The Syncretistic Hymn to Nanaya

A Bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian Hymn from the Library of Ashurbanipal

The Syncretistic Hymn to Nanaya is a bilingual Sumerian-Akkadian hymn from the library of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (668--631 BCE), preserved on a large clay tablet (K.3933) excavated at Nineveh. The goddess Nanaya -- patron of love, desire, and sexuality -- declares herself identical to every major goddess across the cities of Mesopotamia: Damkina in Eridu, Ninlil in Nippur, Gula in Isin, Zarpanitu in Babylon, Annunitu in Agade, Belet-ili in Diniktum, and many more.

The hymn's opening is extraordinary: Nanaya proclaims herself a sacred courtesan in Borsippa, a harlot in Uruk, and bearded in Babylon -- embodying all forms of desire, transcending both gender and social station. Through twenty-four stanzas, she claims the throne of every city's patron goddess, constructing a theological geography in which the feminine divine is universal and indivisible.

The text functions as a Mesopotamian aretalogy -- comparable to the Egyptian Isis hymns or the Hindu Devi Mahatmya. The structure is liturgical: each stanza opens with a Sumerian invocation naming a city, followed by Akkadian verse identifying Nanaya with that city's goddess, and closes with the refrain "I am Nanaya!" Four parallel manuscripts from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus (BM.38705, BM.35035, W.22294, K.21741) confirm and supplement the primary text.

I. The Opening Declaration

My lady, born of Sin and Inanna, born of the sacred word -- they worship:

Daughter of Sin the exalted, sister of Shamash the gleaming --
in Borsippa I am a courtesan,
in Uruk I am a harlot,
in Dadunu I am the honoured one of the bed,
in Babylon I am bearded --
I am Nanaya!

II. Ur

In Ur, Ur, house of the great gods -- they worship:

Daughter of Ur, queen of Ur,
daughter of Sin, noble young girl who brings order to households --
sacred woman who bears the rites,
she takes the young man in the goodness of his allure
and raises up the young maiden in her chamber --
I am Nanaya!

III. Eridu and Kullaba

In the twin cities of Eridu and Kullaba -- they worship:

Daughter of Eridu, queen of Eridu,
daughter of Kullaba, queen of Kullaba --
in the Eunir she is Irnina, she is Damkina,
wife of Ea --
they call me Nanaya!

IV. Dilmun

In the paradise of Dilmun -- they worship:

In the Ekarra she is Shuluhhitu,
wife of Enzag and Meskillak,
goddess of Dilmun --
they call me Nanaya!

V. Isin

In Isin, in the Egalmah -- they worship:

She is Gula, she is Baba --
they call me Nanaya!

VI. Nippur

In Nippur, in the Ekur -- they worship:

She sits on Enlil's throne as Ninlil,
Great Lady of the Land of Nippur,
queen of Nippur, she who commands the Igigi --
they call me Nanaya!

VII. Hursagkalamma

In Hursagkalamma -- they worship:

She is Ishhara, lady of the inhabited world,
lady of the Ekurnizu, queen of all people,
Baba, wife of Zababa --
they call me Nanaya!

VIII. Kuara

In Kuara, in the house of Enlil -- they worship:

She rides the hurricane, the great wind --
they call me Nanaya!

IX. Babylon

In Babylon, in the Esagil -- they worship:

She is Zarpanitu, wife of Marduk --
goddess of Babylon, queen of Babylon,
lady of Babylon, bride of Babylon --
they call me Nanaya!

X. Borsippa

In Borsippa, in the Ezida -- they worship:

She is Nanaya the Great,
wife of Nabu and Marduk --
they call me Nanaya!

XI. Sippar

In Sippar, in the Ebabbar -- they worship:

She is Nanaya, sister of Shamash, the Gleaming One --
they call me Nanaya!

XII. Agade

In Agade, in the Eulmash, in the Esugallia, the house of my rest --

She is Annunitu of the battles --
they call me Nanaya!

XIII. The City of Shala

In the Ekarkara, in the Great Temple -- they worship:

She is Shala --
they call me Nanaya!

XIV. Deri

Of the lordship of the universe, of Anshar and Kishar -- they worship:

In Deri, in the Edimgalamamma --
lady of the Eanna, queen of [...],
the stationed one, goddess of the pinnacles --
they call me Nanaya!

XV. Diniktum

In Diniktum, in the Egula -- they worship:

She is Belet-ili, Lady of the Gods,
creatress of god and king,
wife of Haia --
they call me Nanaya!

XVI. Kutha

In Kutha, in the Emeslam -- they worship:

She is Mammitu, wife of Meslamtaea --
they call me Nanaya!

XVII. Meturan

In Meturan, in the Eshahula -- they worship:

She is Aruru, great Gula, the splendour,
wife of Nergal --
they call me Nanaya!

XVIII. Uruk

In Uruk, the sweet-hearted -- they worship:

[...] Nergal [...]
[...] he took the processional boat [...]
[...] the house of Nergal --
they call me Nanaya!

XIX.

[...] they worship:

[...] goddess of god and king --
they call me Nanaya!

XX.

[...] they worship:

She is [...]-turshitu --
they call me Nanaya!

XXI. The Mountain Temple

In [...], in the Emahtila -- they worship:

She is Shimaliya --
they call me Nanaya!

XXII. The House of the Great Lion

In the Erabriri -- they worship:

Wife of Pirig-gal, the Great Lion --
they call me Nanaya!

XXIII. The Throne of Assyria

In the Emetebalash -- they worship:

She is Sherua, wife of Ashur the Exalted --
they call me Nanaya!

XXIV. Raqanan

In Raqanan, in the Egaltabiri -- they worship:

She is Ishtar,
who reveals sins,
who establishes light, the rites of the gods --
they call me Nanaya!

Closing

[...] wife of [...] -- I am Nanaya.

Nanaya, Lady of Song, to the Eanna [...]

Colophon of Ashurbanipal

Tablet of Ashurbanipal, king of the universe, king of Assyria,
son of Esarhaddon, king of the universe, king of Assyria,
grandson of Sennacherib, king of the universe, king of Assyria,
descendant of Sargon, king of the world, king of Assyria --
who trusts in Ashur and Ninlil, the confident one, the unfearing,
king of the gods, Marduk and [...].

Whoever takes this away, or erases the written name --
may Ashur destroy his name and his seed from the land!

Colophon

This is the first freely available English translation of the Bilingual Syncretistic Hymn to Nanaya, translated from the Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform transliteration of the primary manuscript K.3933 (British Museum), with supplementary readings from parallel manuscripts BM.38705, BM.35035, W.22294, and K.21741.

The Akkadian is the primary source for this translation; the interlinear Sumerian serves as a cross-check. The refrain "I am Nanaya!" translates anaku-ma dNanaya (first person) and iqabbuni anaku-ma dNanaya ("they call me -- I am Nanaya!"). Where the text reads KIMIN ("ditto"), the full refrain is understood.

Nanaya was a Mesopotamian goddess of love, sexual desire, and warfare, originally distinct from Ishtar/Inanna but increasingly syncretised with her from the second millennium BCE onward. She had her own cult centre at Eanna in Uruk. This hymn represents the theological culmination of that syncretism: not merely equated with Ishtar, Nanaya here absorbs every goddess in the pantheon -- healing goddesses (Gula, Baba), mother goddesses (Belet-ili, Aruru, Damkina), fate goddesses (Mammitu), grain goddesses (Shala), mountain goddesses (Shimaliya), storm riders, battle goddesses, and the consorts of every major god from Ea to Ashur.

The opening stanza's declaration of sacred prostitution and gender-transcendence (the bearded goddess) reflects the cultic reality of Nanaya's temples, where gender-fluid ritual performers (kurgarra and assinnu) served. The stanza on Ur explicitly describes the goddess taking both male and female lovers -- a statement of divine bisexuality rare in any ancient literature.

Reference translations by A. Livingstone (Court Poetry and Literary Miscellanea, 1989) were consulted to verify sign readings in damaged passages but not used as a source for the English. All English in this translation is independently derived from reading the Akkadian and Sumerian transliteration.

Translated from Akkadian and Sumerian by the New Tianmu Anglican Church (Good Works Translation), 2026. Transliteration source: Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, LMU Munich (CC BY 4.0).

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Source Text: K.3933 -- Bilingual Syncretistic Hymn to Nanaya

Akkadian and Sumerian cuneiform transliteration from the Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, LMU Munich. Primary manuscript: K.3933 (British Museum, Kuyunjik Collection, Nineveh). Presented for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

@obverse

%sux [gashan-gu10] {d}+suen {d}+inanna-na i-nim-gi u3-tu-ud-da shu-a ab-dil-e-ne
[m]a-rat {d}30 te-le-tu2 a-hat {d}sha2-mash mash-shi-tu2 ina bar2-sipa{ki} ha-am-ma-ku
[in]a UNUG{ki} ha-ri-ma-ku ina {uru}da-d[u-ni t]u-la-a kub-bu-ta-ku
[in]a KA2.DINGIR.RA{ki} zi-iq-na zaq-n[a-ku] a-na-ku-ma {d}na-na-a
$ single ruling
%sux [u]ri2{ki} uri2{ki} e2 digir [gal-gal]-e-ne shu-a ab-dil-e-ne
[m]a-rat u2-ri shar-rat u2-ri ma-rat {d}30 mu[t-tal2]-li sa-her-tu2 mu-ter-ri-bat E2-MESH
[q]a-dish-tu4 na-shat par-tsi i-leq-qi2 GURUSH ina tu-ub la-li-shu2
u3 KI.SIKIL tse-her-tu4 ina mash-ta-ki-sha2 u2-shel-li ana-ku-ma KI[MI]N
$ single ruling
%sux [sh]u-an-na sir2-sir2 eridu{ki}-ga-ke4 shu-an-na kul-aba4{ki}-ke4 shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
[ma-r]at eri-du10{ki} shar-rat eri-du10 ma-rat {uru}kul-la-ba shar-rat {uru}kul-la-[ba]
[ina e2]-u6-nir {d}ir-ni-na {d}dam-ki-an-na DAM {d}e2-a i-qab-bu-u-ni [ana-ku-ma KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [u2-r]a-al-la u2-ra-al-la-k[a] shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
[ina] e2-kar-ra {d}shu-luh-hi-tu4 DAM {d}e[n-z]ag u3 {d}mes-ki-[lak]
[x x] x sha2 til-m[un]{ki} i-qab-bu-u-ni ana-[ku-m]a {d}na-n[a-a]
$ single ruling
%sux [x-z]i-x [x x x-i]n-na e2-gal-ma[h x x x] x x [shu-a ab-dil-e-ne]
[ina i3-s]i-ni{k[i} ina e2-ga]l-mah {d}gu-la {d}[ba-ba6 i-qab-bu-ni ana-ku-ma {d}na-na-a]
$ single ruling
%sux [x x] x x [x x x] e2-kur-re en-ni [... shu-a ab-dil-e-ne]
[ina NIBRU{ki} ina e2-kur] {d}+en-lil2 DUR2 {d}nin-lil2 {d}nin-kalam-gal-NI[BRU{ki}]
[x x x (x x)] shar-rat NIBRU{ki} le-a-at {d}i2-gi3-gi3 [i-qab-bu-ni ana-ku {d}na-na-a]
$ single ruling
%sux [x x (x) e2-d]u-ba hur-sag-kalam-ma{ki}-ke4 shu a-ab-dil-[e-ne]
[x x x x x (x) hur]-sag-kalam-ma {d}ish-ha-ra GASHAN da-a[d2-me]
[be-let e2-kur-ni2-zu shar-r]at kul-lat UN-MESH {d}ba-ba6 DAM {d}za-ba4-b[a4 i-qab-bu-ni ana-ku-ma KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [...] x-e-ne shu-a ab-dil-[e-ne]
[ina E2 {d}+en-lil2 ina {uru}k]u-a-ra ra-ki-bat2 me-he-e IM GAL [i-qab-bu-ni ana-ku-ma KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [x x x x x x x x x x (x x)] x gashan {d}+inanna shu-a ab-dil-[e-ne]
[ina ba-ab-DINGIR-MESH ina e2-sag]-il2 {d}zar-pa-ni-tu4 DAM {d}A[MAR.UTU]
[i-lat ba-bi-li shar-rat ba-b]i-li GASHAN ba-bi-li kal-lat ba-bi-li [i-qab-bu-ni ana-ku-ma KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [x (x)-a lal3-gar bar2-sip]a{ki}-ke4 shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
[ina bar2-sipa{ki} ina e2-zi-da] {d}na-na-[a GAL-tu4]
hi-rat {d}AG [{d}AMAR.UTU KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [zimbir{ki} {d}utu e2-kar-ra al-gal2-e]-ne shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
[ina {uru}sip-par ina e2-babbar-ra {d}na-na-a a-ha]t {d}UTU ma-shi-tu4 KIMIN
$ single ruling
%sux [a-ga-de3{ki} shu-il2-la kishib-am si-s]a2 shu-a ab-dili-e-ne
[ina ak-ka-de ina e2-ul-mash ina e2-su-gal-ia E2 ta-n]i-ih-ti-ia
[{d}a-nu-ni-tu4 sha2 ta-ha-z]a-a-te KIMIN
$ single ruling
%sux [IM{ki} en-gi4-gi4 shu-a] ab-dil-e-n[e]
[i-na E2 kar-ka-ra ina e2-u4-gal]-gal {d}sha-la [KIMIN]
$ single ruling
%sux [nam-en-(na) shar2-ra an-shar2 {d}k]i-shar2-ra shu-a [ab-dil-e-ne]
[i-na ({uru})de-ri ina (e2)-dim-gal-kalam-m]a GASHAN e2-an-na shar-r[at x x (x)]
[man-za-at i-lat zu-q]u-te-e [KIMIN]
$ end of side

@reverse
41. %sux [u3 ma-si-sa2 ma]h-mah [shu-a ab-dil-e-ne]
42. [i-na di-ni-ik-ti] ina e2-gu-la be-let-DINGIR-[MESH (x x x)]
43. [ba-nit DINGIR u LUGAL DAM {d}ha-i]a3 i-qab-bu-u-ni ana-ku-ma {d}[na-na-a]
$ single ruling
44. %sux [...-zi nig2-zi-ga]l2-la-bi silim-ma shu a-ab-[dil-e-ne]
45. [i-na {uru}ku-te-e ina e2-mes-lam] {d}ma-am-mi-tu4 al-ti {d}mes-lam-t[a-e3-a KIMIN]
$ single ruling
46. %sux [sha3-ba sha3-zi-da me-tur2-na {d}sumun]-dar [mes shu-a ab-dil]-e-ne
47. [ina {uru}me-tur2-na ina e2-sha3-hul2-la {d}a-ru-ru {mul}gu-la me-lam-me al-ti] {d}U.GUR KIMIN
$ single ruling
48. %sux [unug{ki} sha3-du10-ga za-e-me-en shu]-a ab-dil-e-ne
49. [i-na u2-ruk{ki} ina e2-an-na ... x-a-ga x-lah a-hi {d}x (x)] x-ar-di {d}U+GUR
50. [...] x x-shu2-nu {d}U+GUR
51. [shu-x x x x x ...-u]b-ma {gish}MA2.GUR8 e-kim
52. [...] x-tsi-ma E2 {d}U+GUR KIMIN
$ single ruling
53. %sux [...] x-an-na shu-a ab-dil-e-ne
54. [... i-la]t DINGIR u LUGAL KIMIN
$ single ruling
55. %sux [...]-li shu-a ab-dil-e-ne
56. [...] x-tur-shi-tu4 KIMIN
$ single ruling
57. %sux [... e2-ma]h-ti-la shu-a ab-dil-e-n[e]
58. [ina ... ina e2-mah-ti-la] {d}shi-ma-li-ia K[IMIN]
$ single ruling
59. %sux [...]-x-la shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
60. [ina e2-rab-ri-ri al-ti] {d}pirig3-gal [KIMIN]
$ single ruling
61. %sux [x x-za x]-a-za shu-a ab-dil-e-n[e]
62. [ina e2]-me-te-ba-la-ash-e2-gi-a-gal2-la-na {d}she-ru-u8-a al-ti AN.SHAR2 mut-tal-li [KIMIN]
$ single ruling
63. %sux [x x]-am {d}+inanna shi-la-da-gal shu-a ab-dil-e-[ne]
64. [i-na] ra-qa-na-an ina e2-gal-ta-bi-ri {d}ish-tar mu-ub-bi-bat hi-t[a-a-ti]
65. [sha2-k]i-na-at nu-u-ri GARZA DINGIR-MESH x-'-[x KIMIN]
$ single ruling
66. [x (x)-g]i-na e-da-da AN.UR2 li-par-du hi-rat {d}SHU2 ana-ku {d}[na-na-a]
67. [{d}n]a-na-a be-let za-ma-ri a-na e2-an-na-ki tir-r[i-x x x (x)]
$ double ruling
@colophon
68. [t]up-pi {m}ash-shur-ba-an-EDURU MAN SHU2 MAN {kur}ash-sh[ur{ki}]
69. A {m}ash-shur-PAB-ASH MAN SHU2 MAN {kur}ash-shur{ki} E3 SHA3 {m}30-PAB-MESH-SU M[AN (SHU2 MAN) {kur}ash-shur{ki}]
70. SHA3.BAL.BAL {m}MAN-GI.[N]A MAN SHAR2 LUGAL {kur}[ash-shur-ma]
71. sha2 a-na AN.SHAR2 u {d}nin-lil2 tak-lu4 NIR.GAL2-ZU NU [TESH2 {d}AN.SHAR2]
72. LUGAL DINGIR-MESH {d}[A]MAR.UTU u {d}x [x x (x)]
73. man-nu sha3 TUM3 u lu-[u] sha2 shu-me SAR-ru3 sha2-kin x [x x x x]
74. [u-l]u MU-NE KI MU-[M]U SAR AN.SHAR2 MU-shu2 u NUMUN-shu2 ina [KUR li-hal-liq]

Source Colophon

Primary manuscript: K.3933 (British Museum, Kuyunjik Collection, Nineveh). Excavated from the library of Ashurbanipal, king of Assyria (668--631 BCE).

Parallel manuscripts consulted: BM.38705, BM.35035 (British Museum, Sippar Collection), W.22294 (Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin, Uruk), K.21741 (British Museum, Kuyunjik Collection).

Transliteration source: Electronic Babylonian Literature (eBL) corpus, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat Munchen. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10018951. License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

The transliteration above has been simplified from the standard ATF notation for readability: subscript numbers are rendered as inline digits, diacritical marks are preserved where possible, and determinatives are shown in curly braces. The original ATF with full scholarly apparatus is available through the eBL platform.

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