History of Various Areas (15)(as of 1900)

A most valuable contribution has recently been made to our knowledge of
Sumerian religion and of the light in which these early rulers regarded
the cult and worship of their gods, by the complete interpretation of
the long texts inscribed upon the famous cylinders of Gudea, the patesi
of Shirpurla, which have been preserved for many years in the Louvre.
These two great cylinders of baked clay were discovered by the late M.
de Sarzec so long ago as the year 1877, during the first period of his
diggings at Telloh, and, although the general nature of their contents
has long been recognized, no complete translation of the texts inscribed
upon them had been published until a few months ago. M. Thureau-Dangin,
who has made the early Sumerian texts his special study, has devoted
himself to their interpretation for some years past, and he has just
issued the first part of his monograph upon them. In view of the
importance of the texts and of the light they throw upon the religious
beliefs and practices of the early Sumerians, a somewhat detailed
account of their contents may here be given.
The occasion on which the cylinders were made was the rebuilding by
Gudea of E-ninn?, the great temple of the god Ningirsu, in the city of
Shirpurla. The two cylinders supplement one another, one of them having
been inscribed while the work of construction was still in progress, the
other after the completion of the temple, when the god Ningirsu had been
installed within his shrine with due pomp and ceremony. It would appear
that Southern Babylonia had been suffering from a prolonged drought, and
that the water in the rivers and canals had fallen, so that the crops
had suffered and the country was threatened with famine. Gudea was at a
loss to know by what means he might restore prosperity to his country,
when one night he had a dream, and it was in consequence of this dream
that he eventually erected one of the most sumptuously appointed of
Sumerian temples. By this means he secured the return of Ningirsu's
favour and that of the other gods, and his country once more enjoyed the
blessings of peace and prosperity.
In the opening words of the first of his cylinders Gudea describes how
the great gods themselves took counsel and decreed that he should build
the temple of E-ninn? and thereby restore to his city the supply of
water it had formerly enjoyed. He records that on the day on which the
destinies were fixed in heaven and upon earth, Enlil, the chief of the
gods, and Ningirsu, the city-god of Shirpurla, held converse. And Enlil,
turning to Ningirsu, said: "In my city that which is fitting is not
done. The stream doth not rise. The stream of Enlil doth not rise. The
high waters shine not, neither do they show their splendour. The stream
of Enlil bringeth not good water like the Tigris. Let the King (i.e.
Ningirsu) therefore proclaim the temple. Let the decrees of the temple
E-ninn? be made illustrious in heaven and upon earth!" The great gods
did not communicate their orders directly to Gudea, but conveyed their
wishes to him by means of a dream. And while the patesi slept a vision
of the night came to him, and he beheld a man whose stature was so great
that it equalled the heavens and the earth. And by the crown he wore
upon his head Gudea knew that the figure must be a god. And by his side
was the divine eagle, the emblem of Shirpurla, and his feet rested upon
the whirlwind, and a lion was crouching upon his right hand and upon his
left. And the figure spoke to the patesi, but he did not understand the
meaning of the words. Then it seemed to Gudea that the sun rose from
the earth and he beheld a woman holding in her hand a pure reed, and she
carried also a tablet on which was a star of the heavens, and she seemed
to take counsel with herself. And while Gudea was gazing he seemed to
see a second man who was like a warrior; and he carried a slab of lapis
lazuli and on it he drew out the plan of a temple. And before the patesi
himself it seemed that a fair cushion was placed, and upon the cushion
was set a mould, and within the mould was a brick, the brick of destiny.
And on the right hand the patesi beheld an ass which lay upon the
ground.
Such was the dream which Gudea beheld in a vision of the night, and he
was troubled because he could not interpret it. So he decided to go
to the goddess Nin?, who could divine all mysteries of the gods, and
beseech her to tell him the meaning of the vision. But before applying
to the goddess for her help, he thought it best to secure the mediation
of the god Ningirsu and the goddess Gatumdug, in order that they should
use their influence with Nin? to induce her to reveal the interpretation
of the dream. So the patesi set out to the temple of Ningirsu, and,
having offered a sacrifice and poured out fresh water, he prayed to the
god that his sister, Nin?, the child of Eridu, might be prevailed upon
to give him help. And the god hearkened to his prayer. Then Gudea made
offerings, and before the sleeping-chamber of the goddess Gatumdug he
offered a sacrifice and poured out fresh water. And he prayed to the
goddess, calling her his queen and the child of the pure heaven, who
gave life to the countries and befriended and preserved the people or
the man on whom she looked with favour.
"I have no mother," cried Gudea, "but thou art my mother! I have no
father, but thou art a father to me!" And the goddess Gatumdug gave
ear to the patesi's prayer. Thus encouraged by her favour and that of
Ningirsu, Gudea set out for the temple of the goddess Nin?.

On his arrival at the temple, the patesi offered a sacrifice and poured
out fresh water, as he had already done when approaching the presence of
Ningirsu and Gatumdug. And he prayed to Nin?, as the goddess who divines
the secrets of the gods, beseeching her to interpret the vision that had
been sent to him; and he then recounted to her the details of his dream.
When the patesi had finished his story, the goddess addressed him and
told him that she would explain the meaning of his dream to him. And
this was the interpretation of the dream. The man whose stature was so
great that it equalled the heavens and the earth, whose head was that
of a god, at whose side was the divine eagle, whose feet rested on the
whirlwind, while a lion couched on his right hand and on his left, was
her brother, the god Ningirsu. And the words which he uttered were an
order to the patesi that he should build the temple E-ninn?. And the sun
which rose from the earth before the patesi was the god Ningishzida,
for like the sun he goes forth from the earth. And the maiden who held
a pure reed in her hand, and carried the tablet with the star, was her
sister, the goddess Nidaba: the star was the pure star of the temple's
construction, which she proclaimed. And the second man, who was like a
warrior and carried the slab of lapis lazuli, was the god Nindub, and the
plan of the temple which he drew was the plan of E-ninn?. And the brick
which rested in its mould upon the cushion was the sacred brick of
E-ninn?. And as for the ass which lay upon the ground, that, the goddess
said, was the patesi himself.