Debate between Winter and Summer
Encyclopedia
The Debate between Winter and Summer or Myth of Emesh and Enten is a Sumerian
creation myth, written on clay tablet
s in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC
.
s'; some examples are: the debate between sheep and grain
; the debate between bird and fish
; the tree and the reed; and the dispute between silver and copper, etc. These topics came some centuries after writing was established in Sumerian Mesopotamia
. The debates are philosophical
and address humanity's place in the world. Some of the debates may be from 2100 BC.
, catalogue of the Babylonian section (CBS), tablet number 8310 from their excavations at the temple
library
at Nippur
. This was translated by George Aaron Barton
in 1918 and first published as "Sumerian religious texts" in "Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions
", number seven, entitled "A Hymn to Ibbi-Sin
". The tablet is 5.5 inches (14 cm) by 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) by 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) at its thickest point. Barton describes Ibbi-Sin as an "inglorious King" suggesting the text to have been composed during his lifetime, he commented "The hymn provides a powerful statement for emperor worship in Ur at the time of composition." Ibbi-Sin is still mentioned in the modern translation "For my king named by Nanna, the son of Enlil, Ibbi-Sin, when he is arrayed in the 'cutur' garment and the 'hursag' garment."
Another tablet from the same collection, number 8886 was documented by Edward Chiera
in "Sumerian Epics and Myths", number 46. Samuel Noah Kramer
included CBS tablets 3167, 10431, 13857, 29.13.464, 29.16.142 (which forms a join with 8310), 29.16.232, 29.16.417, 29.16.427, 29.16.446 and 29.16.448. He also included translations from tablets in the Nippur collection of the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul
, catalogue numbers 2705, 3167 and 4004. Further tablets from Nippur were added by Jane Heimerdinger. Other tablets were added from the "Ur excavations texts" in 1928 along with several others to bring it to its present form. A later edition of the text were published by Miguel Civil in 1996.
gods, Emesh
and Enten
. These were later identified with the natural phenomena of Winter
and Summer
. The location and occasion of the story is described in the introduction with the usual creation sequence of day and night, food and fertility, weather and seasons and sluice gates for irrigation
.
The two seasons are personified as brothers, born after Enlil copulates with a "hursag" (hill). The destinies of Summer and Winter are then described, Summer founding towns and villages with plentiful harvests, Winter to bring the Spring floods.
The two brothers soon decide to take their gifts to Enlil
's "house of life", the E-namtila, where they begin a debate about their relative merits. Summer argues:
To which Winter replies:
Enlil eventually intervenes and declares Winter the winner of the debate and there is a scene of reconciliation
. Bendt Alster explains "Winter prevails over Summer, because Winter provides the water that was so essential to agriculture in the hot climate of ancient Mesopotamia
."
has noted this myth "is the closest extant Sumerian parallel to the Biblical Cain and Abel
story" in the Book of Genesis . This connection has been made by other scholars. The disputation form has also been suggested to have similar elements to the discussions between Job
and his friends in the Book of Job
. M. L. West noted similarities with Aesop
's fable "a debate between Winter and Spring" along with another similar work by Bion of Smyrna.
J.J.A. van Dijk analysed the myth and determined the following common elements with other Sumerian debates "(1) Introduction, presenting the disputants and the occasion of the dispute; (2) the dispute itself, in which each party praises himself and attacks the other; (3) judgement uttered by a god, followed by reconciliation; (4) a formula of praise." Bendt Alster sugggests a link to harvest festival
s, saying "It is definitely conceivable that summer and winter contests may have belonged to festivals celebrating the harvest among the peasants." Herman Vanstiphout has suggested the lexical listing of offerings was used in scribal training, quoting the example from the myth "Wild Animals, cattle and sheep from the mountains, Wild rams, mountain rams, deer and full-grown ibex, Mountain sheep, first class sheep, and fat tailed sheep he brings."
Eliade and Adams note that in the story, the water flows through the "hursag" (foothills), Enlil is identified as a "kurgal" (mountain) and his main temple being the "eKur
" (mountain house), they link this mountain aspect with Enlil being the "Lord of the winds" by suggesting the ancients believed the winds originated in the mountains. Piotr Michalowski makes the connection in the story that "E-hursag" is a structure "named as the residence of the king" and "E-namtilla" "as the residence of Enlil", suspecting the two words refer to the same place and that "E-namtilla is simply another name for E-hursag" and that it was a royal palace
.
Sumerian language
Sumerian is the language of ancient Sumer, which was spoken in southern Mesopotamia since at least the 4th millennium BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians, which included widespread bilingualism...
creation myth, written on clay tablet
Clay tablet
In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age....
s in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
.
Disputations
Seven "debate" topics are known from the Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputationDisputation
In the scholastic system of education of the Middle Ages, disputations offered a formalized method of debate designed to uncover and establish truths in theology and in sciences...
s'; some examples are: the debate between sheep and grain
Debate between sheep and grain
The Debate between sheep and grain or Myth of cattle and grain is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC...
; the debate between bird and fish
Debate between bird and fish
The Debate between bird and fish is a literature essay of the Sumerian language, on clay tablets from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.Seven "debate" topics are known from the Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputations'; some examples are: The Debate between Winter and Summer;...
; the tree and the reed; and the dispute between silver and copper, etc. These topics came some centuries after writing was established in Sumerian Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
. The debates are philosophical
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and address humanity's place in the world. Some of the debates may be from 2100 BC.
Compilation
The first lines of the myth were discovered on the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and AnthropologyUniversity of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, commonly called The Penn Museum, is an archaeology and anthropology museum that is part of the University of Pennsylvania in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-History:An internationally renowned...
, catalogue of the Babylonian section (CBS), tablet number 8310 from their excavations at the temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
at Nippur
Nippur
Nippur was one of the most ancient of all the Sumerian cities. It was the special seat of the worship of the Sumerian god Enlil, the "Lord Wind," ruler of the cosmos subject to An alone...
. This was translated by George Aaron Barton
George Aaron Barton
Reverend George Aaron Barton Ph.D. was a Canadian author, Episcopal clergyman and professor of Semitic languages and the history of religion.-Biography:...
in 1918 and first published as "Sumerian religious texts" in "Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions
Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions
Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions is a 1918, Sumerian linguistics and mythology book written by George Aaron Barton.It was first published by Yale University Press in the United States and deals with commentary and translations of twelve cuneiform, Sumerian myths and texts discovered by the...
", number seven, entitled "A Hymn to Ibbi-Sin
Ibbi-Sin
Ibbi-Sin, son of Shu-Sin, was king of Sumer and Akkad and last king of the Ur III dynasty, and reigned circa 1963 BC-1940 BC . During his reign, the Sumerian empire was attacked repeatedly by Amorites...
". The tablet is 5.5 inches (14 cm) by 4.75 inches (12.1 cm) by 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) at its thickest point. Barton describes Ibbi-Sin as an "inglorious King" suggesting the text to have been composed during his lifetime, he commented "The hymn provides a powerful statement for emperor worship in Ur at the time of composition." Ibbi-Sin is still mentioned in the modern translation "For my king named by Nanna, the son of Enlil, Ibbi-Sin, when he is arrayed in the 'cutur' garment and the 'hursag' garment."
Another tablet from the same collection, number 8886 was documented by Edward Chiera
Edward Chiera
Edward Chiera was an Italian-American archaeologist, Assyriologist, and scholar of religions and linguistics.Born in Rome, Italy, in 1885, Chiera trained as a theologian at the Crozer Theological Seminary . He completed his doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania...
in "Sumerian Epics and Myths", number 46. Samuel Noah Kramer
Samuel Noah Kramer
Samuel Noah Kramer was one of the world's leading Assyriologists and a world renowned expert in Sumerian history and Sumerian language.-Biography:...
included CBS tablets 3167, 10431, 13857, 29.13.464, 29.16.142 (which forms a join with 8310), 29.16.232, 29.16.417, 29.16.427, 29.16.446 and 29.16.448. He also included translations from tablets in the Nippur collection of the Museum of the Ancient Orient in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, catalogue numbers 2705, 3167 and 4004. Further tablets from Nippur were added by Jane Heimerdinger. Other tablets were added from the "Ur excavations texts" in 1928 along with several others to bring it to its present form. A later edition of the text were published by Miguel Civil in 1996.
Story
The story takes the form of a contest poem between two cultural entities first identified by Kramer as vegetationVegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
gods, Emesh
Emesh
Emesh is a Sumerian god of vegetation. He was created, alongside the god Enten, at the wish of Enlil to take responsibility on earth for woods, fields, sheep folds, and stables. He is identified with the abundance of the earth and with summer....
and Enten
Enten
Enten is a Sumerian fertility deity. He was said to have been created by Enlil as a guardian of farmers, along with the vegetation god Emesh. Enten was given specific responsibility for the fertility of ewes, goats, cows, donkeys, birds, and other animals. He is identified with the abundance of the...
. These were later identified with the natural phenomena of Winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
and Summer
Summer
Summer is the warmest of the four temperate seasons, between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice...
. The location and occasion of the story is described in the introduction with the usual creation sequence of day and night, food and fertility, weather and seasons and sluice gates for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
.
The two seasons are personified as brothers, born after Enlil copulates with a "hursag" (hill). The destinies of Summer and Winter are then described, Summer founding towns and villages with plentiful harvests, Winter to bring the Spring floods.
The two brothers soon decide to take their gifts to Enlil
Enlil
Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
's "house of life", the E-namtila, where they begin a debate about their relative merits. Summer argues:
To which Winter replies:
Enlil eventually intervenes and declares Winter the winner of the debate and there is a scene of reconciliation
Conflict resolution
Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of some social conflict. Often, committed group members attempt to resolve group conflicts by actively communicating information about their conflicting motives or ideologies to the rest...
. Bendt Alster explains "Winter prevails over Summer, because Winter provides the water that was so essential to agriculture in the hot climate of ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
."
Discussion
John Walton makes an intruiging observation about Sumerian creation stories that nothing material is actually made, saying that "people in the Ancient Near East did not think of creation in terms of making material things - instead, everything is function oriented. Creation thus constituted bringing order to the cosmos from an originally nonfunctional condition. Consequently, to create something (cause it to exist) in the ancient world means to give it a function, not material properties." Samuel Noah KramerSamuel Noah Kramer
Samuel Noah Kramer was one of the world's leading Assyriologists and a world renowned expert in Sumerian history and Sumerian language.-Biography:...
has noted this myth "is the closest extant Sumerian parallel to the Biblical Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
story" in the Book of Genesis . This connection has been made by other scholars. The disputation form has also been suggested to have similar elements to the discussions between Job
Job (Biblical figure)
Job is the central character of the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible. Job is listed as a prophet of God in the Qur'an.- Book of Job :The Book of Job begins with an introduction to Job's character — he is described as a blessed man who lives righteously...
and his friends in the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
. M. L. West noted similarities with Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
's fable "a debate between Winter and Spring" along with another similar work by Bion of Smyrna.
J.J.A. van Dijk analysed the myth and determined the following common elements with other Sumerian debates "(1) Introduction, presenting the disputants and the occasion of the dispute; (2) the dispute itself, in which each party praises himself and attacks the other; (3) judgement uttered by a god, followed by reconciliation; (4) a formula of praise." Bendt Alster sugggests a link to harvest festival
Harvest festival
A Harvest Festival is an annual celebration which occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times throughout the world...
s, saying "It is definitely conceivable that summer and winter contests may have belonged to festivals celebrating the harvest among the peasants." Herman Vanstiphout has suggested the lexical listing of offerings was used in scribal training, quoting the example from the myth "Wild Animals, cattle and sheep from the mountains, Wild rams, mountain rams, deer and full-grown ibex, Mountain sheep, first class sheep, and fat tailed sheep he brings."
Eliade and Adams note that in the story, the water flows through the "hursag" (foothills), Enlil is identified as a "kurgal" (mountain) and his main temple being the "eKur
Ekur
Ekur is a Sumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods, parallel in Greek mythology to Mount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer.-Origin and meaning:...
" (mountain house), they link this mountain aspect with Enlil being the "Lord of the winds" by suggesting the ancients believed the winds originated in the mountains. Piotr Michalowski makes the connection in the story that "E-hursag" is a structure "named as the residence of the king" and "E-namtilla" "as the residence of Enlil", suspecting the two words refer to the same place and that "E-namtilla is simply another name for E-hursag" and that it was a royal palace
Royal Palace
** Palace of Nakhchivan Khans, Nakhchivan* Belgium: Royal Palace of Brussels* Brazil** Paço Imperial** Paço de São Cristóvão** Summer Palace* Bulgaria: Royal Palace, today housing the National Art Gallery* Cambodia: Royal Palace of Cambodia* China...
.
Further reading
- Bottéro, J., "La "tenson" et la réflexion sur les choses en Mésopotamie", in Reinink, G. and Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., (eds.), Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Medieval Near East (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 42) Peeters: Leuven, 1991, 7-22: commentary
- Bottéro, Jean, and Kramer, Samuel Noah, Lorsque les dieux faisaient l'homme. (rev.ed.), Éditions Gallimard: 1989, reprinted 1993, 481-483: translation, commentary (partial translation)
- Civil, Miguel, The Farmer's Instructions. A Sumerian Agricultural Manual. (Aula Orientalis Supplementa, 5), Editorial Ausa: Sabadell, 1994: 79, 83: commentary (ll. 181-182)
- Cooper, J.S., "Enki's Member: Eros and the Irrigation in Sumerian Literature", in Behrens, Hermann (ed.), and Loding, Darlene, and Roth, Martha Tobi, DUMU-EÛ-DUB-BA-A. Studies in Honor of Åke W. Sjöberg (Occasional Publications of the Samuel Noah Kramer Fund, 11) University Museum: Philadelphia, 1989, 87-89: commentary (ll. 12-15)
- van Dijk, J.J.A., La Sagesse suméro-accadienne. Brill: Leiden, 1953, 42-57: composite text, translation, commentary (partial edition)
- Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., "Joins Proposed in Sumerian Literary Compositions", NABU (1987), No. 87: commentary
- Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., "Lore, Learning and Levity in the Sumerian Disputations: A Matter of Form, or Substance?", in Reinink, G. and Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., (eds.), Dispute Poems and Dialogues in the Ancient and Medieval Near East (Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta, 42), Peeters: Leuven, 1991, 23-46: commentary
- Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., "Sumerian Canonical Compositions. C. Individual Focus. 5. Disputations", in Hallo, William W. (ed.), The Context of Scripture, I: Canonical Compositions from the Biblical World Brill: Leiden/New York/Köln, 1997, 575-588. pp. 584–588: translation
- Vanstiphout, Herman L.J., "The Mesopotamian Debate Poems. A General Presentation. Part II. The Subject", Acta Sumerologica 14 (1992), 339-367. pp. 348–350: commentary
See also
- Song of the hoeSong of the hoeThe Song of the hoe or the Creation of the pickax is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets from the last century of the 3rd millennium BC.-Disputations:...
- Barton CylinderBarton CylinderThe Barton Cylinder is a Sumerian creation myth, written on a clay cylinder in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC, which is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology...
- Debate between sheep and grainDebate between sheep and grainThe Debate between sheep and grain or Myth of cattle and grain is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC...
- Debate between bird and fishDebate between bird and fishThe Debate between bird and fish is a literature essay of the Sumerian language, on clay tablets from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.Seven "debate" topics are known from the Sumerian literature, falling in the category of 'disputations'; some examples are: The Debate between Winter and Summer;...
- Enlil and NinlilEnlil and NinlilEnlil and Ninlil or the Myth of Enlil and Ninlil or Enlil and Ninlil: The begetting of Nanna is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.-Compilation:...
- Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D)Self-praise of Shulgi (Shulgi D)Self-praise of Shulgi is a Sumerian myth, written on clay tablets dated to between 2100 to 2000 BC.-Compilation:The myth was discovered on the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, catalogue of the Babylonian section , tablet number 11065 from their excavations at the...
- Old Babylonian oracleOld Babylonian oracleOld Babylonian oracle is a Sumerian myth, written on clay tablets dated to between 2340 to 2200 BC.The myth was discovered on the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, catalogue of the Babylonian section , tablet number 8322 from their excavations at the temple library...
- Hymn to EnlilHymn to EnlilThe Hymn to Enlil, Enlil and the Ekur , Hymn to the Ekur, Hymn and incantation to Enlil, Hymn to Enlil the all beneficent or Excerpt from an exorcism is a Sumerian myth, written on clay tablets in the late third millennium BC.-Compilation:Fragments of the text were discovered in the University of...
- Kesh temple hymnKesh temple hymnThe Kesh Temple Hymn or Liturgy to Nintud or Liturgy to Nintud on the creation of man and woman is a Sumerian myth, written on clay tablets as early as 2600 BC...
- Lament for UrLament for UrThe Lament for Ur, Lamentation over the city of Ur or Prayer for Ur is a Sumerian lament composed around the time of the fall of Ur to the Elamites and the end of the city's third dynasty The Lament for Ur, Lamentation over the city of Ur or Prayer for Ur is a Sumerian lament composed around the...
- Sumerian creation mythSumerian creation mythThe earliest record of the Sumerian creation myth and flood myth is found on a single fragmentary tablet excavated in Nippur, sometimes called the Eridu Genesis. It is written in the Sumerian language and datable by its script to 2150 BC, during the first Babylonian dynasty, where the language of...
- Sumerian religionSumerian religionSumerian religion refers to the mythology, pantheon, rites and cosmology of the Sumerian civilization. The Sumerian religion influenced Mesopotamian mythology as a whole, surviving in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and other culture...
- Sumerian literatureSumerian literatureSumerian literature is the literature written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age. Most Sumerian literature is preserved indirectly, via Assyrian or Babylonian copies....
External links
- Barton, George Aaron., Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptons, Yale University Press, 1915. Online Version
- Cheira, Edward., Sumerian Epics and Myths, University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Publications, 1934. Online Version
- The debate between Winter and Summer., Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford 1998-.
- Composite Text - The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford 1998-.