Miscellaneous Babylonian Inscriptions
Encyclopedia
1918 in literature
The year 1918 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* The 2nd annual Pulitzer Prizes are awarded.* Author Hall Caine made a KBE.*Robert Graves marries Nancy Nicholson...
, Sumerian
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...
linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
and 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...
book written 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:...
.
It was first published by Yale University Press
Yale University Press
Yale University Press is a book publisher founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day. It became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but remains financially and operationally autonomous....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and deals with commentary and translations of twelve cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
, Sumerian myths and texts discovered by the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology
University 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...
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...
. Many of the texts are extremely archaic, especially the Barton Cylinder
Barton Cylinder
The 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...
, 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 may date as early as 2500 BC. A more modern dating by Joan Goodrick Westenholz has suggested the cylinder dates to around 2400 BC.
Contents
Some of the myths contained in the book are shown below:| Modern title | Museum number | Barton's title |
|---|---|---|
| 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... |
14,005 | A Creation Myth |
| Barton Cylinder Barton Cylinder The 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... |
8,383 | The oldest religious text from Babylonia |
| 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:... |
9,205 | Enlil and Ninlil |
| 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... |
11,065 | A hymn to Dungi |
| Old Babylonian oracle Old Babylonian oracle Old 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... |
8,322 | An Old Babylonian oracle |
| Kesh temple hymn Kesh temple hymn The 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... |
8,384 | Fragment of the so-called "Liturgy to Nintud" |
| Debate between Winter and Summer Debate between Winter and Summer The 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:... |
8,310 | 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... |
| 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... |
8,317 | An excerpt from an exorcism Exorcism Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed... |
| 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... |
19,751, 2,204, 2,270 & 2,302 | A prayer for the city of Ur |