First Quote Added
April 10, 2026
Latest Quote Added
"The treasures of the ubi birds. I will gather their eggs for you."
"Princely son, you are radiant as you come forth from the sacred bathing chamber, [...] the mountain of pure divine powers, the abzu shrine. [...] Bringing terrifying radiance from the marshes."
"God [...] coming forth on high, perfecting the divine powers of heaven! Outstanding crown, radiance, [...] justly cherished by An and Urac! Born in Dur-an-ki! Light, radiance and crown of Urim! Now in addition he desired something good, something good. The lord wearied Enlil to determine the fate of his city: "My father, may you restore my city for me!" No one should escape the grasp of father Nanna, him of most just words! Princely lord, princely lord, great princeliness among the gods! In the temple that, like the heavens, inspires terror and fear, you are awesome."
"Great hero, strongest in heaven and earth! Ninurta, who controls perfectly the fifty divine powers in the E-kur! Governor for his father, rising raging storm, who extends terror towards the foreign countries. Who casts fear upon the people, who has no rival! Ninurta, surpassing in vigour! Great and majestic strength, ornament of the august shrine! Lord, the son of Enlil, who has come forth from the hills, and rides upon the numerous divine powers. Great hero, surpassing dragon, perfect lord, without rival! Great hero confident in his strength! His words are precious, and what he says is true. Ninurta, lion raging against the disobedient! Authoritative one, who makes the foreign countries submit. May Ninurta look upon Icme-Dagan with a life-giving gaze! Uta-ulu, riding on fearsome radiance, greatest amongt the great lords! Ninurta, perfect in authority, caretaker of heaven and earth, Lord who was given great strength by Nunamnir, confident in his strength, striding into battle! Adviser, whose decisions cannot be countermanded! Ninurta, whose utterances are firm! Hero, lord, august son of Enlil! Ninurta, prominent in the E-kur. Coveting and spying are abominations to Ninurta. To take revenge is the of Ninurta. The chasing away of a younger son from the house of his father is an abomination to Ninurta. Violent cursing and chasing away a son from his father's house are abominations to Ninurta. To take revenge is an abomination to Ninurta."
"The king who measured up the hoe and who passes his time in its tracks, the hero Ninurta, has introduced working with the hoe into the rebel lands. He subdues any city that does not obey its lord. Towards heaven he roars like a storm, earthwards he strikes like a dragon (ucumgal)."
"Ickur splits the mountains, yet he does not split the waterskin."
"Emesh, my brother, you should not praise yourself; whatever harvest produce you bring as gifts to the palace has not been made by your toil: you should not brag. As if you were the one who had done the hard work, as if you had done the farming."
"Emesh, my brother, … although you have gathered all things in the Land and filled the storehouses, in all my strength I am their owner when your limbs become tired."
"The slave Emesh, the duly-appointed labourer who will never rest from his toil, a hired man who has to return to the fields of the Land for his own sustenance."
"Enten is controller of the life-giving waters of all the lands -- the farmer of the gods produces everything. Emesh, my son, how can you compare yourself to your brother Enten?"
"Emesh bowed to Enten and offered him a prayer. In his house he prepared emmer-beer and wine. At its side they spend the day at a succulent banquet. Emesh presents Enten with gold, silver and lapis lazuli. They pour out brotherhood and friendship like best oil. By bringing sweet words to the quarrel they have achieved harmony with each other."
"Emesh, the hero whom one does not challenge."
"Emesh founded houses and farmsteads, he made the cattle-pens and sheepfolds wide. He multiplied the stacks of sheaves in all the arable tracts. ... He brought a plentiful harvest into the temples, he heaped up piles of grain. He founded towns and villages, he built the houses of the Land. He made the houses of the gods grow like the hills in a pure place. In E-namtila, the holy seat of kingship, fit for high daises, he established abundance for the Great Mountain (Kur) Enlil."
"Enlil, your verdict is highly valued, your holy word is an exalted word. The verdict you pronounce is one which cannot be altered -- who can change it? There was quarrelling of brother with brother but now there is harmony. For as long as you are occupying the palace, the people will express awe. When it is your season, far be it from me to humiliate you -- in fact I shall praise you."
"Enten, you should not boast about your superior strength after you have explained the grounds for your boasting. … Don't speak with a gaping mouth of your superior strength -- I will make known its shape and essence."
"I am father Enlil's great ."
"Tirelessly and constantly I place abundance upon the fields."
"Holy Enten […] made Ezina appear radiant as a beautiful maiden. The harvest, the great festival of Enlil, rose heavenward."
"By hand Enten guided the spring floods, the abundance and life of the Land, down from the edge of the hills. He set his foot upon the Tigris and Euphrates like a big bull and released them into the fields and fruitful acres of Enlil. He shaped lagoons in the water of the sea. He let fish and birds together come into existence by the sea."
"I am 's help, for her I sweeten the beer."
"Cold water, the tribute of the hills."
"Father, let me have the Bull of Heaven To kill Gilgamesh and his city. For if you do not grant me the Bull of Heaven, I will pull down the Gates of Hell itself, Crush the doorposts and flatten the door, And I will let the dead leave And let the dead roam the earth And they shall eat the living. The dead will overwhelm all the living!"
"[T]he great lady of heaven delivered those words to An. Having heard those words, An slapped his thighs in [annoyance], his voice filled with sighs of grief: "What has my child done? She has become greater than me! What has Inana done? She has become greater than me! From now on, the normal length of daylight becomes shorter, and daylight converts to night-time. From today, when the day's watch is three units long, daylight is equal to night-time." And now, when day began, it was indeed so."
"Even the gods took fright at the Deluge, they left and went up to the heaven of Anu, lying like dogs curled up in the open."
"An lifted his head in pride and brought forth a good day."
"Váruṇa is clearly comparable to the Sumerian deity An. Just as Váruṇa is often styled a king in the Ṛgveda, and is king of both gods and men, or all that exists, so An is associated with the highest authority on earth, that kingship."
"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."
"Upon the hill of heaven and earth, An spawned the Anuna gods."
"Come now, my Lugalbanda. I shall give you some advice: may my advice be heeded. I shall say words to you: bear them in mind."
"I am the prince who decides the destiny of rolling rivers. I keep on the straight and narrow path the righteous who follow Enlil's counsel. My father Enlil brought me here. He let me bar the entrance to the mountains as if with a great door. If I fix a fate, who shall alter it? If I but say the word, who shall change it?"
"A wilful plough-ox should be put back in the track, a balking ass should be made to take the straight path."
"Fair fortune may conceal foul."
"Lugalbanda lies idle in the mountains, in the faraway places; he has ventured into the Zabu mountains. No mother is with him to offer advice, no father is with him to talk to him. No one is with him whom he knows, whom he values, no confidant is there to talk to him. In his heart he speaks to himself: "I shall treat the bird as befits him, I shall treat Anzud as befits him. I shall greet his wife affectionately. I shall seat Anzud's wife and Anzud's child at a banquet. An will fetch Ninguena for me from her mountain home -- the expert woman who redounds to her mother's credit, the expert who redounds to her mother's credit. Her fermenting-vat is of green lapis lazuli, her beer cask is of refined silver and of gold. If she stands by the beer, there is joy, if she sits by the beer, there is gladness; as cupbearer she mixes the beer, never wearying as she walks back and forth, Ninkasi, the keg at her side, on her hips; may she make my beer-serving perfect. When the bird has drunk the beer and is happy, when Anzud has drunk the beer and is happy, he can help me find the place to which the troops of Unug are going, Anzud can put me on the track of my brothers.""
"In the mountains where no cypresses grow, where no snake slithers, where no scorpion stings, in the midst of the mountains the buru-az bird had put its nest and laid therein its eggs; nearby the Anzud bird had set his nest and settled therein his young. It was made with wood from the juniper and the box trees. The bird had made the bright twigs into a bower. When at daybreak the bird stretches himself, when at sunrise Anzud cries out, at his cry the ground quakes in the Lulubi mountains. He has a shark's teeth and an eagle's claws. In terror of him wild bulls run away into the foothills, stags run away into their mountains."
"The bird uttered a cry of grief that reached up to heaven, his wife cried out "Woe!" Her cry reached the abzu. The bird with this cry of "Woe!" and his wife with this cry of grief made the Anuna, gods of the mountains, actually crawl into crevices like ants. The bird says to his wife, Anzud says to his wife, "Foreboding weighs upon my nest, as over the great cattle-pen of Nanna. Terror lies upon it, as when wild lions start butting each other. Who has taken my child from its nest? Who has taken the Anzud from its nest?""
"Let the power of running be in my thighs, let me never grow tired! Let there be strength in my arms, let me stretch my arms wide, let my arms never become weak! Moving like the sunlight, like Inana, like the seven storms, those of IÅ¡kur, let me leap like a flame, blaze like lightning! Let me go wherever I look to, set foot wherever I cast my glance, reach wherever my heart desires and let me loosen my shoes in whatever place my heart has named to me! When Utu lets me reach Kulaba my city, let him who curses me have no joy thereof; let him who wishes to strive with me never say "Just let him come!" I shall have the woodcarvers fashion statues of you, and you will be breathtaking to look upon. Your name will be made famous thereby in Sumer and will redound to the credit of the temples of the great gods."
"Anzud flew on high, Lugalbanda walked on the ground. The bird, looking from above, spies the troops. Lugalbanda, looking from below, spies the dust that the troops have stirred up."
"A bird that darts by in the heavens. The Anzud bird decides the fates with the Anuna gods."
"Youthful Utu, [...] brilliant light, great lion, [...] hero emerging from the holy interior of heaven, storm whose splendour covers the Land and is laden with great awesomeness; Utu, king of justice that befits the true offspring, made Culgi, the trustworthy shepherd, glorious in the battle. The great wild bull, youthful Utu, who like a torch illuminates the Land from the holy heavens; the wise one of all the countries, the fearsome radiance of Urac, the just god among the , the long, holy dragon, the first-born son cherished by Suen, the lord born to command -- Utu bestowed the kingship of the Land on Culgi."
"Enki, the bull of g."
"Enki from within the sacred bathing chamber has placed the good earth, the good mother, at your feet. [...] And from the place of the sanctuary g, Enki has determined for you your lordship and majesty."
"O angry great butting bull! O torch! O great bull of Enki, standing aggressively, coming forth from the abzu, the pure place!"
"Like Enki, king of the abzu, I am successful in finding solutions."
"Enki, our judge and adjudicator."