Sumerian Prototypes of the Mater Dolorosa - Iraqi Archaeologist Dr

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The Weeping Goddess: Sumerian Prototypes of the Mater Dolorosa
Author(s): Samuel Noah Kramer
Source: The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring, 1983), pp. 69-80
Published by: The American Schools of Oriental Research
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The
Weeping
Goddess:
Sumerian
Prototypes
of the
Mater
Dolorosa
by Samuel Noah Kramer
Some time about
2000 devasta-
B.c., a
ting calamity befell
Sumer, a disaster
that well-nigh
ended the existence
of Sumer as a
political entity.
What made this
catastrophe partic-
Ur-Nammu, the founder of the ThirdD ynasty, erected this stele at Ur. Only fragments of the
ularly tragic, was stele werep reserved,b ut it has been restored to its original size of approximatelyt en feet high
and five feet wide. The top decorative zone shows the king pouring libations before an
the poignant fact enthroned deity. The scene is repeated in the second zone with Ur-Nammu appearing
twice-once before the moon-god Nanna and once before the goddess Ningal. The heavily
that it marked damaged, lower zones of the stele originally depicted the king engaged in building
operations. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania.
BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3 69
the end of a Sumerian renaissance of at bay,b ut to no avail. They contin- Finally,i n the twenty-fourth year
political and economic power,a ued their inroads into Sumer dur- of his reign, the Elamites and their
periodw hen learning, literature, and ing the reign of Ibbi-Sin,t he last allies, the Su-people, overwhelmed
music flourished throughout the king of the dynasty,w ho suc- and destroyedU r and led off Ibbi-Sin,
land. It had begun when a king of ceeded in holding on precariouslyt o and no doubt many of the nobles
Erechb y the name of Utuhegal his throne for twenty-foury ears. and priests, into captivity. It was this
defeatedt he barbaricG utian hordes Throughout his reign, his situation calamitous event that left a bitter,
from the east that had subjugated was insecure and even pathetic. distressing, harrowingi mpression on
much of Sumer.U tuhegal, however, Undermined by the repeatedi ncur- the Sumerian psyche. And in the
did not rule long over Sumer-his sions of the nomads from the west, years following this catastrophe,
throne was usurped by one of his after Ur had recoveredt o some
ambitious governors,U r-Nammu, extent, when the priestly poets and
who succeeded in founding the last bardsw ere called upon to help
important Sumerian dynasty,c om- conduct services in Ur's restored
monly known as the Third Dynasty temple, they were moved to com-
of Ur. Ur-Nammu reigned for six- pose lengthy poems consisting pri-
teen years and provedt o be a capable marily of mournful laments over
military leader,a great builder,a nd the sad fate of Sumer and its cities,
an outstanding administrator.' but all ending on a note of hope
Ur-Nammu was followed by and deliverance. It was in the course
his son Shulgi, who reigned for close of composing these heartrending
to half a century.S hulgi was one of laments that the Sumerian poets
the truly great monarchs of the created the image of the grieving
ancient world: an outstanding mili- "weepingg oddess,"s orrowful,t ender,
tary leader,a punctilious admini- and compassionate.
strator,a n energetic builder of monu-
mental temples, and, even more The Appearanceo f the Weeping
important, a veritable cultural Goddess in Sumerian Literature
Maecenas. He extended Sumer's In the course of the centuries that
political powera nd influence from followed, the "weeping goddess"
the Zagrosr angeso n the east to the image became a current motif in the
MediterraneanS ea on the west. He dirges and laments that abound in
instituted an effective bookkeeping Detail of coppers tatuette of Ur-Nammuf rom the Sumerian literary repertoire.S he
and accounting system in palace the Inanna temple at Nippur. appearsi n numerous and diverse
and temple, rearrangedt he calendar, guises: as the divine queen bemoan-
and standardizedw eights and mea- ing the destruction of her city and
sures throughout the land. He and assaulted by the hateful Elamites temple, the suppression of her cult,
broughtt o completion the construc- from the east, his empire tottered the sufferingo f the ravageda nd
tion of Sumer's most imposing stage and crumbled, and the governorso f dispersedp eople. Or, she is the
tower,t he ziggurato f Ur, which his all the more important cities of spouse, the sister, and above all the
fatherh ad left unfinished, and built Sumer found it advisable to abandon mother, of Dumuzi, or a Dumuzi-
numerous religious structures in their king and fend for themselves. like figure, who had been carried
the cities of Sumer.H e was a lavish One of these governors,I shbi-Irrab y off into the nether world, a tragic fate
patrono f the arts-he founded or name, was a craftyM achiavellian that came to symbolize the death
at least liberally supportedS umer's type, who kept on increasing his of the king and the destruction of
two majora cademies of learning, powerb y beguiling the confused her city and temple. Fort his paper
one in Ur and one in Nippur. and rathero btuse Ibbi-Sinw ith I have combed the Sumerian literary
But despite Shulgi's remarkable spurious comforting promises and documents in ordert o uncover and
achievements, the dynasty was honeyed seductive assurances that collect the more significant and
nearing its end. His two sons, Amar- lulled the king into a false sense of intelligible passages that portrayi n
Sin and Shu-Sin, reigned only nine security. So much so, that in time one way or another the role, character,
years each, and we now hear for the Sumer found itself under the rule and behavioro f the "weeping
first time of serious incursions by of two kings: Ibbi-Sin, whose domin- goddess"a s imagined by Sumer's
nomadic Amorites from the Syro- ion was limited to the capital Ur poets and bardso ver the centuries.
Arabiand esert. Shu-Sin found it and its environs, and Ishbi-Irraw, ho These documents fall into three
necessary to build a huge fortified controlled most of the other cities categories:( 1) A group of five city
wall to keep the barbaricn omads of Sumer from his capital Isin. lamentations which give the impres-
'Until very recently Ur-Nammu was thought to havep romulgatedt he first written law code in the history of man. Now, new facts have come
to light. See my article, "WhoW rotet he Ur-NammuL awC ode?"i n the forthcomingi ssue of Orientalia.
70 BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3
sion that the destruction of Sumer that she had abandonedh er city and
and its cities was a tragic event It was in the course forsakenh er temple-she had tried
whose bitter memories were still desperately to prevent the catastro-
ratherf resh in the hearts and minds of composing phe that befell Ur and its inhabi-
of the Sumerian poets and bards. tants. On the very day that she had
Two of these, the "Lamentation laments over the learned that the great gods An and
Over the Destruction of Ur" and Enlil had decreed the destruction of
the "Lamentation Over the Destruc- sad fate of Sumer Ur and the extermination of its
tion of Sumer and Ur," were proba- people, she claims to have poured
bly composed no more than a genera- and its cities that out "the water of her eyes" before
tion or two after the collapse of the An and to have come as a suppliant
Third Dynasty of Ur, that is, about Sumerian poets cre- before Enlil, pleading with them
1900 B.c. The other three, the ated the image of and saying "Let not Ur be destroyed!
"LamentationO ver the Destruction Let not its people perish!" But in
of Nippur,"t he "Lamentation Over the grieving "weep- vain-"An changed not his word....
the Destruction of Erech,"a nd the Enlil soothed not my heart (by
"LamentationO ver the Destruc- ing goddess," saying) 'It is good, so be it!'"
tion of Eridu,"w ere composed about Even so, continues the goddess,
a century later, during the reign of sorrowful, tender, she refused to resign herself. With
Ishme-Dagan, the fourth ruler of the bent knees and outstretched arms
Dynasty of Isin. (2) A group of and compassionate.s he came before the council of the
formulaic, repetitive, stereotypical gods meeting in solemn session
liturgies and litanies that echo and repeatedh er plea: "Let not Ur be
from afar,a s it were, the destruction their mothers, and the alienation of destroyed!L et not its people perish!"
of such cities as Kesh, Isin, Ur, its rites and rituals. But again in vain. An and Enlil
Nippur, Erech,E ridu,a nd Larsa.( 3) A The poet then begins the third refused to change their cruel ver-
considerablen umber of liturgic stanza by introducing the agonizing, dict and they directed the utter
laments relating to the death of sleepless Ningal who seats herself destruction of the city and the
Dumuzi, or one of the deities that on the groundw ith her plaintive death of its people.
came to be associated with him; lyre, and chants a lament, the With Ningal's plea rejected,
most of these are couched in burden of which is the suffering the poet devotes the next two stan-
language that is laconic, enigmatic, inflicted upon her by the terrifying, zas to a detailed, distressing descrip-
ambiguous, and obscure. cyclonic destructive storm which tion of the destruction of Ur on
she cannot escape day or night and Enlil's command. He called the
Lamentations
which does not allow her one day cruel merciless storm, accompanied
LamentationO vert he Destruction of peace and rest. Because of the by ragingw inds and scorching fire,
of Ur. By far the most vivid, anguish of the land, the poet has against the trembling, horrified land.
graphic,a nd comprehensive deline- her continue, she trod the earth like After destroying the cities of Sumer
ation of the "weeping goddess"a nd a cow in search of its calf, but the it turned to Ur and "coveredi t like a
her agony and torment is found in land was not delivered of fear. garment, enveloped it like a cloth."
the "Lamentation Over the Destruc- Although, because her city was in Ur's high walls were breachedb y the
tion of Ur," a composition of over agony,s he flew to its aid, flappingh er Elamites and their allies, the
four hundred lines divided into wings like a bird in the sky, the Su-people. Dead bodies lay rotting
eleven stanzas. This work bewails city was nevertheless destroyedt o its away at Ur's lofty gates and wide
the destruction of Ur by the Elamites very foundations. Although when promenades; the blood of its people
and the Su-people, and the ravaging spying the "hand of the storm" she flowed like molten metal in the
of the land by a devastating calamity cried "Return,S torm,t o the steppe," crucible. Its arms-bearingm en died
designated as a cruel, ruthless, and her command was of no avail. The fighting; those who escaped were
heartless "storm." The first two storm chose not to depart.H er killed by the storm. Young and old,
stanzas set the stage, as it were, for Enunkug, her house of queenship, weak and strong, perished through
the appearance of Ningal as the for which she had been promised famine. The old men and old women
"weeping goddess." After bewailing long days, lay hugging the groundi n who stayed in their houses were
the abandonment of all the more tears and laments. In her temple, burnt alive. Disorder and confusion
important cities of Sumer by their which used to be the place where the reigned everywhere. Mother for-
tutelary deities, these stanzas con- spirit of the "blackheads"( that is, sook daughter; father forsook son;
clude with an exclamatory address the blackheadedp eople, the Sumer- wife and child were abandoned.
by the poet to the far-famed, high- ians) was soothed and comforted, Ningal, herself, had to flee the city
walled city of Ur, bemoaning its wrath and distress now abound "like a bird on the wing." Ur's
destruction, the carrying off of its instead of joyous celebrations. possessions were defiled, its store-
people like kids and lambs from Not, cries the grievingg oddess, houses were burnt, its rivers were
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRING 1983 71
dried up. Ninlil, concludes the poet, and turning her house into ruins, chamber.A n, he consoles her, is no
left the city crying out to her warning them that she will lie down longer angry with her, and Enlil will
spouse Nanna: "Alasf or my city, alas in the debris and, like a fallen ox, restore her city so that she might
for my house.... Ur has been rise no more. Finally,t urning once once again be its queen.
destroyed, its people have been again to her city, she concludes her
dispersed!" lamentful soliloquy with the accusa- Other Lamentations. So much for
The poet now brings the em- tion that her house had been built the weeping Ningal as portrayed
bitteredN ingal once again on the in deceit and that her city, from in the "LamentationO ver the
scene, and has her utter a long Destruction of Ur!'"N othing quite
heartbreakings oliloquy bemoaning comparablet o this striking, poi-
the fate of her city and temple. An, gnant, sensitive depiction of the
she cries, has cursed her city, and "weepingg oddess"i s to be found
Enlil has turned inimical to her in any other extant Sumerianl ament,
house. Ur has been destroyedi nside not even in the four other impres-
and outside. In its rivers dust is sive lamentations listed in the first
heaped high; there is no fresh water. group. In the "LamentationO ver the
There is no grain in the field; gone Destruction of Sumer and Ur,"f or
is its field-worker.H er palm groves example, a composition of over
and vineyardsh ave broughtf orth five hundredl ines that is of no little
the mountain-thorn. Her posses- historical significance, one of the
sions have been carriedo ff to the stanzas mentions briefly virtually
lands abovea nd below; her precious every important Sumerian city
metals, stones, and lapis lazuli lie that had been destroyedb y the
scattereda bout. Her ornaments of enemy, as well as the name of its
precious metal and stone now weeping divine queen. But all that
adornt he bodies of those who "know the poet says about each of these
not" precious metal and stone. Her sufferingg oddesses is that they cry
sons and daughtersh ave been carried bitterly "Oh my destroyedc ity! Oh
off into captivity; she is no longer my destroyedh ouse!"-a vague,
queen of Ur. Her city and house have colorless assertion that says virtu-
been demolished and a strange city ally nothing about any passionate,
and a strangeh ouse have been erected emotional reaction to the suffering
in their place. Woe is her, she and devastation about them.
exclaims, Ur has been destroyed;i ts In the case of the "Lamentation
people have been put to death; Over the Destruction of Nippur,"
where now shall she sit down, where a composition of which the first
stand up? part only is a lament, while the
Here the poet interruptsN ingal's second, largerp art is actually a
mournful soliloquy with a brief song of jubilation celebrating the
three-line passage depicting the deliverance of Nippur by the mes-
This tablet is inscribed with the third,
goddess'sv iolent emotional state: fourth,f ifth, and sixth stanzas of the "Lamen- siahlike Ishme-Dagan,i ts divine
With tear-fillede yes she tears out tation Over the Destruction of Ur." Univer- queen Ninlil is only briefly men-
her hair like rushes, and'beatsh er sity Museum, University of Pennsylvania. tioned, and not as a "weeping
breast like a drum. He then has the goddess"b ut rathera s a "great
goddess continue her despondent which all offeringsw ere now cut mother" offeringa prayert o her
monologue: Woe is her; her house is off, was devastatedb y the storm, out spouse Enlil who, accordingt o the
a stall torn down whose cows have of hatreda nd without cause. poet, had alreadyb een moved to
been dispersed-she was an unwor- So moved is the poet by Ningal's mercy and compassion by the plight
thy shepherdess who let her ewes tears that he exclaims, "O Queen, of the city and its anguished plea for
be struck down by the weapon. Woe make your heart like water,h ow can the restoration of his temple and the
is her; she has been exiled from you keep on living?" and repeats deliverance of the "blackheads!'
her city and can find no rest, can find this and parallelp hrasesa s a persis- The "Lamentation Over the
no home. As if she were a stranger tent refrain.F inally,a fter catalogu- Destruction of Erech" is only about
in a strange city, curses and abuse are ing the misfortunes that have over- half-preserved and in the extant
pressed upon her and she can say taken her, he pleads with the portion there is no mention of its
nothing in response. goddess to return to the city that queen Inanna in the role of a
The goddess now proceeds to loved her and looked up to her like "weeping goddess." Inanna does
berate the personified "City-Fate" a child to its mother. He begs her to appear toward the very end of the
and "House-Fate" who had dared returnl ike an ox to its stall, like a composition, not as a "weeping
approach her for destroying her city sheep to its fold, like a maiden to her goddess" but as the exalted Eve-
72 BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3
ning and Morning Start o whom the Doleful Dialogue," begins with a
poet offers a prayerf or the life of Nothing compara- bitter soliloquy by the goddess in
Ishme-Dagan who had restored the which she laments the tragic mis-
city and who, he assures her, ble to the striking fortune that has befallen when the
would serve her faithfully with stormlike, cruel word of An and
sacrifices, libations, music, and depiction of the Enlil overtook her: Her city and
song. Only in the "Lamentation house were devastated;d eprivedo f
Over the Destruction of Eridu"i s "weeping goddess" her possessions and of her husband
there a portrayalo f a "weeping and son, she wanders about aim-
in the "Lamenta-
goddess"t hat may be at all com- less and overcome; the fledglings of
paredw ith that of Ningal in the tion Over the De- her nest are hungry,t he young of
"Lamentation Over the Destruc- her stall are thirsty; her Dilmun
tion of Ur."I n this composition the struction of Ur" boat has been sunk in the swamps
poet depicts the divine queen of and her fishing boat is lost in the
Eridu, Damgalnunna, as lacerating be found in marshes; she is an enemy in her
her body with daggera nd sword can any own city, despised in her birthplace,
and weeping over the destruction of other Sumerian without strength and willpower.
her city and the suppression of her After an obscure passage in which
cult. Other cities, she laments, have lament. the goddess continues to lament
been destroyedb y the deities in for her ravagedc ity and house, she
charge of them, but none have been solemnly proclaims that she has
completely abandoned, and in time own house. decided to flee the word of An and
their temple and cult were restored. In another of these liturgical Enlil and hide where no one can
Why then, she complains, should laments, Ninisinna complains bit- find her, not even they who seek her
Eridu and its temple stay desolate terly that it is the cruel relentless in the most desolate places. These
and forsaken?O n hearing Damgal- word of An and Enlil that have mournful words so move her lyre,
nunna's plaint, Enki, the Sumerian broughta bout the destruction of which the poet imagines to be in
god of wisdom whose seat was her temple by the enemy, who car- earshot of the sombre soliloquy, that
Eridu,b ecomes extremely despon- ried off her possessions in boats it breaks into a lamentful chant
dent but is comforted by the poet loaded front and rear;w ho came into addressedt o the goddess, the burden
who pleads with him to return to his her holy cella without taking off of which is that her flight from the
city and temple. his shoes; who laid a terrifying word of An and Enlil will only make
hand on her; who tore off her matters worse: The princely chil-
Liturgies and Litanies garments and dressed his wife with dren will rush pell-mell out of her
In the liturgical, litany-padded them; who ripped off her orna- sheepfold and will be cut down by
laments that constitute the second ments and adornedh is child with the word of An and Enlil. The
group of documents in which them. So terrifiedw as she, the response of the goddess is not
the image of the "weeping goddess" goddess grieves, that she dartedt o clear, but to judgef rom the general
is a prominent structural feature, it the roof of her house like a fright- tone of her speech which contin-
is primarily the goddess Ninisinna, ened dove; fluttered about in the ues to dwell on the dreadedw ord of
the divine queen of Isin (and the crevices like a bat; fled her city and An and Enlil, she remains firm in
several deities associated or identi- house like a bird on the wing; her resolve to flee.
fied with her), and Inanna, the divine exclaimed, "Youa re not my house, One of these Ninisinna liturgic
queen of Erech,w ho play the you are not my city" when he kept compositions, consisting of close to
leading roles, at least in the extant calling after her. six hundredl ines, is inscribed on a
texts. In one composition, for The poet now introduces a motif ten-column tablet which is more
example, the poet depicts Ninisinna that in one form or another appears than half-preserved.T he text,
bemoaning the dire consequences in several of the liturgic laments: the which is replete with repetitious
of the destruction of her city and goddess'sd espondent response to litanies and refrains, nevertheless
temple thus: She now has no the accusation that it was she herself adds to the repertoire of plaints
savory food and drink; no place to sit who had dishonored herself by uttered by the "weeping goddess."
or lie down; no dining table with destroying her house and city. No, Thus we find the poet picturing her
its silver and bronze vessels; no the poet has the goddess assert, it as walking about bent low in her
sweet-sounding musical instruments was not she who was responsible-it defiled cult chamber, bemoaning the
such as the lyre, drum, tambourine, was her "father"A n, and/or Enlil, devastation of her temple and her
and reed pipe; no comforting songs the lord of all the lands, who did treasure house that was once over-
and soothing words from the temple these terrible things to her. flowing with riches but is now so
singers and priests. Her spouse and Another of these Ninisinna litur- desolate and dust-covered that
her son no longer live with her; she gies, one that may be entitled even dogs and scorpions have aban-
can no longer walk proudly in her "The Goddess and Her Lyre:A doned it; the doves flee its crum-
BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRING 1983 73
bleds pires;i ts much admiredg ates Namtar, she weeps, brought Burdeneda s she is with
areb rokend owna ndd esolate;i ts her misery as if it were a silver Namtar on her lap, she proclaims
roofb eamsl ie in the sun like a man ornament for her hand and a that she has decided to journey to
who is disease-riddeni;t s lofty precious stone for her neck; then he the steppe where she will drink
brickworkli es weepingl ike a griev- added insult to injury by pressing water from unfamiliar rivers, eat
ing woman;i ts reedm ats squirm her to meet fate with a cheerful face, grain from unfamiliar fields, walk
andt wist like a man afflictedb y to rejoice in the death of her about in unfamiliar paths. But even
colic; its roofh edgesl ie scattered husband and son. But, she retorts there, in the steppe, she complains,
on the groundl ike ripped-ouht air; she is hunted by Namtar as birds are
its hedgerow(s? )d arti nto the hunted in the canebrake.T here,
crevicesl ike flyingb ats;i ts door moreover,a new calamity befalls
posts lie rubbedr awl ike a man her; she is afflicted by Asag, the
water-scrubbedit;s doorh ingesh ave demon of disease. And so she cries
been torna part;i ts locks andb olts out to her mother about her
groana ndm oan;h erl ofty cult wretched fate: No one now seeks her
chamberh as beeng ivent o the out in the steppe, no one asks
wind.I t is Enlil,s he complains about her, not even Enlil as he walks
bitterlyw, ho dishonoredh er tem- to his stall; she is treated like an
ple andb roughtm oaninga ndw eep- unmentionable ghost of the steppe.
ing into herh ouse that hadb een And when her mother tries to
built fort he celebrationo f joyous console her, imploring her not to cry
feasts. for she is beautiful and lovely,
Fate,b ittert ragicf ate symbol- adornedw ith kohl and bedecked
ized by the nether-worldd emon with ornaments, and urging her to
Namtar,i s frequentlym entionedi n keep on beautifying herself, to wash
the Sumerianla mentations.B ut and soap herself, to paint her eyes
therei s one liturgicc omposition,a with kohl, and to put on clean
ratherd ifficultt ext foundi n sev- clothes, she responds despondently
eralv ersionsa ccordingt o which the that there is no lyric chant in her
"weepingg oddess"is eitherN ini- brokenh eart and that no one who
sinnao r Inanna,t hat treatsN amtar sees her shamed face and mumbling
as the villain pare xcellence,t he lips will have any sympathy for her.
goddess's bete noir as it were. Begin- The composition, rathers trangely,
ning with the mournful words "I closes with an obscure four-line
will cry woe, I will cry oh; I will cry addresst o the goddess that relates in
woe, I will cry oh again and again; I some way to the death of Gilgamesh,
will cry woe for my house, I will cry an enigmatic ending whose real
oh for my city," the goddess com- meaning is at present difficult
plains that Namtar is standing at her to penetrate.
side day and night; she marrieda The indictment of Enlil as the
spouse but now has no spouse; she god responsible for the goddess's
gave birth to a son but now has no misfortune is also underlined in at
son; like a ewe she cherished a least two other compositions in
strange lamb; like a mother-goat which Inanna plays the role of the
she cherished a strange kid; she has "weeping goddess."I n a long liturgy
been devastated in her own city; of several hundredl ines that is
her friends, male and female, are only about half-preserved,t he poet
distraught because of her. She depicts the goddess bewailing the
thereforea nnounces her decision to destruction of her city and temple
go to Enlil's "House of Fate" and The goddess Ningal is portrayedi n this and the pillaging of her possessions;
bring him her defiant complaint. diorite statue which was dedicated by the she sighs and moans by the Euphra-
Pressing open the door and crying hsiitgyh M pruiseesut,m E,n Uannnivaetrusmity (2 o0f 8P0e Bn.ncs.)y.l Uvanniviae.r - tes and its canals, without food to
out "Open, Namtar" she accuses eat and water to drink; she wanders
Enlil of decreeing a wretched fate about aimlessly crying "oh and
for her. But her cry is in vain. defiantly,s he is not a slave-girla nd woe" for the dead "lord" of her
Namtar, she continues, looked at her will not submit to fate; though she house. And when she is chided for
angrily, screamed at her, and clung be made to staggerw hen walking her shameful part in the destruction
tenaciously to her lap and side, so and to bow her head when sitting, of her city and temple, she responds
that she became even more despon- though her hair be rippedo ut and her despairingly that it is not she who
dent, because of her desolation. skin torn apart,s he will not submit. did it but her father Enlil.
74 BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3
An even more vivid example of I, the hierodule of An, the cally speaking, was carriedo ff
Inanna'sc omplaint against Enlil is Queen of Heaven-- bound and fettered to the nether
found in an Inanna lament inscribed I, the destroyero f mountains, world-there is, however,n o son of
on an as yet unpublished tablet in the Queen of Eanna- Inanna who suffered death and
the British Museum. Beginning with My house that had been built captivity. In the case of Ninisinna,
the goddess'sr eproacht hat he, for me in a dream, on the other hand, it was her son
Enlil, had filled her with dismay and My city that had been built for Damu, a deity often associated and
consternation, the text continues me in a dream, interchangedw ith Dumuzi, who
with a picture of Inanna seated My house that fecundates like
beforeE nlil in his temple, demand- stalls and sheepfolds,
ing answers to her bitter, plaintive My house that fecundates like
queries. She wants him to tell her, sheep in the sheepfold,
now that her house and city have My house where the seal-
been destroyeda nd her spouse and cutter cuts seals,
son no longer live there, where is she My house where the lapis-
to find a home. Or, as the weeping lazuli worker,w orks lapis
goddessh erself puts it: lazuli,
My (house) at whose gate one
The bird has its nesting place, stands in wonder,
but I-my young are My sanctuary of all mankind,
dispersed; My treasureh ouse of all the
The fish lies in calm waters, lands-
but I--my resting place When it was built, the land,
exists not; too, was built,
The dog kneels at the thresh- When it was destroyed,t he
old, but I-I have no land was destroyedw ith it.
threshold; The comely spouse has been
The ox has its stall, but carriedo ff by the enemy;
I-I have no stall; The comely son has been
The cow has a place to lie carriedo ff by the enemy;
down, but I-I have no place Its great feasts are no longer
to lie down; properlyc elebrated;
The ewe has its fold, but Its precious me (divine powers) This tablet from Nippur dates to Dynasty I
I-I have no fold; are locked away; of Isin and records the "Myth of Enlil and
The beasts have a place to Its collected me stand (useless) Ninlil. " University Museum, University of
sleep, but I-I have no place in the corner; Pennsylvania.
to sleep. Its rites have been altered, its
reign has turned hostile. was carriedo ff to the land of the
Inanna'sh omelessness is also a The righteous house-its reign dead-her husband, Pabilsagb y
motif in another liturgy that begins has been transformedi nto name, is not characterizeda s a
with the familiar cry of woe for her a hostile reign; dying god in any extant text. Inanna,
temple that had been so The righteous house has been it might thereforeb e expected,
that even the dog and thed secvoarsptaiotend, . devastated;i t has been turned should be mourning only for her
not to mention humans, abandoned over to the wind. doomed husband, and Ninisinna
it. In this case, however,i t is the only for her doomed son. Since,
poet, not the goddess, who asks The capture and death of the however,t he two goddesses are
plaintively,w here will she live husband and son referredt o in the often interchangedi n the liturgies,
now that she allowed the storm to above lament constitute a recurrent their authors and redactorsd id not
roard ay and night in her temple stereotypical motif in the liturgi- seem to find it necessary to distin-
and cella? Moreoverh e chides the cal "weeping guish between them and to specify
goddess for permitting this shameful especially thogsoed rdeelastsi"n.gla tmo tehnet s, who mourned for whom in the
act. Inanna'se xpected answer, that goddesses Ninisinna and Inanna.I n husband-sonm otif that had become
it was Enlil who did it, is probably none of these liturgies is the hus- a literarys tereotype. This brings us
omitted in this composition, which band or son identified by name, and to the third class of "weeping
seems to end in medias res. this poses somewhat of a quandary. goddess"c ompositions, those con-
Finally,t here is a brief poi- In the case of Inanna it would seem sisting of laments for the capturea nd
gnant lament by Inanna that sum- reasonablet o assume that the hus- death of Dumuzi and Damu, and the
marizes much of the tone, mood, band referst o her spouse Dumuzi (or deities who for some unknown
and content of the much longer for- the king who was deemed to be an reason had come to be associated
mulaic liturgies: avataro f Dumuzi) who, mythologi- with them.
BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3 75
Laments for Dumuzi, Damu, band Dumuzi, who is no longer plays a major role. The scene for this
or Associates alive, she weeps: brief lament is set in Geshtinanna's
In the case of Dumuzi, the home whither Dumuzi, beaten and
Wild ox, how can you lie
"weepingg oddesses"w ho mourned tortured,h as fled to escape the
there-the ewe and its lamb
his cruel fate were his spouse pursuingn ether-worldd emons. Upon
have fallen alseep;
Inanna,h is sister Geshtinanna, and catching sight of her unfortunate
Wild ox, how can you lie
his mother Ninsun. This is put brother,G eshtinanna lacerates her
there-the mother-goata nd
succinctly in a recently published body and weeps:
its kid have fallen alseep.
new version of the death of Dumuzi
Oh my brother,o h my brother,
in which the poet has Dumuzi
lad whose days have not
himself bemoaning his cruel fate
and actually imagining and visualiz- Fate, bitter tragic been fulfilled,
Oh my brother, Shepherd
ing his spouse Inanna weeping
fate, is frequently Aamushungalanna, lad whose
bitterly for him in her temple Eanna,
days and years have not
while his sister Geshtinanna rips mentioned in the been fulfilled,
out her hair and rends her sinews by
the boulevardo f his mother Ninsun. Oh my brother,l ad who has no
Sumerian wife, who has no son,
To be sure, Inanna'st ears for her
spouse are, in a sense, crocodile lamentations. Ohfr mieyn db,r wothhoe rh,al asd n wo ho has no
tears, since it was she herself who
accordingt o the myth "Inanna's companion,
Descent to the Nether World,"t urned She then decides to go looking for Oh my brother,l ad who brings
no comfort to his mother.
him over to the cruel little demons him in the "Hill of the Bison" and
to carryh im off bound and fettered keeps asking for his whereabouts, for In another brief passage that is
to the "lando f no return!'N."e verthe- him "who is no longer given food part of a complex and obscure
less the poets did not seem to find it to eat and water to drink."W hen the composition, Geshtinanna thinks of
incongruous to portrayh er as answer is given that the bison has herself as Dumuzi's mother as
weeping for the husband/son who carriedh im off to the nether world, well as his sister. Thus, according to
had been taken captive and put to she pleads with him not to seal the poet, when Dumuzi tells her
death in Kullab, a district in her tight his comely open eyes and not that he would go to his mother,
city of Erech,a nd lamenting: to silence his comely open mouth. weeping and crying like a small
But her plea is in vain, and she child, she seems to comfort him
Gone now is my husband, concludes her lament with these with these ambiguous words:
sweet husband; mournful lines:
Gone now is my son, sweet Oh my brotherw ith the lumlum
son; On his cot the dog lies; eyes, with the lamlam eyes,
My husband has gone among My man-in his hut the Who is your sister? I am your
the early plants; ravend wells; sister;
My son has gone among the His flute-song the wind utters; Who is your mother? I am your
late plants; My man-his chants the North mother.
My husband who has gone Wind utters. The sun that rises for you rises
to seek plants, has been also for me;
While there may be some doubt
Mgyi svoenn wovheor thoa tsh geo pnlea tnot s; about the sincerity of Inanna's Thgea szuesn a tlhsaot u gpaozne sm uep.o n you,
tears for her spouse, there is no
seek water,h as been given
doubt whatever about the deep As for Dumuzi's mother
over to the water; concern and profound agony of Ninsun, we have at present only one
My bridegroomh as de- Dumuzi's sister Geshtinanna who, reasonablyi ntelligible lament actu-
partedf rom the city as if according to the mythographers, ally uttered by the goddess for her
it were a fly-infestedp lace; loved him so dearly that she was son-its laconic repetitive con-
He has departedf rom the preparedt o sacrifice her own life to tents may be paraphrased as follows:
city as if it were infected
save his. There must have existed Her heart, she cries, has set up a
with early-plantf lies. numerous laments uttered by Gesh- dirge in the steppe, on the shepherd's
According to another composi- tinanna for her brother in the hill, where Dumuzi lies bound and
tion consisting almost entirely of a Sumerian literary repertoire,b ut at fettered, "where the ewe has given
lament uttered by Inanna,i t was present only a few brief dirges can be up its lamb, the mother-goat has
not the nether-worldd emons who identified as having been uttered given up its kid." Having heard her
carriedo ff Dumuzi but, strangea nd by the goddess. One of these is part suffering son plead "Would that
inexplicable as it may seem, a of a telescoped version of the myth my mother could reach me!" she can
bison with mottled eyes and crush- "Inanna'sD escent to the Nether only repeat helplessly, "My heart
ing teeth. Lamenting for her hus- World"i n which Geshtinanna has set up a dirge in the The
steppe'."
76 BIBLICALA RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRING 1983
On his cot the dog lies;
My man-in his hut the raven dwells;
His flute-song the wind utters;
My man-his chants the North Wind utters.
text closes with a portrayalo f the wedded a loving spouse and having
mother who, having bracedh er given birth to a princely son, a
droopingh ands and feet, arriveda t choice donkey-foal,w hom death
the place her son was lying and would take from her.
gazed with a shudder upon his Ninhursag is the mater dolorosa
lifeless face. in a dying-godc omposition inscribed
Since Dumuzi, the son of on a tablet in the British Museum
Ninsun, is often fused and confused that has only just been edited (1982).
with Damu, the son of Ninisinna Accordingt o this text, the goddess's
in the dying-godl aments, it is not comely, attractive, unnamed son had
surprisingt o find that the mothers, disappeared,a nd she went about
too, were sometimes interchanged, searching and questioning in the
so that it is not clear who mourned vicinity of a mountain, which she
whom. This is especially true of a traversedf rom base to summit. Carry-
composition entitled by the ancient ing rushes and reeds in front of her,
scribes "In the Steppe Among the the goddess, designated as "the
EarlyP lants," which is concerned This tablet from Nippur recordst he "Lament mother of the lad" and "the mother
for Dumuzi!' University Museum, University
primarilyw ith the mother's search of Pennsylvania. of the lord," sets up a lament among
for her lost son. The sequence of the reed thickets. The burden of
events in this long and rathero bscure her plaint is largelyu nintelligible-it
text is quite uncertain. It may have seems to involve a fallen meteor
begun with the mother comparing has no husband, who had given birth that had turned noon to dusk, set-
her missing son metaphorically to to a son but now has no son, and ting the earth atremble and interfer-
a dead tamarisk, to an uprooted who rushes about searching desper- ing with her search. In any case she
poplar,t o withered plants. It contin- ately for her unnamed son whom did not find her missing son, and it
ues with the mother cursing the day has been taken from her and whom was finally revealed to the weeping
when she was bereft of her son, as she compares to a choice donkey- goddess, portrayeda s a cow lowing
she wandersf rom canebraket o cane- foal that has been abducted,a lamb to its unresponding calf, that there
brakep leading that someone reveal snatched by a wild beast, a calf was no point to her searching and
to her the whereabouts of her son. carriedo ff by a wild beast. In her lamenting-her son is in the nether
When she is informed that he has own city, she exclaims, she has world, and the officials in charge
been carriedo ff by the fiendish been mistreated; she is a ewe whose will not give him back to her.
deputies of the nether world who lamb has been taken from her, a One of the goddesses associ-
will not returnh im to her, she mother-goatw hose kid has been ated with Ninhursag in the composi-
proceedst o the deputy-gatea nd taken from her; with a heart that is tion just cited is her daughterL isin
pleads for the returno f hef son, but disconsolate and bewildered,s he who is the mater dolorosa in two
to no avail-Dumuzi was now in the pleads nonetheless that her city dying-godl aments that have only
land of the dead, and unable to and temple not be destroyed. recently come to light. One of these
respondt o his mother's tears. In another of the mater dolorosa is a fairly well-preservedt ext of
In quite a number of the mater compositions it is the great mother- seventy-six lines that is quite remark-
dolorosa compositions, the name of goddess Ninhursag (or two of the able for its relatively rich and
the lost martyreds on is not stated, deities associated with her) that is surprisingc ontent as well as for its
and it is uncertain whether the mourning her unnamed son. The metaphor-orienteds tyle. The poet
mother is mourning Dumuzi, first part of this composition is sets the stage with a brief introduc-
Damu, or some other of the dying- virtually identical with that of the tory passage:T he goddess Lisin,
god prototypes.T hus there is one Ninisinna text just cited. But the after searching in vain over meadow
partially preservedl ament attributed burdeno f Ninhursag's lament that and high steppe for her lost son,
to the goddess Ninisinna, who is constitutes the second half is quite turns pale and weeps, uttering her
depicted as a woebegone mother different-it centers on the futility cry of woe in regions high and low.
who had wedded a spouse but now and profitlessness of her having After pleading to no avail that her
BIBLICAAL RCHAEOLOGIST/SPRIN1G98 3 77