The poem begins with an introductory passage descriptive of the city of Nippur, a Nippur that seems to be conceived as having existed before the creation of man:
is almost complete. It seems to have been evolved to explain the begetting of the moon-God Nanna as well as that of the three underworld deities, Nergal, Ninazu, and a third whose name is illegible.
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| Ninlil and spouse Enlil, artifact discovered in Nippur, their patron city |
If rightly interpreted this poem furnishes us with the first known example of the metamorphosis of a god; Enlil assumes the form of three different individuals in impregnating his wife Ninlil with the three nether world deities.
Behold the "bond of heaven and earth," the city,
Behold Nippur, the city,
Behold the "kindly wall," the city,
Behold the Idsalla, its pure river,
Behold the Karkurunna, its quay,
Behold the Karasarra, its quay where the boats stand,
Behold the Pulal, its well of good water,
Behold the Idnunbirdu, its pure canal,
Behold Enlil, its young man,
Behold Ninlil, its young maid,
Behold Nunbarshegunu, its old woman.
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| E-kur residence of Enlil and Ninlil |
After this brief background sketch the actual story begins.
Nunbarshegunu, the "old woman" of Nippur, Ninlil's mother, instructs her daughter how to obtain the love of Enlil:
In those days the mother, her begetter, gave advice to the maid,
Nunbarshegunu gave advice to Ninlil:
"At the pure river, O maid, at the pure river wash thyself,
O Ninlil, walk along the bank of the Idnunbirdu,
The bright-eyed, the lord, the bright-eyed,
The 'great mountain, Father Enlil, the bright-eyed, will see thee,
The shepherd . . . who decrees the fates, the bright-eyed, will see thee, He will . . .. he will kiss thee."
Ninlil follows her mother's instructions and as a consequence is impregnated by "the water" of Enlil and conceives the moon-God Nanna.
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| nanna moon god |
Enlil then departs from Nippur in the direction of the nether world, but
is followed by Ninlil. As he leaves the gate he instructs the "man of the
gate" to give the inquisitive Ninlil no information of his whereabouts.
Ninlil comes up to the "man of the gate" and demands to know whither
Enlil has gone. Enlil then seems to take the form of the "man of the gate"
and answers for him.
The passage involved is as yet unintelligible; it seems to contain a refusal to divulge Enlil's whereabouts.
Ninlil thereupon reminds him that while, true enough, Enlil is his king, she is his queen.
Thereupon Enlil, still impersonating "the man of the gate," cohabits with her and impregnates her.
As a result, Ninlil conceives Meslamtaea, more commonly known as Nergal, the king of the nether world.
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| Nergal Son To Enlil and Ninlil |
In spite of the unintelligible parts, the flavor of this remarkable passage will be readily apparent from the following quotations:
Enlil . . . departed from the city,
Nunamnir (a name of Enlil) . . . departed from the city.
Enlil walked, Ninlil followed,
Nunamnir walked, the maid followed,
Enlil says to the man of the gate:
"O man of the gate, man of the lock,
O man of the bolt, man of the pure lock,
Thy queen Ninlil is coming;
If she asks thee about me,
Tell her not where I am."
Ninlil approached the man of the gate:
"O man of the gate, man of the lock,
O man of the bolt, man of the pure lock,
Enlil, thy king, where is he going?"
Enlil answers her for the man of the gate:
"Enlil, the king of all the lands, has commanded me":
Four lines follow containing the substance of this command but their
meaning is obscure. Then comes the following dialogue between Ninlil and Enlil, the latter impersonating the "man of the gate":
Ninlil: "True, Enlil is thy king, but I am thy queen."
Enlil: "If now thou art my queen, let my hand touch thy . . ."
Ninlil: "The 'water' of thy king, the bright 'water' is in my heart,
The 'water' of Nanna, the bright 'water' is in my heart."
Enlil: "The 'water' of my king, let it go toward heaven, let it go toward earth, Let my 'water,' like the 'water' of my king, go toward earth."
Enlil, as the man of the gate, lay down in the
He kissed her, be cohabited with her,
Having kissed her, having cohabited with her,
The "water" of . . . Meslamtaea he caused to flow over (her) heart.
The poem then continues with the begetting of the nether world deity Ninazu; this time it is the "man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring river" whom Enlil impersonates.
In all other respects, the passage is a repetition of that describing the begetting of Meslamtaea; thus:
Nunamnir walked, the maid followed,
Enlil says to the man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring
river:
"O man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring river,
Thy queen Ninlil is coming;
If she asks thee about me,
Tell her not where I am."
Ninlil approached the man of the river of the nether world, the man devouring river:
"O man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring river,
Enlil, thy king, where is he going?"
Enlil answers her for the man of the river of the nether world, the man devouring river:
"Enlil, the king of all the lands, has commanded me."
The substance of the command is unintelligible. Follows the dialogue
between Ninlil and Enlil, the latter impersonating the "man of the river
of the nether world, the man-devouring river":
Ninlil: "True, Enlil is thy king, but I am thy queen."
Enlil: "If now thou art my queen, let my hand touch thy . . ."
Ninlil: "The 'water' of thy king, the bright 'water' is in my heart,
The 'water' of Nanna, the bright 'water' is in my heart."
Enlil: "The 'water' of my king, let it go toward heaven, let it go toward earth,
Let my 'water,' like the 'water' of my king, go toward earth."
Enlil, as the man of the river of the nether world, the man-devouring
river, lay down in the . . . .
He kissed her, he cohabited with her,
Having kissed her, having cohabited with her,
The "water" of Ninazu, the king of . . ., he caused to flow over (her) heart.
The poem then continues with the begetting of the third underworld
deity whose name is illegible; this time it is the "man of the boat" whom Enlil impersonates.
Our myth then comes to a close with a brief hymnal
passage in which Enlil is exalted as the lord of abundance and the king whose decrees are unalterable.