The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is a mid-engine sports car[2] produced by Volkswagen Group subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS introduced in 2005. It is currently the fastest accelerating and decelerating production car in the world. It is currently also the most expensive production car available at a price of 1.1 million Euro.
Powered by a 736-kilowatt (1,001 PS/987 hp) W16 engine,[3] it is able to achieve an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.81 mph).[4] The car reached full production in September 2005, and is handcrafted in a factory Volkswagen built near the former Bugatti headquarters in Château St Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France). It is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. Two examples of the Veyron are known to have been wrecked since production began
History
Development of this vehicle began with the 1999 EB 18/4 "Veyron" concept car which itself had a chassis based on that of the Bugatti 18/3 Chiron concept car. Introduced at the Tokyo Motor Show, it was similar in design and appearance to the final Veyron production car. One major difference was the EB 18/4's use of a W18 engine with three banks of six cylinders. The Veyron's head designer was Hartmut Warkuss with exterior designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen rather than Giorgetto Giugiaro of ItalDesign who had handled the three prior Bugatti concepts too.
Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piëch announced the production Veyron at the 2000 Geneva Motor Show. It was promised to be the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive car in history. Instead of the W18, the production model would use a VR6/WR8-style W16 engine. First seen in the 1999 Bentley Hunaudières concept car, the W16 would get four turbochargers, producing a quoted (metric) 1001 horsepower (see engine section for details on the power output). Top speed was promised at 407 km/h (253 mph), and pricing was announced at €1 million.
Development continued throughout 2001 and the EB 16/4 Veyron was promoted to "advanced concept" status. In late 2001, Bugatti announced that the car, officially called the "Bugatti Veyron 16.4", would go into production in 2003. The car, however, experienced significant problems during development. Achieving the required high-speed stability was difficult - one prototype was destroyed in a crash and another spun out during a public demonstration at the Monterey Historics event in Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca. Production of the Veyron was delayed pending resolution of these and other issues.
A silver and black pre-production Veyron on display at the 2004 Paris Motor Show.
Piëch retired that year as chairman of the Volkswagen Group and was replaced by Bernd Pischetsrieder. The new chairman promptly sent the Veyron back to the drawing board for major revisions. Neumann was replaced as Bugatti president by Thomas Bscher in December 2003, and substantial modifications were made to the Veyron under the guidance of former VW engineer, Bugatti Engineering head Wolfgang Schreiber.
Each Veyron is being sold for €1,100,000 (net price without taxes); prices vary by exchange rates and local taxes (like value added taxes). Prices for the UK or the US are over £880,000, or around $1,400,000
Special editions
Pur Sang
On 10 September 2007 a special version of the Veyron called the "Pur Sang" was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The only difference from the standard Veyron is the body finishing: the Pur Sang has none, revealing the Veyron's pure aluminium-carbon fibre body. French for "thoroughbred" or "pure blood," production of the Pur Sang will be limited to 5 cars. The car will be included with high-gloss aluminum wheels with a diamond cut finish.[6][7]
Fbg par Hermès
At the Geneva motor show in 2008 Bugatti announced a partnership with the French fashion house Hermès, resulting in the "Fbg Par Hermès" trim. It features several new features as well as a redesigned front end. The interior is done in Hermès leather and it comes with a specially designed Hermès suitcase to fit in the trunk. Built for Rodrigo Cañizares.[8] Bugatti later made 4 new color schemes available for order with the Hermès Veyron, called "Indigo Blue and Vermilion", "Indigo Blue and Lime Green", "Black and Garance Red", and "Prussian Blue and Blue Jean". They will also come with the bespoke luggage, special 8-spoke rims, and H-pattern grill.[9]
Grand Sport
Bugatti announced the production of a targa top version, called Grand Sport. The car was unveiled at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance on August 15, 2008, with production set to begin in spring 2009.[10] The Grand Sport comes with small tweaks to the windshield and running lights, as well as two removable tops. The first is a transparent polycarbonate removable hard top, and the second is a temporary roof fashioned after an umbrella and inspired by pictures of classic Bugatti racers with umbrellas in hand. The Grand Sport can reach 407 km/h (253 mph) with the hardtop in place, the same top speed as the coupé version. With no roof in place the top speed is limited to 360 km/h (220 mph), and to 130 km/h (81 mph) with the temporary soft roof. The Grand Sport has extensive reinforcement beyond the standard Veyron.
The chassis 001 car was sold in 2008 Gooding & Company Pebble Beach auction with winning bid price of $2.9 million, with approximately $900,000 of the auction price going to charity.
Specifications and Performance
The quad-turbocharged W16 engine used in the Veyron.
The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders, or the equivalent of two narrow-angle V8 engines mated in a "W" configuration. Each cylinder has 4 valves for a total of 64, but the narrow V8 configuration allows two camshafts to drive two banks of cylinders so only 4 camshafts are needed. The engine is fed by four turbochargers and displaces 8.0 L (7,993 cc/488 in³) with a square 86 mm by 86 mm (3.4 in. × 3.4 in.) bore and stroke.
Putting this power to the ground is a dual-clutch Direct-Shift Gearbox computer-controlled manual transmission with 7 gear ratios via shifter paddles behind the steering wheel boasting an <150ms>
Power
According to Volkswagen (and approved by TÜV Süddeutschland) the final production Veyron engine produces 1,001 PS (736 kW/987 hp) and 1,250 N·m (920 ft·lbf) of torque.[3] The horsepower figure is believed by some to actually be conservative, with the real total being 1001 or more.[17]
Top speed
Top speed was initially promised to be 407 km/h (253 mph) but test versions were unstable at that speed, forcing a redesign of the aerodynamics. In May 2005, a prototype Veyron tested at a Volkswagen track near Wolfsburg, Germany recorded an electronically limited top speed of 400 km/h (249 mph). In October 2005, Car and Driver magazine's editor Csaba Csere test drove the final production version of the Veyron for the November 2005 issue. This test, at Volkswagen's Ehra-Lessien test track, reached a top speed of 407.5 km/h (253.2 mph). The top speed was verified once again by James May on Top Gear, again at Volkswagen's private test track, when the car hit 407.9 km/h (253.5 mph), which equated to precisely one-third of the speed of sound at sea level. When getting close to the top speed during the test, May said that "the tires will only last for about fifteen minutes, but it's okay because the fuel runs out in twelve minutes." He also gave an indication of the power requirements, at constant 250 km/h (155 mph) the Veyron is using approximately 270 to 280 horsepower (200 to 210 kW)[18], but to get to its rated 407 km/h (253 mph) top speed required far more from the engine.
Aerodynamic friction or drag is proportional to the square of the speed; for example doubling speed quadruples drag. Work is a product of force applied over a distance travelled. Comparing a vehicle travelling at 160 km/h (99 mph) with one travelling at 320 km/h (200 mph), over a given time (e.g. 1 second), the faster vehicle must overcome 4 times the aerodynamic drag, and travel twice the distance of the slower one. Thus it does 8 times the work of the slower vehicle in that time. As power is work done in time taken it follows that the swifter vehicle, travelling at twice the speed requires 8 times the power of the slower one. German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of 408.47 km/h (253.8 mph)[4] during test sessions on the Ehra Lessien test track on 2005-04-19.
The car's everyday top speed is listed at 375 km/h (233 mph). When the car reaches 220 km/h (137 mph), hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 8.9 cm (3½ inches). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. This is the "handling mode", in which the wing helps provide 3425 newtons (770 pounds) of downheft, holding the car to the road.[14] The driver must, using a special key (the "Top Speed Key"), toggle the lock to the left of his seat in order to attain the maximum (average) speed of 407 km/h (253 mph). The key functions only when the vehicle is at a stop when a checklist then establishes whether the car—and its driver—are ready to enable 'top speed' mode. If all systems are go, the rear spoiler retracts, the front air diffusers shut and the ground clearance, normally 12.5 cm (4.9 in.), drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 in.).
Acceleration
The Veyron has the greatest acceleration of any production car to date, reaching 97 km/h (60 mph) from a standstill in 2.46 seconds.[19] It reaches 100 km/h (62 mph) in approximately 2.5 seconds, which equates to an average acceleration of around 1.18 g. The car is greatly aided in achieving such times by the presence of a four-wheel drive system that permits the transmission of such great amounts of power in the initial stages of acceleration.
The Veyron reaches 200 and 300 km/h (124 and 186 mph) in 7.4 and 16.7 seconds respectively. According to the February 2007 issue of Road & Track magazine, the Veyron accomplished the quarter mile in 10.2 seconds at a speed of 142.9 mph (230.0 km/h).
Fuel Consumption
The Veyron consumes more fuel than any other production car, using 40.4 L/100 km (6.99 mpg-imp/5.82 mpg-US) in city driving and 24.1 L/100 km (11.7 mpg-imp/9.76 mpg-US) in combined cycle[citation needed]. At full throttle, it uses more than 115 L/100 km (2.46 mpg-imp/2.05 mpg-US), which would empty its 100 L (22 imp gal/26 US gal) fuel tank in just 12 minutes.[20]
Braking
The Veyron's brakes use unique cross-drilled and turbine-vented carbon rotors which draw in cooling air to reduce fade. The front calipers have eight[14] titanium pistons and the rear calipers have six pistons. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 1.3 Gs on road tires. Prototypes have been subjected to repeated 1.0G braking from 194 to 50 MPH (312 to 80 km/h) without fade. With the car's acceleration from 50 to 194 MPH (80 to 312 km/h), that test can be performed every 22 seconds. At speeds above 124 MPH (200 km/h), the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55-degree angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing 0.68 Gs (4.9 m/s²) of deceleration (equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback).[14] Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h (249 mph) to a standstill in less than 10 seconds.
New studies show that iron, the principal constituent of the innermost parts of the earth’s core, becomes unusually ‘soft’ at the extreme pressures and temperatures that prevail there. The findings, now being published in Science, enhance our possibility of understanding the innermost parts of the earth and how earthquakes occur, for example. In a more immediate perspective, scientists will have new tools for developing better materials.
The findings were attained by a team of Swedish and Russian researchers, who used advanced simulations on Swedish supercomputers. This new knowledge explains some of the seismic data-signals from earth tremors-that stations around the world gather and that have puzzled scientists until now.
“These new discoveries about the innermost part of the earth provide an explanation for the low velocity of the seismic waves deep down in the earth. They explain, in turn, why signals from earth tremors look like they do, thereby facilitating the work of seismologists,” says Anatoly Belonoshko at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, who directed the studies.
The innermost core of the earth, which consists of highly compressed iron in a solid state, is known to have an extremely low degree of rigidity in regard to shear-the impact of twisting or other forces. The iron at the center of the earth therefore behaves largely like a fluid, which lacks all resistance to shear, making it easy for shifts to take place in the matter in the earth’s core. One consequence is that the seismic waves that move along the surface of the inner core move unexpectedly slowly.
“Besides providing an entirely new potential for understanding a number of mysterious phenomena associated with the low velocity of the movement of these seismic waves, the methods we are using to explain the softness of the earth’s core can also be applied to materials science,” says Anatoly Belonoshko.
This dual nature of iron has been an enigma to researchers for more than 50 years, since iron in laboratory experiments has not evinced any tendency whatsoever to behave like a fluid under high pressure. The reason for this is the much lower temperatures in laboratory experiments compared with the center of the earth.
The solution to the riddle of this ‘soft’ iron lies in the how the iron atoms are arranged and can move under the conditions that prevail in the inner parts of the earth. The conditions can be likened to a solid structure in which the parts, instead of being nailed to each other, are fastened together with rubber bands. This makes it extremely easy for certain parts to shift in relation to each other.
A more scientific description is that the iron at the center of the earth cannot be depicted as an average of single crystalline iron. Instead, it is a so-called polycrystalline material with liquid-like granule edges and masses of defects in the structure. Anatoly Belonoshko, in collaboration with his colleagues Natalia Skorodumova and Anders Rosengren, has been able to show that an external disturbance like shear is rapidly mitigated by a migration of atoms and a gliding of the liquid-like granule edges.
The study shows that traditional methods of mineral physics are valid, despite the unexpected behavior of iron in the earth’s core, and that what is key to an enhanced understanding of the core of the earth is to be able to recreate the conditions there with great accuracy. A challenge for scientists is to further develop a new way to calculate the elastic properties of various materials at high temperatures.
“The methods we use help us understand, and thereby describe and predict, properties of materials at high temperatures. This opens new avenues for the theoretical, and in the long term practical, construction of new materials,” says Anatoly Belonoshko.
The simulations were possible to perform with the help of the most powerful Swedish supercomputers, situated at the Center for Parallel Computers (PDC) at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and the National Supercomputer Center (NSC) in Linköping.
The Earth is a mysterious place. There is much going on around us every day that goes unexplained. For all our advanced technology and scientific understanding, there are events that occur, more or less, on a regular basis for which (as yet) we have no answers. Here is a list, in no particular order, of 10 of the most perplexing, documented phenomena that have baffled us for years - in some cases, decades and much longer.
1. Animals Encased in Stone
In 1821, Tilloch's Philosophical Magazine carried an unusual item about a stone mason named David Virtue who made an astonishing discovery while working on a large chunk of rock that had come from about 22 feet below the surface. Upon breaking it open "he found a lizard embedded in the stone. It was coiled up in a round cavity of its own form, being an exact impression of the animal. It was about an inch and a quarter long, of a brownish yellow color, and had a round head, with bright sparkling projecting eyes. It was apparently dead, but after being about five minutes exposed to the air it showed signs of life. It soon ran about with much celerity."
There are numerous documented accounts of such findings, mostly involving frogs, toads or lizards. Most often the animals come out alive. And very often there is an imprint of their skin or shape on the cavity in which they are entombed. And this raises a number of interesting questions: How could the animal have gotten in there and survived? How did rock - which geology tells us takes hundreds if not thousands of years to form - take shape around the animal? How long could the animal have been in there?
2. Cattle Mutilations
"We were passing down this road, and there was a thunderstorm a coming up behind us. We smelled this animal as we come by. We came back to check on it, and found it was mutilated. We examined it and its sexual organs was taken out. Its eyes were taken out, and its eyelashes were taken out. Well, there wasn't no predators. Couldn't have been killed by a predator cause all the surgical work was done by an expert..." Such was the report of rancher C.E. Potts in 1990.
The report is typical for the phenomenon, which began to be documented in the early 1970s when reports came in from ranchers in Minnesota and Kansas. The mutilations were like nothing they had ever seen with their cattle; they seemed to have a surgical precision that ruled out predators (whose work ranchers were quite familiar with). The selectivity is also unusual: often only the eyes, tongue or sexual organs have been removed, and quite often there is an unexplained absence of blood from the scene. Theories to explain the mutilations include Satanic cults, aliens, government experiments (unmarked black helicopters are sometimes seen in the vicinity) and bizarre diseases. As yet, however, no conclusive answers have ever been found.
3. Unexplained Hums
Citizens in Britain and portions of the Southwestern U.S. have been complaining about a maddening hum that just won't go away. And researchers have been unable to pinpoint its source. Not everyone can hear the low-pitched hum, and those who do say that it seems artificial in nature - and is driving them crazy. In 1977, a British newspaper received nearly 800 letters from people complaining of loss of sleep, irritability, deteriorating health, inability to read or study because of the incessant hum.
Most famous in the U.S. is the Taos Hum. There the annoyance was so acute for the "hearers" in Taos, New Mexico that they banded together in 1993 and petitioned Congress to investigate and help them find the source of the noise. No conclusive causes were discovered. One prevailing theory holds that the hum is created by a military communications system used to contact submarines.
4. Ball Lightning
In January 1984, ball lightning measuring about four inches in diameter entered a Russian passenger aircraft and, according to the Russian news release, "flew above the heads of the stunned passengers. In the tail section of the airliner, it divided into two glowing crescents which then joined together again and left the plane almost noiselessly." The ball lightning left two holes in the plane.
Ball lightning is another natural phenomena for which science has yet to come up with a full explanation. The problem for scientists is that the manifestation of the phenomenon is so rare that it is almost impossible to study. Attempts have been made to recreate it artificially in the laboratory, but an actual specimen of naturally occurring ball lightning has yet to be captured for study. This may be impossible since the phenomenon is fleeting - floating about for awhile and then fading away or exploding with a loud pop.
What makes ball lighting so fascinating and puzzling is its strange "behavior." Witnesses have said that it moves about as if with a kind of intelligence, following patterns on walls or furniture, and seeming to avoid obstacles. More mysterious still is its ability to pass through solid objects. Sometimes it leaves holes, as with the airliner above, but it has also been seen to pass through window glass and even walls without even leaving a mark.
5. Spooklights
This might be a phenomenon related to ball lightning... then again it might not be. No one really knows what the many "spooklights" reported around the world are caused by. And there are many. Most famous, perhaps, are the Marfa Lights seen for generations near Marfa in Western Texas. The lights appear almost nightly and can be seen at a distance from Highway 90. Yet when investigators try to approach the lights, nothing can be seen.
Other spooklights include: The Tri-State Spooklight near the borders of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri; the Brown Mountain Lights near Morganton, North Carolina; the Gurdon Light near Gurdon, Arkansas; the Cemetery Lights of Silver Cliff Colorado; the Hebron Light in Maryland; the Hornet Spook Light in Southwest Missouri; and the Peakland Spooklights in Britain.
There are many unproved theories, of course, including alien activity, mirages, ghosts (usually headless railroad workers), and ball lightning induced by tectonic stresses in rocks.
6. Weird Clouds
Clouds are fluffy, benign masses of water vapor, right? Consider this: In an otherwise clear September sky near Agen, France in 1814, a small, white, spherical cloud appeared. It floated motionless for a while before beginning to spin and head quickly southward. Witnesses reported that deafening rumbling noises thundered from the cloud, and then it suddenly exploded in a shower of rocks and stones. The cloud then slowly faded away.
This is one case of extremely rare and highly unusual behavior from clouds. Other documented reports tell of clouds that move against the wind, clouds that rain insects or carry peculiar shadows. There is even a story of a man from Oyster Bay, Long Island who was attacked by a spitting cloud. It's difficult to come up with any kind of rational explanations for these weird tales.
7. Fish Falls
One of the most recent examples of fish falling from the sky took place the summer of 2000 in Ethiopia. A local newspaper reported: "The unusual rain of fish, which dropped in millions from the air - some dead and others still struggling - created panic among the mostly religious farmers." This is just one of countless case studies of rains of fish, frogs, periwinkles - even alligators - that have been cataloged over the centuries, many by famed paranormal researcher Charles Fort. (Such rains of creatures have been, in fact, come to be known as "Fortean" activity.)
Most often these rains of animals are attributed to severe storms, tornadoes, water spouts and related phenomena. Although the theory has not yet been proved, it holds that strong winds pick up the fish or frogs from bodies of water such as ponds, streams and lakes, carry them aloft - sometimes for miles and miles - and then drop them over land.
The peculiar fact that challenges this theory is this: in most cases, the rains are of one kind of animal only. It rains one species of herring, for example, or a particular kind of frog. How can this be explained? Could a powerful gust of wind be so discriminating? If the storm scooped up water from a pond, wouldn't it rain all kinds of things one finds in a pond - frogs, toads, fish, weeds, sticks and probably beer cans?
8. Crop Circles
I hesitate to include crop circles because I'm nearly convinced that they are all probably manmade. Yet, even though many groups of people have come forward to admit that they have designed and created the sometimes elaborate - and quite often beautiful - crop formations, there remains a diehard faction of believers that insists that at least some crop circles are caused by some unexplained phenomenon.
Crop circles have been reported in nearly every country on Earth. In fact, according to Crop Circle Central, the only major countries that have never reported formations are China and South Africa. Plain round crop circles as we know them began to appear in abundance in the 1970s. But then in 1990, we began to see far more intricate and complex pictograms. Believers suggested they might be a form of communication from extraterrestrials - or from the Earth itself. Those who say they are not manmade point to several peculiarities found in the affected crops: woven stalks, cellular changes in the grain stalks, and strange phenomena experienced by researchers examining the circles, such as unexplained equipment failures, sounds and other physical effects
9. The Tunguska Event
After 90 years, the explosive event at Tunguska, Siberia in 1908 remains one of the most puzzling natural disasters in recent history. On June 30 of that year, a blazing fireball descended from the sky and devastated an area about half the size of Rhode Island. Trees were felled for miles in a radial pattern, fires burned for weeks and the sound of its thunder could be heard at great distances. It's been estimated that its explosive force was equal to more than 2,000 Hiroshima-type atomic bombs.
What it was that fell on Tunguska that fateful day is still a mystery. Although for many years scientists thought it was probably a meteor that exploded over the Siberian wilderness, today's best guess is that it was probably a comet. The change in theory came about because no meteor fragments could be found at the scene. In fact, there was very little evidence of any kind to explain precisely what occurred that day. This lack of hard evidence led, as if often does, to wild speculations: a UFO with a nuclear reactor had crashed; a powerful electric weapon created by Nikola Tesla was intentionally or accidentally aimed at the area from somewhere across the globe.
In recent years, the Tunguska event has received renewed attention as we realize more clearly that the Earth is at risk at almost any time from a strike from outer space.
10. Rods
"Rods" are one of the most fascinating and intriguing Earth mysteries of recent times. Discovered accidentally by filmmaker Jose Escamilla in March of 1994, what he calls "rods" are strange flying things that can only be seen on slowed-down film and videotape, and sometimes captured in still photographs. Apparently, these things - whatever they are - move too quickly to be seen with the naked eye. Escamilla first noticed them in film footage he had taken in Midway, New Mexico, and he (along with others) have since filmed and taped them in several other locations.
According to Escamilla's own definition, rods are "cigar or cylindrical shaped objects that travel at high velocities barely visible with the naked eye. They appear to be alive as they move through the air like fish swim in the sea. They appear to have fins or appendages along the torso and the torsos bend as they travel." Escamilla has several film clips and stills of the creatures on his website.
The rods measure from just a few inches to several feet in length and there seem to be a few varieties with different kinds of appendages. They have been spotted and recorded in Mexico, Arizona, Indiana, California, South Dakota, Connecticut and even Sweden. Some have even been seen underwater. Are they some unknown species of animal? If so, why has no one ever seen these creatures at rest?
"Alien Planet" Computer-Animated Special: Darwin 4 Discovery Mission
Features Top Scientists Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku and J. Craig Venter, Plus “Star Wars” Filmmaker George Lucas, Discussing Life Outside Our Solar System
Rooted in the latest scientific research, ALIEN PLANET takes viewers on a dramatic virtual mission of the future through the possibilities of life outside of our solar system and the deconstruction of the living form, based on the laws of evolution and physics.
Mankind’s greatest adventure is only decades away: In our century, unmanned space probes equipped with artificial intelligence will be sent to search for life on planets beyond our solar system.
But what will happen when we find it? ALIEN PLANET takes viewers on a dramatic virtual mission of the future – a trip to a fictional planet known as Darwin 4
Rooted in the latest scientific research from the NASA Origins Program, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) Planet-Finder Mission and European Space Agency’s Darwin Project, this special two-hour computer-animated program features some of the world’s most renowned scientists, including Stephen W. Hawking, Michio Kaku and J. Craig Venter, plus Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas, who discuss the possibilities of life outside our solar system and deconstruct the animals on Darwin 4, based on the laws of evolution and physics.
“The life we have on Earth must have spontaneously generated itself,” says Stephen W. Hawking, physicist and author of A Brief History of Time. “It must therefore be possible for life to be generated spontaneously, elsewhere in the universe.”
And, as the story unfolds, that would be Darwin 4, located 6.5 light years from Earth, with two suns and 60 percent of Earth’s gravity. Having identified Darwin 4 as an environment that could support life, Earth sends an unmanned pilot mission consisting of a “mother ship,” dubbed Von Braun, and three probes: Balboa, da Vinci and Newton. Their goal: find and assess any life forms on Darwin 4.
“We will be the bystanders much more so than we are today with our robotic emissaries,” notes Dr. James Garvin, Chief Scientist, NASA.
“But that’s okay ... they’ll act more like us in the sense that they’ll observe, mine the data, understand the anomalies and find the sweet spots.” Darwin 4 is experienced through the "eyes" of the probes Newton (also known as Ike) and da Vinci (nicknamed Leo), whose data are relayed back to Von Braun and then communicated back to Earth.
The biological and atmospheric data from the probes and mother ship are relayed through computer voice simulation and on-screen readouts. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with diversity of life of all sizes – just like Earth.
“If you look at the diversity of what species look like on this planet, nature has come up with better things than our best science fiction,” comments J. Craig Venter, of the J. Craig Venter Institute, who successfully mapped the human genome.
The life that Darwin 4 supports tests the limits of technology and the intellects of the greatest minds of our generation. It appears that life on the planet is bigger, faster – and more dangerous – than we ever imagined.
As Michio Kaku, one of the founders of string theory, and professor at City University of New York, notes, “Chances are, when we meet intelligent life forms in outer space, they're going to be descended from predators.”
Visually based on author/artist Wayne Barlowe’s book Expedition, and rooted in real-life exploratory endeavors scientists have designed the planet of Darwin 4 (which lies in a known star system), the probes and the spacecraft, as well as the various life forms found there.
The mission is brought to vivid life via state-of-the-art computer animation and visual effects by Meteor Studios, the creative team behind the Emmy
The scientists and evolutionary biologists who developed the mission and its possible results include Garvin; Victoria Meadows, research scientist, NASA/JPL Virtual Planet Laboratory; Randy Pollock, space instrumentation system architect, Hamilton Sundstrand; Joan Horvath, executive director, Global Space League; James Kirkland, state paleontologist, Utah Geological Survey; David Moriarty, professor, Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University; and Curtis Clark, professor, Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University.
ALIEN PLANET will also be simulcast in high definition on Discovery HD Theatre, the first-ever Discovery Channel/Discovery HD Theatre simulcast. The producer of ALIEN PLANET is John Copeland (Babylon 5).
Executive Producer for Discovery Channel is Tomi Landis. Executive producers for Evergreen Films are Pierre de Lespinois and Frances LoCascio. Animation and visual effects by Meteor Studios. The writers are Peter Crabbe and Steve Eder. The program is an Evergreen Films/Discovery Channel coproduction. Discovery Channel is the United States’ largest cable television network, serving 89.8 million households across the nation with the finest in informative entertainment. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Español and FitTV. The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.
Dragon Ball (ドラゴンボール Doragon Bōru?) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama. It was originally serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1984 through 1995, and later the 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. Inspired by the Chinese folk novel Journey to the West, it follows the adventures of Son Goku from his childhood through middle age as he trains in martial arts and explores the world in search of the seven mystical objects known as the Dragon Balls, which are known to grant any wish. Along his trip, Goku meets several friends and fights against several villains who plan to get the Dragon Balls to grant their wishes and some who aim to conquer the world.
The series is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media, in the United Kingdom by Gollancz Manga, and in Australia and New Zealand by Chuang Yi. The manga has been adapted into three anime series, seventeen animated feature films, three television specials, a collectible trading card game, and a large number of video games. In 2002, 20th Century Fox began production on the first American-made live-action film which is slated for release on April 8, 2009.
Since its release, Dragon Ball has become one of the most popular manga series of its time in both Japan and North America. It enjoys a high readership, with over 150 million volumes of the series sold by 2007. Several manga artists have noted that the manga series was the inspiration for their own now popular works, including Naruto and One Piece. The anime is also highly popular, ranking number 12 among the best anime series of all time in 2006. Reviewers praise the art, characterization, and humor of the manga story. The anime series have had more mixed reviews, with the first also praised for its characterizations, but the second was criticized for its long, repetitive fights, and the third series considered repetitive with childish fights and "goofy" character designs.
Contents
1 Plot 1.1 Anime sequel 2 Themes 3 Production 4 Media 4.1 Manga 4.2 Anime series 4.2.1 Dragon Ball 4.2.2 Dragon Ball Z 4.2.3 Dragon Ball GT 4.2.4 Specials 4.3 Anime films 4.4 Video games 4.5 Soundtracks 4.6 Live action films 4.7 Art books 5 Reception 6 References 7 External links
Plot See also: List of Dragon Ball characters
A monkey-tailed boy named Goku is found by an old martial arts expert who raises him as his grandson. One day Goku meets a girl named Bulma and together they go on a quest to retrieve the seven Dragon Balls, mythical objects that can summon a dragon who will grant any wish. Along the way, they meet and befriend a plethora of martial artists. They also undergo rigorous training regimes and educational programs in order to fight in the World Martial Arts Tournament, a tournament in which the most powerful fighters in the world compete. Outside the tournaments, Goku faces diverse villains such as Emperor Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army, a demon known as Piccolo Daimao and his offspring of the same name.
As a young adult, Goku meets his older brother, Raditz, who tells him that they come from a fictional race of extraterrestrials called Saiyans. The Saiyans had sent Goku to Earth to destroy it, but his ship crashes upon arrival. Goku fell into a deep ravine and lost all memory of his mission. Goku refuses to help Raditz continue the mission, after which he begins to encounter others who want to battle him, such as the Saiyan prince Vegeta. He also encounters Frieza, who is considered to be one of the strongest beings in the universe, after which Goku begins training his first child, Son Gohan, to be his successor. Years later, a group of soldiers from the Red Ribbon army known as androids appear to kill Goku. Another android, Cell, absorbs Androids #17 and #18 from the Red Ribbon army to increase his power, then fights Goku and Gohan, resulting in the former's death. Goku is capable of returning to life, but decides to stay dead for seven years to train in the Other World. When he returns, he is drawn into a battle for the universe against an extraterrestrial named Majin Buu. Joined by Vegeta and Gohan, Buu is destroyed and Goku dies again. He is later revived by one of the gods from the Other World. Ten years later at a martial arts tournament, Goku meets Buu's human reincarnation, Uub. At the end of the manga, Goku takes Uub away on a journey to train him as another successor.
Anime sequel
In the anime Dragon Ball GT, which is not directly based on the manga, Goku is turned back into a child by the Black-Star Dragon Balls and is forced to travel across the universe to retrieve them. While in space, he encounters the evil artificial Tuffle, Baby, who wants to destroy the Saiyan race. Goku fights him, but is defeated and his tail destroyed. After his tail is regenerated, he achieves the level of Super Saiyan 4 and destroys Baby, propelling him into the sun with a Kamehameha. After Baby's defeat, Dr. Myuu, a combination of machine and human, creates a replica of Android 17, fuses it with the original Android 17, creating Super 17. Super 17 seems impervious to Goku's attacks, but when Android 18 attacks him for killing Krillin, Goku is able to take advantage of the distraction to find a way to penetrate Super 17 and destroy it.
Due to overuse of the Dragon Balls, seven Evil Dragons were created. All but the most powerful, Syn Shenron, are defeated. When Shenron appears to be losing, he absorbs the Dragon Balls and gains enough power to become Omega Shenron, overwhelming Goku. Eventually, using the energy of every living being in the universe, Goku makes a Spirit Bomb powerful enough to destroy Omega Shenron.
Themes
At its core, Dragon Ball maintains the central tenets of the Weekly Shōnen Jump core philosophy of "friendship, struggle, and victory." As the series shifts from a "heart warming" story into a more action-oriented piece, the protagonists go through an unending cycle of fighting, winning, losing, learning important lessons, then returning to the fight. As the series progresses, the heroes continue this cycle by using miraculous devices to achieve life after death while continuing their on-going battles with the dead heroes who continue to learn lessons as they defeat their challengers.[1]
Production "Dragon Boy" redirects here. For the Canadian mini-series, see Dragon Boys.
Wanting to break from the Western influences common in his other series, when Akira Toriyama began work on Dragon Ball he decided to loosely model it on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.[2][3] He also redeveloped one of his earlier one shot manga series, Dragon Boy, which was initially serialized in Fresh Jump and released in a single tankōbon volume in 1983.[3] This short work combined the comedic style of Toriyama's successful six-year series Dr. Slump with a more action-oriented plot and paid homage to famous martial art actor Jackie Chan.[4][3] Toriyama notes that his goal for the series was to tell an "unconventional and contradictory" story.[5]
In the early concept of the series, Goku and Piccolo were from Earth. With the introduction of Kami, the idea of having fights from other planets was established and Goku and Piccolo were changed to alien species.[6] For the female characters, Toriyama felt it wasn't fun to draw "weak females" so he created women that he felt were not only "beautiful and sexy", but also "strong".[5] Going against the normal convention that the strongest characters should be the largest in terms of physical size, he designed many of Dragon Ball's most powerful characters with small statures, including the protagonist, Goku.[5]
The fighting techniques were initially unnamed, but the series editor felt it would be better to name them all. Toriyama proceeded to create names for all of the techniques, except for the Kamehameha which his wife named when Toriyama was indecisive about what it should be called.[6] When creating the ficitional world of the series, Toriyama decided to create basing it from his own imagination to avoid referencing popular culture. However the island where the World Martial Arts Tournament is held is modeled after Bali. When having fights in the manga, Toriyama had the characters go to a place where nobody lived to avoid difficulties in drawing destroyed buildings. In order to advance the story quickly, he also gave most fighters the ability to fly so they could travel to other parts of the world without inconvenience. This was also the reasoning behind Goku learning to teletransport (thus allowing characters to move to any planet in a second).[6]
After the first chapters were released, readers commented that Goku seemed rather plain, so his appearance was changed. More characters (such as Master Roshi and Krillin) and martial arts tournaments were added to give the manga a greater emphasis on fighting. Knowing readers would expect Goku to win the tournaments, Toriyama had him lose the first two while continuing his initial goal of having Goku be the champion and hero. At the end of the Cell arc, he intended for Gohan to replace Goku as the series protagonist, but then felt the character was not suited for the role and changed his mind.[7]
Toriyama based the Red Ribbon Army from a video game he'd played named Spartan X in which enemies tended to appear very fast. After the second tournament concluded, Toriyama wanted to have a villain who would be a true "bad guy." After creating Piccolo as the new villain, he noted that it was one of the most interesting parts of the stories and that he, and his son, became one of the favorite characters of the series. With Goku established as the strongest fighter on Earth, Toriyama decided to increase the number of villains that came from outer space. Finding the escalating enemies to be a pain to work with feeling it was too simple, he created the Ginyu squad to add more balance to the series.[7] During this period of the series, Toriyama placed less emphasis on the series art work, simplifying the lines and sometimes making things "too square." He found himself having problems determining the colors for characters and sometimes ended up changing them unintentionally mid-story.[4]
Media
Written and illustrated by Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball was initially serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump starting in 1984.[8][3] The series ended in 1995 when Toriyama grew exhausted and felt he needed a break from drawing.[3] The 519 individual chapters were published into 42 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha from November 10, 1985 through August 4, 1995.[9][10][11] In 2004, the chapters were re-released in a collection of 34 kanzenban volumes, which included a slightly rewritten ending, new covers, and color artwork from its Weekly Shōnen Jump run.[8] Toriyama also created a short series, Neko Majin, that became a self-parody of Dragon Ball. First appearing in Weekly Shōnen Jump in August 1999, the eight chapter series was released sporadically until it was completed in 2005.[12] These chapters were compiled into a "kanzenban"-style package for release in Japan on April 4, 2005.[13]
The Dragon Ball manga was licensed for release in English in North America by Viz Media which has released all 42 volume in both censored and uncensored forms.[14] Viz released volumes 17 through 42 under the title Dragon Ball Z to mimic the name of the anime series adaptated from those volumes, feeling it would reduce the potential for confusion by its readers.[8] The first volumes of both series were released in March 2003, with Dragon Ball being completed on August 3, 2004 and Dragon Ball Z finishing on June 6, 2006.[15][16] In June 2008, Viz began re-releasing the two series in a wideban format called "VIZBIG Edition", which collects three individual volumes into a single large volume.[17][18]
In 2006, Toriyama and One Piece author Eiichiro Oda teamed up to create a single chapter crossover of their individual hit series. Entitled Cross Epoch, the chapter was published in the December 25, 2006 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump.[19]
Anime series
Dragon Ball
With the high popularity of the Dragon Ball manga, Toei Animation produced two anime television series based on the manga chapters, and a third based on the series characters. The first series, also titled Dragon Ball, premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on February 26, 1986 and ran until April 12, 1989.[3][20] Spanning 153 episodes, it covered the first 16 volumes of the 42 volume manga series.[20]
Harmony Gold USA licensed the series for an English language release in North America in the late 1980s. In the their voice dub of the series, Harmony renamed almost all of the characters, with some names appearing very odd, such as the central character Goku being renamed "Zero" and the character Korin's name changed to "Whiskers the Wonder Cat". This dub version was quickly canceled.[citation needed]
In 1995, Funimation Entertainment acquired the license for the series for broadcast and home video distribution in North America. Funimation contracted with BLT Productions to create an English voice track for the series, and the dubbed episodes were edited for content.[21] Thirteen episodes aired in syndication before Funimation canceled the project due to low ratings, switching to working on the second anime series Dragon Ball Z.[3] In March 2001, Funimation announced the return of Dragon Ball to American television, featuring a new English audio track produced in house and with less editing.[21][22] The redubbed episodes aired on Cartoon Network from August 2001[23] to December 2003. Funimation also broadcast the series on Colours TV and their own Funimation Channel starting in 2006.[24] Funimation began releasing the uncut episodes to Region 1 DVD box sets in March 18, 2003. Each box set, spanning an entire saga of the series, included the English dub track and the original Japanese audio track with optional English subtitles. The Emperor Pilaf Saga, however, has not been released to DVD, due to it still being licensed for distribution by Lionsgate Entertainment.
In 2003, a new dub, produced by Blue Water Studios, was created and began to air in the United Kingdom and Canada. It used different episode titles and voice actors versus the Funimation version.[20]
Dragon Ball Z
With the ending of Dragon Ball, Toei Animation quickly released a second anime television series, Dragon Ball Z (ドラゴンボールZ（ゼット） Doragon Bōru Zetto?, commonly abbreviated DBZ). Picking up where the first left off, Dragon Ball Z is adapted from the final twenty-six volumes of the manga series. It premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on April 26, 1989, taking over its predecessor's time slot, and ran for 291 episodes until its conclusion on January 31, 1996.[3][25]
Following the canceled dub of Dragon Ball, Funimation licensed Dragon Ball Z for an English language release in North America. For the dubbing of the series, the Ocean Group was contracted to produce an English dub track. Like the original dub of Dragon Ball, the Ocean Group's dub of Dragon Ball Z was heavily edited for content, reducing the first 67 episodes into 53. The dubbed episodes premiered in the United States on The WB in September 1996, though it was eventually canceled in May 1998, once again due to low ratings. Three months later, the dub began airing on Cartoon Network as part of the channel's new Toonami programming block. Soon after, Funimation continued dubbing the series from where the cancelled dub left off, now using its own in-house voice actors, a new musical score, and less editing. The new dub of Dragon Ball Z ran on Cartoon Network from September 1999 to April 2003. In August 2004, Geneon Entertainment lost its licensing rights to the old Ocean Group dubbed episodes of Dragon Ball Z, allowing Funimation to re-dub the first 67 episodes, restore the removed content and replace the old dubbing with its in-house voice cast. These re-dubbed episodes aired on Cartoon Network throughout the summer of 2005. The Funimation dubbed episodes also aired in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.[26][27]
In the United Kingdom, the Funimation dub of episodes 107 through the final episode were replaced with a new dubbed version. This version used a dub language track produced by Blue Water and dubbed by the Ocean Group.
Dragon Ball GT
Produced by Toei Animation, Dragon Ball GT (ドラゴンボールGT（ジーティー） Doragon Bōru Jī Tī?, G(rand) T(our)[3]) premiered on Fuji TV on February 2, 1996, and ran until November 19, 1997.[28] Unlike the first two series, it was not based on the original Dragon Ball manga.[29] Unable to retain the same "magic" as the first two series, it spanned only 64 episodes before ending.[3]
Funimation Entertainment licensed the series for an English language Region 1 DVD release and broadcast in North America. Funimation's English dub of the series aired on Cartoon Network from November 2003 to January 2005. The television broadcast skipped the first 16 episodes of the series. Instead, Funimation created a composition episode entitled "A Grand Problem", which used scenes from the skipped episodes to summarize the story. The skipped episodes were later aired after the remaining episodes of the series had been broadcast.[28] The dubbed episodes also aired in Canada on YTV, which divided the episodes into two seasons instead of sagas.[30][31]
Specials
Four anime specials based on the series were released in Japan. The first, Bardock: The Father of Goku, was released on October 17, 1990. A prequel, it is set years before the start of the manga and details how Goku's father discovered that the Frieza was planning to kill all the other Saiyans, and Goku's father's efforts to stop him.[32] The second special, The History of Trunks was released on March 24, 1993. Based on an extra chapter of the original manga, it is set in a parallel universe where most of the series characters are killed by a group of soldiers known as androids.[33]
A Hero's Legacy, released on March 26, 1997, is set 100 years after the end of Dragon Ball GT. It features one of Goku's descendants who begins looking for the Dragon Balls in order to help his sick grandmother.[34] The newest special, Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!, is set to premiere at the Jump Super Anime Tour in November 2008. The first animated Dragon Ball feature to be released in twelve years, the special is based on an original concept by Toriyama and is set shortly after the defeat of the evil half of Majin Buu and has Goku and his friends facing against a new enemy.
The OVA, Dragon Ball Z Gaiden: Saiyan Zetsumetsu Keikaku, was set during Dragon Ball Z. Released in August 1993, the two episode series was based on the Famicom video game of the same name.[35]
Anime films Main article: List of Dragon Ball films
Sixteen anime films based on the Dragon Ball series have been released in Japan. The first four films were based on episodes of the first Dragon Ball anime with a few aspects of the original episodes changed.[36] The remaining 12 films were set in Dragon Ball Z and featured original stories that were based on neither the manga nor the anime.[37] Funimation Entertainment licensed and released all of the films to DVD in North America.
Video games Main article: List of Dragon Ball video games
The Dragon Ball franchise has spawned multiple video games across various genres and platforms. Earlier games of the series included a system of card battling and were released for the Nintendo Entertainment System following the storyline of the series.[38] Starting Super Nintendo Entertainment System, the Sega Saturn and the PlayStation most of the games were from the fighting genre including the series Super Butoden.[39] The first Dragon Ball game to be released in the United States was The Legacy of Goku for the Game Boy Advance, which was done by pixel graphics.[40] For the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable games the characters were redone in 3D cel-shaded graphics. These games included Budokai, Budokai 2, Budokai 3, and the Budokai Tenkaichi series[41][42] Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit was the first game of the series developed the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.[43] A massively multiplayer online role-playing game called Dragon Ball Online is currently in development for the 2009. It has been stated that Toriyama has been working on character designs for this project for the last five years.[44]
Soundtracks Main article: Dragon Ball Soundtracks
A myriad of soundtracks were released to the anime, movies and the games. The music for the first two anime Dragon Ball and Z and its films was directed by Shunsuke Kikuchi, while the one from GT by Akihito Tokunaga.[45][46] For the first anime, the soundtracks released were Dragon Ball: Music Collection in 1985 and Dragon Ball: Complete Song Collection in 1991 although they were reissued in 2007 and 2003, respectively.[47] For the second anime, the soundtrack series released were Dragon Ball Z Hit Song Collection Series. It was produced and released by Columbia Records of Japan from July 21, 1989 to March 20, 1996 the show's entire lifespan. On September 20, 2006 Columbia re-released the Hit Song Collection on their Animex 1300 series.[48][49] Other CDs released are compilations, video games and films soundtracks as well as music from the English versions.[50]
Live action films
A live-action Cantonese film adaptation of the series, Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, was released in China in 1989.[3] Considered a "tacky" version of the story by critics,[3] the plot revolves around a rag-tag group of heroes, led by "Monkey Boy" (Goku) trying to stop King Horn from using the wish-granting "Dragon Pearls" (Dragon Balls) to rule the world.
In March 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired feature film rights to the Dragon Ball franchise[51] and began production on an American live action film entitled Dragonball.[52] Ben Ramsey was tapped to create a screenplay based on Dragon Ball Z.[53] Directed by James Wong and produced by Stephen Chow,[52] the film is scheduled to be released in the United States on April 8, 2009.[54]
Art books
There are two companion books to the series, called the Dragon Ball GT Perfect Files, released in May 1997 and December 1997 by Shueisha's Jump Comics Selection imprint. They include series information, illustration galleries, behind-the-scenes information, and more. They were out of print for many years, but were re-released in April 2006 and this edition is still in print.
Contents: I. History and Overview II. What do we know about Sumerian Cosmology? III. What Deities did they worship? A. The Four Primary Dieties B. The Seven who decreed fate C. The Annuna and others D. The Demigods, mortal Heroes and Monsters IV. What about the Underworld? V. What are me anyway? VI. I've heard that there are a lot of Biblical parallels in Sumerian literature. What are they?
VII. Source material
VIII. Other books of interest.
I. History and Overview -
Sumer may very well be the first civilization in the world (although long term settlements at Jericho and Çatal Hüyük predate Sumer and examples of writing from Egypt and the Harappa, Indus valley sites may predate those from Sumer). From its beginnings as a collection of farming villages around 5000 BCE, through its conquest by Sargon of Agade around 2370 BCE and its final collapse under the Amorites around 2000 BCE, the Sumerians developed a religion and a society which influenced both their neighbors and their conquerors. Sumerian cuneiform, the earliest written language, was borrowed by the Babylonians, who also took many of their religious beliefs. In fact, traces and parallels of Sumerian myth can be found in Genesis.
History Sumer was a collection of city states around the Lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. Each of these cities had individual rulers, although as early as the mid-fourth millennium BCE the leader of the dominant city could have been considered the king of the region. The history of Sumer tends to be divided into five periods. They are the Uruk period, which saw the dominance of the city of that same name, the Jemdat Nasr period, the Early Dynastic periods, the Agade period, and the Ur III period - the entire span lasting from 3800 BCE to around 2000 BCE. In addition, there is evidence of the Sumerians in the area both prior to the Uruk period and after the Ur III Dynastic period, but relatively little is known about the former age and the latter time period is most heavily dominated by the Babylonians.
The Uruk period, stretched from 3800 BCE to 3200 BCE. It is to this era that the Sumerian King Lists ascribe the reigns of Dumuzi the shepherd, and the other antediluvian kings. After his reign Dumuzi was worshipped as the god of the spring grains. This time saw an enormous growth in urbanization such that Uruk probably had a population around 45,000 at the period's end. It was easily the largest city in the area, although the older cities of Eridu to the south and Kish to the north may have rivaled it. Irrigation improvements as well as a supply of raw materials for craftsmen provided an impetus for this growth. In fact, the city of An and Inanna also seems to have been at the heart of a trade network which stretched from what is now southern Turkey to what is now eastern Iran. In addition people were drawn to the city by the great temples there.
The Eanna of Uruk, a collection of temples dedicated to Inanna, was constructed at this time and bore many mosaics and frescoes. These buildings served civic as well as religious purposes, which was fitting as the en, or high priest, served as both the spiritual and temporal leader. The temples were places where craftsmen would practice their trades and where surplus food would be stored and distributed.
The Jemdat Nasr period lasted from 3200 BCE to 2900 BCE. It was not particularly remarkable and most adequately described as an extension and slowing down of the Uruk period. This is the period during which the great flood is supposed to have taken place. The Sumerians' account of the flood may have been based on a flooding of the Tigris, Euphrates, or both rivers onto their already marshy country.
The Early Dynastic period ran from 2900 BCE to 2370 BCE and it is this period for which we begin to have more reliable written accounts although some of the great kings of this era later evolved mythic tales about them and were deified. Kingship moved about 100 miles upriver and about 50 miles south of modern Bahgdad to the city of Kish. One of the earlier kings in Kish was Etana who "stabilized all the lands" securing the First Dynasty of Kish and establishing rule over Sumer and some of its neighbors. Etana was later believed by the Babylonians to have rode to heaven on the back of a giant Eagle so that he could receive the "plant of birth" from Ishtar (their version of Inanna) and thereby produce an heir.
Meanwhile, in the south, the Dynasty of Erech was founded by Meskiaggasher, who, along with his successors, was termed the "son of Utu", the sun-god. Following three other kings, including another Dumuzi, the famous Gilgamesh took the throne of Erech around 2600 BCE and became in volved in a power struggle for the region with the Kish Dynasts and with Mesannepadda, the founder of the Dynasty of Ur. While Gilgamesh became a demi-god, remembered in epic tales, it was Mesannepadda who was eventually victorious in this three-way power struggle, taking the by then traditional title of "King of Kish".
Although the dynasties of Kish and Erech fell by the wayside, Ur could not retain a strong hold over all of Sumer. The entire region was weakened by the struggle and individual city-states continued more or less independent rule. The rulers of Lagash declared themselves "Kings of Kish" around 2450 BCE, but failed to seriously control the region, facing several military challenges by the nearby Umma. Lugalzagesi, ensi or priest-king of Umma from around 2360-2335 BCE, razed Lagash, and conquered Sumer, declaring himself "king of Erech and the Land". Unfortunately for him, all of this strife made Sumer ripe for conquest by an outsider and Sargon of Agade seized that opportunity.
Sargon united both Sumer and the northern region of Akkad - from which Babylon would arise about four hundred years later - not very far from Kish. Evidence is sketchy, but he may have extended his realm from the Medeterranian Sea to the Indus River. This unity would survive its founder by less than 40 years. He built the city of Agade and established an enormous court there and he had a new temple erected in Nippur. Trade from across his new empire and beyond swelled the city, making it the center of world culture for a brief time.
After Sargon's death, however, the empire was fraught with rebellion. Naram-Sin, Sargon's grandson and third successor, quelled the rebellions through a series of military successes, extending his realm. He declared himself 'King of the Four corners of the World' and had himself deified. His divine powers must have failed him as the Guti, a mountain people, razed Agade and deposed Naram-Sin, ending that dynasty.
After a few decades, the Guti presence became intolerable for the Sumerian leaders. Utuhegal of Uruk/Erech rallied a coalition army and ousted them. One of his lieutenants, Ur-Nammu, usurped his rule and established the third Ur dynasty around 2112 BCE. He consolidated his control by defeating a rival dynast in Lagash and soon gained control of all of the Sumerian city-states. He established the earliest known recorded law-codes and had constructed the great ziggurat of Ur, a kind of step-pyramid which stood over 60' tall and more than 200' wide. For the next century the Sumerians were extremely prosperous, but their society collapsed around 2000 BCE under the invading Amorites. A couple of city-states maintained their independence for a short while, but soon they and the rest of the Sumerians were absorbed into the rising empire of the Babylonians. (Crawford pp. 1-28; Kramer 1963 pp. 40-72)
Culture Seated along the Euphrates River, Sumer had a thriving agriculture and trade industry. Herds of sheep and goats and farms of grains and vegetables were held both by the temples and private citizens. Ships plied up and down the river and throughout the Persian gulf, carrying pottery and various processed goods and bringing back fruits and various raw materials from across the region, including cedars from the Levant.
Sumer was one of the first literate civilizations leaving many records of business transactions, and lessons from schools. They had strong armies, which with their chariots and phalanxes held sway over their less civilized neighbors (Kramer 1963, p. 74). Perhaps the most lasting cultural remnants of the Sumerians though, can be found in their religion.
Religion The religion of the ancient Sumerians has left its mark on the entire middle east. Not only are its temples and ziggurats scattered about the region, but the literature, cosmogony and rituals influenced their neighbors to such an extent that we can see echoes of Sumer in the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition today. From these ancient temples, and to a greater extent, through cuneiform writings of hymns, myths, lamentations, and incantations, archaeologists and mythographers afford the modern reader a glimpse into the religious world of the Sumerians.
Each city housed a temple that was the seat of a major god in the Sumerian pantheon, as the gods controlled the powerful forces which often dictated a human's fate. The city leaders had a duty to please the town's patron deity, not only for the good will of that god or goddess, but also for the good will of the other deities in the council of gods. The priesthood initially held this role, and even after secular kings ascended to power, the clergy still held great authority through the interpretation of omens and dreams. Many of the secular kings claimed divine right; Sargon of Agade, for example claimed to have been chosen by Ishtar/Inanna. (Crawford 1991: 21-24)
The rectangular central shrine of the temple, known as a 'cella,' had a brick altar or offering table in front of a statue of the temple's deity. The cella was lined on its long ends by many rooms for priests and priestesses. These mud-brick buildings were decorated with cone geometrical mosaics, and the occasional fresco with human and animal figures. These temple complexes eventually evolved into towering ziggurats. (Wolkstein & Kramer 1983: 119)
The temple was staffed by priests, priestesses, musicians, singers, castrates and hierodules. Various public rituals, food sacrifices, and libations took place there on a daily basis. There were monthly feasts and annual, New Year celebrations. During the later, the king would be married to Inanna as the resurrected fertility god Dumuzi, whose exploits are dealt with below.
When it came to more private matters, a Sumerian remained devout. Although the gods preferred justice and mercy, they had also created evil and misfortune. A Sumerian had little that he could do about it. Judging from Lamentation records, the best one could do in times of duress would be to "plead, lament and wail, tearfully confessing his sins and failings." Their family god or city god might intervene on their behalf, but that would not necessarily happen. After all, man was created as a broken, labor saving, tool for the use of the gods and at the end of everyone's life, lay the underworld, a generally dreary place. (Wolkstein & Kramer 1983: pp.123-124)
II. What do we know about Sumerian Cosmology? From verses scattered throughout hymns and myths, one can compile a picture of the universe's (anki) creation according to the Sumerians. The primeval sea (abzu) existed before anything else and within that, the heaven (an) and the earth (ki) were formed. The boundary between heaven and earth was a solid (perhaps tin) vault, and the earth was a flat disk. Within the vault lay the gas-like 'lil', or atmosphere, the brighter portions therein formed the stars, planets, sun, and moon. (Kramer, The Sumerians 1963: pp. 112-113) Each of the four major Sumerian deities is associated with one of these regions. An, god of heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although his importance gradually waned. (Kramer 1963 p. 118) Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). It seems likely that these two were the progenitors of most of the gods.
According to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld", in the first days all needed things were created. Heaven and earth were separated. An took Heaven, Enlil took the earth, Ereshkigal was carried off to the netherworld as a prize, and Enki sailed off after her.
III. What Deities did they worship? Nammu Nammu is the Goddess of the watery abyss, the primeval sea. She may be the earliest of deities within Sumerian cosmology as she gave birth to heaven and earth. (Kramer 1961 p. 39) She is elsewhere described both as the mother of all the gods and as the wife of An. (Kramer 1961 p. 114) She is Enki's mother. She prompts him to create servants for the gods and is then directed by him on how, with the help of Nimmah/Ninhursag to create man. (Kramer 1963 p. 150; Kramer 1961 p. 70)
A. The Primary Deities It is notable that the Sumerians themselves may not have grouped these four as a set and that the grouping has been made because of the observations of Sumerologists. An An, god of heaven, may have been the main god of the pantheon prior to 2500 BC., although his importance gradually waned. (Kramer 1963 p. 118) In the early days he carried off heaven, while Enlil carried away the earth. (Kramer 1961 p. 37-39) It seems likely that he and Ki/Ninhursag were the progenitors of most of the gods. although in one place Nammu is listed as his wife. (Kramer 1961 p. 114) Among his children and followers were the Anunnaki. (Kramer 1961 p. 53) His primary temple was in Erech. He and Enlil give various gods, goddesses, and kings their earthly regions of influence and their laws. (Kramer 1963 p. 124) Enki seats him at the first seat of the table in Nippur at the feast celebrating his new house in Eridu. (Kramer 1961 p. 63) He hears Inanna's complaint about Mount Ebih (Kur?), but discourages her from attacking it because of its fearsome power. (Kramer 1961 pp. 82-83) After the flood, he and Enlil make Ziusudra immortal and make him live in Dilmun. (Kramer 1961 p. 98) (See also Anu.)
Ninhursag (Ki, Ninmah, Nintu) Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess, whose name more often appears as Ninhursag (queen of the mountains), Ninmah (the exalted lady), or Nintu (the lady who gave birth). (Kramer 1963 p. 122) Most often she is considered Enlil's sister, but in some traditions she is his spouse instead. (Jacobsen p.105) She was born, possibly as a unified cosmic mountain with An, from Nammu and shortly thereafter, their union produced Enlil. (Kramer 1961 p. 74) In the early days, as Ki, she was separated from heaven (An) and carried off by Enlil. (Kramer 1961 pp. 37-41) It seems likely that she and An were the progenitors of most of the gods. She later unites with Enlil and with the assistance of Enki they produce the world's plant and animal life. (Kramer 1961 p. 75)
"Enki and Ninhursag" In Dilmun, she (as Nintu) bears the goddess Ninsar from Enki, who in turn bears the goddess Ninkur, who in turn bears Uttu, goddess of plants. Uttu bore eight new trees from Enki. When he then ate Uttu's children, Ninhursag cursed him with eight wounds and dissapears. After being persuaded by Enlil to undo her curse, she bore Enki eight new children which undid the wounds of the first ones. (Kramer 1963 pp. 147-149; Kramer 1961 pp. 54-59)
Enki seats her (as Nintu) on the big side of the table in Nippur at the feast celebrating his new house in Eridu. (Kramer 1961 p. 63)
"Enki and Ninmah" She is the mother goddess and, as Ninmah, assists in the creation of man. Enki, having been propted by Nammu to create servants for the gods, describes how Nammu and Ninmah will help fashion man from clay. Prior to getting to work, she and Enki drink overmuch at a feast. She then shapes six flawed versions of man from the heart of the clay over the Abzu, with Enki declaring their fates. Enki, in turn also creates a flawed man which is unable to eat. Ninmah appears to curse him for the failed effort. (Kramer 1963 pp. 149-151; Kramer 1961 pp. 69-72) (See also Aruru)
Enlil An and Ki's union produced Enlil (Lord of 'lil'). Enlil was the air-god and leader of the pantheon from at least 2500 BC, when his temple Ekur in Nippur was the spiritual center of Sumer (Kramer 1961 p. 47). In the early days he separated and carried off the earth (Ki) while An carried off heaven. (Kramer 1961 p. 37-41) He assumed most of An's powers. He is glorified as "'the father of the gods, 'the king of heaven and earth,' ' the king of all the lands'". Kramer portrays him as a patriarchal figure, who is both creator and disciplinarian. Enlil causes the dawn, the growth of plants, and bounty (Kramer 1961 p. 42). He also invents agricultural tools such as the plow or pickaxe (Kramer 1961 pp 47-49). Without his blessings, a city would not rise (Kramer 1961 pp. 63, 80) Most often he is considered Ninlil's husband, with Ninhursag as his sister, but some traditions have Ninhursag as his spouse. (Jacobsen p.105) "Enlil and Ninlil" He is also banished to the nether world (kur) for his rape of Ninlil, his intended bride, but returns with the first product of their union, the moon god Sin (also known as Nanna). (Kramer, Sumerians 1963: pp.145-147). Ninlil follows him into exile as his wife. He tells the various underworld guardians to not reveal his whereabouts and instead poses as those guardians himself three times, each time impregnating her again it appears that at least on one occasion Enlil reveals his true self before they unite. The products of these unions are three underworld deities, including Meslamtaea (aka. Nergal) and Ninazu. Later, when Nanna visits him in Nippur, he bestows Ur to him with a palace and plentiful plantlife. (Kramer 1961 p. 43-49) Enlil is also seen as the father of Ninurta (Kramer 1961 p. 80).
"Enki and Eridu" When Enki journeys to Enlil's city Nippur in order for his own city, Eridu to be blessed. He is given bread at Enki's feast and is seated next to An, after which Enlil proclaims that the Anunnaki should praise Enki. (Kramer 1961 pp. 62-63)
"The Dispute between Cattle and Grain" Enlil and Enki, at Enki's urging, create farms and fields for the grain goddess Ashnan and the cattle goddess Lahar. This area has places for Lahar to take care of the animals and Ashnan to grow the crops. The two agricultural deities get drunk and begin fighting, so it falls to Enlil and Enki to resolve their conflict - how they do so has not been recovered. (Kramer 1961 pp. 53-54; Kramer 1963 pp. 220-223)
"The Dispute between Emesh and Enten" Enlil creates the herdsman deity Enten and the agricultural deity Emesh. He settles a dispute between Emesh and Enten over who should be recognized as 'farmer of the gods', declaring Enten's claim to be stronger. (Kramer 1961 p. 49-51).
"Enki and Ninhursag" He helps Enki again when he was cursed by Ninhursag. Enlil and a fox entreat her to return and undo her curse. (Kramer 1961 p. 57)
"Enki and the World Order" The me were assembled by Enlil in his temple Ekur, and given to Enki to guard and impart to the world, beginning with Eridu, Enki's center of worship. (Kramer 1963 pp. 171-183)
"Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" Enlil refuses Ninshubur's appeal on behalf of his [grand-]daughter, Inanna to help rescue her from Ereshkigal in the underworld. (Kramer 1961 pp. 86, 87, 89, 93)
"Ziusudra" After the flood, he and An gave Ziusudra eternal life and had him live in Dilmun. (Kramer 1961 p. 98)
"Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld" When Gilgamesh looses his pukku and mikku in the nether world, and Enkidu is held fast there by demons, he appeals to Enlil for help. Enlil refuses to assist him. (Kramer 1961 p. 35-36) (See also the Babylonian Ellil)
Enki Enki is the son of Nammu, the primeval sea. Contrary to the translation of his name, Enki is not the lord of the earth, but of the abzu (the watery abyss and also semen) and of wisdom. This contradiction leads Kramer and Maier to postulate that he was once known as En-kur, lord of the underworld, which either contained or was contained in the Abzu. He did struggle with Kur as mentioned in the prelude to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Underworld", and presumably was victorious and thereby able to claim the title "Lord of Kur" (the realm). He is a god of water, creation, and fertility. He also holds dominion over the land. He is the keeper of the me, the divine laws. (Kramer & Maier Myths of Enki 1989: pp. 2-3) "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Underworld" Enki sails for the Kur, presumably to rescue Ereshkigal after she was given over to Kur. He is assailed by creatures with stones. These creatures may have been an extension of Kur itself. (Wolkstein and Kramer p. 4; Kramer 1961 p. 37-38, 78-79)
"Enki and Eridu" Enki raises his city Eridu from the sea, making it very lush. He takes his boat to Nippur to have the city blessed by Enlil. He throws a feast for the gods, giving Enlil, An, and Nintu spacial attention. After the feast, Enlil proclaims that the Anunnaki should praise Enki. (Kramer 1961; pp. 62-63)
"Enki and the World Order" The me were assembled by Enlil in Ekur and given to Enki to guard and impart to the world, beginning with Eridu, his center of worship. From there, he guards the me and imparts them on the people. He directs the me towards Ur and Meluhha and Dilmun, organizing the world with his decrees. (Kramer 1963 pp. 171-183)
"The Dispute between Cattle and Grain" Enlil and Enki, at Enki's urging, create farms and fields for the grain goddess Ashnan and the cattle goddess Lahar. This area has places for Lahar to take care of the animals and Ashnan to grow the crops. The two agricultural deities get drunk and begin fighting, so it falls to Enlil and Enki to resolve their conflict - how they do so has not been recovered. (Kramer 1961 pp. 53-54; Kramer 1963 pp. 220-223)
"Enki and Ninhursag" He blessed the paradisical land of Dilmun, to have plentiful water and palm trees. He sires the goddess Ninsar upon Ninhursag, then sires Ninkur upon Ninsar, finally siring Uttu, goddess of plants, upon Ninkur. Uttu bore eight new types of trees from Enki. He then consumed these tree-children and was cursed by Ninhursag, with one wound for each plant consumed. Enlil and a fox act on Enki's behalf to call back Ninhursag in order to undo the damage. She joins with Enki again and bears eight new children, one to cure each of the wounds. (Kramer 1963 pp. 147-149; Kramer 1961 pp. 54-59)
"Enki and Ninmah: The Creation of Man" The gods complain that they need assistance. At his mother Nammu's prompting, he directs her, along with some constructive criticism from Ninmah (Ninhursag), in the creation of man from the heart of the clay over the Abzu. Several flawed versions were created before the final version was made. (Kramer 1963 pp. 149-151; Kramer 1961 pp. 69-72)
"Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" He is friendly to Inanna and rescued her from Kur by sending two sexless beings to negotiate with, and flatter Ereshkigal. They gave her the Food of Life and the Water of Life, which restored her. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 62-64)
"Inanna and Enki" Later, Inanna comes to Enki and complains at having been given too little power from his decrees. In a different text, she gets Enki drunk and he grants her more powers, arts, crafts, and attributes - a total of ninety-four me. Inanna parts company with Enki to deliver the me to her cult center at Erech. Enki recovers his wits and tries to recover the me from her, but she arrives safely in Erech with them. (Kramer & Maier 1989: pp. 38-68)
(See also Ea) III B. The Seven Who Decreed Fate In addition to the four primary deities, there were hundreds of others. A group of seven "decreed the fates" - these probably included the first four, as well as Nanna, his son Utu, the sun god and a god of justice, and Nanna's daughter Inanna, goddess of love and war.
Nanna (Sin, (Suen), Ashgirbabbar) Nanna is another name for the moon god Sin. He is the product of Enlil's rape of Ninlil. (Kramer, 1963, pp. 146-7.) He travels across the sky in his gufa, (a small, canoe-like boat made of woven twigs and tar), with the stars and planets about him. (Kramer 1961 p. 41) Nanna was the tutelary deity of Ur (Kramer 1963 p. 66), appointed as king of that city by An and Enlil. (Kramer 1963 pp. 83-84) He journeyed to Nippur by boat, stopping at five cities along the way. When he arrived at Nippur, he proffered gifts to Enlil and pleaded with him to ensure that his city of Ur would be blessed, prosperous, and thus, not be flooded. (Kramer 1963 pp. 145-146, Kramer 1961 pp. 47-49) Nanna was married to Ningal and they produced Inanna and Utu. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 30-34; Kramer 1961 p. 41) He rests in the Underworld every month, and there decrees the fate of the dead. (Kramer 1963 p. 132, 135, 210) He refuses to send aid to Inanna when she is trapped in the underworld. (Kramer 1963 pp. 153-154) He established Ur-Nammu as his mortal representative, establishing the third Ur dynasty. (Kramer 1963 p. 84)
Utu Utu is the son of Nanna and Ningal and the god of the Sun and of Justice. He goes to the underworld at the end of every day setting in the "mountain of the west" and rising in the "mountain of the east". While there decrees the fate of the dead, although he also may lie down to sleep at night. (Kramer 1963 p. 132, 135; Kramer 1961 pp. 41-42) He is usually depicted with fiery rays coming out of his shoulders and upper arms, and carrying a saw knife. (Kramer 1961 p. 40) When Inanna's huluppu tree is infested with unwelcome guests, he ignores her appeal for aid. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 6-7) He tries to set her up with Dumuzi, the shepherd, but she initially rebuffs him, preferring the farmer. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 30-33) He aided Dumuzi in his flight from the galla demons by helping him to transform into different creatures. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 72-73, 81) Through Enki's orders, he also brings water up from the earth in order to irrigate Dilmun, the garden paradise, the place where the sun rises. (Kramer 1963 p. 148) He is in charge of the "Land of the Living" and, in sympathy for Gilgamesh, calls off the seven weather heroes who defend that land. (Kramer 1963 pp. 190-193) He opened the "ablal" of the Underworld for the shade of Enkidu, to allow him to escape, at the behest of Enki. (Kramer 1963 p. 133; Kramer 1961 p. 36) (See also Shamash)
Inanna Nanna and Ningal's daughter Inanna, goddess of love and war. "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Underworld" A woman planted the huluppu tree in Inanna's garden, but the Imdugud-bird (Anzu bird?) made a nest for its young there, Lilith (or her predecessor, a lilitu-demon) made a house in its trunk, and a serpent made a home in its roots. Inanna appeals to Utu about her unwelcome guests, but he is unsympathetic. She appeals to Gilgamesh, here her brother, and he is receptive. He tears down the tree and makes it into a throne and bed for her. In return for the favor, Inanna manufactures a pukku and mikku for him. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 5-9)
"Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven" Later, Inanna seeks out Gilgamesh as her lover. When he spurns her she sends the Bull of Heaven to terrorize his city of Erech. (Kramer 1963 p. 262)
"The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi" Her older brother Utu tries to set her up with Dumuzi, the shepherd, but she initially rebuffs him, preferring the farmer. He assures her that his parents are as good as hers and she begins to desire him. Her mother, Ningal, further assures her. The two consummate their relationship and with their exercise in fertility, the plants and grains grow as well. After they spend time in the marriage bed, Inanna declares herself as his battle leader and sets his duties as including sitting on the throne and guiding the path of weapons. At Ninshubur's request, she gives him power over the fertility of plants and animals. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 30-50)
"Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" Inanna also visits Kur, which results in a myth reminiscent of the Greek seasonal story of Persephone. She sets out to witness the funeral rites of her sister-in-law Ereshkigal's husband Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. She takes precaution before setting out, by telling her servant Ninshubur to seek assistance from Enlil, Nanna, or Enki at their shrines, should she not return. Inanna knocks on the outer gates of Kur and the gatekeeper, Neti, questions her. He consults with queen Ereshkigal and then allows Inanna to pass through the seven gates of the underworld. After each gate, she is required to remove adornments and articles of clothing, until after the seventh gate, she is naked. The Annuna pass judgment against her and Ereshkigal killed her and hung her on the wall. (see Ereshkigal) (Wolkstein & Kramer 1983 pp. 52-60)
Inanna is rescued by the intervention of Enki. He creates two sexless creatures that empathize with Ereshkigal's suffering, and thereby gain a gift - Inanna's corpse. They restore her to life with the Bread of Life and the Water of Life, but the Sumerian underworld has a conservation of death law. No one can leave without providing someone to stay in their stead. Inanna is escorted by galla/demons past Ninshubur and members of her family. She doesn't allow them to claim anyone until she sees Dumuzi on his throne in Uruk. They then seize Dumuzi, but he escapes them twice by transforming himself, with the aid of Utu. Eventually he is caught and slain. Inanna spies his sister, Geshtinanna, in mourning and they go to Dumuzi. She allows Dumuzi, the shepherd, to stay in the underworld only six months of the year, while Geshtinanna will stay the other six. (Wolkstein & Kramer pp. 60-89) As with the Greek story of the kidnapping of Persephone, this linked the changing seasons, the emergence of the plants from the ground, with the return of a harvest deity from the nether world. Geshtinanna is also associated with growth, but where her brother rules over the spring harvested grain, she rules over the autumn harvested vines (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 168).
"Inanna and Mount Ebih" Inanna complains to An about Mount Ebih (Kur?) demanding that it glorify her and submit lest she attack it. An discourages her from doing so because of its fearsome power. She does so anyway, bringing a storehouse worth of weapons to bear on it. She destroys it. Because she is known as the Destroyer of Kur in certain hymns, Kramer identifys Mt. Ebih with Kur. (Kramer 1961 pp. 82-83)
"Inanna and Enki" The me were universal decrees of divine authority -the invocations that spread arts, crafts, and civilization. Enki became the keeper of the me. Inanna comes to Enki and complains at having been given too little power from his decrees. In a different text, she gets Enki drunk and he grants her more powers, arts, crafts, and attributes - a total of ninety-four me. Inanna parts company with Enki to deliver the me to her cult center at Erech. Enki recovers his wits and tries to recover the me from her, but she arrives safely in Erech with them. (Kramer & Maier 1989: pp. 38-68) (See also Ishtar)
III. C. The Annuna (Anunnaki) and others At the next level were fifty "great gods", possibly the same as the Annuna, although several gods confined to the underworld are specifically designated Annuna, An's children. The Annuna are also said to live in Dulkug or Du-ku, the "holy mound".(Kramer 1963: pp. 122-123, Black and Green p. 72, Kramer 1961, p. 73). In the "Descent of Inanna to the Nether World" the Anunnaki are identified as the seven judges of the nether world. (Kramer 1963 p. 154; Kramer 1961 p. 119)
Ereshkigal Ereshkigal is the queen of the underworld, who is either given to Kur in the underworld or given dominion over the underworld in the prelude to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Underworld". (Wolkstein and Kramer p. 157-158; Kramer 1961 p. 37-38) She has a palace there with seven gates and is due a visit by those entering Kur. (Kramer 1963 pp. 131, 134) She was married to Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, and is Inanna's older sister. When Inanna trespassed on her domain, Ereshkigal first directs her gatekeeper to open the seven gates a crack and remove her garments. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 55-57) Then when Inanna arrives she:
...fastened on Inanna the eye of death. She spoke against her the word of wrath. She uttered against her the cry of guilt
She struck her.
Inanna was turned into a corpse, ...And was hung from a hook on the wall.( Wolkstein & Kramer 1983 p. 60)
Later, when Enki's messengers arrive, she is moaning in pain. When they empathize with her, she grants them a boon. They request Inanna's corpse and she accedes. (Wolkstein & Kramer pp. 64-67) (See also Babylonian Ereshkigal)
Nergal (Meslamtaea) - Nergal is the second son of Enlil and Ninlil. (Kramer 1961 pp. 44-45) He is perhaps the co-ruler of Kur with Ereshkigal where he has a palace and is due reverence by those who visit. He holds Enkidu fast in the underworld after Enkidu broke several taboos while trying to recover Gilgamesh's pukku and mikku. He is more prominent in Babylonian literature and makes a brief appearance in II Kings 17:30. (See Babylonian Nergal)
Ninlil Ninlil was the intended bride of Enlil and the daughter of Nunbarshegunu, the old woman of Nippur. Enlil raped her and was then banished to the nether world (kur). She follows him to the nether world, where she gives birth to the moon god Sin (also known as Nanna). They have three more children in the nether world including Meslamtaea/(Nergal) and Ninazu who remain there so that Sin may be allowed to leave. (Kramer, Sumerians 1963: pp.146-7; Kramer 1961 pp. 43-46). In some texts she is Enlil's sister while Ninhursag is his bride. (Jacobsen p.105) Her chief shrine was in the Tummal district of Nippur. (See also Babylonian Ninlil)
Ningal She is Nanna's wife and the mother of Inanna and Utu. She begs and weeps before Enlil for them not to flood her city, Ur. (see also Babylonian Ningal and Nikkal of the Canaanites.)
Nanshe Nanshe is a goddess of the city of Lagash who takes care of orphans and widows. She also seeks out justice for the poor and casts judgement on New Year's Day. She is supported by Nidaba and her husband, Haia. (Kramer 1963 pp. 124-125)
Nidaba The goddess of writing and the patron deity of the edubba (palace archives). She is an assistant to Nanshe. (Kramer 1963 pp. 124-125)
Ninisinna (Nininsinna) The patron goddess of the city Isin. She is the "hierodule of An"
Ninkasi ("The Lady who fills the mouth") She is the goddess of brewing or alcohol, born of "sparkling-fresh water". (Kramer 1963 pp. 111, 206) She is one of the eight healing children born by Ninhursag for Enki She is born in response to Enki's mouth pain and Ninhursag declares that she should be the goddess who "sates the heart" (Kramer 1961 p. 58) or "who satisfies desire". (Kramer and Maier p. 30)
Ninurta Ninurta is Enlil's son and a warrior deity, the god of the south wind. (Kramer 1963 p. 145; Kramer 1961 p. 80) In "The Feats and Exploits of Ninurta", that deity sets out to destroy the Kur. Kur initially intimidates Ninurta into retreating, but when Ninurta returns with greater resolve, Kur is destroyed. This looses the waters of the Abzu, causing the fields to be flooded with unclean waters. Ninurta dams up the Abzu by piling stones over Kur's corpse. He then drains these waters into the Tigris. (Kramer 1961 pp. 80-82). The identification of Ninurta's antagonist in this passage as Kur appears to be miscast. Black and Green identify his foe as the demon Asag, who was the spawn of An and Ki, and who produced monstrous offspring with Kur. The remainder of the details of this story are the same as in Kramer's account, but with Asag replacing Kur. In other versions, Ninurta is replaced by Adad/Ishkur. (Black & Green pp. 35-36) (See also the Babylonian Ninurta) Ashnan The kindly maid. Ashnan is a grain goddess, initially living in Dulkug (Du-ku). (Kramer 1961 p. 50) Enlil and Enki, at Enki's urging, create farms and fields for her and for the cattle god Lahar. This area has places for Lahar to take care of the animals and Ashnan to grow the crops. The two agricultural deities get drunk and begin fighting, so it falls to Enlil and Enki to resolve their conflict - how they do so has not been recovered. (Kramer 1961 pp. 53-54)
Lahar Lahar is the cattle-goddess, initially living in Duku (Dulkug). Enlil and Enki, at Enki's urging, create farms and fields for him and the grain goddess Ashnan. This area has places for Lahar to take care of the animals and Ashnan to grow the crops. The two agricultural deities get drunk and begin fighting, so it falls to Enlil and Enki to resolve their conflict - how they do so has not been recovered. (Kramer 1961 pp. 53-54; Kramer 1963 pp. 220-223)
Emesh Created by Enlil this god is responsible for agriculture. He quarrels with his brother Enten, and makes a claim to be the 'farmer of the gods', bringing his claim to Enlil after Enten. When Enlil judges Enten's claim to be stronger, Emesh relents, brings him gifts, and reconciles. (Kramer 1961 pp. 49-51) Enten He is a farmer god, and is Enlil's field worker and herdsman. He quarrels with his brother Emesh and makes an appeal to Enlil that he deserves to be 'farmer of the gods'. Enlil judges Enten's claim to be the stronger and the two reconcile with Emesh bringing Enten gifts. (Kramer 1961 pp. 42, 49-51) Uttu She is the goddess of weaving and clothing (Kramer 1963 p. 174; Black and Green p. 182) and was previously thought to be the goddess of plants. She is both the child of Enki and Ninkur, and she bears eight new child/trees from Enki. When he then ate Uttu's children, Ninhursag cursed him with eight wounds and disappears. (Kramer 1961 pp. 57-59) Enbilulu The "knower" of rivers. He is the god appointed in charge of the Tigris and Euphrates by Enki. (Kramer 1961 p. 61) Ishkur God appointed to be in charge of the winds by Enki. He is in charge of "the silver lock of the 'heart' of heaven". (Kramer 1961 p. 61) He is identified with the Akkadian god, Adad. (Black and Green pp. 35-36) Enkimdu God placed in charge of canals and ditches by Enki. (Kramer 1961 p. 61) Kabta God placed in charge of the pickax and brickmold by Enki. (Kramer 1961 p. 61) Mushdamma God placed in charge of foundations and houses by Enki. (Kramer 1961 p. 61) Sumugan
The god of the plain or "king of the mountain", he is the god placed in charge of the plant and animal life on the plain of Sumer by Enki. (Kramer 1961 pp. 61-62; Kramer 1963 p. 220)
III. D. Demigods, mortal Heroes, and Monsters Dumuzi (demigod) (Tammuz) A shepherd, he is the son of Enki and Sirtur. (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 34) He is given charge of stables and sheepfolds, filled with milk and fat by Enki. (Kramer 1961 p. 62) He has a palace in Kur, and is due a visit by those entering Kur. He is Inanna's husband. In life, he was the shepherd king of Uruk.
"The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi" Utu tries to set Inanna up with him but she initially rebuffs him, preferring the farmer. He assures her that his parents are as good as hers and she begins to desire him. The two consummate their relationship and with their exercise in fertility, the plants and grains grow as well. After they spend time in the marriage bed, Inanna declares herself as his battle leader and sets his duties as including sitting on the throne and guiding the path of weapons. At Ninshubur's request, she gives him power over the fertility of plants and animals. (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 30-50)
"Descent of Inanna to the Nether World" Upon her rescue from the dead, he was pursued by galla demons, which he eluded for a time with the aid of Utu. Eventually he was caught and slain; however, he was partially freed from his stay in the underworld by the actions of his sister Geshtinanna. Now he resides there only half of the year, while she lives there the other half year; this represents seasonal change (see Inanna and Geshtinanna). (Wolkstein and Kramer pp. 71-89) (See also the Babylonian Tammuz.)
Geshtinanna (demigoddess) She is Dumuzi's sister. After his death, she visited him in the underworld with Inanna, and was allowed to take his place there for six months out of the year. Her time in the underworld and her periodic emergence from it are linked with her new divine authority over the autumn vines and wine. (see also Inanna, Dumuzi)
Ziusudra (Ziusura) In the Sumerian version of the flood story, the pious Ziusudra of Shuruppak (Kramer 1963 p. 26), the son of Ubartutu (or of Shuruppak?) (Kramer 1963 p. 224) is informed of the gods decision to destroy mankind by listening to a wall. He weathers the deluge and wind-storms aboard a huge boat. The only surviving detail of the boat is that it had a window. The flood lasts for seven days before Utu appears dispersing the flood waters. After that, Ziusudra makes appropriate sacrifices and protrations to Utu, An and Enlil. He is given eternal life in Dilmun by An and Enlil. (Kramer 1963 pp. 163-164; Kramer 1961 pp. 97-98)
Jacobsen reports a more complete version of "The Eridu Genesis" than Kramer or Black and Green which is close to the Babylonian story of Atrahasis. In this account, man had been directed to live in cities by Nintur but as they thrived, the noise irritated Enlil, who thus started the flood. In this account, Enki warns Ziusudra, instructing him to build the boat for his family and for representatives of the animals. The remainder is consistent with the accounts of Kramer and Black and Green. (Jacobsen p. 114) Gilgamesh (demigod) The son, either of a nomad or of the hero-king Lugalbanda and of the goddess Ninsun, Gilgamesh, may have been a historical King of Erech, during the time of the first Ur dynasty. His kingship is mentioned in various places, including the Sumerian King list and he was also an en, a spiritual head of a temple. He was also the lord of Kulab and by one account, the brother of Inanna. He was "the prince beloved of An", (Kramer p. 260, 188) and "who performs heroic deeds for Inanna" (Kramer 1963 p. 187)
"Gilgamesh and Agga" - (Pritchard pp.44-47; Kramer 1963 pp. 187-190) King Agga of Kish sent an ultimatum to Erech. Gilgamesh tried to convince the elders that Erech should sack Kish in response, but the elders wanted to submit. He responded by taking the matter to the men of the city, who agreed to take up arms. Agga laid seige to Erech and Gilgamesh resisted with the help of his servant, Enkidu. He sent a soldier through the gate to Agga. The soldier is captured and tortured with a brief respite while another of Gilgamesh's soldiers climbs over the wall. Gilgamesh himself then climbs the wall and Agga's forces are so taken aback by the sight of them that Agga capitulates. Gilgamesh graciously accepts Agga's surrender, prasing him for returning his city.
After this episode, he apparently took Nippur from the son of the founder of the Ur I dynasty.
"Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living" (Pritchard pp. 47-50, Kramer 1963 pp. 190-197) Gilgamesh, saddened by the dying he sees in his city, decides to go to the "Land of the Living" says so to Enkidu. At Enkidu's urging, Gilgamesh makes a sacrifice and first speaks to Utu, who is in charge of that land. After he informs Utu of his motives, the god calls off his seven guardian weather heroes. Gilgamesh recruits fifty single men to accompany them and commissions swords and axes. They travel over seven mountains, felling trees along the way eventually finding the "cedar of his heart". After some broken text Gilgamesh is in a deep sleep, presumably after an encounter with Huwawa. Enkidu or one of the others wakes him. They come upon Huwawa and Gilgamesh distracts him with flatery, then puts a nose ring on him and binds his arms. Huwawa grovels to Gilgamesh and Enkidu and Gilgamesh almost releases him. Enkidu argues against it and when Huwawa protests, he decapitates Huwawa. Gilgamesh is angered by Enkidu's rash action.
"Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld" (Kramer 1963 p.197-205) Inanna appeals to Gilgamesh, here her brother, when her huluppu tree has been occupied and he is receptive. He tears down the tree and makes it into a throne and bed for her. In return for the favor, Inanna manufactures a pukku and mikku for him.
He leaves them out, goes to sleep and can't find them where he left them when he awakens. They had fallen into the underworld. Enkidu asks him what is wrong and Gilgamesh asks him to retrieve them, giving him instructions on how to behave in the underworld. Enkidu enters the "Great Dwelling" through a gate, but he broke several of the underworld taboos of which Gilgamesh warned, including the wearing of clean clothes and sandals, 'good' oil, carrying a weapon or staff, making a noise, or behaving normally towards ones family (Kramer 1963: pp. 132-133). For these violations he was "held fast by 'the outcry of the nether world'". Gilgamesh appeals to Enlil, who refuses to help. Intervention by Enki, rescued the hero - or at least raised his shade for Gilgamesh to speak with.
"Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven" He rejects Inanna's advances, so she sends the "Bull of Heaven" to ravage Erech in retribution. (Kramer 1963 p. 262)
"Death of Gilgamesh" (Pritchard pp. 50-52, Kramer 1963 pp. 130-131) Gilgamesh is fated by Enlil to die but also to be unmatched as a warrior. When he dies, his wife and household servants make offerings (of themselves?) for Gilgamesh to the deities of the underworld.
He is given a palace in the nether world and venerated as lesser god of the dead. It is respectful to pay him a visit upon arrival. If he knew you in life or is of your kin he may explain the rules of Kur to you - which he helps to regulate.
His son and successor was either Ur-lugal or Urnungal. (see Babylonian Gilgamesh)
Enkidu Gilgamesh's servant and friend. He assists Gilgamesh in putting back Agga's seige of Erech.
He accompanies Gilgamesh and his soldiers on the trip to the "Land of the Living". Probably after an initial encounter with Huwawa, Gilgamesh falls asleep and Enkidu awakens him. They come upon Huwawa and Gilgamesh distracts him with flatery, then puts a nose ring on him and binds his arms. Huwawa grovels to Gilgamesh and Enkidu and Gilgamesh almost releases him. Enkidu argues against it and when Huwawa protests, he decapitates Huwawa. Gilgamesh is angered by Enkidu's rash action.
The main body of the Gilgamesh tale includes a trip to the nether-world. Enkidu enters the "Great Dwelling" through a gate, in order to recover Gilgamesh's pukku and mikku, objects of an uncertain nature. He broke several taboos of the underworld, including the wearing of clean clothes and sandals, 'good' oil, carrying a weapon or staff, making a noise, or behaving normally towards ones family (Kramer 1963: pp. 132-133). For these violations he was "held fast by 'the outcry of the nether world'". Intervention by Enki, rescued the hero or at least raised his shade for Gilgamesh to speak with.
Kur Kur literally means "mountain", "foreign land", or "land" and came to be identified both with the underworld and, more specifically, the area which either was contained by or contained the Abzu. (Kramer 1961 p. 76) In the prelude to "Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld, Ereshkigal was carried off into the Kur as it's prize at about the same time as An and Enlil carried off the heaven and the earth. Later in that same passage, Enki also struggled with Kur as and presumably was victorious, thereby able to claim the title "Lord of Kur" (the realm). Kramer suggests that Kur was a dragon-like creature, calling to mind Tiamat and Leviathan. The texts suggests that Enki's struggle may have been with instruments of the land of kur - its stones or its creatures hurling stones. (Kramer 1961 p. 37-38, 78-79) (See also Apsu and Tiamat.)
In "The Feats and Exploits of Ninurta", that deity sets out to destroy the Kur. Kur initially intimidates Ninurta into retreating, but when Ninurta returns with greater resolve, Kur is destroyed. This looses the waters of the Abzu, causing the fields to be flooded with unclean waters. Ninurta dams up the Abzu by piling stones over Kur's corpse. He then drains these waters into the Tigris. (Kramer 1961 pp. 80-82). The identification of Ninurta's antagonist in this passage as Kur appears to be miscast. Black and Green identify his foe as the demon Asag, who was the spawn of An and Ki, and who produced monstrous offspring with Kur. The remainder of the details of this story are the same as in Kramer's account, but with Asag replacing Kur. In other versions, Ninurta is replaced by Adad/Ishkur. (Black & Green pp. 35-36)
"Inanna and Mt. Ebih": Inanna is also described in Hymns as a destroyer of Kur. If one, as Kramer does, identifies Kur with Mt. Ebih, then we learn that it has directed fear against the gods, the Anunnaki and the land, sending forth rays of fire against the land. Inanna declares to An that she will attack Mt. Ebih unless it submits. An warns against such an attack, but Inanna procedes anyway and destroys it. (Kramer 1961 pp. 82-83).
Gugalanna (Gugal-ana) He is Ereshkigal's husband, and according to Kramer, the Bull of Heaven. (Wolkstein and Kramer p. 55) Black and Green tentatively identify him with Ennugi, god of canals and dikes, rather than the Bull of Heaven. (Black and Green p. 77) After Gilgamesh spurned Inanna, she sends the Bull of Heaven to terrorize Erech. (Kramer 1963 p. 262)
Huwawa Guardian of the cedar of the heart in the the "Land of the living", Huwawa has dragon's teeth, a lion's face, a roar like rushing flood water, huge clawed feet and a thick mane. He lived there in a cedar house. He appears to have attacked Gilgamesh, Enkidu and company when they felled that cedar. They then come upon Huwawa and Gilgamesh distracts him with flatery, then puts a nose ring on him and binds his arms. Huwawa grovels to Gilgamesh and Enkidu and Gilgamesh almost releases him. Enkidu argues against it and when Huwawa protests, he decapitates Huwawa. See also the Babylonian Humbaba
Gods in Kur with palaces who are due reverence: Namtar - "Fate", the demon responsible for death. Namtar has no hands or feet and does not eat or drink. (Pritchard p. 51) Hubishag Ningishzida - the god of dawn
Dimpemekug - due gifts, no palace Neti - the chief gatekeeper the scribe of Kur - due gifts, no palace
The Sumerians had many other deities as well, most of which appear to have been minor.
IV. What about the Underworld?
The underworld of the Sumerians is revealed, to some extent, by a composition about the death and afterlife of the king and warlord Ur-Nammu. After having died on the battlefield, Ur- Nammu arrives below, where he offers sundry gifts and sacrifices to the "seven gods" of the nether world:
...Nergal, [the deified] Gilgamesh, Ereshkigal [the queen of the underworld, who is either given to Kur in the underworld or given dominion over the underworld in the prelude to Gilgamesh (Kramer & Maier 1989: p. 83) (Wolkstein & Kramer 1983: p. 4)] , Dumuzi [the shepherd, Inanna's husband], Namtar, Hubishag, and Ningishzida - each in his own palace; he also presented gifts to Dimpimekug and to the "scribe of the nether- world."... [After arriving at his assigned spot] ...certain of the dead were turned over to him, perhaps to be his attendants, and Gilgamesh, his beloved brother, explained to him the rules and regulations of the nether world. (Kramer 1963: p. 131)
Another tablet indicates that the sun, moon, and their respective gods, spent time in the underworld as well. The sun journeyed there after setting, and the moon rested there at the end of the month. Both Utu and Nanna '''decreed the fate' of the dead" while there. (Kramer 1963: p. 132) Dead heroes ate bread, drank, and quenched the dead's thirst with water. The gods of the nether world, the deceased, and his city, were prayed to for the benefit of the dead and his family.
The Sumerian version of Gilgamesh includes a trip to the nether world as well. In the prologue, Enki sails for the Kur, presumably to rescue Ereshkigal after she was given over to Kur. He is assailed by creatures with stones. The main body of the tale includes a trip to the nether world as well. Enkidu enters the "Great Dwelling" through a gate, in order to recover Gilgamesh's pukku and mikku, objects of an uncertain nature. He broke several taboos of the underworld, including the wearing of clean clothes and sandals, 'good' oil, carrying a weapon or staff, making a noise, or behaving normally towards ones family (Kramer 1963: pp. 132-133). For these violations he was "held fast by 'the outcry of the nether world'". Intervention by Enki, rescued the hero.
When Enlil visits the nether world, he must pass by a gatekeeper, followed by a "man of the river" and a "man of the boat" - all of whom act as guardians.(Kramer 1961 pp. 45-47)
Inanna also visits Kur, which results in a myth reminiscent of the Greek seasonal story of Persephone. She sets out to witness the funeral rites of her sister-in-law Ereshkigal's husband Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. She takes precaution before setting out, by telling her servant Ninshubur to seek assistance from Enlil, Nanna, or Enki at their shrines, should she not return. Inanna knocks on the outer gates of Kur and the gatekeeper, Neti, questions her. He consults with queen Ereshkigal and then allows Inanna to pass through the seven gates of the underworld. After each gate, she is required to remove adornments and articles of clothing, until after the seventh gate, she is naked. The Annuna pass judgment against her and Ereshkigal slays her and hangs her on the wall (Wolkstein & Kramer 1983 p. 60)
Inanna is rescued by the intervention of Enki. He creates two sexless creatures that empathize with Ereshkigal's suffering, and thereby gain a gift - Inanna's corpse. They restore her to life with the Bread of Life and the Water of Life, but the Sumerian underworld has a conservation of death law. No one can leave without providing someone to stay in their stead. Inanna is escorted by galla/demons past Ninshubur and members of her family. She doesn't allow them to claim anyone until she sees Dumuzi on his throne in Uruk. They then seize Dumuzi, but he escapes them twice by transforming himself, with the aid of Utu. Eventually he is caught and slain. Inanna spies his sister, Geshtinanna, in mourning and they go to Dumuzi. She allows Dumuzi, the shepherd, to stay in the underworld only six months of the year, while Geshtinanna will stay the other six. (Wolkstein & Kramer pp. 60-89) As with the Greek story of the kidnapping of Persephone, this linked the changing seasons, the emergence of the plants from the ground, with the return of a harvest deity from the nether world. Although he had always been a shepherd (and possibly a mortal king) he was blessed with the powers of fertility following the consummation of his marriage to Inanna in "The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi".
As the farmer, let him make the fields fertile, As the shepherd, let him make the sheepfolds multiply, Under his reign let there be vegetation, Under his reign let there be rich grain (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 45)
Geshtinanna is also associated with growth, but where her brother rules over the spring harvested grain, she rules over the autumn harvested vines (Wolkstein & Kramer p. 168)
V. What are me anyway?
Another important concept in Sumerian theology, was that of me. The me were universal decrees of divine authority. They are the invocations that spread arts, crafts, and civilization. The me were assembled by Enlil in Ekur and given to Enki to guard and impart to the world, beginning with Eridu, his center of worship. From there, he guards the me and imparts them on the people. He directs the me towards Ur and Meluhha and Dilmun, organizing the world with his decrees. Later, Inanna comes to Enki and complains at having been given too little power from his decrees. In a different text, she gets Enki drunk and he grants her more powers, arts, crafts, and attributes - a total of ninety-four me. Inanna parts company with Enki to deliver the me to her cult center at Erech. Enki recovers his wits and tries to recover the me from her, but she arrives safely in Erech with them. (Kramer & Maier 1989: pp. 38-68)
VI. I've heard that there are a lot of Biblical parallels in Sumerian literature. What are they?
Traces of Sumerian religion survive today and are reflected in writings of the Bible. As late as Ezekiel, there is mention of a Sumerian deity. In Ezekiel 8:14, the prophet sees women of Israel weeping for Tammuz (Dumuzi) during a drought.
The bulk of Sumerian parallels can, however be found much earlier, in the book of Genesis. As in Genesis, the Sumerians' world is formed out of the watery abyss and the heavens and earth are divinely separated from one another by a solid dome. The second chapter of Genesis introduces the paradise Eden, a place which is similar to the Sumerian Dilmun, described in the myth of "Enki and Ninhursag". Dilmun is a pure, bright, and holy land - now often identified with Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. It is blessed by Enki to have overflowing, sweet water. Enki fills it with lagoons and palm trees. He impregnates Ninhursag and causes eight new plants to grow from the earth. Eden, "in the East" (Gen. 2:8) has a river which also "rises" or overflows, to form four rivers including the Tigris and Euphrates. It too is lush and has fruit bearing trees. (Gen. 2:9-10) In the second version of the creation of man "The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being." Enki and Ninmah (Ninhursag) use a similar method in creating man. Nammu, queen of the abyss and Enki's mother, bids Enki to "Kneed the 'heart' of the clay that is over the Abzu " and "give it form" (Kramer & Maier p. 33) From there the similarities cease as the two create several malformed humans and then the two deities get into an argument.
Returning to Enki and Ninhursag, we find a possible parallel to the creation of Eve. Enki consumed the plants that were Ninhursag's children and so was cursed by Ninhursag, receiving one wound for each plant consumed. Enlil and a fox act on Enki's behalf to call back Ninhursag in order to undo the damage. She joins with him again and bears eight new children, each of whom are the cure to one of his wounds. The one who cures his rib is named Ninti, whose name means the Queen of months, (Kramer & Maier 1989: pp. 28-30) the lady of the rib, or she who makes live. This association carries over to Eve. (Kramer, History Begins at Sumer 1981: pp. 143-144) In Genesis, Eve is fashioned from Adam's rib and her name hawwa is related to the Hebrew word hay or living. (New American Bible p. 7.) The prologue of "Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Underworld" may contain the predecessor to the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This tree not only contains a crafty serpent, but also Lilith, the legendary first wife of Adam. The huluppu tree is transplanted by Inanna from the banks of the Euphrates to her garden in Uruk, where she finds that:
...a serpent who could not be charmed made its nest in the roots of the tree, The Anzu bird set his young in the branches of the tree, And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the trunk. (Wolkstein and Kramer 1983: p. 8)
It should be noted that Kramer's interpretation that this creature is Lilith has come into quiestion of late.
Another possible Sumerian carry-over related to the Fall of man is the lack of "pangs of childbearing" for those in Dilmun. In particular, Ninhursag gives birth in nine days, not nine months, and the pass "like good princely cream" (Kramer 1981: p. 142,145) or "fine oil" (Kramer & Maier 1989: p. 25)
The quarrels between herder god and farmer deity pairs such as Lahar and Ashnan or Enten and Emesh are similar in some respects to the quarrels of Cain and Abel. In the Sumerian versions death appears to be avoided, although we do not have the complete Lahar and Ashnan story. (Kramer 1961 pp. 49-51, 53-54)
The ten patriarchs in Genesis born prior to the flood lived very long lives, most in excess of 900 years. The seventh patriarch, Enoch, lived only 365 years before he "walked with God". (Genesis 5). The account which numbers those Patriarchs as ten is attributed to the Priestly source. The Yahwist source (J), details only seven Patriarchs prior to Noah, so that with him included, there are eight antediluvian patriarchs. (Genesis 4: 17-18) The eight antediluvian kings of in the Sumerian King List also lived for hundreds of years. (Kramer 1963 p. 328) S. H. Hooke notes another version of the Sumerian King list, found in Larsa details ten antediluvian kings. (Hooke, p. 130) The clearest Biblical parallel comes from the story of the Flood. In the Sumerian version, the pious Ziusudra is informed of the gods decision to destroy mankind by listening to a wall. He too weathers the deluge aboard a huge boat. Noah's flood lasts a long time, but Ziusudra comes to rest within seven days and not the near year of the Bible. He does not receive a covenant, but is given eternal life. (Kramer 1963 pp. 163-164; Kramer 1961 pp. 97-98)
As far as the New Testament goes, many also draw a parallel between Dumuzi and Jesus because Dumuzi is a shepherd-king and he is resurrected from the dead. This is perhaps appealing to some as Dumuzi's Akkadian analog, Tammuz, appears in the Bible, however Dumuzi's periodic return from the underworld is not unique even in Sumerian literature. His sister Geshtinanna also rises from the dead, and if one counts those born as deities, Inanna does as well. Periodic death and rebirth is a common theme in agricultural myths where the return of the deities from the earth mirrors a return to life of plants.
VII. Sources
Black, Jeremy and Green, Anthony, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, University of Texas Press, Austin, 1992. This up-to-date and thorough resource on Mesopotamian mythology has great photos and illustrations by Tessa Rickards and very useful entries which often indicate the times and places when variant tales were current. My only complaint is that it is not always clear whether information in an entry is applicable to the Sumerian, Akkadian, or both versions of a particular deity or hero. Crawford, Harriet, Sumer and the Sumerians, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1991. (This is a briefer but more up to date archaeological look at the Sumerians than you'll find with Kramer. There isn't much mythic content in this one, but there are many wonderful figures detailing city plans, and the structure of temples and other buildings.) Jacobsen, Thorkild, The Treasures of Darkness, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1976. A good alternative to Kramer, Jacobsen explores Mesopotamian religious development from early Sumerian times through the Babylonian Enuma Elish. Most of the book winds up being on the Sumerians. Kramer, Samuel Noah, and Maier, John, Myths of Enki, the Crafty God, Oxford University Press, New York,1989. The most recent work that I've been able to find by Kramer. They translate and analyze all of the availible myths which include Enki. I've only seen it availible in hardcover and I haven't seen it in a bookstore yet. Kramer, Samuel Noah, Sumerian Mythology, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1961. This slim volume contains much of the mythological material that wound up in The Sumerians but concentrated in one spot and without much cultural or historical detail. Many of the myths are more developed here, some of which are only glossed over in The Sumerians, however in some cases The Sumerians holds the more complete or updated myth. Kramer, Samuel Noah The Sumerians The University of Chicago Press, Chicago,1963. (This is a more thorough work than Kramer's Section at the end of Inanna, but the intervening 20 or so years of additional research and translation allow Inanna's section to be perhaps more complete, regarding mythology.) Wolkstein, Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah, Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth, Harper & Row, NY, 1983. (Ms. Wolkstein's verse translations of the Inanna/Dummuzi cycle of myths are excellent, but differ somewhat Kramer's originals. Kramer gives a 30 or so page description of Sumerian cosmology and society at the end). The New American Bible, Catholic Book Publishing Co., New York, 1970.
VIII. Other books of interest
Algaze, Guillermo, "The Uruk Expansion", Current Anthropology, Dec. 1989. This article helped with the introduction material. Hooke, S. H. Middle Eastern Mythology, Penguin Books, New York, 1963. This work covers Sumerian, Babylonian, Canaanite/Ugaritic, Hittite, and Hebrew mythologic material in brief and with comparisons. Fagan, B. M., People of the Earth, Glenview Il, Scott Forsman, 1989. This archaeology text book helped provide some of the introductory material. Kramer, Samuel Noah, History Begins at Sumer, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1981. (This text runs through a bunch of "firsts" that Kramer attributes to the Sumerians. I only looked at it briefly, but it seemed to contain about the same information as was in The Sumerians only in a "Wow neat!" format instead of something more coherent.) Pritchard J. B., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, Princeton, 1955. There is also a 1969 edition of this work and a companion volume of pictures. It seems to be the authoritative source for all complete texts of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Hittites, and perhaps other groups as well. It's pricy but many libraries have a copy. Stephenson, Neal, Snowcrash, Bantam Books, New York, 1992. Cyberpunk meets "Inanna, Enki, and the Me".
Wooley, C. Leonard, Excavations at Ur, 1954. This is one of the earlier works on the subject, and as such is not as complete as the others although it is of historical interest.
