History of Various Areas (18)(as of 1900)

The cultivator of the district of Gu-edin was the god Gishbare, and he
was installed in the temple that he might cause the great fields to be
fertile, and might make the wheat glisten in Gu-edin, the plain assigned
to Ningirsu for his revenues. It was this god's duty also to tend the
machines for irrigation, and to raise the water into the canals and
ditches of Shirpurla, and thus to keep the city's granaries well filled.
The god Kal was the guardian of the fishing in Gu-edin, and his chief
duty was to place fish in the sacred pools. The steward of Gu-edin was
the god Dimgalabzu, whose duty it was to keep the plain in good order,
so that the birds might abound there and the beasts might raise their
young in peace; he also guarded the special privilege, which the plain
enjoyed, of freedom from any tax levied upon the increase of the
cattle pastured there. Last of all Gudea installed in E-ninn? the god
Lugalenurua-zagakam, who looked after the construction of houses in the
city and the building of fortresses upon the city wall; in the temple it
was his privilege to raise on high a battle-axe made of cedar.
All these lesser deities, having close relations to the god Ningirsu,
were installed by Gudea in his temple in close proximity to him, that
they might be always ready to perform their special functions. But the
greater deities also had their share in the inauguration of the temple,
and of these Gudea specially mentions Ana, Enlil, Ninkharsag, Enki, and
Enzu, who all assisted in rendering the temple's lot propitious. For at
least three of the greater gods (Ana, Enlil, and the goddess Nin-makh)
Gudea erected shrines near one another and probably within the temple's
precincts, and, as the passage which records this fact is broken, it is
possible that the missing portion of the text recorded the building of
shrines to other deities. In any case, it is clear that the composer
of the text represents all the great gods as beholding the erection and
inauguration of Ningirsu's new temple with favour.

After the account of the installation of Ningirsu, and his spouse Bau,
and his attendant deities, the text records the sumptuous offerings
which Gudea placed within Ningirsu's shrine. These included another
chariot drawn by an ass, a seven-headed battle-axe, a sword with nine
emblems, a bow with terrible arrows and a quiver decorated with wild
beasts and dragons shooting out their tongues, and a bed which was
set within the god's sleeping-chamber. On the couch in the shrine the
goddess Bau reclined beside her lord Ningirsu, and ate of the great
victims which were sacrificed in their honour.
When the ceremony of installation had been successfully performed, Gudea
rested, and for seven days he feasted with his people. During this time
the maid was the equal of her mistress, and master and servant consorted
together as friends. The powerful and the humble man lay down side by
side, and in place of evil speech only propitious words were heard. The
rich man did not wrong the orphan and the strong man did not oppress the
widow. The laws of Nin? and Ningirsu were observed, justice was bright
in the sunlight, and the Sun-god trampled iniquity under foot. The
building of the temple also restored material prosperity to the land,
for the canals became full of water and fish swarmed in the pools, the
granaries were filled with grain and the flocks and herds brought forth
their increase. The city of Shirpurla was satiated with abundance.

Such is a summary of the account which Gudea has left us of his
rebuilding of the temple E-ninn?, of the reasons which led him to
undertake the work, and of the results which followed its completion. It
has often been said that the inscriptions of the ancient Sumerians are
without much intrinsic value, that they mainly consist of dull votive
formul?, and that for general interest the best of them cannot be
compared with the later inscriptions of the Semitic inhabitants
of Mesopotamia. This reproach, for which until recently there was
considerable justification, has been finally removed by the working
out of the texts upon Gudea's cylinders. For picturesque narrative, for
wealth of detail, and for striking similes, it would be hard to find
their superior in Babylonian and Assyrian literature. They are, in fact,
very remarkable compositions, and in themselves justify the claim that
the Sumerians were possessed of a literature in the proper sense of the
term.

But that is not their only value, for they give a vivid picture of
ancient Sumerian life and of the ideals and aims which actuated the
people and their rulers. The Sumerians were essentially an unmilitary
race. That they could maintain a stubborn fight for their territory is
proved by the prolonged struggle maintained by Shirpurla against her
rival Gishkhu, but neither ruler nor people was inflamed by love of
conquest for its own sake. They were settled in a rich and fertile
country, which supplied their own wants in abundance, and they were
content to lead a peaceful life therein, engaged in agricultural and
industrial pursuits, and devoted wholly to the worship of their gods.
Gudea's inscriptions enable us to realize with what fervour they carried
out the rebuilding of a temple, and how the whole resources of the
nation were devoted to the successful completion of the work. It is true
that the rebuilding of E-ninn? was undertaken in a critical period when
the land was threatened with famine, and the peculiar magnificence with
which the work was carried out may be partly explained as due to the
belief that such devotion would ensure a return of material prosperity.
But the existence of such a belief is in itself an index to the people's
character, and we may take it that the record faithfully represents the
relations of the Sumerians to their gods, and the important place which
worship and ritual occupied in the national life.

Moreover, the inscriptions of Gudea furnish much valuable information
with regard to the details of Sumerian worship and the elaborate
organization of the temples. From them we can reconstruct a picture of
one of these immense buildings, with its numerous shrines and courts,
surrounded by sacred gardens and raising its ziggurat, or temple tower,
high above the surrounding city. Within its dark chambers were the
mysterious figures of the gods, and what little light could enter would
have been reflected in the tanks of sacred water sunk to the level of
the pavement. The air within the shrines must have been heavy with the
smell of incense and of aromatic woods, while the deep silence would
have been broken only by the chanting of the priests and the feet of
those that bore offerings. Outside in the sunlight cedars and other rare
trees cast a pleasant shade, and birds flew about among the flowers and
bushes in the outer courts and on the garden terraces. The area covered
by the temple buildings must have been enormous, for they included the
dwellings of the priests, stables and pens for the cattle, sheep, and
kids employed for sacrifice, and treasure-chambers and storehouses and
granaries for the produce from the temple lands.

We also get much information with regard to the nature of the offerings
and the character of the ceremonies which were performed. We may mention
as of peculiar interest Gudea's symbolical rite which preceded the
making of the sun-dried bricks, and the ceremony of the installation of
Ningirsu in the presence of the prostrate city. The texts also throw
an interesting light on the truly Oriental manner in which, when
approaching one deity for help, the cooperation and assistance of other
deities were first secured. Thus Gudea solicited the intercession of
Ningirsu and Gatumdug before applying to the goddess Nin? to interpret
his dream. The extremely human character of the gods themselves is also
well illustrated. Thus we gather from the texts that Ningirsu's temple
was arranged like the palace of a Sumerian ruler and that he was
surrounded by gods who took the place of the attendants and ministers
of his human counterpart. His son was installed in a place of honour and
shared with him the responsibility of government. Another god was his
personal attendant and cupbearer, who offered him fair water and looked
after the ablutions. Two more were his generals, who secured his country
against the attacks of foes. Another was his counsellor, who received
and presented petitions from his subjects and superintended his
journeys. Another was the head of his har?m, a position of great
trust and responsibility, while a keeper of the har?m looked after the
practical details. Another god was the driver of his chariot, and it
is interesting to note that the chariot was drawn by an ass, for horses
were not introduced into Western Asia until a much later period. Other
gods performed the functions of head shepherd, chief musician, chief
singer, head cultivator and inspector of irrigation, inspector of the
fishing, land steward, and architect. His household also included his
wife and his seven virgin daughters. In addition to the account of the
various functions performed by these lesser deities, the texts also
furnish valuable facts with regard to the characters and attributes
of the greater gods and goddesses, such as the attributes of Ningirsu
himself, and the character of Nin? as the goddess who divined and
interpreted the secrets of the gods.