Sumerian Deities And Spirits

"Father Enki be praised!"

"Enki knit together the marshlands, making young and old reeds grow there; he made birds and fish teem in the pools and lagoons; [...] he filled the reed- beds and marshes with Fish and Bird, indicated to them their positions and instructed them in their divine rules."

"In those ancient days, when the good destinies had been decreed, and after An and Enlil had set up the divine rules of heaven and earth, then [...] the lord of broad wisdom, Enki, the master of destinies, [...] founded dwelling places; he took in his hand waters to encourage and create good seed; he laid out side by side the and the , and caused them to bring water from the mountains; he scoured out the smaller streams, and positioned the other watercourses. [...] Enki made spacious sheepfolds and cattle-pens, and provided shepherds and herdsmen; he founded cities and settlements throughout the earth, and made the black-headed multiply. He provided them with a king as shepherd, elevating him to sovereignty over them; the king rose as the daylight over the foreign countries."

"Víṣṇu is perhaps to be identified in part with Enki... A correspondence between Víṣṇu and Enki explains why it is in later Hinduism that it is Víṣṇu who is associated with avatāras or ‘descents’ – sometimes understood as incarnations, for the benefit of man. It is in line with Enki’s position as the helpful benefactor of mankind."

"May he bestow a long life with vigorous days on Icme-Dagan, the son of Enlil! May father Enki bestow a long life with vigorous days on Icme-Dagan, the son of Enlil!"

"Enki, great bull of Eridug, [...] greatly exalted among the Anuna."

"Nudimmud, lord who determines the fates, who strengthens the Land."

"[The] foremost of the gods, omniscient [...] Enki, counsellor of holy An. [...] Adviser, whose statements cannot be countermanded. [...] Patient-hearted, who rides upon all the divine powers. [...] Lord imbued with fearsomeness, borne by An and Urac."

"Chant to him the holy song, the incantation sung in its chambers -- the incantation of Nudimmud: "On that day when there is no snake, when there is no scorpion, when there is no hyena, when there is no lion, when there is neither dog nor wolf, when there is thus neither fear nor trembling, man has no rival! At such a time, may the lands of Šubur and Ḫamazi, the many-tongued, and , the great mountain of the me of magnificence, and , the land possessing all that is befitting, and the Martu land, resting in security -- the whole universe, the well-guarded people -- may they all address Enlil together in a single language! For at that time, for the ambitious lords, for the ambitious princes, for the ambitious kings, Enki [...] -- Enki, the lord of abundance and of steadfast decisions, the wise and knowing lord of the Land, the expert of the gods, chosen for wisdom, the lord of Eridug, shall change the speech in their mouths, as many as he had placed there, and so the speech of mankind is truly one."

"From sunrise till sunset, may the name of Ezina be praised. People should submit to the yoke of Ezina. Whoever has silver, whoever has jewels, whoever has cattle, whoever has sheep shall take a seat at the gate of whoever has grain, and pass his time there."

"When a man comes forward as a witness, saying: "Let me tell you what I know," but does not know the relevant information, it is an abomination to Utu."

"When a trustworthy boat sets sail, Utu seeks out a trustworthy harbour for it."

"Whenever wickedness may cause trouble, Utu will not be idle!"

"Utu, the lord who loves justice, extirpates wickedness and prolongs righteousness."

"He who despises a just decision, who loves wicked decisions, is an abomination to Utu."

"Utu's glance is prayerful. Utu's heart is compassionate. A devotee of Utu is among the holy. Allotted by Utu to be fortunate, a [...] ship reaches the quay."

"Utu is lord; you should fix your gaze on him."

"Oh Utu, you are my judge: pronounce my judgement! You are my decision-maker, decide my case! The dream that I have seen -- turn it into a favourable one! Let me walk straight, so that I can catch up with my companion!"

"Deal justly before the face of the Sun."

"After day had broken and Utu had risen, the of the Land lifted his head high. The king combined the Tigris with the Euphrates. He combined the Euphrates with the Tigris. Large vessels were placed in the open air, and he stood small vessels beside them, like lambs lying on the grass."

"The messenger gave heed to the words of his king. He journeyed by the starry night, and by day he travelled with Utu of heaven."

"At that time the day was lord, the night was sovereign, and Utu was king."

"He has raised his head over the mountains; he is indeed their king! Utu who decrees judgments for all countries, the lord, the son of Ningal, who renders decisions for all countries, the lord who is highly skilled at verdicts, the son of Enlil, highly knowledgeable and majestic Utu. [...] He has lifted his head over the Land. My king Utu, you cross all the shining mountains like an eagle! He has lifted his gaze over the mountains."

"Utu, the son born with the city to in the E-nun-ana (House of the prince of heaven), a bull, a cedar fed with water thriving among cypresses, holy, patient-hearted, playful, radiating light, he is iridescent radiance! Then, as my king comes forth, the heavens tremble before him and the earth shakes before him."

"Emerging [from] below and gazing upwards, Utu, great physician, father of the black-headed, wearing a lapis-lazuli beard in the E-babbar! Utu, great hero, focus of the assembly, king, bison running over the mountains! Utu, bison running over the mountains!"

"You should not question the words of your mother and your personal god. The mother, like Utu, gives birth to the man."

"The warrior is unique, he alone is the equal of many; Utu is unique, he alone is the equal of many. With your life you should always be on the side of the warrior; with your life you should always be on the side of Utu."

"Say to Utu my lord, the exalted judge of heaven and earth, who cares for the Land, who renders verdicts; just god, who loves to keep man alive, who heeds entreaty, who extends mercy, who knows [...] compassion, who loves justice, who selects honesty. Repeat to the bearded one, the son of , [...] who opens the bolts of heaven and earth, who creates brightness in darkness; foremost lord who alone is resplendent, whose greatness is unequalled; warrior, son given birth by Ningal, who guards and gathers together the divine powers; just god, prince who determines all the fates, my lord, father of the black-headed: this is what Sîn-iddinam, king of Larsa, your servant, says: Distress has been caused in your city Larsa, which you have chosen in your heart. The broad squares where days have been passed in merriment have been reduced to silence. Your commendable troops who were assembled have been annihilated like reeds from a reed fence splitting apart. Your young men have been harvested like barley at the due time; they have been picked and have been plucked like ripened fruit. The people have been smashed like terracotta figurines; they have perished all together. An evil storm took away the little ones from the laps of their mothers. [...] I serve the great gods daily with prayers, and my fervent entreaties are sublime. O youthful Utu, for that reason look favourably upon your city Larsa! Say "Alas!" for your city! Say "Alas for the sanctuary!"! Extend sympathetic compassion to Larsa! [...] So that may escape the clutches of death. May its seed be great! May sing your praises! And as for me, for my reverence give me life! Bestow on me long life as a gift!"

"Lord of all the great divine powers, borne by ! Youthful Utu, lord of all the great divine powers, borne by Ningal."

"Youthful Utu chose the shepherd in his heart. Years of plenty are assigned to Culgi, the trustworthy shepherd, the king, as his fate. From the shrine in Nibru, Enlil bestowed this on the trustworthy shepherd, whose fate is determined by Utu."

"Utu, assign a sweet destiny to the king."

"Utu, shepherd of the land, father of the black-headed, when you go to sleep, the people go to sleep with you; youth Utu, when you rise, the people rise with you."

"Utu, I greet you! Let me be ill no longer! Hero, 's son, I greet you! Let me be ill no longer! Utu, you have let me come up into the mountains in the company of my brothers. In the mountain cave, the most dreadful spot on earth, let me be ill no longer! Here where there is no mother, there is no father, there is no acquaintance, no one whom I value, my mother is not here to say "Alas, my child!" My brother is not here to say "Alas, my brother!" … Don't make me flow away like water in a violent death! Don't make me eat saltpetre as if it were barley! Don't make me fall like a throw-stick somewhere in the desert unknown to me! Afflicted with a name which excites my brothers' scorn, let me be ill no longer! Afflicted with the derision of my comrades, let me be ill no longer! Let me not come to an end in the mountains like a weakling!"

"My brother, I want to tell you something -- pay attention to my speech. [...] Utu, my twin, I want to tell you something -- pay attention to my speech. [...] My spouse, has made love to me, has kissed me. I wanted [the E-ana] for him. [...] But majestic An would not give him E-ana. The heavens are ours, the earth is ours: E-ana should be captured from An."

"May the people marvel admiringly, and may Utu witness it in joy."

"Utu, who eats butter, who eats cream, nevertheless touches the table of the poor."

"My sister, I swear an oath by the life of heaven, I swear by the life of the rainbow of heaven, [...] I swear by the life of my throne, by my majesty: I will follow what my sister says to me, I will follow what holy Inana says to me."

"You shouldn't give a lame man a staff. Enlil is his helper."

"Enlil's greatest punishment is hunger."

"Enlil's temple is a summation of accounts. The temple manager is its overseer."

"The harvest, the great festival of Enlil, rose heavenward."

"An lifted his head in pride and brought forth a good day. ... Enlil set his foot upon the earth like a great bull. Enlil, the king of all lands, set his mind to increasing the good day of abundance, to making the night resplendent in celebration, to making flax grow, to making barley proliferate, to guaranteeing the spring floods at the quay, to making lengthen their days in abundance, to making Emesh (Summer) close the sluices of heaven, and to making Enten (Winter) guarantee plentiful water at the quay."

"I am the Plough, fashioned by great strength, assembled by great hands, the mighty registrar of father Enlil. ... I pile up stacks and mounds for Enlil. I amass emmer and wheat for him."

"The shepherd adorns the plain with his ewes and lambs. After the heavens had been turned upside down, after bitter lament had been imposed on , after, as houses were overwhelmed by the rivers and Enlil frowned in anger upon the land, Enlil had flooded the harvest, after Enlil had acted mightily thus, Enlil did not abandon us."

"Father Enlil, lord of all the lands."

"Enlil has perfected for you your great and noble filial status and lordship. Enlil has made majestic divinity manifest for you. Determining a destiny for your flowing waters, the majestic lower waters, Enki from within the sacred bathing chamber has placed the good earth, the good mother, at your feet. Enlil has sired you in majesty and lordship. O Nanna, your crescent moon is called "the crescent moon of the seventh day". Enlil has made known throughout heaven and earth your name, which is a sacred name. Princely son, he has made your greatness manifest throughout heaven and earth. The majestic assembly has bestowed on you his status as Enlil."

"Oh Gilgamec! Enlil, the Great Mountain, the father of gods, has made kingship your destiny, but not eternal life."

"Not only did the lord make the world appear in its correct form, the lord who never changes the destinies which he determines – Enlil – who will make the human seed of the Land come forth from the earth – and not only did he hasten to separate heaven from earth, and hasten to separate earth from heaven, but, in order to make it possible for humans to grow in "where flesh came forth" (𒍜𒌓𒁺𒀀) [the name of a cosmic location], he first raised the axis of the world at Dur-an-ki. He did this with the help of the hoe -- and so daylight broke forth. By distributing the shares of duty he established daily tasks, and for the hoe and the carrying-basket wages were even established. Then Enlil praised his hoe, his hoe wrought in gold, its top inlaid with lapis lazuli, his hoe whose blade was tied on with a cord, which was adorned with silver and gold. ... The lord evaluated the hoe, determined its future destiny and placed a holy crown on its head. [...] Here, in 'Where Flesh Came Forth', he set this very hoe to work; he had it place the first model of mankind in the brick mould. His Land started to break through the soil towards Enlil. He looked with favour at his black-headed people. Now the stepped forward to him, and did obeisance to him. They calmed Enlil with a prayer, for they wanted to demand the black-headed people from him. Ninmena, the lady who had given birth to the ruler, who had given birth to the king, now set going."

"Lord Nunamnir; who perfects the divine powers of E-kur"

"Nunamnir, the Great Mountain, the lord who embraces heaven and earth. [...] My king, the shepherd of the black-headed people already in the womb."