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Post by Meslamtaea on Jan 22, 2009 2:31:43 GMT -5
*Note: Expect more detailed notes when I have more time to go over this. I'm just putting it up in hopes that people will be able to help me in my research.
Hey folks.
So this is my first serious thread on the forum, and it's on a kind of mythological and religious text which has really fascinated me over the last 6 months. Sadly it seems fairly obscure and I haven't been able to find much subject matter about it at least on hand in my geographic area or in the English language.
The Erra Epos is an epic story (not written in line or meter, and criticized as not archetypal enough to count as an epic) written by a Babylonian priest named Kabti-Ilani-Marduk. It's written date is projected as being no earlier than 800 B.C.
The story follows the god of famine, Erra, who is roused by his servants, the Sebitti in their demonic forms, and his herald Ishum, the god of fire. Erra is sleeping with his consort Mami and, with difficulty, is convinced to go into battle and cause chaos so as to punish the wicked in Babylon. He turns the world upside-down with his rage, causing a riot in Babylon, and convinces Marduk to give him his chair as king of the universe for a short period of time. Erra's blood lust is quenched and to the horror and regret of his servant Ishum, Erra continues on his warpath.
Ishum tries to debate to Erra the wrong of his actions, and that he is killing good people as well as the evil, but Erra is unswayed. Finally, as invaders raid Babylon and whole cities lie in ruin, Erra holds an assembly of the gods and expresses his great rage. He then retires back to Emeslam, telling Ishum to expel the invaders from Babylon. The story ends with a praise of Erra for stopping just short of destroying the world, and a prophecy is invoked about a man stepping up from Akkad.
Some of these details may be a bit off. My translation was part of a collection of Mesopotamian myths for non-scholarly readers, and I've lent my friend my copy. I pursued more information about scholarly criticism of the epic but wasn't able to find an enormous amount. I found an article from the '70s discussing Erra's etymology as "scorched earth" and that Erra might litterally be a god of "burnt stuff" while his herald, Ishum, is the flame itself. However in my translation (Dalley's) she notes in the index that this is likely incorrect, but I've found no article or information to the contrary.
Now, the most fascinating thing about this poem is that it is thought to be almost utterly unique in the literature of Mesopotamia because it's theorized by many that it is a mythologized recounting of an actual period of political turmoil in Babylonia. There's supposedly an ongoing debate concerning what exactly this period was, but I have been unable to find any of these exchanges and articles.
So I'm looking for any information regarding the poem, the god Erra and his nature, and also the Sebitti (which I think this forum will be able to help with.) and any pointing to resources would help my understanding greatly. =)
Thanks Guys! -Drew
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Post by darya on Jan 22, 2009 16:59:38 GMT -5
Hi Drew I am taking two classes this year on the Erra epic. One is work on the cuneiform and grammar, the other is on interpreting the text and setting it in the context of Mesopotamian literature. First, there is a translation that I personally like and recommend in English; it is called Erra and Ishum and is published in B. Fosters' "Before the muses". It is one of the most recent and up-to-date translations of the text. Most researchers say that the text does refer to an historical event, but none has yet been able to give precise details as to which event it could be. Some say it refers to a change of dynasty. The reference to the "invadors" (Suteans) doesn't seem to have helped answer the question so far, but many texts of different periods refer to them. As to Erra, he is the same as the God Nergal, got of the Netherworld. I had never heard of the "scortched earth" ethymology, I should look into that. What I find interesting and it is quite unusual in Mesopotamian literature is the fact that the entire text is made of speeches. There are no descriptions, and no narration. All the characters tell the story through words. I guess that is the real signature of Kabti-ilâni-Marduk, along with the fact that the use of verbal aspects seems to indicate that the text, though it is written in Standard Babylonian, was indeed written by somebody who was more used to write in the Neo-Babylonian dialect. But I can't really say much more about that, as I don't know much about that dialect. I don't know if this has been of any help. I do know of another translation of the epic by Jean Bottéro, but it is in French, unless his book "Lorsque les dieux faisaient l'homme" was translated into English. There were many articles published on the matter, with bits and pieces of the text (I am thinking of Jeremy Black and Arawi's publication of a fragment of Tablet II in Iraq 53, 1989, that changes the entire vision we used to have of Erra and Marduk's discussion, but I think Foster takes this study into account in his own translation). I hope this was helpful, if you have any other questions, I can try to answer, if I can.
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Post by darya on Jan 25, 2009 9:45:33 GMT -5
I of course forgot to mention the reference work on the Erra epic. It is a little outdated as it was published in 1969, and is in Italian, but it is still the basis for a good study of the epic. Luigi Cagni, L'epopea di Erra.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Jan 25, 2009 22:10:09 GMT -5
Rookillus: Wonderful summation! This is a great framing of the subject matter and I think you are asking all the right questions. Most often, when a new poster comes I can usually exhaust there curiousity and appetite for data with a quick browse of the modest ANE bookshelf behind me. In your case I have a feeling I will soon need to be ordering some materials from Toronto for this one! Darya: Thanks very much for your addition - This is very nice to have perspective from a student. I definitely enjoy your comments here, and the Foster suggestion is great, he is a good commentator. I'm sure we will get back to you soon Now for a look at my shelf hm..
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Jan 26, 2009 9:11:52 GMT -5
_______________________
Reviewing
Erra: Scorched Earth
by: J. J. M. Roberts
_______________ So this is the article noted above, published in JCS 1971, and I notice quite quickly that I also have it in my electronic article collection. Even though this material is accounted for I think I would benefit from re-acquainting myself with it and also I will look closely at the footnotes to get a sense of where scholarship on Erra is. Roberts begins by orientating the reader to the state of some of the recent research on Erra which may be very useful for us. First, in note 1, he explains that this paper is an expansion on the work he did on Erra for his doctoral dissertation which was submitted at Harvard. It's interesting his personal adviser was Thorkild Jacobsen, a very renowned and esteemed Sumerologist who himself often ventured into interpretations and etymologies of Divine names (such as his suggestions of for Ning̃išhzida as "Lord of the Good Tree", Ninazu the "Lord knowing the waters", and Damu, "the child," as well as his treatments of Dumuzi and others.) Jacobsen's work was confident and daring but of course sometimes wrong. Readings of the Name/ Next, the author has noted old and new readings of Erra's name, which have fluctuated numerous times in scholarly discourse. Old readings for the god's name include Lubara, Dibbara, Gir(r)a,and Ur(r)a ; Newer readings include Ira, Irra, Era, and Erra. It's interesting that Roberts at the time of his writing, 1971, states that "no one has presented a detailed discussion of the origin of the deity, much less proposed a serious etymology", he also feels that the god's character "remains inadequately delineated." Interesting as although the author did not read Cagni's study before this paper was written, according to a footnote he had read it before the paper was published and yet didn't retract this statement. Orthography and the preference for reading "Erra"/ The name of the Deity is written in cuneiform texts in the following ways according to the author: dER3.RA
or dErx-ra
It it noted that the determinative is usually omitted until the late Old Babylonian period. Also, sometimes dGIR 3.RA which the author says has a gloss "er" in one text, and so should be read also "Erra". In note 15 the author explains his belief that dGIR 3.RA is a Sumerian spelling of a Semitic god's name. Roberts dismisses earlier errant readings of the divine name, and also attacks the fairly recent reading of "Era", as with Gössmann, and understands this mistake to be based on the idea that Er 3 should be thought to sound "Era" with the additional -ra acting as a phonetic compliment. He points out that the suggestion for the reading "Era" is based also on a few exceptional texts where Er 3 appears by itself, however this is more attributable to scribal error and broken texts, and the writing Er 3-ra is much more attestable in any case. Name Meaning and origin/ Next, some points to reinforce the conviction that the name is Akkadian in origin (not Sumerian) are given, among them that the name is not usually written with a divine determinative before the Old Babylonian period - this is typical of syllabically spelled Akkadian divine names of that time. Roberts also believes there is a plausible etymological reason for believing the name to be Akkadian - and that is a suggested connection with the root ḫ-r-r "to scorch, to char". From that root derive the Semitic words ḫirra, ḫarra and harira (Akk. erēru), which "could in the normal course of development become Erra in Old Akkadian... Erra could accordingly mean either "scorching" or "scorched".. " Robert's than applies this idea to the character of the god:
"The fact that Išum, "Fire," is Erra's alik maḫrīšu, "the one who goes before him," however, favors the latter interpretation [scorched] and suggests that Erra was originally seen as the personification of the natural phenomenon resulting from a grass or forest fire - "scorched earth". This interpretation could also explain the troublesome conjugal relationship between Erra and Mamma, a mother goddess embodying fertility. Since the burning off of fields is a well known agricultural device for maintaining a high yield, the connection between Erra (scorched earth) and Mamma (fertility) is not as some scholars have assumed. Moreover, the latter humanizing characterization of Erra can be easily explained as a natural development from this proposed origin. Finally, he notes that Erra is generally regarded as a warrior, but also that texts demonstrate him as a god of famine, which is keeping with the result of a scorched earth tactic when used to destroy an enemies crop. Jacobsen uses Roberts in his 1976 book
It's perhaps not surprising that Robert's adviser Jacobsen has perused this research when he delt with Erra in his 1976 book "The Treasures of Darkness" which is a special focus on Mesopotamian religion. On page 227 a brief account of the Erra epic is given as well as this description: "The God, Erra - originally seemingly an Akkadian god of "scorched earth," raid and riots - was in the first millennium identified with Nergal, god of war and sudden death and the ruler of the realm of the dead."
F.A.M Wiggermann takes Roberts interpretation in RLA
In the Reallexikon der Assyriologie, Wiggermann has sided again with Roberts on this question, stating "The word is derived from Semitic HRR "to scorch" .." and citing Roberts work specifically. Given the authority that RLA holds and also that Wiggermann has, I would consider any objections Dalley raises to be effectively opposed. I have had to resort to books.google.com in order to read RLA, but the entry on Nergal and Erra found there is a real wealth of information - see here for a limited preview, or, I have back up this article here. (8 of 10 pages available.) Further Notes Well, one of the things I wanted to include above while dealing with Roberts was a picture of one of the Erra Tablets so we could see with certainty how the name is written in cuneiform. As of the moment I have been repeatedly frustrated while searching CDLI because of the repeated negligence of various scholars to include identifying information for the texts they are working with - such as primary publication number or museum numbers. When they are named the tablets are called simply "Erra V" or "Erra II" referring to what number the tablet is in the series, but not in the museum - so producing a picture so far has been incredibly frustrating. I have however taken a good number more notes then I first intended while hunting: Vision of the Netherworld Prince/ While glancing through Dalley I notice her observation that the 7th cen. BC composition called the Vision of the Netherworld Prince mentions Erra and Ishum in similar form as they appear in the Erra Epic. This can be seen toward the end when Ishum intervenes and asks Erra (translated as Nergal in this composition) to spare the man. For a translation please see here. The Old Babylonian Incantation/ I came across a new resource here for the first time today which makes translations of early Akkadian texts available, and is called SEAL. This is a joint project between the University of Leipzig and the University of Jerusalem, and as it is nicely done I would recommend people visit it here. Using the handy index there, I was able observe that there is an early occurrence of the name Erra in an Old Babylonian incantation there, YOS 11 92 (YOS is the book it appears in.) Unfortunately the team has not translated this text yet although perhaps Madness will check the book for us. A CDLI entry for this tablet is available here, and we can see the cuneiform line art: Wiggermann had mentioned this text as well and claims that line two contains the words rēdīt i-li-im Er-ra , which however I have been unable to recognize on line 2 (note, no determinative.) In lexical texts and Omen literature/ I should also point out a wonderful link here, this is the cuneiform library portal - a nice little link that gives you access to a handful of elite sources in one nice presentation: Choosing the first link will take you to CAMS (Corpus of Ancient Mesopotamian Scholarship) and here you can review a number of interesting things. Using the search bar seems worthless alot of the time, however, you can go under "Glossary" and select "name" than "E" , and scroll to Erra: there are a handful of Astronomical and Omen texts. I believe Erragal below is the same deity. Yoshikawa's notes/ Next we have the Yoshikawa's database - he was a very pedantic Japanese scholar working in Hiroshima I believe, and after passing on, in a very unusual move, his entire note system pertaining to Assyriology was digitized for the benefit of fellow researchers. Quite wonderful Well, to get to the site, one can go here: To find notes on Erra, you can type this "d.er" and the first two results are applicable. We see that Yoshikawa has scribbled the names of various texts and various books where the name Erra has been found and examined. Also check under Erragal. Particularly interesting is the note pertaining to Lambert's work, where it is noted: " dnergal = dErra" This likely means that Lambert made a solid argument, perhaps the first, for the equation of Nergal and Erra , which is found in BiOR 3. For a explanation of these sort of abbreviations don't forget the CDLI Abbreviations tool. The ISSL tool/ This stands for "Index to Sumerian Secondary Literature" , meaning it is a box, and if you type in the right term it will tell you what scholars have published what where, ideally. In practice it doesn't seem to work well for me, and also Erra is outside most of the topic range for something focuses on books that have been published about Sumer. As with most things ANE you have to mess around with combinations of "erra .... er-ra ... er3-ra...er3" to see what will give you reasonable results. Some search results I notice are: dNIN-KI$-UNU = Erra ZA 77, 164 n18a der3-ra Selz Pantheon II n561 der3-ra van Dijk SGL II 50 (The first, in ZA 77, may be an article which discusses the relation of Erra to this other divine name: KI$-UNU was an ancient writing for Nergal. Selz article is probably in German. And van Dijk's is unlikely to be in English.) Further Works: - George Smith, www.archive.org/stream/chaldeanaccounto00smit(Only for retrospective interest, published before 1900; search "Lubara", which is Smith's errant reading for Erra.) - (German) P.F Gössmann, Das Era-Epos (Würzburg, 1955) (First modern treatment and basic edition) - (German) D.O. Edzard, Mesopotamien, die Mythologie der Sumerer und Akkader, Wörterbuch der Mythologie (Stuttgart,1962) - (English and Italian) Luigi Cagni, L'Epopea di Erra. Studi Semitici 34 (Rome. 1969) (Preferred Source)
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Jan 27, 2009 9:38:19 GMT -5
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Feb 21, 2009 12:56:34 GMT -5
Cagni on Erra I have just received a copy of Luigi Cagni's 1969 monograph entitled "The Poem of Erra" which I ordered from Toronto. This is Cagni's ground breaking study of the poem with became the standard work on the subject, the first detailed analysis. I feel lucky to have found a copy in English as the original of course is Italian, and looking it over it is a fairly slim volume - 60 pages, 36 of which are dedicated to Cagni's translations and the remaining 24 pages are analysis. The god Erra/ Because one of the objects of this thread is to produce more information on Erra himself I will type below Cagni's analysis of Erra - even here the information is given as being incomplete unfortunately, and I'm not sure how much this adds to our discussion. Cagni strongly reinforces the findings of Roberts we have considered above, and proceeds with his own central point which is to stress the dual malevolent and benevolent role the god takes in this poem. His write up is about a page or two in length. Cagni/ "There should by now be no doubt that Erra (and not Era or Irra or Ira) is the correct reading of the name. Although the name of Erra appears only in second or third place to the incipit of his poem (v.5), he is undoubtedly its true protagonist because all the narration rotates around him and his action. The figure of the god Erra, one of the most singular of the Babylonian pantheon, still awaits exhaustive treatment based on the whole Mesopotamian literature: but in recent years, he has emerged considerably from the shadows thanks to the recovery of the poem and to the studies about it. On of the topics of major interest regards the close connection between Erra and Nergal, which, it seems, is more the result of a relatively late historical evolution rather than an original conception. Our poem seems to share this later evolution when it assigns to Erra the same spouse as Nergal (Mami or Mamitu) or the same temple (Emeslam in the city of Kutha). But on the other hand, it implies a distinction between the two figures by the simple fact of naming them separately in III c. 30-31 and V. 39. E. von Weiher, in his monograph Der Babylonische Gott Nergal, completely relinquished the investigation of the problem, perhaps on my account. A reasonable sketch of the figure of Nergal has also been recently done by M. K. Schretter on pp. 25-100 of his Alter Orient and Hellas, but here, too, the study of the relation Nergal-Erra is recuded to very little (pp.50-55). There are many other themes and problems touching the figure of Erra that we cannot mention here. But there is one remark that we not would want to pass over in silence because it is tightly bound to the reading and understanding of the poem and because, in my opinion, it allows us to grasp a newness of thought and a taking of position by Kabti-ilani-Marduk [the ancient poet] with respect to the current theology: the remark concerns the double aspect with which Erra is presented in the poem, as a malevolent and as a benevolent god. Erra is pictured as malevolent and frightening in the first four tablets of the poem, all of which are dedicated to the description of the terrible and impetuous destructions of the god. His constant qualifications as "hero" (quradu, qardu) also enters in the aspect of the god. It is certainly this more traditional and characteristic part of Erra in all of Mesopotamian literature from the most ancient times that Kabti-ilani-Marduk accepts fully. But this presentation of Erra is something quite different from that of "Pestgott" which was and, in good measure, still is current among students of mythology and of Mesopotamian religion and which has become a cliche so habitual as to have become practically the rule. [Pestgott = roughly, god of plagues]. The study of this poem has led me to a denial of this position, and I was the first to sound the alarm, refuting, for reasons of context, the translation of šiptu as "peste" ("plague") and adopting the more general rendering "destruction" or the like, which fits exactly the authentic traditional character of Erra. J.J.M. Roberts, in the two works already cited of 1971 and 1972, has come to the same conclusion independently: and he has the merit of having proposed the new and impressive definition of "Erra-Scorched-Earth," reaffirming, among other things, that "the most characteristic portrayal of Erra is as a warrior, and, more specifically, as a warrior whose main weapon is famine." In support of his thesis, Roberts proposes for the name of Erra the root *hrr, "to scorch, char." If the martial and malevolent aspect of Erra is the most characteristic and traditional, received and presented in its fullest and most original form in the first four tablets of the poem of Kabti-ilani-Marduk, it is precisely in this same poem that Erra is shown also as a divinity capable of benevolence and, therefore, totally different from the exclusively wicked figure of the rest of Mesopotamian literature. It is precisely here that Kabti-Ilani-Marduk manifests a train of thought that, as far as we know, is completely new and revolutionary. If his Erra must share the traditional wicked traits associated with the figure of the god and with his name in the Mesopotamian sphere, the same erra is also the good and amiable god who expresses to his faithful ones a pledge of benevolence rather than a pledge of punishment. It is an able psychological device to present Erra in the first instance, at the beginning of the poem, as one who is tired and sick of fighting and spreading destruction: but this initial description is also the first glimpse of the 'new' figure of the god. Erra is presented in a benevolent light in iv, 131-150 when he curses and destroys the enemies in Babylonia. And finally, in Tablet V there is the full revelation of Erra's capacity for goodness: here the god makes humble amends for his ill-advised fury and multiple promises of blessing for those who honor him. In my opinion, and in spite of the initial impressions to the contrary, the whole poem has as it primary 'didactic' aim not to make Erra as an evil god, but to make him honored and loved as a god capable of being good. There is here a true 'exultation' of Erra and, to that degree, a reversal of the traditional Mesopotamian, and above all the recent, traditions: moreover, there is a certain dissolution of the binomial Nergal-Erra."
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on Mar 13, 2009 13:06:21 GMT -5
Cagni on The Sibitti So I'm copying Luigi Cagni's entire note on the Sibitti from his 1969 monograph entitled "The Poem of Erra" (see above post for more). He makes a nice observation or two and contextualizes the Sibitti within the Erra Epos, however this is far from a detailed consideration. Cagni/ "In the poem of Erra, as in the greater part of the other works of Akkadian literature in which they appear, the Sibitti are seven wicked gods, without individual names, who act as a unit to the point that, more than once, the agreement of grammatical forms is in the singular instead of the plural. While in the rest of Mesopotamian literature the Sibitti are mentioned only briefly (though we know that it was above all the second half of the first millennium B.C., and especially in Assyria, that their cult became, even officially, widespread), in the poem of Erra their nature and action are described in a long pericope I, 23-91, a short poem within the poem which constitutes the most significant presentation and interpretation of their figure. Here the Sibitti are the real counterbalance to Erra and Ishum because they are exclusively wicked, almost the principal of evil. Not a single trait of the goodness characterizes them in the whole action of the poem, and even in Tablet V they remain excluded from the work of reconstructing the country. Kabti-ilāni-Marduk seems conscious of this drastic presentation and seems to want to declare it explicitly to the reader when he starts it with the words: "The Sebitti, unrivaled hero's, their nature is quite different. Their origin is strange. They are filled with the power to frighten. He who looks at them is struck with terror. Their breath is death. Men are afraid; they dare not go near it" (I, 23-25). This absolute lack of bipolarity, which characterized the figures of Erra and Ishum, is all the more stressed and underlined in as much as, in other contemporaneous Mesopotamian sources, there are good Sibitti in contrast with the bad ones. This double category of Sibitti has been generally accepted by scholars. Only in recent times has Roberts expressed some fundamental reservations: The attempt to separate the good DINGIR.IMIN.BI from the bad DINGIR.IMIN.BI strikes me as artificial. The favorable DINGIR.IMIN.BI have the same warlike character as the bad ones; it is just turned to a different purpose." This thesis has been fully confirmed by my student Miss Simonetta Graziani in a study entitled Gli dei Sibitti nella letteratura e nell'arte mesopotamica," recently submitted as a doctoral dissertation at the Instituto Univeritario Orientale of Naples. This fact, too speaks for the originality of the theology of Kabti-ilani-Marduk: the poet-theologian presents Erra and Ishum in a manner completely his own and does the same for the Sibitti, considering them only as wicked beings (demons) in no way capable of good."
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Post by madness on Apr 20, 2009 5:22:50 GMT -5
An interesting incantation that begins with Erra [ ilum-èr(a) ] and Mami [ dma-mi ] identified as king heaven and queen earth. Though in this text the name of Erra seems to be written with the NA sign, so I'm a bit confused as how to get èr(a) out of it (apart from the deity being paired with Mami). YOS 11, no. 46 Museum no: YBC 5622 cdli.ucla.edu/search/result.pt?id_text=P306689Sumerian blessing of holy water Old Babylonian period img22.imageshack.us/my.php?image=90203893.jpg1. As heaven become king, earth became queen, 2. Erra became king, Mami became queen, 3. then Enki, the king of the Abzu 4. in order that heaven should purify the holy water, 5. created the virgin water, the holy water. 6. Asari, the son of the noble one (= Enki), 7. made pure, made shining the holy water vessel, 8. by pouring it out (into) the pursītu-vessel in the form of a crescent, the immaculate one.
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Post by madness on Apr 21, 2009 23:39:57 GMT -5
In an article by Michalowski ("Presence at the Creation"), he discusses noise and silence as symbols of action and inaction, a prominent motif in the Epic of Creation and in other texts. He refers to an article by Machinist who discusses this phenomenon as it appears in the Erra Poem, sounds like a good read if you can get access to the journal:
Peter Machinist, "Rest and Violence in the Poem of Erra," JAOS 103 (1983).
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on May 2, 2009 11:31:42 GMT -5
BUR-ZI / pursītu Madness, Great addition! I also enjoy this post for its referencing an incantation which really has something to say about holy water and the purification of holy water! It reminds me of another Old Babylonian incantation from that same book (YOS 11) which focuses specifically on holy water - we found this text earlier because this incantation is featured in the Ur III Ceremony that we have discussed, but here it is again for comparison with the above: YOS 11 44______________________ 1. water, well-natured (receiving a good nature) in the mountain 2. flood-water, well-natured in the mountain 3. well-natured in the mountain, deep in the mountains! 4. Well-natured between low and high land in an immaculate spot, 5. well-natured in the (cosmic) popular, which cannot be withstood, 6. well-natured, (dripping) from the thick horns of the stag, 7. well-natured (flowing through) the split horned plants (moss), 8. well-natured, (flowing from) the cow-shaped horn of the mouflon. 9. Running by itself (?), carrying splendor, 10. the king, the son of his god on the pure quai, 11. purify, make shining! 12. Let the evil tongue stay far from him!
____________________ The incantation you've posted is very interesting then, as both specimens state that holy water should be 'purified' and it should be made to 'shine' - however the incantation you have posted states explicitly that this should be done by "pouring it out (into) the pursītu-vessel in the form of a crescent, the immaculate one." This crescent shaped vessel then is highly fascinating - did it provide some sort of filtering operation? Did it make the water shine simply because it was made of a shiny metal? Did it's shape associate it with Nanna the moon god? At ePSD and Wannadoo/ I decided to look further into this vessel and have made some determinations - some anyway. At first, it didn't register with me pursītu was an Akkadian word - this despite the fact we have faithfully observed the convention of placing it withing italics. I threw the word into the google engine for starters - always nice if someone has dug up the basics for you already somewhere and you can build from there, however I found instead some small hints. Google did find that the www.premiumwanadoo.com site, an Akkadian dictionary, had a hit for pursītu, which the site explains simply as "an offering bowl." We know of mystery vessel makes holy water pure by making it shine - is it an offering bowl as well? I recognized it was an Akkadian word after finding it on that site, and obviously clued in about the italics finally, so I wanted to find the Sumerian word. To find the Sumerian equivalent, I went to ePSD, and typed in "bowl" in the search engine. Of the results, the Sumerian bowl with the closest sounding Akkadian translation is "BUR-ZI" , and for that bowl ePSD give the Akkadian equivalent as pursû. Is this the same bowl as the sought after "pursitu" ? In another Ritual/ Well, the BUR-ZI is also described as and "offering bowl". I found a website here which has a SAZIGA (potency) incantation which mentions the bowl - line 6 in Sumerian reads: 6. 2 NU NÍG.LAG 2 NU GIŠ.ERIN DÙ-ush ina DUG.BUR.ZI NU AL ŠEG6.GÁ
R. Biggs gives the English translation as: 6. two figurines of dough, two figurines of cedar; in an unfired pursitu-vessel
We see here R. Biggs, the expert who gives this translation above, substitutes the Sumerian DUG.BUR.ZI (DUG being the determinative for bowl), with the Akkadian pursitu - I know longer have a doubt they are the same. The text itself, incidentally, it quite interesting - at least the incantation portion can be summed as a man is not able to maintain an erection, and the exorcist interprets this as a magical attack; part of his solution, is to set up a reed alter facing Ishtar (the evening star, goddess of sexual energy), and to place figurines in the BUZ.ZI ( pursitu) vessel and to burn them - thus the evil influence is destroyed. More than that, however, the burning in a vessal which seems to be known for its shining quality, seems to be cause for ritual analogy -it glows bright and it comes to represent the victims body, or so lines 15-17 would suggest, as he is to recite: " (I) against whom magic has been performed, figurines of whom have been laid in the ground— May my body be purified like lapis lazuli. May [my] features be bright like alabaster. Like shining silver and reddish gold, may I not be dull." He is to be bright, the flames of the figurines purifying him by riding the evil and making him pure like shining silver and reddish gold. Additionally, there is a mention of the BUR.ZI vessal in "Forerunners to Udug-hul" line 521: 521: may the evil Udug and evil Ala demons be [smashed] at the crossroad, [like the potter`s] bur-zi-ga-pot.
This does drive home the mention in the above of the vessel being "unfired" - and here it is made by a potter, and is breakable when (theoretically) unfired - thus undoubtedly the vessel is actually of clay! Perhaps if it were a dark, glazed clay it would shine, and fit into the context of shining we seem to have ample evidence of. The BUR-ZI would seem to have been since early times then a glazed, crescent shaped vessel that served, if not a role in offerings, then certainly a role in ritual actions where it is closely associated with purity - it makes things shine, and by virtue of their shining they are pure: it makes the holy water shine when it is poured "(into) the pursītu-vessel in the form of a crescent, the immaculate one", and it shines when the figurines are burned within it, symbolizing the man`s body which in turn shines and it purified. Speculation/ Would be nice if they dug one up somewhere... Who has a scene a crescent shaped Mesopotamian pottery vessal? Also, as for the word pursītu, we know there is a relationship between Abzu and the modern Abyss - could such a relation between pursītu and purity be found?
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Post by madness on May 17, 2009 23:56:01 GMT -5
uh In regards to Nergal/Erra being a "scorching" god, a concept that I have been trying to follow up is: Nergal as the underworld sun, i.e. an aspect of Šamaš. The sparse mentions of this that I can find refer back to Langdon, for instance in Babylonian Liturgies ( download) he states (p. 61) that Nergal is "the aspect of the sun in the lower world." But especially in Sumerian Liturgies and Psalms ( download) he refers (p. 331) to a text dealing with the solstices. The relevant lines appear in Livingstone's Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works, p. 257: When I chose you, when I sought you from/with 160 Neck/Load, stone. From the 18th of Tammuz to the 28th of Kislim is 160 days. On the 18th of Tammuz Nergal goes down to the underworld. On the 28th of Kislim he comes up. Šamaš and Nergal are one.The 18th of Tammuz is the summer solstice, and the 28th of Kislim is the winter solstice. During this time Nergal remains in the underworld. The last line is the most interesting, with the equation of Šamaš and Nergal. Another mystical text (KAR 307) points in a similar direction, Court Poetry and Literary Miscellanea, p. 101: 40 double hours is the disc of the sun. 60 double hours is the disc of the moon. The inside of the s[un is Ma]rduk. The inside of the moon is Nabû. Inside Sun there is a viper, [his] ... Inside the m[oon] is his [mot]her. The dagger above the lion is of the hand [of ...]. Meslamtaea is Marduk, who rises from and goes down to the underworld, because Aššur chased him into a hole and opened its gate.Marduk here is described as the force within the sun, not surprising since his name literally means "the son, the sun," see the first tablet (lines 101-102) of Enuma eliš for a play on the meaning of his name. Marduk is then equated with Meslamtaea (=Nergal), whose movement of rising from and going down to the underworld reminds one of the movement of the sun. And the "Great Twins" Lugalgirra and Meslamtaea described in a ritual text, Mystical and Mythological Explanatory Works, p. 191: Lugalgirra is Sin, the eldest son of Enlil. Meslamtaea is Gilgameš. Gilgameš is Nergal, who dwells in the underworld.Sin and Nergal appear together elsewhere, such as in a Late Babylonian copy of Atrahasis where they are assigned to guard the middle earth. Normally we would expect Sin and Šamaš together; that Nergal appears instead may refer to his solar aspect. May I propose, then, that Nergal/Erra is not just the "scorching" god, but the scorching sun; the transfer of power from Marduk to Erra may represent the good and evil sides of the sun.
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Post by us4-he2-gal2 on May 20, 2009 17:49:39 GMT -5
Daniel: Very interesting suggestion here in regards Nergal as the Netherworld sun, I guess we can't say it is completely in harmony with Roberts explanation of Erra as "scorched earth" as the relevance of this interpretation seems reserved heat and fire in the terrestrial realm (scorching of fields for a new growth cycle or as a means of warfare.) However, the concept might be explored for its own sake and you definitely have found some interesting lines from the mystical works, so lets see.. I have first two points: - First, I might suggest a look at "The Sun at Night and the Doors of Heaven in Babylonian Texts" by W. Hempel (JCS 38) , maybe that would have something also - you have that one right? - Secondly, I have looked through D. Katz "Image of the Netherworld in Sumerian Sources" and havent anything directly useful, however I read things which complicate the prospect. Of course one of the key understandings this book imparts is that the Sumerians themselves held a notion of the netherworld that was *horizontal*..That is the netherworld was not below the earth, it was far off across the distant mountains (and here we get into the ambiguity of the Sumerian word "kur" which meant "netherworld" at the same time as it meant "mountain".) Utu went from east to west every day, bringing light and vision in the morning, and disappearing behind the mountains at night. It wasn't until the northern Semites began to become more densely populated in the South. in Sumer, that the northern model of the netherworld began creeping into Sumerian texts, that is the notion that the netherworld was infact below the earth, Katz says - and at this point UTU was seen as exiting into the netherworld through the "gate of sunset" - which was still on the far side of the mountains. So the complications are not necessarily the complexities above relating to north - south, Sumerian - Akkadian notions, but that also in the Old Babylonian period Katz says, is the first attestation of Utu as the Judge of the Netherworld (the one below), and this is explainable as he is the one who brings light to dark places, as the bringer of light he is uniquely credited with the sight and perception to act as judge - and we came across numerous references to his being the bringer of light (like his son Sisig) in the Sisig thread. The issue here is that if he is the judge of the dead, this places him also as the underworld sun. At least, in certain myth circles. Its worth realizing that the poets were hardly unanimous about anything and we could have two separate, possibly parallel traditions on our hands. I know that J. Dyneley Prince in his article "A Hymn to Nergal" makes a strong claim for a fiery Nergal based of his reading of one of the Nergal hymns, however the article is from 1907 so I will have to read it over carefully and somewhat critically. Will check back soon on that. There is also this line from Ninlil B"Hating ……, Nergal, …… as fire, you rise up in the lands where the sun rises." The Anuna gods stepped forward: "Like …… cracks ……, ……, you are Nergal!"
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Post by madness on May 21, 2009 3:59:04 GMT -5
To the Sumerians, the sun travelled through the subterranean waters (Abzu) during the night. This is clear since:
- Early Dynastic and Sargonic seals depict the sun-god (or, Collon argues, the moon-god) riding in a snake-boat through a mythical ocean; consensus (Frankfort, Lambert, and others) is that the scene depicts the sun-god travelling through the subterranean waters.
- An Early Dynastic Šamaš myth (ARET 5, 6; OIP 99, 326+342), in which, Steinkeller suggests, it describes the sun-god's journey through Enki's realm. I don't have the text*, but Steinkeller also cites Temple Hymns lines 15-16: "the shrine Abzu is your (Enki's) place, your Netherworld; it is there that you call/greet Utu."
But this does not detract from the association of East and West with the Netherworld.
*Edit: See Espak's Ancient Near Eastern Gods Enki and Ea, pp. 67-73.
[ Btw I will present an in-depth look at the sun-god and his snake-boat in an upcoming thread on snakes ]
Šamaš as the judge in the underworld is of course well known, note that the view I presented above is Nergal as an aspect of Šamaš, not as an alternative underworld sun.
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Post by madness on May 21, 2009 5:58:39 GMT -5
Nergal is equated (in texts from Ebla and Ugarit) with the West Semitic deity Rašap.
Rašap is a god of war and pestilence, and his name literally means "flame."
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Post by madness on May 21, 2009 22:34:24 GMT -5
> I have looked through D. Katz "Image of the Netherworld in Sumerian Sources" and havent anything directly useful < But we have found something that is indirectly useful. On page 31 Katz mentions (on the GEN text): "Enki accepted Gilgameš's appeal to rescue Enkidu and commissioned Utu (Nergal in the Akkadian version) to open a hole in the kur from which the ghost of Enkidu could exit." This is significant, as it demonstrates that the Akkadians were ready to substitute Utu with Nergal when it came to Netherworld matters, a point already highlighted by the mystical works. (The Akkadian version was added as a twelfth tablet to the Epic of Gilgameš, where the name of Nergal is written U.GUR)
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