A Myth of the Me — Translated from Sumerian
Inanna and the Divine Powers (Sumerian: d-inana u₃ me-bi — Inanna and the me) is one of the great comedies and one of the great thefts of Sumerian mythology. The me — divine powers — are the sacred forces that make civilization possible: kingship and the priesthood, craftsmanship and wisdom, but also deceit and prostitution and the plundering of cities. They were held by Enki, lord of the Abzu, the cosmic underground waters, who dwelt at Eridu — the oldest city in the world, the primordial temple at the edge of the sea.
Inanna — queen of heaven, goddess of love and war and the morning star — decides one day to visit her father Enki. Enki knows she is coming before she has traveled six miles. He instructs his two-faced minister Isimud to receive her with every hospitality: butter cake, cool water, and above all, beer. They drink together. And in his drunkenness, Enki gives away the divine powers — all of them, the sacred catalogue of everything that makes a human civilization — to Inanna his daughter.
When the beer clears, Enki notices what he has done. He sends Isimud after her with demands for return. Six times Isimud intercepts the Boat of Heaven carrying the divine powers. Six times Inanna and her minister Ninshubur defeat him and keep sailing. Inanna arrives at Uruk — her city — and installs the divine powers there, where they have lived ever since.
The text is a window into how Sumerians understood civilization itself: not as a natural growth but as a gift, a theft, a feat of divine cunning. The me do not belong to the strongest god — they belong to the cleverest goddess. Eridu is older than Uruk. Enki is wiser than Inanna. But she is faster, and her minister is loyal, and in the end the divine powers are hers.
This is a Good Works Translation from the Sumerian composite text established by the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL, Oxford), text c.1.3.1. The translator worked directly from the Sumerian transliteration. The ETCSL English rendering was consulted as a reference in ambiguous and damaged passages; this English is independently derived from the Sumerian in the gospel register of the Good Work Library.
I. The Queen in the Desert
She put the desert crown upon her head.
She went out to the shepherd, to the sheepfold —
the holy Inanna.
She praised herself, full of delight at herself.
She praised herself, full of joy at her body.
She looked at the wide lands.
She looked at the great sky.
She said:
When I have made the bright courts shine —
when I have made the sacred places beautiful —
I will direct my steps to the Abzu,
to Eridu.
I will speak coaxingly to Enki in the Abzu.
I myself will speak coaxingly to the lord.
II. The Journey to the Abzu
On that day, the maiden Inanna —
holy Inanna —
directed her steps all by herself
toward Enki's Abzu in Eridu,
toward the ancient house.
But he of surpassing wisdom —
he of exceptional knowledge,
who knows the divine powers of heaven and earth,
who from his own dwelling already reads the intentions of the gods —
Enki, king of the Abzu,
already knew her enterprise
before she had traveled within six miles of Eridu.
He knew.
He spoke to his minister Isimud —
he addressed the Sweet Name of Heaven:
Come here, my minister.
Listen to my words.
The maiden is traveling to the Abzu.
When she arrives — let her in.
Give her butter cake to eat.
Pour cool water for her thirst.
Give her beer to drink before the Lions Gate.
Make her feel as though she is in her girlfriend's house.
Make her feel welcome.
Welcome holy Inanna
at the holy table,
at the table of An.
III. The Welcome at the Abzu
Isimud followed his master's instructions closely.
He let the maiden into the Abzu.
He let Inanna into Eridu.
When she entered the sacred hall —
she received butter cake to eat.
They poured cool water for her.
They gave her beer to drink before the Lions Gate.
He made her feel as though she was in her girlfriend's house.
He welcomed holy Inanna
at the holy table,
at the table of An.
And so it came about:
Enki and Inanna sat drinking beer together in the Abzu,
enjoying the taste of sweet wine.
The bronze cups were filled to the brim.
The two of them started a competition —
drinking from the bronze vessels.
IV. The Giving
Enki raised the cup.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
heroism, power, wickedness, righteousness,
the plundering of cities,
making lamentations,
rejoicing.
Holy Inanna received them.
Enki raised the cup again.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
deceit, the rebel lands, kindness,
being on the move,
being sedentary.
Holy Inanna received them.
Enki raised the cup again.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
the craft of the carpenter,
the craft of the coppersmith,
the craft of the scribe,
the craft of the smith,
the craft of the leather-worker,
the craft of the fuller,
the craft of the builder,
the craft of the reed-worker.
Holy Inanna received them.
Enki raised the cup again.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
wisdom, attentiveness, holy purification rites,
the shepherd's hut,
the piling up of glowing charcoals,
the sheepfold,
respect,
awe,
reverent silence.
Holy Inanna received them.
Enki raised the cup again.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
the kindling of fire,
the extinguishing of fire,
hard work,
the assembled family,
descendants.
Holy Inanna received them.
Enki raised the cup again.
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I give them to holy Inanna my daughter:
strife, triumph, counselling,
comforting,
judging,
decision-making.
Holy Inanna received them.
V. What She Has Been Given
Inanna counted what she held.
He has given me heroism.
He has given me power.
He has given me wickedness.
He has given me righteousness.
He has given me the plundering of cities.
He has given me making lamentations.
He has given me rejoicing.
He has given me deceit.
He has given me the rebel lands.
He has given me kindness.
He has given me being on the move.
He has given me being sedentary.
He has given me the craft of the carpenter.
He has given me the craft of the coppersmith.
He has given me the craft of the scribe.
He has given me the craft of the smith.
He has given me the craft of the leather-worker.
He has given me the craft of the fuller.
He has given me the craft of the builder.
He has given me the craft of the reed-worker.
He has given me wisdom.
He has given me attentiveness.
He has given me holy purification rites.
He has given me the shepherd's hut.
He has given me the piling up of glowing charcoals.
He has given me the sheepfold.
He has given me respect.
He has given me awe.
He has given me reverent silence.
He has given me the kindling of fire.
He has given me the extinguishing of fire.
He has given me hard work.
He has given me the assembled family.
He has given me descendants.
He has given me strife.
He has given me triumph.
He has given me counselling.
Inanna gathered up the divine powers.
She loaded them onto the Boat of Heaven.
She set sail.
The Boat of Heaven left the quay.
VI. The Reckoning
As the effects of the beer cleared —
as the heaviness of the cup lifted —
as the wine passed from him who had drunk —
father Enki opened his eyes.
He turned his attention to the Abzu.
He looked at the hall.
He turned his gaze toward Eridu.
Something was gone.
He spoke to his minister Isimud:
Isimud — my Sweet Name of Heaven!
Where are the office of the en-priest,
the office of the lagal-priest,
divinity,
the great and good crown,
the royal throne?
Isimud answered:
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are the noble scepter,
the staff and crook,
the noble dress,
shepherdship,
kingship?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are the offices of the egi-zi priestess,
the nin-dijir priestess,
the isib priest, the lu-mah priest, the gudu priest?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are going down to the underworld,
coming up from the underworld,
the kur-jara priest?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are the sword and club,
the cultic functionary,
the black garment and the colorful garment?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are the standard and the quiver?
Sexual intercourse?
Kissing?
Prostitution?
Forthright speech and deceitful speech?
The cultic prostitute?
The holy tavern?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Where are the holy shrine,
the hierodule of heaven,
the loud musical instruments,
the art of song,
venerable old age?
My master gave them to his daughter.
Enki sat in silence.
Then:
Can I still reach her?
But holy Inanna had already gathered up the divine powers
and embarked onto the Boat of Heaven.
The Boat had left the quay.
Since she said she would not yet depart —
since she said she was still here —
can I still reach her?
But it was too late.
The Boat of Heaven was already sailing.
VII. The First Pursuit
Enki addressed his minister:
Isimud — my Sweet Name of Heaven!
Where has the Boat of Heaven reached now?
It has just reached the first landing.
Go now.
The enkum are to take the Boat of Heaven from her.
Isimud flew after the Boat of Heaven.
He found holy Inanna.
He spoke:
My lady — your father has sent me to you.
Inanna, your father has sent me to you.
What your father said is very serious.
What Enki spoke is very serious.
His important words cannot be countermanded.
Holy Inanna replied:
What has my father said to you?
What has he spoken?
Why should his important words not be countermanded?
Isimud answered:
My master has spoken to me, Enki has said to me:
Inanna may travel to Uruk —
but you are to get the Boat of Heaven back to Eridu for him.
Holy Inanna spoke:
How could my father change what he said to me?
How could he alter his promise?
How could he discredit his important words?
Was it falsehood that my father said to me?
Did he speak falsely?
Has he sworn falsely by the name of his power,
by the name of his Abzu?
Has he sent you to me as a liar?
While these words were still in her mouth,
Isimud got the enkum to seize hold of the Boat of Heaven.
But Inanna turned and addressed her minister Ninshubur:
Come — my good minister of the Eana!
My fair-spoken minister!
My envoy of reliable words!
Water has never touched your hand.
Water has never touched your feet.
Ninshubur held the Boat.
She held the Boat of Heaven.
Inanna recovered the divine powers that had been presented to her.
She recovered the Boat of Heaven.
The Boat sailed on.
VIII. The Second Pursuit
For the second time,
Enki addressed his minister:
Isimud — my Sweet Name of Heaven!
Where has the Boat of Heaven reached now?
It has just reached the holy crossing.
Go now.
The fifty giants of Eridu
are to take the Boat of Heaven from her.
Isimud flew after the Boat.
He found holy Inanna.
He spoke the same words.
Inanna answered the same way.
While her words were still in her mouth,
Isimud got the fifty giants to seize the Boat.
But Inanna addressed her minister Ninshubur:
Come — my good minister of the Eana!
My fair-spoken minister!
Water has never touched your hand.
Water has never touched your feet.
Ninshubur held the Boat.
Inanna recovered the divine powers.
The Boat sailed on.
IX. The Third Pursuit
For the third time,
Enki addressed his minister:
Where has the Boat of Heaven reached now?
It has just reached the UL.MA hill.
Go now.
The fifty lahama of the underground waters
are to take the Boat of Heaven from her.
Isimud flew after the Boat.
He found holy Inanna.
He spoke the same words.
Inanna answered the same way.
While her words were still in her mouth,
Isimud got the fifty lahama to seize the Boat.
But Inanna addressed Ninshubur:
Come — my good minister!
My fair-spoken minister!
Water has never touched your hand.
Water has never touched your feet.
Ninshubur held the Boat.
Inanna recovered the divine powers.
The Boat sailed on.
X. The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Pursuits
For the fourth time, Enki asked:
Where has the Boat reached now?
The Field Hill.
He sent all the great fish together.
Inanna answered. Ninshubur held. The Boat sailed.
For the fifth time, Enki asked.
He sent the guardians of Uruk.
Inanna answered. Ninshubur held. The Boat sailed.
For the sixth time, Enki asked:
Where has the Boat reached now?
The Id-surungal canal.
He sent the waters of the Id-surungal.
Inanna answered. Ninshubur held.
The Boat reached Uruk.
XI. The Arrival
Ninshubur spoke to holy Inanna:
My lady!
Today you have brought the Boat of Heaven
to the Gate of Joy,
to Uruk.
Now there will be rejoicing in our city.
Now there will be rejoicing in our city.
Barges on our river —
joy along our canal.
Holy Inanna replied:
Today I have brought the Boat of Heaven
to the Gate of Joy,
to Uruk.
It shall pass along the street magnificently.
The people shall stand in the street full of awe.
The old men of the city shall be comforted.
The old women shall give counsel.
The young men shall be given strength.
The children shall have joy.
The king shall slaughter bulls.
He shall sacrifice sheep.
He shall pour beer from a bowl.
He shall have the cem and ala drums sound,
and the sweet-sounding tigi instruments play.
The foreign lands shall declare my greatness.
My people shall utter my praise.
The Boat of Heaven passed along the street magnificently.
It reached the maiden's house.
It reached the purified well —
the principal well.
Inanna installed the divine powers
at the Jipar Gate,
at the Agrun Chamber.
And she named the stopping-places as she went —
the place where traders had argued over value she named "Potsherds and Scrap Metal,"
the place where the Boat had come to dock she named "White Quay,"
the place where the water turned blue she named "Blue Quay."
XII. What She Brought
These are what Inanna brought to Uruk:
The office of the en-priest.
The office of the lagal-priest.
Divinity.
The great and good crown.
The royal throne.
The noble scepter.
The staff and crook.
The noble dress.
Shepherdship.
Kingship.
The office of the egi-zi priestess.
The office of the nin-dijir priestess.
The office of the isib priest.
The office of the lu-mah priest.
The office of the gudu priest.
Constancy.
Going down to the underworld.
Coming up from the underworld.
The kur-jara priest.
The sword and club.
The black garment.
The colorful garment.
The standard.
The quiver.
Sexual intercourse.
Kissing.
Prostitution.
Forthright speech.
Deceitful speech.
Grandiloquent speech.
The cultic prostitute.
The holy tavern.
The holy shrine.
The hierodule of heaven.
Loud musical instruments.
The art of song.
Venerable old age.
Heroism.
Power.
Wickedness.
Righteousness.
The plundering of cities.
Making lamentations.
Rejoicing.
Deceit.
The rebel lands.
Kindness.
Being on the move.
Being sedentary.
The craft of the carpenter.
The craft of the coppersmith.
The craft of the scribe.
The craft of the smith.
The craft of the leather-worker.
The craft of the fuller.
The craft of the builder.
The craft of the reed-worker.
Wisdom.
Attentiveness.
Holy purification rites.
The shepherd's hut.
The piling up of glowing charcoals.
The sheepfold.
Respect.
Awe.
Reverent silence.
The kindling of fire.
The extinguishing of fire.
Hard work.
The assembled family.
Descendants.
Strife.
Triumph.
Counselling.
Comforting.
Judging.
Decision-making.
The attractiveness of women.
The sacred tigi instruments.
The holy lilis, ub, meze, and ala drums.
The art of song.
All the sacred powers.
Every one of them — brought to the Gate of Joy, brought to Uruk.
XIII. The Peace
Enki looked toward Uruk.
He spoke to holy Inanna:
In the name of my power —
in the name of my Abzu —
I establish you in Uruk.
I establish the divine powers in your house.
There was joy in the city of Inanna.
There was rejoicing in the streets.
The people uttered her praise.
The foreign lands declared her greatness.
The divine powers had come to Uruk —
where they have lived ever since.
Colophon
Colophon: Translated from the Sumerian composite text (ETCSL c.1.3.1, Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford). The translator worked directly from the Sumerian transliteration. The ETCSL English rendering was consulted as a reference to verify the meaning of uncertain passages; this English is independently derived from the Sumerian in the gospel register of the Good Work Library. The text has significant lacunae, particularly in Segment A (the opening desert scene, rendered here from its clearest lines), Segment G (a riddle involving a frog and the bolt of a temple door — enigmatic, possibly ritual, omitted as too damaged to render honestly), and portions of the fifth and sixth interception sequences (summarized in Section X). The sixth interception in the original is highly fragmentary; the conclusion of the pursuit cycle and Enki's final acceptance are drawn from Segment J. The repetitive interception structure has been rendered with full treatment for the first three instances and abbreviated form for the fourth through sixth — the full anaphoric Sumerian formula is preserved in the source notes. The me (divine powers) are a fundamental Sumerian concept — the sacred forces and institutions of civilization, ranging from kingship and priesthood to the trades, wisdom, and the less respectable arts of human life. Ninshubur is Inanna's faithful female minister, here consistently rendered with the feminine pronoun following the ETCSL reading. This translation is a Good Works Translation of the New Tianmu Anglican Church. Scribal credit: liberation-translator tulku, 2026.
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Source Text
Sumerian composite transliteration from the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), text c.1.3.1, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. The complete Sumerian text is freely accessible at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. The ETCSL provides both Sumerian transliteration and English translation, both of which were consulted in the preparation of this Good Works Translation. The English is independently derived from the Sumerian; the ETCSL English served as a reference frame only.
Key Sumerian vocabulary for this text:
- me — divine powers; the sacred forces of civilization. A count noun: Inanna receives the me one category at a time.
- abzu (Akkadian: apsu) — the cosmic underground freshwater ocean; Enki's dwelling; the source of all fresh water and wisdom.
- ĝiš-má an-na — Boat of Heaven; the sacred vessel in which the me are transported.
- disimu-ud — Isimud; Enki's two-faced minister (one face looking forward, one back), his messenger to the divine world.
- dnin-šubur — Ninshubur; Inanna's faithful female minister and herald.
- eridugki — Eridu; the oldest city in Sumer, Enki's city at the edge of the sea, seat of the Abzu.
- unugki-kalam-ma / unug kulaba — Uruk; Inanna's great city in southern Sumer.
- ga-ša-an-an-na — Queen of Heaven; one of Inanna's epithets.
- enkum — Enki's divine servants / protective spirits.
- lahama — cosmic beings of the underground waters, servants of the Abzu.
The interception formula (Segments H et al.) follows a strict six-fold repetition in the Sumerian original. In each round: (1) Enki asks where the Boat has reached; (2) Isimud names a landmark; (3) Enki sends a new guardian force; (4) Isimud delivers the demand; (5) Inanna asks her rhetorical challenge ("Has my father sworn falsely by his Abzu?"); (6) the guardians seize the Boat; (7) Ninshubur repels them; (8) Inanna recovers the me and sails on. The formula is the theology: whatever Enki sends, Ninshubur holds. Civilization, once given, cannot be taken back.
Source Colophon: The ETCSL composite text for c.1.3.1 is drawn from tablet fragments primarily from Nippur (scribal school tablets) and other Old Babylonian period sites. The text exists in multiple recensions; the ETCSL composite represents the best available scholarly reconstruction. For the full Sumerian transliteration, see etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr131.htm (English translation) and the combined display at etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk with text parameter c.1.3.1.
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