Weapons of Words: Intertextual Competition in Babylonian Poetry

291 Pages·2019·1.726 MB·English

by  Selena Wisnom

WeaponsofWords:IntertextualCompetitioninBabylonianPoetry
Culture and History of the
Ancient Near East
FoundingEditor
M.H.E.Weippert
Editor-in-Chief
JonathanStökl
Editors
EckartFrahm
W.RandallGarr
B.Halpern
TheoP.J.vandenHout
LeslieAnneWarden
IreneJ.Winter
volume 106
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/chan
Weapons of Words:
Intertextual Competition in
Babylonian Poetry
AStudyof Anzû,Enūma Elis,̆ and Erra and Isŭ m
By
SelenaWisnom
LEIDEN | BOSTON
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Wisnom,LauraSelena,1986-author.
Title:Weaponsofwords:intertextualcompetitioninBabylonianpoetry:astudyof
Anzū,Enūmaeliš,andErraandIšum/bySelenaWisnom.
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,2019.|Series:Cultureandhistoryoftheancient
NearEast,15662055;volume106|Basedontheauthor'sdissertation
(doctoral)–UniversityofOxford,2014.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesand
index.
Identifiers:LCCN2019034058(print)|LCCN2019034059(ebook)|
ISBN9789004412965(hardback)|ISBN9789004412972(ebook)
Subjects:LCSH:Epicpoetry,Assyro-Babylonian–Historyandcriticism.|
Intertextuality.
Classification:LCC PJ3761.W572019(print)|LCC PJ3761(ebook)|DDC892/.1–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019034058
LCebookrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2019034059
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ISSN1566-2055
ISBN978-90-04-41296-5(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-41297-2(e-book)
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Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
1 IntertextualityandAllusion 1
2 TheThreePoems 4
3 TheStudyofAncientAllusions 9
3.1 WhatCountsasanAllusion? 11
3.2 Intentionality 16
4 CompetitiveStrategiesofAllusion 19
5 TheBabylonianLiteraryBackground 23
5.1 AnIntellectualContext 24
5.2 ScribalEducation 26
5.3 VersionsandVariants 29
6 StructureoftheBook 30
1 AllusionsinAnzû 33
1 Introduction 33
1.1 FromOldBabyloniantoStandardBabylonian 35
2 TheRe-shapingofNinurta’sVictories:Lugal-eandAn-gin₇ 36
2.1 OminousBeginnings 38
2.2 TheWeaponBroughttoLife 40
3 NewNames,NewIdentities 42
3.1 Labbu 45
3.2 Atraḫasīs 51
3.3 TheReturnofLugalbanda 54
4 Lamentations 59
5 ReverseIntertextuality 62
6 Conclusions 64
2 EnūmaelišandAnzû 66
1 Introduction 66
2 MardukastheNewNinurta 70
2.1 TheDutifulSon 73
2.2 BloodontheWind 75
3 TheTabletofDestinies 78
4 PoisonousMonsters,‘Poisonous’Arrows 88
vi contents
5 StructuralImitationsandAdaptations 91
5.1 TheBeginning—HysteronProteron 91
5.2 TheEnd—theNames 92
5.3 Repetition,Expansion,Contraction 94
5.4 ReplacingtheTraditionalTriad 98
6 LordofIncantations 101
7 Conclusions 103
3 EnūmaelišandAtraḫasīs 105
1 Introduction 105
2 Destructions:TheDethroningofEnlil 108
2.1 NoiseandtheDeluge 110
2.2 OverthrowingBadKings 115
2.3 WhentheGodsWere(like)Man 117
2.4 TheStrippingoftheCrown 117
2.5 TheSecondSleepDisturbance 119
3 Creations:SupersedingEa 122
3.1 ACounterparttoApsû 123
3.2 TheCreationofMan 124
3.3 FreedomfromToil 126
3.4 TheCreationofBabylon 128
4 Conclusions 128
4 EnūmaelišandLugal-e 131
1 Introduction 131
2 ElementsoftheBattle 132
2.1 Šar-urReappears 133
2.2 Winds,Deluge,Spear 138
2.3 QinguandtheLeaderoftheStones 141
3 EstablishingOrder 143
3.1 NewCreation 144
3.2 ControllingtheWaters 146
3.3 ControllingApsû’sWaters 150
3.4 50Destinies,50Names 151
3.5 StructuralOverview 154
4 Conclusions 155
contents vii
5 ErraandIšum:AllusionstoAnzûandLugal-e 158
1 Introduction 158
2 Anzû:TheBackground 163
3 ErraasAnzû 166
3.1 TheTabletofDestinies 166
3.2 StrippedofPower 167
3.3 AsiftoCatchtheEvilAnzû? 168
4 IšumasNinurta 169
5 Šar-urDivides 173
6 IšumtheDoor 175
7 WhereIstheYoungHero? 178
8 Conclusions 179
6 OverturningtheOldOrder:ErraandIšumandEnūmaeliš,Atraḫasīs,
andGilgameš 182
1 Introduction 182
2 Enūmaeliš 183
2.1 TurningMarduk’sOwnPoemagainstHim 185
3 TheDeluge 192
4 DisturbedSleep 198
4.1 Atraḫasīs 198
4.2 Enūmaeliš 201
5 ATimebeforetheFlood 206
6 Marduk’sDefeatandErra’sVictory 211
7 Conclusions 214
7 ErraandIšumandLamentations 216
1 Introduction 216
2 ErraandIšumandtheLamentationovertheDestructionofSumer
andUr 218
2.1 OtherPossibilities 223
2.2 TheContinuityofaTradition 226
2.3 AkkadianTraditionsoftheDestructionofCities 227
2.4 TheParallelsinDetail 229
2.5 Interpretation 236
3 TheFunctionsofLamentationandPraise 238
4 Conclusions 243
viii contents
Conclusion—aSelf-ConsciousTradition 245
1 TheConsequencesofCompetition 247
2 ImplicationsforLiteraryHistory 249
3 ThePowerofIntertextuality 250
References 253
GeneralIndex 271
IndexofTextsCited 275
Acknowledgements
ThisbookbeganlifeasaDPhilthesissubmittedtotheUniversityofOxfordin
2014,andhassincebeensubstantiallyrevised.Myprofoundestthanksgotomy
supervisor,FrancesReynolds,forherexpertguidance,incrediblethoroughness,
kindnessandencouragement.Icouldnothavewishedforabettersupervisor.
DuringmystudiesatOxfordIalsobenefittedfromtheadviceofseveralother
scholars. I was fortunate to be able to discuss finer points of Sumerian with
Jacob Dahl and Marie-Christine Ludwig, while Stephanie Dalley and Chris-
topherMetcalfbothreadearlyversionsoftheworkonErraandIšumwhenit
wasatthestageofMPhilresearch.IthankmyexaminersAndrewGeorgeand
JacobDahlfortheirmanyusefulanddetailedcommentsonthethesis,andam
deeplygratefultothelateJeremyBlackandWolfsonCollegeforsettingupthe
studentshipthatsupportedmeforfouryears.
GoingfurtherbackintimeIthankEmilyKearnsandRebeccaArmstrong,my
ClassicstutorsatSt.Hilda’sCollegewhointroducedmetointertextualityand
encouragedmyinterestintheAncientNearEast.IamalsogratefultoBruno
Currie,whoworkedwithmeasanundergraduateandpostgraduatestudent,
andhasgreatlyinfluencedmythinkingontherelationshipbetweenGreekand
NearEasternliterature.
I began to revise the thesis during a Junior Research Fellowship at The
Queen’sCollege,Oxford.Queen’shavebeenanenormoussupporttome,pro-
vidingtheperfectenvironmenttocarryoutthiswork.InparticularIthankthe
membersof theCentreforManuscriptandTextCulturesforcreatingsucha
stimulatinginterdisciplinaryresearchgroupandforbelievingsostronglyinmy
work.DirkMeyerandJohnBlairespeciallyactedasmentors,advisingmeon
many occasions.The AcademicWriting Group at TORCH provided welcome
companyduringmanyhoursofediting.
Someof thematerialinchaptertwoappearedasanarticleinthe Journal
of the American Oriental Society 139.2 as ‘Blood on the wind and the tablet
of destinies: intertextuality in Anzû,Enūmaeliš, and ErraandIšum’. I thank
JohannesHauboldforinvitingmetopresentthecoreofthisworkataseminar
intheClassicsdepartmentatDurhamandfortheexchangesthattookplace
there.TheprincipalargumentofchaptersevenwaspresentedattheRencontre
AssyriologiqueInternationaleinPhiladelphiain2016aspartofaworkshopon
intertextualityincuneiformscholarship,andwillbepublishedintheproceed-
ings.IthankMatthewRutzandZachWainerforthiskindinvitation.Following
thepresentationIhadmanyfruitfuldiscussionswithUriGabbay,DinaKatz,
andAlanLenzi,whoallcommentedonadraftof thearticle,aswellaswith