Ekur
Encyclopedia
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
.
s with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu
, Enlil
, Enki
and Ninhursag
. In the Hymn to Enlil
, the Ekur is closely linked to Enlil whilst in Enlil and Ninlil
it is the abode of the Annanuki, from where Enlil is banished. The fall of Ekur is described in the Lament for Ur
. In mythology
, the Ekur was the centre of the earth and location where heaven and earth were united. It is also known as Duranki and one of its structures is known as the Kiur, or "great place". Enamtila
has also been suggested by Piotr Michalowski to be a part of the Ekur. A hymn to (mythology) Nanna illustrates the close relationship between temples, houses and mountains. "In your house on high, in your beloved house, I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in your cedar perfumed mountain". This was carried-on into later tradition in the Bible
by the prophet
Micah
who envisions "the mountain of the temple of Yahweh
".
The Tummal Inscription
records the first king to build a temple to Enlil as Enmebaragesi
, the predecessor of Gilgamesh
, around 2500 BC. Ekur is generally associated with the temple
at Nippur
(ruins pictured) restored by Naram-Sin of Akkad and Shar-Kali-Sharri
during the Third dynasty of Ur
. It is also the later name of the temple of Assur
rebuilt by Shalmaneser I
. The word can also refer to the chapel of Enlil in the temple of Ninimma at Nippur. It is also mentioned in the Inscription of Gaddas as a temple of Enlil built "outside Babylon", possibly referring to the Enamtila
in west Babylon. It is used as part of such Sumerian phrases as e-kur-igi-gal; "House, Mountain Endowed with Sight", e-kur-igi-bar-ra; "House, Mountain which Sees", e-kur-mah; "House, Exalted Mountain", e-kur-mah; a temple of Ninazu
, e-kur-me-sikil; "House, Mountain of Pure Mes (laws or judgement)" - a sanctuary of Ishtar
, e-kur-nam-ti-la; "House, Mountain of Life", e-kur-ni-zu; "House, Fearsome Mountain" - the sanctuary of Ninlil
at hursag-kala-ma (likely a later name of e-hursag-kalam-ma), etc.
The Ekur was seen as a place of judgement and the place from which Enlil's divine laws (see List of mes) are issued. The ethics
and moral values of the site are extolled in myths, which Samuel Noah Kramer
suggested would have made it the most ethically-oriented in the entire ancient Near East
. Its rituals are also described as: "banquets and feasts are celebrated from sunrise to sunset" with "festivals, overflowing with milk and cream, are alluring of plan and full of rejoicing". The priests of the Ekur festivities are described with en being the high priest, lagar as his associate, mues the leader of incantations and prayers, and guda the priest responsible for decoration. Sacrifices and food offerings were brought by the king
, described as "faithful shepherd" or "noble farmer".
(her chamber, the Gagisua is described as the place where they lived happily together) and their sons, (mythology) Nanna and Ninurta
along with the house of his vizier Nuska
and mistress Suzianna
. Descriptions of these locations show the physical structures about the Ekur, these included an assembly hall, hut for plough
s, a lofty stairway up a foothill from a "house of darkness" considered by some to be a prison
or chasm. It also contained various gates such as the gate "where no grain was cut", the "lofty gate", "gate of peace" and "gate of judgement", it also had drainage
channels. Other locations such as a multi-story "giguna" among others which have proved unintelligible, even to modern scholars.
The Ekur was noted for inspiring fear, dread, terror and panic in people, especially amongst the evil
and ignorant
. Kramer suggested the Ekur complex may have included a primordial dungeon
of the netherworld or "house of lament" where the damned were sent after judgement. Nungal is the Sumerian goddess who was given the title "Queen of the Ekur". The hymn Nungal in the Ekur describes the dark side of the complex with a house that "examines closely both the righteous and the wicked and does not allow the wicked to escape". This house is described as having a "River of ordeal" which leads to the "mouth of catastrophe" through a lock and bolt. Further descriptions of its structural components are given including foundations, doors, a fearsome gate, architrave
, a buttress
ed structure called a "dubla" and a magnificent vault
, all described with terrifying metaphor
s. The hymn also references a "house of life" where sinners are rehabilited and returned to their gods through the compassion of Nungal, who holds the "tablet of life".
The destruction and fall of these various structures is remembered in various city laments
, destroyed either in a great storm
, flood
or by variously Elamites, Subarians, Gutians and some other, as yet unidentified "Su-people". It was also recorded that the terrible acts of final destruction of the Ekur and it's divine laws was committed by Sargon the great against his own people in approximately 2300 BC. The Curse of Agade describes the same thing happening at the hands of Naram-Sin "Enlil, because his beloved Ekur had been attacked, what destruction he wrought". The foundations are broken with large axe
s and it's watercourse
s are disabled, the "gate of peace
" is demolished and war
s start all over the land, statues are burnt and wealth carried off. There is a body of evidence showing that Naram-Sin instead rebuilt the Ekur, likely in a single building project that continued into the reign of his son Shar-Kali-Sharri
, suggesting it was destroyed during Gutian raids. It was noted that statues of the Sargon
ic kings were still honoured there during the Ur III period. Restorations of the Ekur were later carried out by Ur-Nammu
around 2050 BC and Ishme-Dagan
around 1950 BC, who made it fragrant again with incense "like a fragrant cedar forest". Evidence was also found of further building work under the reign of Agum Kakrime. Another restoration at Nippur was carried out by Assyria
n and Babylonian king Esarhaddon
between 681 and 669 BC.
A hymn to Urninurta mentions the prominence of a tree in the courtyard of the Ekur, reminiscent of the tree of life
in the Garden of Eden
: "O, chosen cedar, adornment of the yard of Ekur, Urinurta, for thy shadow the country may feel awe!". This is suggested by G. Windgren to reflect the concept of the tree as a mythical and ritual symbol of both king and god.
between 1889 and 1900, led by John Punnett Peters
, John Henry Haynes
, and Hermann Volrath Hilprecht
. The tablets detail records of the building work annd furnishings of the temple under Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri. These tablets describe the walls featuring statues of four gold
bison
. The courtyard
was paved with a pattern of red and yellow bricks. The main entrance to the Ekur being adorned with two copper
lahmu-figures with golden faces. These obscure figures held emblem
-poles on either side. Two figures of large, winged, copper dragon
s guarded the gateway, their roaring mouths inlaid with gold. The doors were studded with copper and gold with heavy bolts resembling either dragons or water buffalo
. The interior likely featured a exquisite, carved wooden decorations, panelling and furniture. Inner shrines had doors, which were also built with golden faced lahmu-figures either side along with a number of votive statues plated with gold. Around twenty nine kilograms of gold was used making one hundred moon crescents and one hundred sun discs used in the decorations. Two hundred kilograms of silver
were used in the construction of a single shrine
. Interestingly, no records of any personal adornments or jewellery
were ever found in the Ekur.
A total of seventy seven joiners were used in teams of eleven under seven foremen and fifty four carpenters under three foremen. Eighty six goldsmiths were employed under six foremen along with ten sculptors. The vast amounts of bronze suggested there were as many as two hundred smiths under fifteen foremen and an unknown number of engravers under three foremen. The Ekur archive is a testament to the power and wealth of the Akkadian Empire with artisans coming from around the land to participate under the direction of the master craftsman and 'Minister of Public Works' of the King. Manufacture was suggested to have taken place both in the temple and special workshop (Nippur cubit measuring rod
pictured). The splendour of the designs and decorations led Age Westenholz to suggest the anaology of this spiritual sanctuary to the Sumerian empire with that of the Vatican
to the Roman Catholic world. The chief administrator of the Ekur or "sanga" of Enlil was appointed by the king and held special status in Nippur and votive inscriptions of the kings indicate that it had held this position since early dynastic times.
and other myths as a home of demons who go out into the land. It is noted by Wayne Horowitz that in none of the bilingual texts do the demons appear to be "going upwards" but "outwards", contrary to what would be expected if Ekur referred to later concepts such as Sheol
, Hades
and Hell
, which were believed to be located under the surface of the earth. Morris Jastrow discussed the place of the Ekur in Sumerian cosmology
, "Another name which specifies the relationship of Aralu
to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one of the names for the earth, but is applied more particularly to that part of the mountain, also known as E
-khar-sag-kurkura (É.ḪAR.SAG.KUR
.KUR-'a' "house of the mountain of all lands") where the gods were born. Before the later speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of them, have their seats in heaven, it was on this mountain also that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the names for temple, as the seat of a god."
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...
term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in the Garden of the gods
Garden of the gods (Sumerian paradise)
The Garden of the gods or Sumerian paradise is the divine paradise of the Annanuki, the gods of Sumer. Samuel Noah Kramer suggested the concept of a human paradise and the Garden of Eden originated from the Sumerians who were describing a land outside of Sumer...
, parallel in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
to Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus
Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres...
and was the most revered and sacred building of ancient Sumer
Sumer
Sumer was a civilization and historical region in southern Mesopotamia, modern Iraq during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age....
.
Origin and meaning
There is a clear association of ZigguratZiggurat
Ziggurats were massive structures built in the ancient Mesopotamian valley and western Iranian plateau, having the form of a terraced step pyramid of successively receding stories or levels.Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, Iraq; the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near...
s with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role in Mesopotamian mythology and Assyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such as Anu
Anu
In Sumerian mythology, Anu was a sky-god, the god of heaven, lord of constellations, king of gods, Consort of Antu, spirits and demons, and dwelt in the highest heavenly regions. It was believed that he had the power to judge those who had committed crimes, and that he had created the stars as...
, 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...
, Enki
Enki
Enki is a god in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Akkadian and Babylonian mythology. He was originally patron god of the city of Eridu, but later the influence of his cult spread throughout Mesopotamia and to the Canaanites, Hittites and Hurrians...
and Ninhursag
Ninhursag
In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag or Ninkharsag was the earth and mother goddess, one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She is principally a fertility goddess. Temple hymn sources identify her as the 'true and great lady of heaven' and kings of Sumer were 'nourished by Ninhursag's milk'...
. In the Hymn to Enlil
Hymn to Enlil
The 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...
, the Ekur is closely linked to Enlil whilst in Enlil and Ninlil
Enlil and Ninlil
Enlil 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:...
it is the abode of the Annanuki, from where Enlil is banished. The fall of Ekur is described in the Lament for Ur
Lament for Ur
The 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...
. In mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, the Ekur was the centre of the earth and location where heaven and earth were united. It is also known as Duranki and one of its structures is known as the Kiur, or "great place". Enamtila
Enamtila
Enamtila is a Sumerian term meaning "house of life" or possibly "house of creation". It was a sanctuary dedicated to Enlil, likely to have been located within the Ekur at Nippur during the Akkadian Empire. It also referred to various other temples including those to later versions of Enlil; Marduk...
has also been suggested by Piotr Michalowski to be a part of the Ekur. A hymn to (mythology) Nanna illustrates the close relationship between temples, houses and mountains. "In your house on high, in your beloved house, I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in your cedar perfumed mountain". This was carried-on into later tradition in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
by the prophet
Prophet
In religion, a prophet, from the Greek word προφήτης profitis meaning "foreteller", is an individual who is claimed to have been contacted by the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other people...
Micah
Micah
Micah is a given name.Micah is the name of several people in the Hebrew Bible , and means "who is like God?". The name is sometimes found with theophoric extensions...
who envisions "the mountain of the temple of Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
".
The Tummal Inscription
Tummal Inscription
The Tummal Inscription probably dates to around 2000 B.C., and lists the name of the rulers that built the temples dedicated to Enlil within Nippur and temples of Ninlil in Tummal....
records the first king to build a temple to Enlil as Enmebaragesi
Enmebaragesi
Enmebaragesi was a king of Kish, according to the Sumerian king list. The list states that he subdued Elam, reigned 900 years, and was captured single-handedly by Dumuzid "the fisherman" of Kuara, predecessor of Gilgamesh.He is the earliest ruler on the king list whose name is attested directly...
, the predecessor of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...
, around 2500 BC. Ekur is generally associated with 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...
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...
(ruins pictured) restored by Naram-Sin of Akkad and Shar-Kali-Sharri
Shar-Kali-Sharri
Shar-Kali-Sharri was a king of the Akkadian Empire.According to the Sumerian king list, he was the son of Naram-sin and reigned for 25 years - around 2100 BC...
during the Third dynasty of Ur
Third Dynasty of Ur
The Third Dynasty of Ur, also known as the Neo-Sumerian Empire or the Ur III Empire refers simultaneously to a 21st to 20th century BC Sumerian ruling dynasty based in the city of Ur and a short-lived territorial-political state that some historians regard as a nascent empire...
. It is also the later name of the temple of Assur
Assur
Assur , was one of the capitals of ancient Assyria. The remains of the city are situated on the western bank of river Tigris, north of the confluence with the tributary Little Zab river, in modern day Iraq, more precisely in the Al-Shirqat District .Assur is also...
rebuilt by Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I
Shalmaneser I was a king of Assyria.Son of Adad-nirari I, he succeeded his father as king in 1265 BC....
. The word can also refer to the chapel of Enlil in the temple of Ninimma at Nippur. It is also mentioned in the Inscription of Gaddas as a temple of Enlil built "outside Babylon", possibly referring to the Enamtila
Enamtila
Enamtila is a Sumerian term meaning "house of life" or possibly "house of creation". It was a sanctuary dedicated to Enlil, likely to have been located within the Ekur at Nippur during the Akkadian Empire. It also referred to various other temples including those to later versions of Enlil; Marduk...
in west Babylon. It is used as part of such Sumerian phrases as e-kur-igi-gal; "House, Mountain Endowed with Sight", e-kur-igi-bar-ra; "House, Mountain which Sees", e-kur-mah; "House, Exalted Mountain", e-kur-mah; a temple of Ninazu
Ninazu
Ninazu in Sumerian mythology was a god of the underworld, and of healing. He was the son of Enlil and Ninlil or, in alternative traditions, of Ereshkigal and Gugalana, and was the father of Ningiszida...
, e-kur-me-sikil; "House, Mountain of Pure Mes (laws or judgement)" - a sanctuary of Ishtar
Ishtar
Ishtar is the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. She is the counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate north-west Semitic goddess Astarte.-Characteristics:...
, e-kur-nam-ti-la; "House, Mountain of Life", e-kur-ni-zu; "House, Fearsome Mountain" - the sanctuary of Ninlil
Ninlil
In Sumerian religion, Ninlil , also called Sud, in Assyrian called Mullitu, is the consort goddess of Enlil. Her parentage is variously described. Most commonly she is called the daughter of Haia and Nunbarsegunu...
at hursag-kala-ma (likely a later name of e-hursag-kalam-ma), etc.
The Ekur was seen as a place of judgement and the place from which Enlil's divine laws (see List of mes) are issued. The ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and moral values of the site are extolled in myths, which 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:...
suggested would have made it the most ethically-oriented in the entire ancient Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. Its rituals are also described as: "banquets and feasts are celebrated from sunrise to sunset" with "festivals, overflowing with milk and cream, are alluring of plan and full of rejoicing". The priests of the Ekur festivities are described with en being the high priest, lagar as his associate, mues the leader of incantations and prayers, and guda the priest responsible for decoration. Sacrifices and food offerings were brought by the king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
, described as "faithful shepherd" or "noble farmer".
The Ekur complex
The physical structure of the Ekur included shrines and storehouses where foreigners brought offerings. These included the shrines of Enlil's wife NinlilNinlil
In Sumerian religion, Ninlil , also called Sud, in Assyrian called Mullitu, is the consort goddess of Enlil. Her parentage is variously described. Most commonly she is called the daughter of Haia and Nunbarsegunu...
(her chamber, the Gagisua is described as the place where they lived happily together) and their sons, (mythology) Nanna and Ninurta
Ninurta
Ninurta in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology was the god of Lagash, identified with Ningirsu with whom he may always have been identical...
along with the house of his vizier Nuska
Nuska
Nuska was the vizier of the Sumerian god Enlil. He is also described as a scribe who recorded events and a boatman who took Enlil to his future wife, Ninlil. His shrine was recorded to be in the Ekur....
and mistress Suzianna
Suzianna
Suzianna was the second wife of the Sumerian god Enlil. Her shrine was recorded to be in the Ekur....
. Descriptions of these locations show the physical structures about the Ekur, these included an assembly hall, hut for plough
Plough
The plough or plow is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting. It has been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture...
s, a lofty stairway up a foothill from a "house of darkness" considered by some to be a prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
or chasm. It also contained various gates such as the gate "where no grain was cut", the "lofty gate", "gate of peace" and "gate of judgement", it also had drainage
Drainage
Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from an area. Many agricultural soils need drainage to improve production or to manage water supplies.-Early history:...
channels. Other locations such as a multi-story "giguna" among others which have proved unintelligible, even to modern scholars.
The Ekur was noted for inspiring fear, dread, terror and panic in people, especially amongst the evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
and ignorant
Ignorance
Ignorance is a state of being uninformed . The word ignorant is an adjective describing a person in the state of being unaware and is often used as an insult...
. Kramer suggested the Ekur complex may have included a primordial dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
of the netherworld or "house of lament" where the damned were sent after judgement. Nungal is the Sumerian goddess who was given the title "Queen of the Ekur". The hymn Nungal in the Ekur describes the dark side of the complex with a house that "examines closely both the righteous and the wicked and does not allow the wicked to escape". This house is described as having a "River of ordeal" which leads to the "mouth of catastrophe" through a lock and bolt. Further descriptions of its structural components are given including foundations, doors, a fearsome gate, architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
, a buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
ed structure called a "dubla" and a magnificent vault
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
, all described with terrifying metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
s. The hymn also references a "house of life" where sinners are rehabilited and returned to their gods through the compassion of Nungal, who holds the "tablet of life".
The destruction and fall of these various structures is remembered in various city laments
Lament for Ur
The 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...
, destroyed either in a great storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
, flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
or by variously Elamites, Subarians, Gutians and some other, as yet unidentified "Su-people". It was also recorded that the terrible acts of final destruction of the Ekur and it's divine laws was committed by Sargon the great against his own people in approximately 2300 BC. The Curse of Agade describes the same thing happening at the hands of Naram-Sin "Enlil, because his beloved Ekur had been attacked, what destruction he wrought". The foundations are broken with large axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s and it's watercourse
Watercourse
A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, anabranches, and so forth.-See also:* physical geography* Environmental flow* Waterway* Hydrology* Wadi-External links:...
s are disabled, the "gate of peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
" is demolished and war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
s start all over the land, statues are burnt and wealth carried off. There is a body of evidence showing that Naram-Sin instead rebuilt the Ekur, likely in a single building project that continued into the reign of his son Shar-Kali-Sharri
Shar-Kali-Sharri
Shar-Kali-Sharri was a king of the Akkadian Empire.According to the Sumerian king list, he was the son of Naram-sin and reigned for 25 years - around 2100 BC...
, suggesting it was destroyed during Gutian raids. It was noted that statues of the Sargon
Sargon
Sargon is an Assyrian name, originally Šarru-kin , which may refer to:- People :*Sargon of Akkad , also known as Sargon the Great or Sargon I, Mesopotamian king...
ic kings were still honoured there during the Ur III period. Restorations of the Ekur were later carried out by Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu founded the Sumerian 3rd dynasty of Ur, in southern Mesopotamia, following several centuries of Akkadian and Gutian rule...
around 2050 BC and Ishme-Dagan
Ishme-Dagan
Ishme-Dagan I was the son of the Assyrian king Shamshi-Adad I, put on throne of Ekallatum by his father after a successful military attack. He ruled the area of the upper Tigris, including the city-state of Assur. Following Shamshi-Adad's death , Ishme-Dagan I managed to rule Assyria until himself...
around 1950 BC, who made it fragrant again with incense "like a fragrant cedar forest". Evidence was also found of further building work under the reign of Agum Kakrime. Another restoration at Nippur was carried out by Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n and Babylonian king Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon
Esarhaddon , was a king of Assyria who reigned 681 – 669 BC. He was the youngest son of Sennacherib and the Aramean queen Naqi'a , Sennacherib's second wife....
between 681 and 669 BC.
A hymn to Urninurta mentions the prominence of a tree in the courtyard of the Ekur, reminiscent of the tree of life
Tree of life
The concept of a tree of life, a many-branched tree illustrating the idea that all life on earth is related, has been used in science , religion, philosophy, mythology, and other areas...
in the Garden of Eden
Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
: "O, chosen cedar, adornment of the yard of Ekur, Urinurta, for thy shadow the country may feel awe!". This is suggested by G. Windgren to reflect the concept of the tree as a mythical and ritual symbol of both king and god.
The Ekur Archive
The Akkadian Ekur reconstruction project was documented in the Ekur archive; a number of administrative tablets found under the Ur Gur platform or pavement level. These were found by an expedition from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
between 1889 and 1900, led by John Punnett Peters
John Punnett Peters
John Punnett Peters was an American Episcopal clergyman and Orientalist, born in New York City. He graduated from Hopkins School in 1868 and then from Yale in 1873. He studied at Berlin and at Leipzig...
, John Henry Haynes
John Henry Haynes
John Henry Haynes was an American traveller, archaeologist, and photographer, best known for his archaeological work at the first two American archaeological excavations in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia at Nippur and Assos...
, and Hermann Volrath Hilprecht
Hermann Volrath Hilprecht
Hermann Volrath Hilprecht was a German-American Assyriologist and archaeologist.Hilprecht was born in 1859 at Hohenerxleben, Germany. He graduated from Herzogliches Gymnasium at Bernburg in 1880. Afterwards he went on to the University of Leipzig where he studied theology, philology, and law,...
. The tablets detail records of the building work annd furnishings of the temple under Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri. These tablets describe the walls featuring statues of four gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
bison
Bison
Members of the genus Bison are large, even-toed ungulates within the subfamily Bovinae. Two extant and four extinct species are recognized...
. The courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
was paved with a pattern of red and yellow bricks. The main entrance to the Ekur being adorned with two copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
lahmu-figures with golden faces. These obscure figures held emblem
Emblem
An emblem is a pictorial image, abstract or representational, that epitomizes a concept — e.g., a moral truth, or an allegory — or that represents a person, such as a king or saint.-Distinction: emblem and symbol:...
-poles on either side. Two figures of large, winged, copper dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s guarded the gateway, their roaring mouths inlaid with gold. The doors were studded with copper and gold with heavy bolts resembling either dragons or water buffalo
Water buffalo
The water buffalo is a domesticated bovid widely kept in Asia, Europe and South America.Water buffalo can also refer to:*Wild water buffalo , the wild ancestor of the domestic water buffalo...
. The interior likely featured a exquisite, carved wooden decorations, panelling and furniture. Inner shrines had doors, which were also built with golden faced lahmu-figures either side along with a number of votive statues plated with gold. Around twenty nine kilograms of gold was used making one hundred moon crescents and one hundred sun discs used in the decorations. Two hundred kilograms of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
were used in the construction of a single shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
. Interestingly, no records of any personal adornments or jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
were ever found in the Ekur.
A total of seventy seven joiners were used in teams of eleven under seven foremen and fifty four carpenters under three foremen. Eighty six goldsmiths were employed under six foremen along with ten sculptors. The vast amounts of bronze suggested there were as many as two hundred smiths under fifteen foremen and an unknown number of engravers under three foremen. The Ekur archive is a testament to the power and wealth of the Akkadian Empire with artisans coming from around the land to participate under the direction of the master craftsman and 'Minister of Public Works' of the King. Manufacture was suggested to have taken place both in the temple and special workshop (Nippur cubit measuring rod
Measuring rod
A measuring rod is a tool used to physically measure lengths and survey areas of various sizes. Most measuring rods are round or square sectioned, however they can be flat boards. Some have markings at regular intervals...
pictured). The splendour of the designs and decorations led Age Westenholz to suggest the anaology of this spiritual sanctuary to the Sumerian empire with that of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
to the Roman Catholic world. The chief administrator of the Ekur or "sanga" of Enlil was appointed by the king and held special status in Nippur and votive inscriptions of the kings indicate that it had held this position since early dynastic times.
Cosmology
Peter Jensen also associated the Ekur with the underworld in "Die Kosmologie der Babylonier", where he translated it as a settlement of demons. The location also appears in Ludlul bēl nēmeqiLudlul bel nemeqi
Ludlul bel nemeqi, I Will Praise the Lord of Wisdom, is a Mesopotamian poem written in Akkadian that concerns itself with the problem of the unjust suffering of an afflicted man, named Shubshi-meshre-Shakkan. The author is tormented, but he doesn't know why. He has been faithful in all of his...
and other myths as a home of demons who go out into the land. It is noted by Wayne Horowitz that in none of the bilingual texts do the demons appear to be "going upwards" but "outwards", contrary to what would be expected if Ekur referred to later concepts such as Sheol
Sheol
Sheol |Hebrew]] Šʾôl) is the "grave", "pit", or "abyss" in Hebrew. She'ol is the earliest conception of the afterlife in the Jewish scriptures. It is a place of darkness to which all dead go, regardless of the moral choices made in life, and where they are "removed from the light of God"...
, Hades
Hades
Hades , Hadēs, originally , Haidēs or , Aidēs , meaning "the unseen") was the ancient Greek god of the underworld. The genitive , Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative came to designate the abode of the dead.In Greek mythology, Hades...
and Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, which were believed to be located under the surface of the earth. Morris Jastrow discussed the place of the Ekur in Sumerian cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
, "Another name which specifies the relationship of Aralu
Abzu
The abzu also called engur, literally, ab='ocean' zu='to know' or 'deep' was the name for fresh water from underground aquifers that was given a religious quality in Sumerian and Akkadian mythology...
to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one of the names for the earth, but is applied more particularly to that part of the mountain, also known as E
É (temple)
É is the Sumerian word or symbol for house or temple, written ideographically with the cuneiform sign .The Sumerian term É.GAL denoted a city's main building....
-khar-sag-kurkura (É.ḪAR.SAG.KUR
Kur
In Babylonian mythology, Irkalla is the hell-like underworld from which there is no return. It is also called Arali, Kigal, Gizal, and the lower world...
.KUR-'a' "house of the mountain of all lands") where the gods were born. Before the later speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of them, have their seats in heaven, it was on this mountain also that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the names for temple, as the seat of a god."
See also
- 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...
- 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...
- 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 Winter and SummerDebate between Winter and SummerThe Debate between Winter and Summer or Myth of Emesh and Enten is a Sumerian creation myth, written on clay tablets in the mid to late 3rd millennium BC.-Disputations:...
- 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...
- Hursag
- HuburHuburHubur is a Sumerian term meaning "river", "watercourse" or "netherworld", written ideographically with the cuneiform signs . It is usually the "river of the netherworld" or "river of paradise".-Usage and meaning:...