“Gilgamesh 𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦 Voyage to Utnapishtim”, Second Millennium BC was the topic of an earlier blog post.
- Here I present: “𒂗𒈨𒅕𒃸 Enmerkar: Lord of Aratta”, Third Millennium BC, which was a Sumerian epic.
The clay tablets of Mesopotamia 𒁾 “dub, tuppum” are the historical beginning of writing and part of this epic.
This Sumerian epic contains a narrative of the Biblical “Tower of Babel”. The Tower of Babel narrative’ in the BIBLICAL book of Genesis 11:1–9 is an “origin myth” meant to explain why the world’s peoples speak different languages (given BELOW).
“Tower of Babel” (Image, post top).
1. Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise, we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
CHARCTERS.
1. Enmerkar, the Priest-King of Uruk (protagonist).
2. King of Aratta (antagonist), nameless.
3. Inanna 𒌋𒁯, Goddess of Mesopotamia, worshipped by Enmerkar.
4. Enki, God capable of unification of languages.
SUMMARY.
Enmerkar (protagonist) is the Priest-King of Uruk.
Enmerkar is to build a temple in honor of the goddess Inanna.
This task is complicated by the rival of Enmerkar, the Lord of Aratta (antagonist)
.
Enki, Mesopotamia God has also told Enmerkar that a tale of languages; and, the languages tale is similar to the Biblical “Tower of Babel” in the book of Genesis.
Jean Bottera, “The Oldest Cuisine in the World”, 2011 was on the Mesopotamia “Yale Culinary Tablets” (shown ABOVE & BELOW) of the Second Millennium BC was the topic of an earlier blog post.
