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ThoughT http://www.facebook.com/RyanMatthew28 Also check out my great friend Jonathan Fernandez on here for some magnificent reading material.
In the inbetween
I write because life would be unlivable if I didn't.
Poems
Johnny Noiπ
Jul 2018
I know that girl told u
her name was Jezebel
but it's really Tiamat & she's a monster;
I recognize her face from
[Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal
impressions from the eighth century BC
identified by several sources
as a possible depiction of the slaying
of Tiamat from the Enûma Eliš
of Ancient Mesopotamian religion:
Chaos Monster & Sun God [Primordial beings ( )]
Abzu & Tiamat. Lahmu & Lahamu
Anshar & Kishar Mummu
The Seven gods who decree the
Other major deities;
Minor deities, Demigods & heroes,
Spirits & monsters of the
[Tales
of Ancient Near Eastern religions
[Sumerian & Babylonian
In the religion of ancient Babylon, Tiamat
(Akkadian:AM.TUM, Greek: Θαλάττη Thaláttē)
is a primordial goddess of the salt sea,
mating with Abzû, the god of fresh water,
to produce the younger gods.
She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation.
She is referred to as a woman described as the glistening one.
It is suggested that there are two parts
to the Tiamat mythos, in the first
Tiamat is a creator goddess,
through a sacred marriage between salt and fresh water,
peacefully creating the cosmos
through successive generations;
In the second Chaoskampf Tiamat
is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos;
Some sources identify her with images
of a sea serpent or dragon
[The motif of Chaoskampf (German: [ˈkaːɔsˌkampf], "struggle against
chaos")
is ubiquitous in global myth & legend,
depicting a battle of a culture hero deity
with a chaos monster, often in the shape
of a serpent or dragon or beautiful woman;
the same term has
also been extended to parallel concepts
in the Middle East and North Africa, such
as the abstract conflict of ideas in the Egyptian
duality of Maat and Isfet or the battle of Horus and Set
The origins of the Chaoskampf myth
most likely lie in the Proto-Indo-European religion
whose descendants
almost all feature some variation of the story
of the storm god fighting the
sea serpent; representing
clash between the forces of order and chaos;
Early work by German academics
such as Gunkel and Bousset's comparative mythology
popularized translating the mythological
sea serpent as a "dragon."
Indo-European examples of this mythic trope
include Thor vs. Jörmungandr (Norse),
Tarḫunz vs. Illuyanka (Hittite),
Indra vs. Vritra (Vedic),
Θraētaona vs. Aži Dahāka (Avestan);
Zeus vs. Typhon (Greek) among others; Non-Indo-European
examples of this trope are
Yahweh vs. Leviathan (Hebrew),
Susano'o vs. Yamata no Orochi (Japanese) &
Mwindo vs. Kirimu (African).
In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation,
she gives birth to the first generation of deities;
her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming
they are planning to **** him and usurp his throne,
makes war upon them and is killed. Enraged, she,
too, wars upon her husband's murderers,
taking on the form
of a massive sea dragon; |
she is slain by Enki's son,
the storm-god Marduk, but not before
she has brought forth the monsters
of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons,
whose bodies she fills w/ "poison instead of blood" -
Marduk then forms the heavens and the earth from her quartered body.
her name was Jezebel
but it's really Tiamat & she's a monster;
I recognize her face from
[Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal
impressions from the eighth century BC
identified by several sources
as a possible depiction of the slaying
of Tiamat from the Enûma Eliš
of Ancient Mesopotamian religion:
Chaos Monster & Sun God [Primordial beings ( )]
Abzu & Tiamat. Lahmu & Lahamu
Anshar & Kishar Mummu
The Seven gods who decree the
Other major deities;
Minor deities, Demigods & heroes,
Spirits & monsters of the
[Tales
of Ancient Near Eastern religions
[Sumerian & Babylonian
In the religion of ancient Babylon, Tiamat
(Akkadian:AM.TUM, Greek: Θαλάττη Thaláttē)
is a primordial goddess of the salt sea,
mating with Abzû, the god of fresh water,
to produce the younger gods.
She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creation.
She is referred to as a woman described as the glistening one.
It is suggested that there are two parts
to the Tiamat mythos, in the first
Tiamat is a creator goddess,
through a sacred marriage between salt and fresh water,
peacefully creating the cosmos
through successive generations;
In the second Chaoskampf Tiamat
is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos;
Some sources identify her with images
of a sea serpent or dragon
[The motif of Chaoskampf (German: [ˈkaːɔsˌkampf], "struggle against
chaos")
is ubiquitous in global myth & legend,
depicting a battle of a culture hero deity
with a chaos monster, often in the shape
of a serpent or dragon or beautiful woman;
the same term has
also been extended to parallel concepts
in the Middle East and North Africa, such
as the abstract conflict of ideas in the Egyptian
duality of Maat and Isfet or the battle of Horus and Set
The origins of the Chaoskampf myth
most likely lie in the Proto-Indo-European religion
whose descendants
almost all feature some variation of the story
of the storm god fighting the
sea serpent; representing
clash between the forces of order and chaos;
Early work by German academics
such as Gunkel and Bousset's comparative mythology
popularized translating the mythological
sea serpent as a "dragon."
Indo-European examples of this mythic trope
include Thor vs. Jörmungandr (Norse),
Tarḫunz vs. Illuyanka (Hittite),
Indra vs. Vritra (Vedic),
Θraētaona vs. Aži Dahāka (Avestan);
Zeus vs. Typhon (Greek) among others; Non-Indo-European
examples of this trope are
Yahweh vs. Leviathan (Hebrew),
Susano'o vs. Yamata no Orochi (Japanese) &
Mwindo vs. Kirimu (African).
In the Enûma Elish, the Babylonian epic of creation,
she gives birth to the first generation of deities;
her husband, Apsu, correctly assuming
they are planning to **** him and usurp his throne,
makes war upon them and is killed. Enraged, she,
too, wars upon her husband's murderers,
taking on the form
of a massive sea dragon; |
she is slain by Enki's son,
the storm-god Marduk, but not before
she has brought forth the monsters
of the Mesopotamian pantheon, including the first dragons,
whose bodies she fills w/ "poison instead of blood" -
Marduk then forms the heavens and the earth from her quartered body.
Ken Pepiton Oct 2018
Pythagorian permission
Ken Pepiton
Oct 2018
--- as a boy, I explored a hermit's lair
--- the hermit was not there, he'd left nothing but a tin box
--- of charcoal pills, a panacea for curiosity, I was told.
This old bearded fellow who lived at the foot o'thumb butte,
by the burro's water hole,
other side o'the hill from Doug McVicar's Jasper find
Tidal shorelines from my child hood
swirling through the softed rocks
Boulders on the bottom, roll on, crustal waves rise and fall
it all goes back to that 13,000 year mark
when Gobekli Tepi,
was in the building,
long long before
the Hopis were on the Pollen Way, leaving land marks on
Rocks risen above the desert floor
Some thing came from space, something very cold,
a snowball so big it tugged the ocean of magma
through the crust of the earth
nuclear glass, same time. nano diamonds
The younger dryas-
melt water pulse, fire from the sky, men could see that, with their own eyes.
and then they saw the clouds of witnesses
Rituals learned, the story heart seeps from mother to child,
at first touch some say.
Specialized touches were included in the 2.0s.
Holistic wuwu Randall Carlson laughs, why lie? Evidence, see.
What did you see when you passed through hell the first time?
Nothing, you kept your eyes shut.
Are you really
Experienced? That was the question. Ask the experts,
but some of them lie.
Never trust their clocks, that's wise. Time is too temporary to make
much difference
in the long run. Time, least of all powers in eternity. Chronos,
Chaos shattered him, and some story teller on a journey
saw the event
while his tongue was being tamed, a task no man can do.
Fire and Ice from heaven to earth,
whole peoples saw it,
with the eyes in their head
Hope is the key to the heart's lock on reality
The younger Dryad's oak burned,
Drought killed all the others, bugs killed the elms.
Ah spirit to spirit, compare. The heart of the world is weeping
for the ignorant eaters of poisoned poems and stagnant stories
speed kills when it comes to cosmic notes on rocks
patience, under stand the canopy of heaven can, filter
poison from those
stagnant stories's idle words, redemption draweth nigh,
count on it. Keep counting, patience finishes what she starts.
Sacred Geometry, scale invariance, I saw the Mississippi
Carve meandering ant canyons in the dirt
while watching the rain
Nothing's secret anymore, that's a reality that may be beyond
your thought. Textbook in stone. I know geometry Mr. P,
can I come in? She who builds, who destroys, who rebuilds, suggested
my bombs have a Nobel role,
in energizing
the ark
the earth is the ark, but you knew that already, right.
Acacia bush visions from a medium
of messaging the master builder,
who, you know, made this
happen, used to heal with ashes.
Healing war, study it no more, it is
possible man, alone, can imagine.
The Godhead? What's the big idea? You a heretic, Mr. P?
Come and see, leave the clock/phone.
---
This is big momma story, little clay doll with pointy feet
sticks in the dirt, stares at the fire,
the story mamma, shhh
Stands, and lifts her hands up high, pointing
all her fingers to the skies where ashes, glowing
rise,
like we can imagine the stars once scattered by God
and his sons's servants prepping
origins of human conflict taught
Tubalcain by fire light, while Jubal
Sang the very umph umph song from
Taj Mahal' 1970 with Jerry, Fillmore West,
A message to Garcia, from on high:
the imbecility of the average man—
the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it,
That, resist. It is evil.
Angels, imaginable, you know, mere messages, nothin more,
so great a cloud of witnesses
there was a times when all
imaginations men were imagining heartily
were evil, altogether.
Enki left and went to the moon, or that's the story grandma's
sisters told me
when I was a little boy lost and found from time to time
The serpent on the staff, where's that story from?
Who says their mammy saw that happen.
Time, Hosts of Heaven, time is one of those.
Fan tasty taste, see, the truth is good.
Freedom, responsible freedom, take as granted,
intend good and go.
Seed of the Dream,
I planted that. It contained this fact,
we reap what we sow.
Ambi-Dios, ambit-ion with no hope for something just beyond
the best that I have ever done,
that'll make a child mean as hell, on the average,
according to the data Google smuggled into China
through those super phones,
unavailable in the USA, protected by the wielders
of destruction who eat the world up,
and drink its very blood.
the bread of shame, is fed to slaves to keep them in the queue,
BTW que-eee was the word I used for ****, when I was a child.
I took that word to school.
Nobody knew what it meant. I considered that cool
and kept my secret until just now.
I feel so free.
A builder sees a building and the builder in a single glance.
None may enter here lacking geometry, that's no secret now.
The cultivated Pythagorean mind, simple as pi.
'Cain't get to Romans eight, which is here, now, I think,
with out going beyond Hebrew six.
The measure of a man that is the angel. No comma,
just a jot, then this means that,
to the mind
listening for mystery in beauty found lying around.,
glistening in the sun.
--- the hermit was not there, he'd left nothing but a tin box
--- of charcoal pills, a panacea for curiosity, I was told.
This old bearded fellow who lived at the foot o'thumb butte,
by the burro's water hole,
other side o'the hill from Doug McVicar's Jasper find
Tidal shorelines from my child hood
swirling through the softed rocks
Boulders on the bottom, roll on, crustal waves rise and fall
it all goes back to that 13,000 year mark
when Gobekli Tepi,
was in the building,
long long before
the Hopis were on the Pollen Way, leaving land marks on
Rocks risen above the desert floor
Some thing came from space, something very cold,
a snowball so big it tugged the ocean of magma
through the crust of the earth
nuclear glass, same time. nano diamonds
The younger dryas-
melt water pulse, fire from the sky, men could see that, with their own eyes.
and then they saw the clouds of witnesses
Rituals learned, the story heart seeps from mother to child,
at first touch some say.
Specialized touches were included in the 2.0s.
Holistic wuwu Randall Carlson laughs, why lie? Evidence, see.
What did you see when you passed through hell the first time?
Nothing, you kept your eyes shut.
Are you really
Experienced? That was the question. Ask the experts,
but some of them lie.
Never trust their clocks, that's wise. Time is too temporary to make
much difference
in the long run. Time, least of all powers in eternity. Chronos,
Chaos shattered him, and some story teller on a journey
saw the event
while his tongue was being tamed, a task no man can do.
Fire and Ice from heaven to earth,
whole peoples saw it,
with the eyes in their head
Hope is the key to the heart's lock on reality
The younger Dryad's oak burned,
Drought killed all the others, bugs killed the elms.
Ah spirit to spirit, compare. The heart of the world is weeping
for the ignorant eaters of poisoned poems and stagnant stories
speed kills when it comes to cosmic notes on rocks
patience, under stand the canopy of heaven can, filter
poison from those
stagnant stories's idle words, redemption draweth nigh,
count on it. Keep counting, patience finishes what she starts.
Sacred Geometry, scale invariance, I saw the Mississippi
Carve meandering ant canyons in the dirt
while watching the rain
Nothing's secret anymore, that's a reality that may be beyond
your thought. Textbook in stone. I know geometry Mr. P,
can I come in? She who builds, who destroys, who rebuilds, suggested
my bombs have a Nobel role,
in energizing
the ark
the earth is the ark, but you knew that already, right.
Acacia bush visions from a medium
of messaging the master builder,
who, you know, made this
happen, used to heal with ashes.
Healing war, study it no more, it is
possible man, alone, can imagine.
The Godhead? What's the big idea? You a heretic, Mr. P?
Come and see, leave the clock/phone.
---
This is big momma story, little clay doll with pointy feet
sticks in the dirt, stares at the fire,
the story mamma, shhh
Stands, and lifts her hands up high, pointing
all her fingers to the skies where ashes, glowing
rise,
like we can imagine the stars once scattered by God
and his sons's servants prepping
origins of human conflict taught
Tubalcain by fire light, while Jubal
Sang the very umph umph song from
Taj Mahal' 1970 with Jerry, Fillmore West,
A message to Garcia, from on high:
the imbecility of the average man—
the inability or unwillingness to concentrate on a thing and do it,
That, resist. It is evil.
Angels, imaginable, you know, mere messages, nothin more,
so great a cloud of witnesses
there was a times when all
imaginations men were imagining heartily
were evil, altogether.
Enki left and went to the moon, or that's the story grandma's
sisters told me
when I was a little boy lost and found from time to time
The serpent on the staff, where's that story from?
Who says their mammy saw that happen.
Time, Hosts of Heaven, time is one of those.
Fan tasty taste, see, the truth is good.
Freedom, responsible freedom, take as granted,
intend good and go.
Seed of the Dream,
I planted that. It contained this fact,
we reap what we sow.
Ambi-Dios, ambit-ion with no hope for something just beyond
the best that I have ever done,
that'll make a child mean as hell, on the average,
according to the data Google smuggled into China
through those super phones,
unavailable in the USA, protected by the wielders
of destruction who eat the world up,
and drink its very blood.
the bread of shame, is fed to slaves to keep them in the queue,
BTW que-eee was the word I used for ****, when I was a child.
I took that word to school.
Nobody knew what it meant. I considered that cool
and kept my secret until just now.
I feel so free.
A builder sees a building and the builder in a single glance.
None may enter here lacking geometry, that's no secret now.
The cultivated Pythagorean mind, simple as pi.
'Cain't get to Romans eight, which is here, now, I think,
with out going beyond Hebrew six.
The measure of a man that is the angel. No comma,
just a jot, then this means that,
to the mind
listening for mystery in beauty found lying around.,
glistening in the sun.
The charcoal pills I found fifty three years ago, these wandering thoughts I found dancing the trail earlier this morning.
Michael R Burch
Apr 2020
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
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
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Keywords/Tags: Enheduanna, translation, Akkad, Sumer, Ur, Sumerian temple hymns, Ninhursag, Kesh, Aratta
These are modern English translations of poems written by Enheduanna, the first poet we know by name.