Mythology

cities. Another myth describes the activities of Enki in providing Sumer with the necessary elements of civilization. The myth describes how Enki, beginning with Sumer, journeys through different parts of the world, ‘fixing the destinies’, a Sumerian term meaning the creative activity of the gods in bringing order into the universe. First Enki visits Ur, then Meluhha, which might possibly signify Egypt, then the rivers Tigris and Euphrates which he fills with fishes, and then the Persian Gulf. Over each of these he appoints a god or goddess to take charge. A passage from Kramer’s translation of this interesting myth will illustrate the nature of Enki’s civilizing activities: [3] The plough and the yoke he (Enki) directed, The great prince Enki caused the ox to . . .; To the pure crops he roared, In the steadfast field he made grain grow; The lord, the jewel and ornament of the plain, The . . . farmer of Enlil, Enkimdu, him of the canals and ditches, Enki placed in their charge. The lord called to the steadfast field, he caused it to produce much grain, Enki made it bring forth its small and large beans . . . The . . . grains he heaped up for the granary, Enki added granary to granary, With Enlil he increases abundance in the land; Her whose head is . . . whose face is.. . The lady who . . . the might of the land, the steadfast support of the black-headed people, Ashnan, strength of all things, Enki placed in charge. Enki then goes on to place the brick-god, Kabta, in charge of the pick-axe and the brick- mould. He lays foundations and builds houses, and places them under the charge of Mushdamma, the ‘great builder of Enlil’. He fills the plain with vegetable and animal, life, and places Sumuqan, ‘king of the mountain’, in charge. Lastly, Enki builds stables and sheepfolds and places them under the shepherd-god Dumuzi. The last myth dealing with the organization of the universe to which we shall refer is concerned with the activities of the goddess manna, or Ishtar. We have already had occasion to refer to the expression ‘fixing the destinies’, and we shall see when we come to deal with Babylonian myths that an object called ‘the tablet of destinies’ plays an important part in several myths. The possession of it was one of the attributes of deity, and we hear of the tablets being stolen or taken by force on several occasions. The god who possessed them had the power of controlling the order of the universe. In the myth with which we are now dealing, Inanna wishes to confer the blessings of civilization upon her own city, Erech. In order to do this she must acquire the me, a Sumerian word which appears to denote the same power as that which is conferred by the possession of the Akkadian ‘tablets of destiny’. The me are in the hands of Enki, the god of wisdom. Accordingly, Inanna journeys to Eridu, where Enki dwells in his house of the Apsu, the sweet-water abyss. Enki receives his daughter Inanna hospitably and makes a great feast for her. When he gets merry with wine he promises her all kinds of gifts, including the me, or divine decrees which, in Kramer’s words, are ‘the basis of the culture pattern of Sumerian civilization’. The myth contains a list of over a

Note: If you are looking for good and high quality web space to host and run your jsp application check Lunarwebhost jsp web hosting services