted" a local female deity to the Queen of Heaven. Might this be considered the first feminist poem? Was Enheduanna commenting on the male-dominated society in which she lived, and perhaps even "projecting" her wishes on male rivals, to some degree? Enheduanna may have been something of a propagandist and self-promoter. Sargon the Great appears to have ruled over a larger empire and more people than anyone before him. Getting everyone to believe in the same supreme deity would have helped him consolidate his gains, since he ruled over a large, diverse and expanding empire. Also, by promoting her personal goddess to the position of chief deity, Enheduanna could have enhanced her own position, influence and power. To have been the high priestess of a goddess whom "nothing can withstand" and who "loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess" would have proved very convenient, indeed, in power struggles! It is believed that Enheduanna's petitionary prayers influenced the psalms of the Hebrew Bible, the epics of Homer, and Christian hymns. Experts have noted that the Sumerian gods seemed more compassionate and more embracing of all people after Enheduanna, than before her ministrations. Enheduanna organized and presided over Ur's temple complex, until an attempted coup by a Sumerian rebel named Lugal-Ane forced her into exile. According to William W. Hallo and J.J.A. van Dijk, a man named Lugalanne or Lugalanna "played a role" in the great revolt against Naram-Sin (the grandson of Sargon). In one of her poems Enheduanna prayed for An to "undo" her fate. (Was this before she wrote the poem in which Inanna killed An?) Apparently the prayer worked and Enheduanna was restored to her position as high priestess of Inanna. She served in that role for around 40 years. After her death, she became a minor deity herself. Enheduanna is best known for her poems Inninsagurra, Ninmesarra and Inninmehusa, which translate as "The Great-Hearted Mistress," "The Exaltation of Inanna" and "The Goddess of the Fearsome Powers." All three are hymns to the goddess Inanna. Inanna would later be associated with Ishtar, Astarte and Aphrodite. Inanna was the goddess of love, beauty, *** desire, fertility, war, combat, justice and political power. Amazingly, we have a depiction of the first poet/anthologist, because in 1927 the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley found the now-famous Enheduanna calcite disc in his excavations of Ur. The disc is circular, perhaps mean to represent the moon. It shows four people entering the ziggurat of Ur. Inscriptions on the disc identify the four figures: Enheduanna, her estate manager Adda, her hair dresser Ilum Palilis, and her scribe Sagadu. The royal inscription on the disc reads: "Enheduanna, zirru-priestess, wife of the god Nanna, daughter of Sargon, king of the world, in the temple of the goddess Inanna." The figure of Enheduanna is placed prominently on the disc emphasizing her importance in relation to the others and, further, her position of great power and influence over the culture of her time. Enheduanna is larger and more ornately dressed than the men on the disc, speaking of her prominence. Her name is inscribed on the back of the disc. Related pages: Sappho of ****** The Best Translations of Michael R. Burch, Poems for Poets The HyperTexts Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Ninhursag, Kesh, Aratta
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Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:52 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 7" translation
Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains! ... Ninhursag was the goddess of nature and animals, both wild and tame. She was also the goddess of the womb and form-shaping. And she was the patron deity of Kesh. This page contains modern English translations of a number of poems written by Enheduanna: "The Exaltation of Inanna" "Hymn to Inanna" "Lament to the Spirit of War" and several Temple Hymns Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history, the first known author of prayers and hymns, and the first librarian and anthologist. Enheduanna was an innovator, doing things that had never been done before, as she said herself: These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, Inanna, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. —Enheduanna, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. Far ahead of her time, Enheduanna reigned supreme as the greatest female poet until she (finally!) had serious competition with the births, more than 1500 years later, of poets like Sappho of ****** Erinna, Korinna (all three circa 600 BCE), Tzu Yeh, Sui Hui, Anyte of Tegea, Sulpicia, Zu Hui and Ono no Komachi. "You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil!" Enheduanna was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess! —Enheduanna, loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. She was also the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook, and the first poet to write in the first person. Her Sumerian Temple Hymns was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed in closing: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." Today poems and songs are still being assembled via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as I explain in the notes that follow my translations of her poems.—MRB Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain, dark like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair stands on end as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fine-eyed fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's Holy One, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Ningishzida was a deity of the Netherworld: he was the chair-bearer who carried notable persons to their destination. The ancient Sumerians believed the Netherworld was set deep in the mountains, so a mountain shrine was perhaps a "natural" for Ningishzida. The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts Nin-me-šara by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady arrayed in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, Inanna, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day has become favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carries herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! [Earlier Version] Lady of all divine powers, Lady of the all-resplendent light, Righteous Lady clothed in heavenly radiance, Beloved Lady of An and Uraš, Mistress of heaven with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess, Powerful Mistress who has seized all seven divine powers, My lady, you are the guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the divine powers, You hold the divine powers in your hand, You have gathered up the divine powers, You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! Like a dragon you have spewed venom on foreign lands that know you not! When you roar like Iškur at the earth, nothing can withstand you! Like a flood descending on alien lands, O Powerful One of heaven and earth, you will teach them to fear Inanna! Excerpt from “Hymn to Inanna” aka “Inanna C.” by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Great-hearted Mistress, wild rambunctious Lady, exalted among the Anuna, exalted in all lands, great Daughter of Nanna, eminent among the Igigi gods, magnificent Lady who gathers the divine powers of heaven and earth, who rivals even An, mightiest among the great gods! She who rules the gods and makes their verdicts final as the Anuna gods crawl before her, fearing her perilous word. She whose intentions confound even An, yet he dare not countermand her. She reverses course but no one knows when or why. She perfects the great divine powers; she seizes the shepherd's crook and assumes command. No one questions her magnificence, her preeminence. Like a mighty shackle she constrains the gods. Her splendor shrouds the mountains, makes crooked roads straight. Her bellows fill lesser gods with fear. Her howls make the Anuna gods tremble like reeds. Hearing her roars, they hide together. Without Inanna, An makes no decisions, Enlil decrees no destinies. Who questions a Queen who towers over mountains? Wherever she speaks, cities become ruins and haunts for ghosts, shrines become wastes. When her wrath makes people tremble, the fever and distress they feel are like a man caught in the coils of an ulu demon. Temple Hymn 1: an Excerpt to E-Abzu, the Temple of Enki in Eridu by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch House of the Ziggurat, sprouted from heaven and earth! Great hall of Eridu, foundation of heaven and earth! Deep-sea shrine built for your Lord, by the sacred canals! Yours is the Ziggurat, the shrine that reaches heaven! Lord Enki holds court in your House of subterranean waters, takes his seat upon your throne! Temple Hymn 2: an Excerpt to E-Kur, the Temple of Enlil in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Great House of the Mountain, shrine where destinies are determined. Foundation of your high-raised Ziggurat, home of Enlil. Your door beam is a mountaintop pinnacle, your pilasters summits. Your base is rooted in heaven and earth, and serves them both. Your lord, the great lord Enlil, the good lord, the lord of limitless heaven, the god who determines destinies, the Great Mountain Enlil, has erected his house in your holy court and taken his seat on your dais. Temple Hymn 3 to E-Kiur, the Temple of Ninlil in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch (Ninlil was Enlil’s consort and her shrine in Nippur was also called the House of Tummal.) O Tummal, deemed exceedingly worthy by the divine powers, inspiring awe and dread! Formidable foundation, your radiance spans the abzu. Ancient city, your marshlands remain green with mature reeds and new shoots. Your interior, a mountain of plenteous abundance. For your New Year’s feasts, you are wondrously adorned, as the great queen of Kiur stands as Enlil’s equal. Your lady, mother Ninlil, beloved wife of Enlil, has erected her house in your holy court, O House of Tummal, and has taken her place upon your dais. Temple Hymn 4: an Excerpt to E-melem-huc, the Temple of Nuska in Nippur by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch (Nuska was Enlil’s servant and divine vizier.) O house of furious radiance, wrapped in terrifying light. Magnificent shrine, assigned the divine powers by heaven. Treasury of Enlil, founded by the divine powers. Worthy of nobility, your noble head exalted in princeship, counselor of E-kur. Your rampart like a huge horn. Your house, the platform of heaven. In the River Ordeal, where great judgments are rendered and mighty suits settled, your verdicts allow the righteous to live but consign evil hearts to final darkness. *** River Ordeal, we require your wisdom. Only you know, in your turbulent depths, the heart of this maiden, or sorceress, whether she is pure or full of mischief. Thus we have bound her hands and feet. Only you can free her, if she is innocent. Surely the gods would not let us drown an innocent girl! River Ordeal, we require your wisdom. —Michael R. Burch Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains! ... NOTE: Ninhursag was the goddess of nature and animals, wild and tame. She was also the goddess of the womb and form-shaping. And she was the patron deity of Kesh. Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? NOTES The name En-hedu-anna, probably either a title or adopted, was apparently compiled from "En" (Chief Priest or Priestess), "hedu" (Ornament) and "Ana" (of Heaven). She was considered to be the Ornament of Heaven. Enheduanna was the first royal daughter known to have been given the title "En" in a line that would extend for five hundred years. Enheduanna would serve as En, or High Priestess, during the reigns of her father Sargon, her brother Rimush, and perhaps under his successors Manishtushu and Naram-Sin. Sumerian literature is the earliest known human literature and the Sumerian language is the oldest language for which writing exists. Enheduanna is the first named Sumerian writer, and thus she is the first writer known by name in human history. She also read and wrote Akkadian. William Hallo called her the Shakespeare of her time. Enheduanna may have been the first feminist, or at least the first feminist we know by name. In one of her poems the goddess Inanna kills An, the former chief deity in the Mesopotamian pantheon, and thus becomes the supreme leader of the gods. It seems Enheduanna may have "promoted" a local female deity to the Queen of Heaven. Might this be considered the first feminist poem? Was Enheduanna commenting on the male-dominated society in which she lived, and perhaps even "projecting" her wishes on male rivals, to some degree? Enheduanna may have been something of a propagandist and self-promoter. Sargon the Great appears to have ruled over a larger empire and more people than anyone before him. Getting everyone to believe in the same supreme deity would have helped him consolidate his gains, since he ruled over a large, diverse and expanding empire. Also, by promoting her personal goddess to the position of chief deity, Enheduanna could have enhanced her own position, influence and power. To have been the high priestess of a goddess whom "nothing can withstand" and who "loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess" would have proved very convenient, indeed, in power struggles! It is believed that Enheduanna's petitionary prayers influenced the psalms of the Hebrew Bible, the epics of Homer, and Christian hymns. Experts have noted that the Sumerian gods seemed more compassionate and more embracing of all people after Enheduanna, than before her ministrations. Enheduanna organized and presided over Ur's temple complex, until an attempted coup by a Sumerian rebel named Lugal-Ane forced her into exile. According to William W. Hallo and J.J.A. van Dijk, a man named Lugalanne or Lugalanna "played a role" in the great revolt against Naram-Sin (the grandson of Sargon). In one of her poems Enheduanna prayed for An to "undo" her fate. (Was this before she wrote the poem in which Inanna killed An?) Apparently the prayer worked and Enheduanna was restored to her position as high priestess of Inanna. She served in that role for around 40 years. After her death, she became a minor deity herself. Enheduanna is best known for her poems Inninsagurra, Ninmesarra and Inninmehusa, which translate as "The Great-Hearted Mistress," "The Exaltation of Inanna" and "The Goddess of the Fearsome Powers." All three are hymns to the goddess Inanna. Inanna would later be associated with Ishtar, Astarte and Aphrodite. Inanna was the goddess of love, beauty, *** desire, fertility, war, combat, justice and political power. Amazingly, we have a depiction of the first poet/anthologist, because in 1927 the British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley found the now-famous Enheduanna calcite disc in his excavations of Ur. The disc is circular, perhaps mean to represent the moon. It shows four people entering the ziggurat of Ur. Inscriptions on the disc identify the four figures: Enheduanna, her estate manager Adda, her hair dresser Ilum Palilis, and her scribe Sagadu. The royal inscription on the disc reads: "Enheduanna, zirru-priestess, wife of the god Nanna, daughter of Sargon, king of the world, in the temple of the goddess Inanna." The figure of Enheduanna is placed prominently on the disc emphasizing her importance in relation to the others and, further, her position of great power and influence over the culture of her time. Enheduanna is larger and more ornately dressed than the men on the disc, speaking of her prominence. Her name is inscribed on the back of the disc. Related pages: Sappho of ****** The Best Translations of Michael R. Burch, Poems for Poets The HyperTexts Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Ninhursag, Kesh, Aratta
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The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines, an Excerpt Nin-me-šara by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers, Lady of the all-resplendent light, Righteous Lady clothed in heavenly radiance, Beloved Lady of An and Uraš, Mistress of heaven with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess, Powerful Mistress who has seized all seven divine powers, My lady, you are the guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the divine powers, You hold the divine powers in your hand, You have gathered up the divine powers, You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! Like a dragon you have spewed venom on foreign lands that know you not! When you roar like Iškur at the earth, nothing can withstand you! Like a flood descending on alien lands, O Powerful One of heaven and earth, you will teach them to fear Inanna! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:48 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "The Exaltation of Inanna" translation
The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines, an Excerpt Nin-me-šara by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers, Lady of the all-resplendent light, Righteous Lady clothed in heavenly radiance, Beloved Lady of An and Uraš, Mistress of heaven with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her high priestess, Powerful Mistress who has seized all seven divine powers, My lady, you are the guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the divine powers, You hold the divine powers in your hand, You have gathered up the divine powers, You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! Like a dragon you have spewed venom on foreign lands that know you not! When you roar like Iškur at the earth, nothing can withstand you! Like a flood descending on alien lands, O Powerful One of heaven and earth, you will teach them to fear Inanna! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns
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Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. Her bio appears after her poems, and it is a fascinating bio... Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair raises as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's holy one, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Gishbanda, Ningishzida The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:43 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Temple Hymn 15" translation
Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. Her bio appears after her poems, and it is a fascinating bio... Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair raises as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's holy one, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Gishbanda, Ningishzida The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
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Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair raises as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's holy one, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
0
Apr 3, 2020
Apr 3, 2020 at 5:34 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
Enheduanna "Lament to the Spirit of War" translation
Lament to the Spirit of War by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch You hack down everything you see, War God! Rising on fearsome wings you rush to destroy our land: raging like thunderstorms, howling like hurricanes, screaming like tempests, thundering, raging, ranting, drumming, whiplashing whirlwinds! Men falter at your approaching footsteps. Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair. Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land: growling over the earth like thunder, vegetation collapsing before you, blood gushing down mountainsides. Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance! ********** of heaven and earth! Your ferocious fire consumes our land. Whipping your stallion with furious commands, you impose our fates. You triumph over all human rites and prayers. Who can explain your tirade, why you carry on so? Temple Hymn 15 to the Gishbanda Temple of Ningishzida by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Most ancient and terrible shrine, set deep in the mountain like a mother's womb ... Dark shrine, like a mother's wounded breast, blood-red and terrifying ... Though approaching through a safe-seeming field, our hair raises as we near you! Gishbanda, like a neck-stock, like a fish net, like a foot-shackled prisoner's manacles ... your ramparts are massive, like a trap! But once we’re inside, as the sun rises, you yield widespread abundance! Your prince is the pure-handed priest of Inanna, heaven's holy one, Lord Ningishzida! Oh, see how his thick, lustrous hair cascades down his back! Oh Gishbanda, he has built this beautiful temple to house your radiance! He has placed his throne upon your dais! Temple Hymn 7: an Excerpt to the Kesh Temple of Ninhursag by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, high-situated Kesh, form-shifting summit, inspiring fear like a venomous viper! O, Lady of the Mountains, Ninhursag’s house was constructed on a terrifying site! O, Kesh, like holy Aratta: your womb dark and deep, your walls high-towering and imposing! O, great lion of the wildlands stalking the high plains!... Temple Hymn 17: an Excerpt to the Badtibira Temple of Dumuzi by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house of jeweled lapis illuminating the radiant bed in the peace-inducing palace of our Lady of the Steppe! Temple Hymn 22: an Excerpt to the Sirara Temple of Nanshe by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O, house, you wild cow! Made to conjure signs of the Divine! You arise, beautiful to behold, bedecked for your Mistress! Temple Hymn 26: an Excerpt to the Zabalam Temple of Inanna by Enheduanna loose translation by Michael R. Burch O house illuminated by beams of bright light, dressed in shimmering stone jewels, awakening the world to awe! Temple Hymn 42: an Excerpt to the Eresh Temple of Nisaba by Enheduanna (circa 2285-2250 BCE) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch O, house of brilliant stars bright with lapis stones, you illuminate all lands! ... The person who put this tablet together is Enheduanna. My king: something never created before, did she not give birth to it? The Exaltation of Inanna: Opening Lines and Excerpts by Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon I of Akkad and the high priestess of the Goddess Inanna loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Lady of all divine powers! Lady of the resplendent light! Righteous Lady adorned in heavenly radiance! Beloved Lady of An and Uraš! Hierodule of An, sun-adorned and bejeweled! Heaven’s Mistress with the holy diadem, Who loves the beautiful headdress befitting the office of her own high priestess! Powerful Mistress, seizer of the seven divine powers! My Heavenly Lady, guardian of the seven divine powers! You have seized the seven divine powers! You hold the divine powers in your hand! You have gathered together the seven divine powers! You have clasped the divine powers to your breast! You have flooded the valleys with venom, like a viper; all vegetation vanishes when you thunder like Iškur! You have caused the mountains to flood the valleys! When you roar like that, nothing on earth can withstand you! Like a flood descending on floodplains, O Powerful One, you will teach foreigners to fear Inanna! You have given wings to the storm, O Beloved of Enlil! The storms do your bidding, blasting the unbelievers! Foreign cities cower at the chaos You cause! Entire countries cower in dread of Your deadly South Wind! Men cower before you in their anguished implications, raising their pitiful outcries, weeping and wailing, beseeching Your benevolence with many wild lamentations! But in the van of battle, everything falls before You, O Mighty Queen! My Queen, You are all-conquering, all-devouring! You continue Your attacks like relentless storms! You howl louder than the howling storms! You thunder louder than Iškur! You moan louder than the mournful winds! Your feet never tire from trampling Your enemies! You produce much wailing on the lyres of lamentations! My Queen, all the Anunna, the mightiest Gods, fled before Your approach like fluttering bats! They could not stand in Your awesome Presence nor behold Your awesome Visage! Who can soothe Your infuriated heart? Your baleful heart is beyond being soothed! Uncontrollable Wild Cow, elder daughter of Sin, O Majestic Queen, greater than An, who has ever paid You enough homage? O Life-Giving Goddess, possessor of all powers, Inanna the Exalted! Merciful, Live-Giving Mother! Inanna, the Radiant of Heart! I have exalted You in accordance with Your power! I have bowed before You in my holy garb, I the En, I Enheduanna! Carrying my masab-basket, I once entered and uttered my joyous chants ... But now I no longer dwell in Your sanctuary. The sun rose and scorched me. Night fell and the South Wind overwhelmed me. My laughter was stilled and my honey-sweet voice grew strident. My joy became dust. O Sin, King of Heaven, how bitter my fate! To An, I declared: An will deliver me! I declared it to An: He will deliver me! But now the kingship of heaven has been seized by Inanna, at Whose feet the floodplains lie. Inanna the Exalted, who has made me tremble together with all Ur! Stay Her anger, or let Her heart be soothed by my supplications! I, Enheduanna will offer my supplications to Inanna, my tears flowing like sweet intoxicants! Yes, I will proffer my tears and my prayers to the Holy Inanna, I will greet Her in peace ... O My Queen, I have exalted You, Who alone are worthy to be exalted! O My Queen, Beloved of An, I have laid out Your daises, set fire to the coals, conducted the rites, prepared Your nuptial chamber. Now may Your heart embrace me! These are my innovations, O Mighty Queen, that I made for You! What I composed for You by the dark of night, The cantor will chant by day. Now Inanna’s heart has been restored, and the day became favorable to Her. Clothed in beauty, radiant with joy, she carried herself like the elegant moonlight. Now to the Noble Hierodule, to the Wrecker of foreign lands presented by An with the seven divine powers, and to my Queen garbed in the radiance of heaven ... O Inanna, praise! Enheduanna, the daughter of the famous King Sargon the Great of Akkad, is the first ancient writer whose name remains known today. She appears to be the first named poet in human history and the first known author of prayers and hymns. Enheduanna, who lived circa 2285-2250 BCE, is also one of the first women we know by name. She was the entu (high priestess) of the goddess Inanna (Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite) and the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur. Enheduanna's composition Nin-me-šara ("The Exaltation of Inanna") details her expulsion from Ur, located in southern Iraq, along with her prayerful request to the goddess for reinstatement. Enheduanna also composed 42 liturgical hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad. And she was the first editor of a poetry anthology, hymnal or songbook. Now known as the Sumerian Temple Hymns, this was the first collection of its kind; indeed, Enheduanna so claimed at the end of the final hymn: "My king, something has been created that no one had created before." And poems and songs are still being assembled today via the model she established over 4,000 years ago! Enheduanna may also have been the first feminist, as she made Inanna the supreme deity. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Nanna, Inanna, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the earth's oldest love poem, Sumerian, circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. This may be earth's oldest love poem. It may have been written around 2000 BC, long before the Bible's "Song of Solomon, " which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. The poem was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard's account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled Nineveh and its Remains. Due to Nineveh's fame (from the Bible) , the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all, as Layard later discovered when he excavated the real Nineveh. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's mother would be either Ninlil or possibly Ningal, both goddesses. As a surrogate for Inanna, the bride's father would be either Enlil or possibly Suen, both gods. Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, probably performed each year, known as the "sacred marriage" or "divine marriage, " in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar/Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year)ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for "Lady of Heaven." She was associated with the lion-a symbol of power-and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna's father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. (According to some god/goddess genealogies, Enlil was her grandfather.)In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the "divine marriage" was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms! Enlil was similar to the Bible's Jehovah, in that he was the supreme deity, and sometimes sent rain and plenty, but at other times sent war and destruction. Certain passages of the Bible appear to have been "borrowed" by the ancient Hebrews from much older Sumerian texts such as the Epic of Gilgamesh. Such accounts include the creation myth, the Garden of Eden myth, and the myth of the Great Flood and a mankind-saving ark. However, the Hebrew scribes modified the accounts to suit their theology, so in the Bible there is only one "god" who controls everything, and thus behaves like an angel at times and like a demon at others. And that is understandable if one posits that one god controls the weather, since earth's weather is unpredictable and at times seems like a blessing and at other times like a curse. Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, Poetess, Sumer, Sumerian, Akkad, Akkadian, Saragon, Ur, High Priestess, Hymn, Hymns, Hymnist, Psalm, Psalms, Psalmist, Prayer, Prayers, Lament, Lamentations, Goddess, Nanna, Inanna, Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Sauska, Ornament of Heaven, mrbtr, mrbtran, mrbhymn
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The Love Song Of Shu-Sin Earth’s Oldest Love Song (circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. NOTE: This may be earth’s oldest love poem, written around 2,000 BC, long before the Bible’s “Song of Solomon,” which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. “The Love Song of Shu-Sin” was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard’s account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled "Nineveh and its Remains." Due to Nineveh’s fame from the Bible, the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all! Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, performed each year, known as the “sacred marriage” or “divine marriage,” in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar or Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year) ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for “Lady of Heaven.” She was associated with lions–a symbol of power–and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna’s father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the “divine marriage” was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms!
0
Mar 21, 2020
Mar 21, 2020 at 4:52 AM UTC
michael-r-burch
The Love Song Of Shu-Sin (the oldest extant love poem)
The Love Song Of Shu-Sin Earth’s Oldest Love Song (circa 2,000 BC) loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. Darling of my heart, my belovéd, your enticements are sweet, far sweeter than honey. You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! You have captivated me; I stand trembling before you. Darling, lead me swiftly into the bedroom! Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! In the bedchamber, dripping love's honey, let us enjoy life's sweetest thing. Sweetheart, let me do the sweetest things to you! My precocious caress is far sweeter than honey! Bridegroom, you will have your pleasure with me! Speak to my mother and she will reward you; speak to my father and he will award you gifts. I know how to give your body pleasure— then sleep, my darling, till the sun rises. To prove that you love me, give me your caresses, my Lord God, my guardian Angel and protector, my Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil's heart, give me your caresses! My place like sticky honey, touch it with your hand! Place your hand over it like a honey-pot lid! Cup your hand over it like a honey cup! This is a balbale-song of Inanna. NOTE: This may be earth’s oldest love poem, written around 2,000 BC, long before the Bible’s “Song of Solomon,” which had been considered to be the oldest extant love poem by some experts. “The Love Song of Shu-Sin” was discovered when the archaeologist Austen Henry Layard began excavations at Kalhu in 1845, assisted by Hormuzd Rassam. Layard’s account of the excavations, published in 1849 CE, was titled "Nineveh and its Remains." Due to Nineveh’s fame from the Bible, the book became a best seller. But it turned out that the excavated site was not Nineveh, after all! Shu-Sin was a Mesopotamian king who ruled over the land of Sumer close to four thousand years ago. The poem seems to be part of a rite, performed each year, known as the “sacred marriage” or “divine marriage,” in which the king would symbolically marry the goddess Inanna, mate with her, and so ensure fertility and prosperity for the coming year. The king would accomplish this amazing feat by marrying and/or having *** with a priestess or votary of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. Her Akkadian name was Istar or Ishtar, and she was also known as Astarte. Whichever her name, she was the most prominent Mesopotamian female goddess. Inanna's primary temple was the Eanna, located in Uruk. But there were many other temples dedicated to her worship. The high priestess would choose a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, the consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year) ceremony, at the spring Equinox. The name Inanna derives from the Sumerian words for “Lady of Heaven.” She was associated with lions–a symbol of power–and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her symbol was an eight-pointed star or a rosette. Like other female love and fertility goddesses, she was associated with the planet Venus. The Enlil mentioned was Inanna’s father, the Sumerian storm god, who controlled the wind and rain. In an often-parched land, the rain god would be ultra-important, and it appears that one of the objects of the “divine marriage” was to please Enlil and encourage him to send rain rather than destructive storms!
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1. Hecate the great, A being of magical Origin. She’ll make Your crossroads feel clear again, A kind of sweet sorcery. 2. Guru of healing, Darling Gula, patron of The Sumerian Followers. Nurturing And motherly, her embrace. 3. Goddess of the pen, The brain, the stars, all in one. Nibida reads the Stars and writes the story to Keep it immortal and free
0
Aug 16, 2019
Aug 16, 2019 at 1:11 AM UTC
morgan-moffitt
Goddess Tanka Trio
1. Hecate the great, A being of magical Origin. She’ll make Your crossroads feel clear again, A kind of sweet sorcery. 2. Guru of healing, Darling Gula, patron of The Sumerian Followers. Nurturing And motherly, her embrace. 3. Goddess of the pen, The brain, the stars, all in one. Nibida reads the Stars and writes the story to Keep it immortal and free
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According to Ancient Egyptians, they came from Puru. Pur is the root word for Persia. Ancient Egyptians, Sumerians; same.
0
Feb 14, 2018
Feb 14, 2018 at 5:38 PM UTC
david-john-mowers
Puru
According to Ancient Egyptians, they came from Puru. Pur is the root word for Persia. Ancient Egyptians, Sumerians; same.
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6
*With heartbreak and loss...              does the Divine hear our thoughts?* *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* WHOOSH! On hands, on knees, wind, hair, cascade, face. I cry out -hoary breath, sobbing, tender, the freeze. FUP-FUP-FUP Painful sheering burning ice upon my forearms...              to die is a warmth here. *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* He lands and screeches, talon'd feet below, swaddling of wispy bandages knees bent in reverse, awkward pose o'er me I look up and I see! *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* Creature of arms species of wings, bandied, banded...               almonded eyes so black, large, -peering. FUP-FUP-FUP It knows of pain. To deliver me, -here. ...away from the world I exist in short space, I lean back my haunches, expiate my yeornful heart! Torn out but beating and in pain no more?           I am leaving with this messenger... *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* To the Van...       to the van... *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning.* ...spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning. ...spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning.
0
Feb 9, 2017
Feb 9, 2017 at 7:55 PM UTC
david-john-mowers
The Sumerian
*With heartbreak and loss...              does the Divine hear our thoughts?* *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* WHOOSH! On hands, on knees, wind, hair, cascade, face. I cry out -hoary breath, sobbing, tender, the freeze. FUP-FUP-FUP Painful sheering burning ice upon my forearms...              to die is a warmth here. *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* He lands and screeches, talon'd feet below, swaddling of wispy bandages knees bent in reverse, awkward pose o'er me I look up and I see! *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* Creature of arms species of wings, bandied, banded...               almonded eyes so black, large, -peering. FUP-FUP-FUP It knows of pain. To deliver me, -here. ...away from the world I exist in short space, I lean back my haunches, expiate my yeornful heart! Torn out but beating and in pain no more?           I am leaving with this messenger... *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning,* To the Van...       to the van... *Turning feathers, black and flickers, spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning.* ...spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning. ...spinning, spinning, spinning, spinning.
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A man built a stone wall in a place which was not his to                               reside. It was torn down ‘til he killed the other person,   Therefore a council, the ‘Council of the Commons,’ was called to order. It was from this foundation that early man found truth in matters through debate. It was a way of reckoning with problems and resolving disputes and contained three members; a king, a judge and their god -who came before the shrill cries and lamentations that day to hear the case of the stonemason. It was gathered at the temple of the god. Lugal; “In what is good and what is just, I imagine a verdict that treats the people as wholesome; is just.” Dekōōd; “For you believe, as all rulers do, that justice leaves are but for the few, the man who acts can never do, a thing unjust for his reward is due, but in this you err, unlike in battle, for people humanely; cannot be treated as cattle.” Dinĝir; “And what of me? What my concern? What offering more, than blood-on-earth; in turn?” Lugal; “We are not here in glory nor in battle but save for the prayers of these people; our chattel.” Dekōōd; “I am not here for you, nor here for thus, nor daimones due, I am the judge, and adjudicate, I must! No matter solemn, or ill or gravely hearted, to sufferers who mourn, a dearly departed. If laws were broken, so have I been called, as one of three who judges, judges all, and so be it, until a time, that such a thing as rule, has ceased to rhyme, and man has ended, for all time!” Dinĝir; “Very well, very well indeed, their incense is pleasing, their temple cleaned, their prayers heard, devices expected and meat and porridge and genuflective, these subjects are a thrill to me, go forward council, you two of three. I shall not make my move as much, until you humans, consider such, but once you pass a judgment on, this humble man of stone and brawn, just say the verdict and I will act, as Dekōōd has judged him, for his attack.” Lugal; “Quiet now! Hush all, be quiet, lest I consider, your shrills, a riot, and put you down, for I decree, over all that you know, and all that you see, a final arbiter, of the law, I am your King; the king of all!” Dekōōd; “And I your judge, your voice of reason, who discerns the meanings, the acts and treasons and takes the place of him that died and points thy finger and convicts those that lied!” Dinĝir; “Mmmpfh, crunch, gargle, ummped, mmmpfh…pig! …and it’s roasted well…mmmpfh, smack.” Dekōōd; “Come before me, bring that stonemason, and the family come forward, come quickly, quickly hasten, and the accusers tell, your tale of woe, and I’ll assign his character, if it is low.” *“I am wife, was wife to he, the man a farmer, and husband to me, These here, his children, all eight of thee, and that land there, was given to us, you see,* By that great king, Oh Lugal, it is I, and he was a lieutenant, in the wars of honor, on your side, Which beget you your kingdom, thus you granted these lands to him, whom did, his duty, And that monster, the mason, his wall upon them doth rent away, -their beauty, After our reproach, he did slay my hus-band, his blood now spilt, and washed upon, our land.” Dekōōd; “Come before me now stonemason, show me your face, over there, yes, that’s your place, stand at that podium and tell us now, give us your case, but remember how well you plead, shall determine, your fates." “I may have built my wall as such, plans offset by hills that roll but I did nothing wrong except to error, I did not commit this claimed terror, her husband attacked me before we could reason and that was it.” Dekōōd; “You call that eloquence? Well then, eye for an eye, tear this man apart, until he has died, and as he lie dying, Diĝir, it’s your turn, devour your portion, for the rest, we shall burn!” Lugal; “For I am Basileos!” Dekōōd; “For I am Basilicas!” Dinĝir; “For I am Basiliskus!” “The king, a judge, your god; the three, …and this, as such, is our, decree!” *
0
Jun 17, 2016
Jun 17, 2016 at 3:21 PM UTC
david-john-mowers
Lugal, Dekōōd, Dinĝir
A man built a stone wall in a place which was not his to                               reside. It was torn down ‘til he killed the other person,   Therefore a council, the ‘Council of the Commons,’ was called to order. It was from this foundation that early man found truth in matters through debate. It was a way of reckoning with problems and resolving disputes and contained three members; a king, a judge and their god -who came before the shrill cries and lamentations that day to hear the case of the stonemason. It was gathered at the temple of the god. Lugal; “In what is good and what is just, I imagine a verdict that treats the people as wholesome; is just.” Dekōōd; “For you believe, as all rulers do, that justice leaves are but for the few, the man who acts can never do, a thing unjust for his reward is due, but in this you err, unlike in battle, for people humanely; cannot be treated as cattle.” Dinĝir; “And what of me? What my concern? What offering more, than blood-on-earth; in turn?” Lugal; “We are not here in glory nor in battle but save for the prayers of these people; our chattel.” Dekōōd; “I am not here for you, nor here for thus, nor daimones due, I am the judge, and adjudicate, I must! No matter solemn, or ill or gravely hearted, to sufferers who mourn, a dearly departed. If laws were broken, so have I been called, as one of three who judges, judges all, and so be it, until a time, that such a thing as rule, has ceased to rhyme, and man has ended, for all time!” Dinĝir; “Very well, very well indeed, their incense is pleasing, their temple cleaned, their prayers heard, devices expected and meat and porridge and genuflective, these subjects are a thrill to me, go forward council, you two of three. I shall not make my move as much, until you humans, consider such, but once you pass a judgment on, this humble man of stone and brawn, just say the verdict and I will act, as Dekōōd has judged him, for his attack.” Lugal; “Quiet now! Hush all, be quiet, lest I consider, your shrills, a riot, and put you down, for I decree, over all that you know, and all that you see, a final arbiter, of the law, I am your King; the king of all!” Dekōōd; “And I your judge, your voice of reason, who discerns the meanings, the acts and treasons and takes the place of him that died and points thy finger and convicts those that lied!” Dinĝir; “Mmmpfh, crunch, gargle, ummped, mmmpfh…pig! …and it’s roasted well…mmmpfh, smack.” Dekōōd; “Come before me, bring that stonemason, and the family come forward, come quickly, quickly hasten, and the accusers tell, your tale of woe, and I’ll assign his character, if it is low.” *“I am wife, was wife to he, the man a farmer, and husband to me, These here, his children, all eight of thee, and that land there, was given to us, you see,* By that great king, Oh Lugal, it is I, and he was a lieutenant, in the wars of honor, on your side, Which beget you your kingdom, thus you granted these lands to him, whom did, his duty, And that monster, the mason, his wall upon them doth rent away, -their beauty, After our reproach, he did slay my hus-band, his blood now spilt, and washed upon, our land.” Dekōōd; “Come before me now stonemason, show me your face, over there, yes, that’s your place, stand at that podium and tell us now, give us your case, but remember how well you plead, shall determine, your fates." “I may have built my wall as such, plans offset by hills that roll but I did nothing wrong except to error, I did not commit this claimed terror, her husband attacked me before we could reason and that was it.” Dekōōd; “You call that eloquence? Well then, eye for an eye, tear this man apart, until he has died, and as he lie dying, Diĝir, it’s your turn, devour your portion, for the rest, we shall burn!” Lugal; “For I am Basileos!” Dekōōd; “For I am Basilicas!” Dinĝir; “For I am Basiliskus!” “The king, a judge, your god; the three, …and this, as such, is our, decree!” *
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34
King of Kings, I am to man! Set apart, in stone; a gentry, With a tomb that sits but nearly empty? A grave with few artifacts to witness bear, Inscription of him, who was the great king, Who was once and future, a beginning to everything, Whose great father descended into those lands… Where epitaph graces a lonely stone, And Ozymandias rests, at peace, alone.
0
Jun 16, 2016
Jun 16, 2016 at 3:56 PM UTC
david-john-mowers
Ozymandias
King of Kings, I am to man! Set apart, in stone; a gentry, With a tomb that sits but nearly empty? A grave with few artifacts to witness bear, Inscription of him, who was the great king, Who was once and future, a beginning to everything, Whose great father descended into those lands… Where epitaph graces a lonely stone, And Ozymandias rests, at peace, alone.
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9
You know Eight Owl City,                                            -ain’t where I’m from? You know the past isn’t pretty,                                                 -why are you dwelling there son? You know every thought’s a lifetime,                                                            -of hands wringing, hands wrung? Forget the past, see the future now,                                                         -Dip-dap-a-looma lung. Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Storm on the horizon,                                    -thunder in the air, Crack-O-lightning split the skies now,                                                              -ignore the clouds their always there… You know Eight Owl City,                                          -is just a place to hide your mind? Life is hard, it ain’t pretty,                                           -lost in a place out of time. Get out your head or you’ll eat yourself,                                                                  -consumed by paranoia, -rage! Forget the past; see your future now,                                                             -all you do in life is age. Dip-dap-a-looma lung, Hands wringing, hands wrung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Hear me now as it’s sung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung,
0
Jun 16, 2016
Jun 16, 2016 at 11:42 AM UTC
david-john-mowers
Eight Owl City
You know Eight Owl City,                                            -ain’t where I’m from? You know the past isn’t pretty,                                                 -why are you dwelling there son? You know every thought’s a lifetime,                                                            -of hands wringing, hands wrung? Forget the past, see the future now,                                                         -Dip-dap-a-looma lung. Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Storm on the horizon,                                    -thunder in the air, Crack-O-lightning split the skies now,                                                              -ignore the clouds their always there… You know Eight Owl City,                                          -is just a place to hide your mind? Life is hard, it ain’t pretty,                                           -lost in a place out of time. Get out your head or you’ll eat yourself,                                                                  -consumed by paranoia, -rage! Forget the past; see your future now,                                                             -all you do in life is age. Dip-dap-a-looma lung, Hands wringing, hands wrung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Hear me now as it’s sung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung, Dip-dap-a-looma lung, A dip-dap-a-looma lung,
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At school I had trouble socializing, And still, The Owl, comes all too late? My formative years are spent deep within caves searching, Yet The Owl is never found there? The failures and sadness accumulate over time, Leaving The Owl traversing some other’s sky, I feel life slipping away each day, And still The Owl never manifests! Where is The Owl? Does it not come with time? Will cleverness induce her, perhaps woo her with rhyme? Quell restless mind, The Owl reforge me so I’m freed! Grant me your talons so that I may succeed! And still, The Owl, who never manifests, And still The Owl never manifests. I curl chalky fingers into travertine-grip, Aged ruin takes a hold, in my despair as I slip, Sans which The Owl never did manifest, To wit, sans The Owl, pounding sand as I jest, So what, The Owl, never did manifest? And still The Owl never manifests. Life without The Owl, was no life at all, No solemnity of greatness, a life of doltish pit-fall. And still The Owl never manifests. And still The Owl never manifests.
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Jun 6, 2016
Jun 6, 2016 at 8:02 AM UTC
david-john-mowers
Sans The Owl
At school I had trouble socializing, And still, The Owl, comes all too late? My formative years are spent deep within caves searching, Yet The Owl is never found there? The failures and sadness accumulate over time, Leaving The Owl traversing some other’s sky, I feel life slipping away each day, And still The Owl never manifests! Where is The Owl? Does it not come with time? Will cleverness induce her, perhaps woo her with rhyme? Quell restless mind, The Owl reforge me so I’m freed! Grant me your talons so that I may succeed! And still, The Owl, who never manifests, And still The Owl never manifests. I curl chalky fingers into travertine-grip, Aged ruin takes a hold, in my despair as I slip, Sans which The Owl never did manifest, To wit, sans The Owl, pounding sand as I jest, So what, The Owl, never did manifest? And still The Owl never manifests. Life without The Owl, was no life at all, No solemnity of greatness, a life of doltish pit-fall. And still The Owl never manifests. And still The Owl never manifests.
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