sumerian-goddesses

"The young man is able to make love with his wife. Suen relaxes with beautiful Ningal."

"Lord Nanna, bring it to me! In the dwelling of the shepherd, in the house of gleaned barley, my lord, I shall come to you in the storehouse! [...] Wonder of the Land, I shall come to you! My Nanna, your chant is sweet; it is the chant of my heart."

"The lord of the just word. The lord of the E-kic-nu-jal. When he fills the rivers with the spring floods, establishing fine grain in the fields, the marshes with various carp, the reed-beds with dead and fresh reeds, the woods with fallow deer and wild sheep, the high desert with macgurum bushes, the irrigated orchards with syrup and wine, the garden plots with lettuce and cress, the palace with long life, I will live there. [...] In your brick-built Urim, [...] in your Dubla-mah, the place where judgments are given, in your vestibule of wine and syrup, at your Just Quay, the quay of the barges, in your house of heaven, in your beloved house, I will live! Nanna, in the upper lands I will live on your mountain of fragrant cedars. Lord Nanna, I will live in your city. I will live where your cows are numerous, where your calves are numerous. Nanna, I will live in your Urim."

"The treasures of the ubi birds. I will gather their eggs for you."

"On the day when the bowls of rations are inspected, Nance also inspects the servants during the appointments. Her chief scribe Nisaba places the precious tablets on her knees and takes a golden stylus in her hand. She arranges the servants in single file for Nance and then it will be decided whether or not a leather-clad servant can enter before her in his leather, whether or not a linen-clad servant can pass before her in his linen. Any registered and hired person about whom observers and witnesses claim to witness his fleeing from the house will be terminated in his position."

"Hoe, do not start getting so mightily angry! Do not be so mightily scornful! Is not Nisaba the Hoe's inspector? Is not Nisaba its overseer? The scribe will register your work."

"In the abzu, the great crown of g, where sanctuaries are apportioned [...] -- when Enki, the great princely farmer of the awe-inspiring temple, the carpenter of Eridug, the master of purification rites, the lord of the great en priest's precinct, occupies E-engur, and when he builds up the abzu of Eridug; when he takes counsel in Hal-an-kug, when he splits with an axe the house of boxwood; when the sage's hair is allowed to hang loose, when he opens the house of learning, when he stands in the street of the door of learning; when he finishes the great dining-hall of cedar, when he grasps the date-palm mace, when he strikes the priestly garment with that mace, then he utters seven [words] to Nisaba, the supreme nursemaid: "O Nisaba, good woman, fair woman, woman born in the mountains! Nisaba, may you be the butter in the cattle-pen, may you be the cream in the sheepfold, may you be keeper of the seal in the treasury, may you be a good steward in the palace, may you be a heaper up of grain among the grain piles and in the grain stores!" Because the Prince Enki cherished Nisaba, O father Enki, it is sweet to praise you!"

"In order to make barley and flax grow in the furrows, so that excellent corn can be admired; to provide for the seven great throne-daises by making flax shoot forth and making barley shoot forth at the harvest, the great festival of Enlil -- in her great princely role she has cleansed her body and has put the holy priestly garment on her torso. In order to establish bread offerings where none existed, and to pour forth great libations of alcohol, so as to appease the god of grandeur, Enlil, and to appease merciful Kusu and Ezina, she will appoint a great en priest, and will appoint a festival; she will appoint a great en priest of the Land. He approaches the maiden Nisaba in prayer. He has organised pure food-offerings; he has opened up Nisaba's house of learning, and has placed the lapis-lazuli tablet on her knees, for her to consult the holy tablet of the heavenly stars. In Aratta he has placed E-zagina at her disposal. You have built up Erec in abundance, founded from little [...] bricks, you who are granted the most complex wisdom!"

"Lady coloured like the stars of heaven, holding a lapis-lazuli tablet! Nisaba, great wild cow born by Urac, wild sheep nourished on good milk among holy alkaline plants! [...] Perfectly endowed with fifty great divine powers, my lady, most powerful in E-kur! Dragon emerging in glory at the festival, Aruru (mother goddess) of the Land (𒌦), [...] lavishing fine oil on the foreign lands, engendered in wisdom by the Great Mountain (Enlil)! Good woman, chief scribe of An, record-keeper of Enlil, wise sage of the gods!"

"Nisaba has placed in your hand the honour of being a teacher. For her, the fate determined for you will be changed and so you will be generously blessed. May she bless you with a joyous heart and free you from all despondency."

"They drank sweet wine, they enjoyed sweet beer."

"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."

"Holy Enten […] made Ezina appear radiant as a beautiful maiden. The harvest, the great festival of Enlil, rose heavenward."

"A plant sweeter than a husband, a plant sweeter than a child: may Ezina-Kusu dwell in your house."

"She has purified the oven. [...] Kusu has then put numerous bulls and numerous sheep into the great oven. Kusu has then put numerous bulls and numerous loaves into the great oven."

"From g praise to lady Kusu, the princess of the holy abzu."

"I foster neighbourliness and friendliness. I sort out quarrels started between neighbours. When I come upon a captive youth and give him his destiny, he forgets his despondent heart and I release his fetters and shackles."

"When the beer dough has been carefully prepared in the oven, and the mash tended in the oven, mixes them for me while your big billy-goats and rams are despatched for my banquets. On their thick legs they are made to stand separate from my produce. Your shepherd on the high plain eyes my produce enviously; when I am standing in the furrow in the field, my farmer chases away your herdsman with his cudgel. Even when they look out for you, from the open country to the hidden places, your fears are not removed from you: fanged snakes and bandits, the creatures of the desert, want your life on the high plain."

"Every night your count is made and your tally-stick put into the ground, so your herdsman can tell people how many ewes there are and how many young lambs, and how many goats and how many young kids. When gentle winds blow through the city and strong winds scatter, they build a milking pen for you; but when gentle winds blow through the city and strong winds scatter, I stand up as an equal to Ickur. I am Ezina, I am born for the warrior -- I do not give up."

"As for you, Ickur is your master, Cakkan your herdsman, and the dry land your bed. Like fire beaten down in houses and in fields, like small flying birds chased from the door of a house, you are turned into the lame and the weak of the Land. Should I really bow my neck before you? You are distributed into various measuring-containers. When your innards are taken away by the people in the market-place, and when your neck is wrapped with your very own loincloth, one man says to another: "Fill the measuring-container with grain for my ewe!"."

"When, upon the hill of heaven and earth, An spawned the Anuna gods, … there was no small grain, grain from the mountains or grain from the holy habitations. There was no cloth to wear; … the people of those days did not know about eating bread. They did not know about wearing clothes; they went about with naked limbs in the Land. Like sheep they ate grass with their mouths and drank water from the ditches. [...] At that time, at the place of the gods' formation, in their own home, on the Holy Mound, they created Lahar and Ezina. Having gathered them in the divine banqueting chamber, the Anuna gods of the Holy Mound partook of the bounty of Lahar and Ezina but were not sated; the Anuna gods of the Holy Mound partook of the sweet milk of their holy sheepfold but were not sated. For their own well-being in the holy sheepfold, they gave them to mankind as sustenance. At that time Enki spoke to Enlil: "Father Enlil, now Lahar and Ezina have been created on the Holy Mound, let us send them down from the Holy Mound." Enki and Enlil, having spoken their holy word, sent Lahar and Ezina down from the Holy Mound. Lahar being fenced in by her sheepfold, they gave her grass and herbs generously. For Ezina they made her field and gave her the plough, yoke and team. Lahar standing in her sheepfold was a shepherd of the sheepfolds brimming with charm. Ezina standing in her furrow was a beautiful girl radiating charm; lifting her raised head up from the field she was suffused with the bounty of heaven. Lahar and Ezina had a radiant appearance. They brought wealth to the assembly. They brought sustenance to the Land. They fulfilled the ordinances of the gods. They filled the store-rooms of the Land with stock. The barns of the Land were heavy with them. When they entered the homes of the poor who crouch in the dust they brought wealth. Both of them, wherever they directed their steps, added to the riches of the household with their weight. Where they stood, they were satisfying; where they settled, they were seemly. They gladdened the heart of An and the heart of Enlil."

"My lady, your divine powers are mighty powers, surpassing all other divine powers; Nance, there are no divine powers matching your powers. An, the king, looks joyfully at you, as you sit with Enlil on the throne-dais where the fates are to be determined. Father Enki determined a fate for you. Nance, child born in Eridug, sweet is your praise."

"I am the mistress, so let my birds assemble for me where the sheaves are gathered! I am Nance, so let my birds assemble for me where the sheaves are gathered! Let the birds of heaven and earth stand at my service! Let every bird without a name bring offerings!"

"A fish is held in her hand as a staff. [...] Fishes are put on her feet as sandals. [...] She has fishes wrapped around her body as a regal garment."

"The runner-fish (kackac) hastens (kac) to her. The gurgur fish makes the sea surge up (gurgur) for her. The flash-fish (jiri) makes the sea sparkle (jir) for her."

"Fishes will grow for her in the sea. Fishes fly around for her like swallows."

"I, the lady, will ride on my boat, I will ride home. I will ride on the prow of the boat, I will ride home." Its canopy of gold and fragrant cedarwood sparkles for her on the sea. Its cabin shines for her like rejoicing moonlight on the sea. "My husband is the tax collector of the sea, Nindara is the tax collector of the sea."

"Upon the water like a large pelican. Stepping onto earth from heaven."

"Nance, sister praised by the Anuna! Mother, beautiful matriarch of Enlil! Nance, delighting in her pelican, erected a lapis lazuli shrine, and set the holy pelican by her feet. [...] She who loves the fishes and birds! [...] You are she who does not belittle! [...] Mistress mother Nance, it is sweet to praise you!"

"There is a city, there is a city whose powers are apparent. Nijin is the city whose powers are apparent. The is the city whose powers are apparent. The mountain rising from the water is the city whose powers are apparent. Its light rises over the secure temple; its fate is determined. There is perfection in the city; the rites of mother Nance are performed accordingly. Its lady, the child born in g, Nance, the lady of the precious divine powers, is now to return."

"She is beer mash, the mother is yeast, Nance is the cause of great things: her presence makes the storehouses of the land bulge and makes the honey [...] like resin in the storerooms. Because of her, there stand vessels with ever-flowing water; because of Nance, the baskets containing the treasures of the Land (𒌦) cover the ground like the silt of the river."

"She is concerned for the orphan and concerned for the widow. She does not forget the man who helps others, she is a mother for the orphan; Nance, a carer for the widow, who always finds advice for the ; the lady who gives protection for refugees. She seeks out a place for the weak. She swells his collecting basket for him; she makes his collecting vessel profitable for him. For the righteous maiden who has taken her path, Nance chooses a young man of means. Nance raises a secure house like a roof over the widow who could not remarry."

"There is perfection in the presence of the lady. Lagac thrives in abundance in the presence of Nance. She chose the cennu in her holy heart and seated Ur-Nance, the beloved lord of Lagac, on the throne. She gave the lofty sceptre to the shepherd. She adorned Gudea with all her precious divine powers. The shepherd chosen by her in her holy heart, Gudea, the ruler of Lagac, placed the lyre Cow-of-Abundance among the tigi drums and placed the holy balaj drum at its side. While sacred songs and harmonious songs were performed before her, the kintur instrument praised the temple. The chief musician played the ibex horn for her: the song 'The house has been granted powers from the abzu, the sacred song of the house of about the princely powers was performed."

"The went into the sacristy and made glittering silver ecde cups ready for her. The temple cook [...] and prepared hot and cold food for her. [...] After the meat had arrived in large bowls and cool water had been brought from the Sirara-canal, after the festival trappings had arrived from Lagac and wine had been brought from the countryside, her great oven which vies with the great dining hall, Nance's shrine of food offerings, was humming."

"The lady, the matriarch of Enlil, Nance, the lady of abundance who lives in in the Land, [...] the child of Enki, acting as a good woman for a good household, is to make the appointments. After she, as a good woman for a good household, has made the appointments, the regular offerings and daily goods of the house arrive unfailingly from the Bursaj."

"May the lady of the right commands and inalienable divine powers, Nance, be praised in all the countries!"

"At new year, on the day of rites, the lady libates water on the holy. [...] On the day when the bowls of rations are inspected, Nance also inspects the servants during the appointments. Her chief scribe Nisaba places the precious tablets on her knees and takes a golden stylus in her hand. She arranges the servants in single file for Nance and then it will be decided whether or not a leather-clad servant can enter before her in his leather, whether or not a linen-clad servant can pass before her in his linen. Any registered and [...] hired person about whom observers and witnesses claim to witness his fleeing from the house will be terminated in his position. [...] The king who always cares for the faithful servants, Haia, the man in charge of registration, registers on a tablet him who is said to be a faithful servant of his lady but deletes from the tablet her who is said not to be the maidservant of her lady. [...] These words are ultimate; nothing is to be added to these rites."

"At Nance's house, the river of the ordeal cleanses a person. [...] No obstinate or threatening utterance shall arise."

"Anyone who [...] his hand and reaches out for something forcefully, and whose hand matches his mouth and who commits violence, who changes a firm foundation or alters a marked out border, who is rushing to the place of oath, [...] who desire something after having acquired something, who does not say "I have eaten" after having eaten, and does not say "I have drunk" after having drunk, and then says, "I will set a bowl before you, I will filter beer for you"; [...] then Nance does not allow him to eat any bread with fat or shining eggs, because of the violation."

"For the lady who cares for all the countries, the queen, mother Nance, sees into their hearts: the orphan, [...] the widow, [...] the waif delivered up to the powerful, the powerful delivered to the powerless, the mother who scolds at her child, the child who talks obstinately to his mother, the younger brother who talks against his elder brother or talks back his his father. [...] Nance sees into the heart of the Land as if it were a split reed."

"The guarantor of boundaries, the expert in righteous words, lady, wise woman who founded Lagac. [...] The lady who like Enlil determines fates, who is seated on the throne of Sirara -- she, the pure one, looks at her powers. At the house which has been granted powers from the abzu, in Sirara, the gods of Lagac gather around her. To weigh silver with standard weights, to standardise the size of reed baskets, they establish an agreed ban measure throughout the countries."

"[T]he lady of the storerooms, [...] with vessels with ever-flowing water and with [...] reed containers which never become empty, she ordered her herald, lord Hendursaja to make them profitable."

"August Nibru! No deity excels like your lord and lady! They are powerful princes; they are brilliantly revealed deities. No deity excels like Enlil or Ninlil! They are powerful princes; they are lords who can decide destinies. In your midst they have given divine powers to king Enki."

"Ninlil, lady of Ki-ur, the majestic place."

"My faithful minister of the E-ana, my Nincubur of the E-ana, (you said:) "I, the august minister of the universe, I, Nincubur of the universe, the faithful minister of the Anuna gods, Nincubur of the Anuna gods, the faithful minister, the personal god of the Land, Nincubur, the personal god of the Land, the faithful minister, the mother of the Land, Nincubur, the mother of the Land, [...] I will ride high in joy!"."

"Servant, as you took your seat on the lofty dais, Nincubur, as you took your seat, as you took your seat on the dais like father Enlil, as you took your seat like Enlil and Ninlil, (you said:) "I, like my mother, I, Kaka, will ride high in joy like my mother! I, Nincubur I, Kaka, will ride high in joy like my mother.""

"The servant (ubur), the wise suppliant, [...] has taken her seat in her city Akkil."

"Lady, good seed of the Land, minister of An! Minister of An, mother Nincubur! From the interior of heaven, An bestowed upon you, and Enlil destined as your fate, that you should take a lapis-lazuli sceptre in your hand and proceed in front of An. As if you were a fecund ewe caring for its lambs, a fecund goat caring for its kids, or a fertile bearing mother caring for her children, through your powers folds are erected and pens are fenced off. In the folds erected through your powers and in the pens fenced off through your powers."

"I will soothe hearts, I will soothe spirits. I will appease the Anuna gods. [...] I, who am to serve -- I, the tutelary deity, who am to serve. [...] I will make the young lady, Inana, born in the shining mountains, rejoice."

"The god who distributes the divine powers, who utters pleasing words, [...] the linen-clad god of the abzu, the chief administrator, who makes the oracular responses favourable, whose words are pre-eminent; the powerful one at the bow of the boat "Stag of the Abzu", the lord of wide and complete wisdom, the minister who knows An's secrets, with whom no god can compare; the lord of the protective goddesses; him whose great sweet eyes inspire confidence, who provides the Anuna gods, the great gods, with food offerings; the adviser who comes forth from the skies, who is worthy of holy Inana; without whom no lord or king could receive the lofty sceptre -- to Nincubur, the merciful god who listens to prayers and supplications."