Early Theology - Summer 2012: Enki
May 11, 2012 13:06:15 GMT -5
Post by us4-he2-gal2 on May 11, 2012 13:06:15 GMT -5
Thread Orientation: In this thread, Enki's position in the Steinkeller theory might be weighed.
The following will be an attempt to examine Steinkeller's Point 2: "Enki undoubtedly was the original head of the pantheon." (For relevant context, see the following thread here.
First, it may be recalled that a notion of "tension" or "conflict" between Enlil and Enki has long been evident in scholarship; On the Tension between Enki and Enlil thread, located here, we took note of the following viewpoints:
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Thus a tension is between these gods is not a new suggestion - that Enlil seems to have arouse in the early third millennium and usurped something of Enki's influence is perhaps not so novel; but the suggestion that Enki was the head of the pantheon, instead of say, An, strikes me as somewhat unusual. This then is the real challenge of Steinkeller's Point 2.
Summaries of the Espak Dissertation/
Espak's 2006 dissertation on Enki has often been employed here at enenuru - and seeing as it is recent and surveys a huge amount of Enki literature, it is of course useful again. Interestingly, Espak actually mentions the Steinkeller ideas directly (!): "The possibility of female dominance in early and more archaic stages or religion is certainly imaginable." But he adds "However, the statement about Enki being a universal male reprodcuctive element in the early pantheon can not be confirmed to be based on any known source." (Espak 2006:13). No big surprise, another interesting notion that's (probably) impossible to confirm.
Espak is, like all commentators, puzzled by the UD.GAL.NUN orthographical texts which appear mainly in the Early Dynastic period, and mainly in texts focused on Enlil or Enki. Enlil's name in this orthography is UD.GAL.NUN (UD = AN, GAL=EN); Enki's name is written UD.GAL.UNU. Espak considers Michalowski's (and Steinkeller's) notion that Enlil may have been entering the pantheon from Semitic sources at about this time, and tat this may (somehow) relate to the significance of the UD.GAL.NUN texts - yet the idea is somewhat dismissed on consideration of Edzard's 2003 statement: that the name of Enlil may just as well be Sumerian in origin.
Espak on the Archaic Evidence/
The author is able to say very little here beyond acknowledging the extreme age of the temple at Eridu - the occasional instance of snake iconography and the abundant fish offering sometimes thought to hold significance are discounted (similar volumes of fish offerings have been discovered at other early sites not associated with Enki). While many indicators indicate the importance of the deity at Prehistoric Eridu "the character of that ancient deity is not accessible due to lack of written material." In other words, Enki is not featured in archaic writings. (Espak 206: 123)
Espak on Early Dynastic Godlists and Royal Inscriptions/
Enki features in a number of Early Dynastic Royal inscriptions those of Ur-Nanše, Enanatum, Eanatum I, Enmetena, Urukagana and a few others. In these inscriptions he is mainly mention in connection with the Abzu:
"Enki / to the king/ of Eridu / Elili / the king of Ur/ his Abzu /has built"
(Elili 1:1-7 - translation from Espak 2006:40)
In the Zame hymns, Enki is called by another of his names, Nudimmud:
"Abzu, place that is a big mountain, princely crown of heaven and earth. To the lord Nudimmud, (give) praise!"
(Zame hymns 30-32 - translation from Espak 2006:41)
Already in the Early Dynastic Royal inscriptions, Enki is said to bestow knowledge and understanding (ĝestú) onto kings as in later periods; and in Ur-nanše URN 49, Enki's associaition with essoteric and magic lore seems already suggestible; But what of Enki's position in the pantheon?
Espak examines evidence from the Early Dynastic god lists of Abu Salabikh and Fara, as well as the listings of gods from the Royal Inscriptions of ED Lagash (which may display the political bias of that city) and others.
From Espak's analysis on these sources, it seems safe to say that if Enki were more important in some early period, it is already obscure in the Early Dynastic period: "Enki belongs to the most important gods of the Old Sumerian pantheon, but his lower status compared to Enlil seems to be clear. When combining the evidence from Zame hymns where Enlil's temple is mention first, and the god listings which in most cases are headed by Enlil, there seems to be little doubt about his supremacy over the pantheon in official cult. The nature of relations of Enlil and Enki and their origins during the periods older than recorded by written sources remains unsolvable."
Michalowski and Espak on Enki in Early Dynastic Mythology/
Lambert once said: "There is good reason for suspecting that if we had intelligible Sumerian myths from the first half of the third Millenium B.C. Enki would appear as an equal rival of Enlil" (Lambert MARI 4 (1985), p.538). Note however that he says "if we had" - because we don't. At this point Espak points to (currently) less than intelligible UD.GAL.NUN texts, where it at least seems Enki is featured as frequently as Enlil.
In Column ii of the ED Literary piece known from the Barton Cylinder, the male deity copulates with Ninhursag - Alster translates:
(For more of the Cylinder, see reply #8 on our Pre-Sargonic literature thread]). So who is the unnamed male deity? Espak suggests: "Although the text does not give any proof that the impregnator would be Enki, the motive here seems to be similar enough to the intercourses conducted by Enki in the later myth "Enki and Ninhursag" to suggest the same parties acting also in the Old-Sumerian myth.
Michalowski had hit upon a similar note in his 1996 paper read at the 43rd Recontre meeting in Prague (entitled, The Unbearable Lightness of Enlil). Suspecting also that Enki was the unnamed partner or Ninhursag in the Barton Cylinder, he references Bottero's 1987 suggestion that indeed, the Old Babylonian myth Enki and Ninhursag contains vestiges of Early Dynastic myth: "The pairing of Enki with the mother goddess - that is with the other great deity of Early Dynastic times - rather than with his later spouse Damkina, and the stress on violent fertility seem like markers of a different mythological climate." (Michalowski 1996:242).
While some of this reflects on Steinkelller Point #2, it's safe to say the suggestion has hardly yet been substantiated.
Enki and his place in Early Sumerian Theology
The following will be an attempt to examine Steinkeller's Point 2: "Enki undoubtedly was the original head of the pantheon." (For relevant context, see the following thread here.
First, it may be recalled that a notion of "tension" or "conflict" between Enlil and Enki has long been evident in scholarship; On the Tension between Enki and Enlil thread, located here, we took note of the following viewpoints:
- Binsbergen and Wiggermann saw the opposition of Enki and Enlil as an older social order, that of the me/parṣu under Enki against the younger political hegemony of Enlil.
- J.J. Finkelstein 1974 saw things in terms of the rival theologies or Nippur and Eridu, with Eridu being the older and Nippur gaining dominance in the early 3rd millennium. Despite this, he sees no evidence that Nippur had ever tried to thwart the Eridu theology.
- Kramer had written on "Enki's inferiority complex" and in different places he muses on such episodes as the confusion of tongues, Enki's epithet of "junior Enlil" (den-líl-bàn-da-ke-en-gi-ra-ke4) and of course the flood episode where Enki acts to save mankind against Enlil's wishes. In the myth Ninurta and the Turtle it seems the ME are restored to Enki (and not to Enlil as in another version of the myth).
- In regards the magic tradition, Geller 2006 notes a tension in the incantation in regards the role of these deities: "There is thus a subtle tension between Enki and Enlil one punishes, the other heals."
[/li][/ul]
Thus a tension is between these gods is not a new suggestion - that Enlil seems to have arouse in the early third millennium and usurped something of Enki's influence is perhaps not so novel; but the suggestion that Enki was the head of the pantheon, instead of say, An, strikes me as somewhat unusual. This then is the real challenge of Steinkeller's Point 2.
Summaries of the Espak Dissertation/
Espak's 2006 dissertation on Enki has often been employed here at enenuru - and seeing as it is recent and surveys a huge amount of Enki literature, it is of course useful again. Interestingly, Espak actually mentions the Steinkeller ideas directly (!): "The possibility of female dominance in early and more archaic stages or religion is certainly imaginable." But he adds "However, the statement about Enki being a universal male reprodcuctive element in the early pantheon can not be confirmed to be based on any known source." (Espak 2006:13). No big surprise, another interesting notion that's (probably) impossible to confirm.
Espak is, like all commentators, puzzled by the UD.GAL.NUN orthographical texts which appear mainly in the Early Dynastic period, and mainly in texts focused on Enlil or Enki. Enlil's name in this orthography is UD.GAL.NUN (UD = AN, GAL=EN); Enki's name is written UD.GAL.UNU. Espak considers Michalowski's (and Steinkeller's) notion that Enlil may have been entering the pantheon from Semitic sources at about this time, and tat this may (somehow) relate to the significance of the UD.GAL.NUN texts - yet the idea is somewhat dismissed on consideration of Edzard's 2003 statement: that the name of Enlil may just as well be Sumerian in origin.
Espak on the Archaic Evidence/
The author is able to say very little here beyond acknowledging the extreme age of the temple at Eridu - the occasional instance of snake iconography and the abundant fish offering sometimes thought to hold significance are discounted (similar volumes of fish offerings have been discovered at other early sites not associated with Enki). While many indicators indicate the importance of the deity at Prehistoric Eridu "the character of that ancient deity is not accessible due to lack of written material." In other words, Enki is not featured in archaic writings. (Espak 206: 123)
Espak on Early Dynastic Godlists and Royal Inscriptions/
Enki features in a number of Early Dynastic Royal inscriptions those of Ur-Nanše, Enanatum, Eanatum I, Enmetena, Urukagana and a few others. In these inscriptions he is mainly mention in connection with the Abzu:
"Enki / to the king/ of Eridu / Elili / the king of Ur/ his Abzu /has built"
(Elili 1:1-7 - translation from Espak 2006:40)
In the Zame hymns, Enki is called by another of his names, Nudimmud:
"Abzu, place that is a big mountain, princely crown of heaven and earth. To the lord Nudimmud, (give) praise!"
(Zame hymns 30-32 - translation from Espak 2006:41)
Already in the Early Dynastic Royal inscriptions, Enki is said to bestow knowledge and understanding (ĝestú) onto kings as in later periods; and in Ur-nanše URN 49, Enki's associaition with essoteric and magic lore seems already suggestible; But what of Enki's position in the pantheon?
Espak examines evidence from the Early Dynastic god lists of Abu Salabikh and Fara, as well as the listings of gods from the Royal Inscriptions of ED Lagash (which may display the political bias of that city) and others.
From Espak's analysis on these sources, it seems safe to say that if Enki were more important in some early period, it is already obscure in the Early Dynastic period: "Enki belongs to the most important gods of the Old Sumerian pantheon, but his lower status compared to Enlil seems to be clear. When combining the evidence from Zame hymns where Enlil's temple is mention first, and the god listings which in most cases are headed by Enlil, there seems to be little doubt about his supremacy over the pantheon in official cult. The nature of relations of Enlil and Enki and their origins during the periods older than recorded by written sources remains unsolvable."
Michalowski and Espak on Enki in Early Dynastic Mythology/
Lambert once said: "There is good reason for suspecting that if we had intelligible Sumerian myths from the first half of the third Millenium B.C. Enki would appear as an equal rival of Enlil" (Lambert MARI 4 (1985), p.538). Note however that he says "if we had" - because we don't. At this point Espak points to (currently) less than intelligible UD.GAL.NUN texts, where it at least seems Enki is featured as frequently as Enlil.
In Column ii of the ED Literary piece known from the Barton Cylinder, the male deity copulates with Ninhursag - Alster translates:
ii 1 With the "Grand-Good-Lady-of-Heaven",
ii 2 Enlil's older sister,
ii 3 with Ninhursag,
ii 4 with the "Grand-Good-Lady-of-Heaven",
ii 5 Enlil's older sister,
ii 6 with Ninhursag,
ii 7 he had intercourse.
ii 8 He kissed her.
ii 9 The semen of seven twins
ii 10 He impregnated into her womb.
ii 11-12 Earth held a conversation with the "scorpion":
ii 13 "Supreme Divine River,
ii 14 'Your little "things" are carrying water".
ii 15 For you(?), the god(?) of the river . .
ii 2 Enlil's older sister,
ii 3 with Ninhursag,
ii 4 with the "Grand-Good-Lady-of-Heaven",
ii 5 Enlil's older sister,
ii 6 with Ninhursag,
ii 7 he had intercourse.
ii 8 He kissed her.
ii 9 The semen of seven twins
ii 10 He impregnated into her womb.
ii 11-12 Earth held a conversation with the "scorpion":
ii 13 "Supreme Divine River,
ii 14 'Your little "things" are carrying water".
ii 15 For you(?), the god(?) of the river . .
(For more of the Cylinder, see reply #8 on our Pre-Sargonic literature thread]). So who is the unnamed male deity? Espak suggests: "Although the text does not give any proof that the impregnator would be Enki, the motive here seems to be similar enough to the intercourses conducted by Enki in the later myth "Enki and Ninhursag" to suggest the same parties acting also in the Old-Sumerian myth.
Michalowski had hit upon a similar note in his 1996 paper read at the 43rd Recontre meeting in Prague (entitled, The Unbearable Lightness of Enlil). Suspecting also that Enki was the unnamed partner or Ninhursag in the Barton Cylinder, he references Bottero's 1987 suggestion that indeed, the Old Babylonian myth Enki and Ninhursag contains vestiges of Early Dynastic myth: "The pairing of Enki with the mother goddess - that is with the other great deity of Early Dynastic times - rather than with his later spouse Damkina, and the stress on violent fertility seem like markers of a different mythological climate." (Michalowski 1996:242).
While some of this reflects on Steinkelller Point #2, it's safe to say the suggestion has hardly yet been substantiated.