Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

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Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta is an ancient Sumerian legend estimated to have been written around 2100 BCE. The story describes a conflict between Enmerkar, the king of Unug-Kulaba, and an unnamed king of Aratta.

Content

In the story, the king of Aratta claims to be favored by the goddess Inanna, but Enmerkar builds a beautiful temple to the goddess which is much better than the temple in Aratta. This causes Enmerkar to believe his city is superior to Aratta and sends a messenger to their king with orders to describe how powerful he is and demand the king give him precious stones and metals to decorate their wonderful temple, or he will destroy Aratta. The king of Aratta refuses and sends the messenger back with orders to describe how powerful he is and the military might of Aratta. This back-and-forth continues multiple times and the threat of war grows along with the self-aggrandizing of the kings. Eventually, the messenger cannot remember everything Enmerkar wants him to relay to the king of Aratta, so Enmerkar invents writing so his demands can be conveyed without error. Much of the end of the story has been lost, but it appears to end with Enmerkar being victorious. Aratta is prosperous, but perhaps under the new leadership of Enmerkar.

About a dozen deities from the Sumerian pantheon are mentioned with the most focus on Inanna, Enki, Enlil, and Nudimmud. Another interesting aspect of the story is that it mentions a time when men existed in a paradise without dangerous animals and describes a world where everyone speaks a single common language. These seem to be prototypes for the Garden of Eden and Tower of Babel myths which weren't written in the Book of Genesis until about 1,000 years later.

Status

I don't own a copy of Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, but I have read an English translation.

Review

Good

  • The story's plot — two kings warring over who is favored by the gods — is an accurate depiction of human frailty and Middle Eastern religions. Sadly, it's just as true today as it was 4,000 years ago!
  • I love how even these most ancient of human stories frequently refer to even more ancient time using phrases like in the "days of yore" and "as the proverb goes." It reminds us that human oral history vastly predates our written history. I also find perspective looking back 4,000 years on authors who thought of their time as the modern age and makes me wonder what someone 4,000 years from now will think about our quaint stories and beliefs.
  • I find it funny that, when explaining how he will destroy Aratta, Enmerkar invokes the "current market rate." Is he going to raise the rate of inflation to defeat them? However, it's interesting that people at the dawn of civilization knew enough about economics to discuss the current market rate of products.
  • It's hilarious how the two kings pile mountains of praise upon themselves to a ridiculous degree. Enmerkar brags about his "glistening beard" and says he can "pulverize mountains to flour," while the king of Aratta talks about his "huge heavenly neck-stock" whose "eagle talons make the blood of the enemy run from the bright mountain." It shows just how old the pompous politician archetype is.

Bad

  • The fact that both kings are willing to risk the lives of all their subjects by starting a war because of their pious pride is despicable.
  • I think the author intends for Enmerker to be viewed as the hero. Unlike the king of Aratta, he is named, he also invents writing, and appears to win the fight. However, his actions clearly make him out to be the villain. He piously threatens to murder his neighbors if they don't give him wealth to decorate a temple he made? Pathetic!
  • Sadly, much of the story's ending has been lost to time as the bottom parts of the tablets are no longer legible.

Ugly

  • Basically, the moral is, you can threaten to murder people if they don't surrender their wealth, and the gods will help you provided you use the stolen wealth to build them a lavish temple.

Links

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