The Chronology of Sumerian Myths

The earliest surviving myth tells of a remarkable relationship: Enki, the god of fresh water and wisdom, falls in love with Ninhursag, the earth mother and “Lady of the Wasteland.” Together they transform the barren landscape of Dilmun into a paradise by opening fresh water springs and creating fertile land.

That this myth belongs to the earliest phase of Sumerian history, around 5500 BC, is shown by several clues:

• No Sumerian cities or temples are yet mentioned — not even Eridu, Enki’s later city
• The action takes place outside the later Sumerian heartland, in Dilmun (probably present-day Bahrain)
• Sun and moon are still described as celestial bodies and not as acting gods, who were only born later

The myth thus marks the transition from the Hassuna period to the Ubaid period, which took place around 5500 BC.

End of the Hassuna Period — Beginning of the Ubaid Period

The myth takes place at the time when Eridu, Enki’s city, was founded. It tells of Enki’s attempt to bring his twin sister Ereshkigal back from the underworld. However, Ereshkigal explains to Enki that she came here to take over rulership of the underworld and that she does not want to give up this important task. Remarkably, at the end of the myth Enki receives a seed from her from which the Huluppu tree will later grow — a tree that plays an important role in later myths because it connects the world of humans with the underworld and heaven.

The action is dated to about 5400 BC. The following clues support this:

• Eridu, Enki’s city, was founded around 5400 BC
• Other important cities of the later period such as Nippur, Ur, or Uruk are not yet mentioned
• The Huluppu tree did not yet exist at the beginning of the myth

The myth thus marks the beginning of the Ubaid period.

The myth takes place at the time when Nippur, the later capital of the god Enlil, was still a small settlement. It describes how the youthful Enlil seduces the young goddess Ninlil after giving her more maturity and attractiveness. With her he begets Nanna, the later moon god. Since Enlil exceeded his authority by changing Ninlil’s fate, he should have been banished to the underworld, but he managed to determine his own fate while making his way to the underworld.

The action is dated to about 4900 BC. The following clues support this:

• The story takes place in Nippur, which was just being settled at this time
• The moon god Nanna is conceived in this myth — he must therefore be born before he appears as an adult god in later myths

In the myth Ninurta and the Turtle, no turtle actually appears. The name is due to a translation error. The myth takes place at a time when the eagle Anzu was still young. In the myth, the young Anzu bird has stolen the tablet of destinies with which the fates of the Igigi can be decreed. The warrior Ninurta, who is himself an Igigi, succeeds in taking the tablet away from Anzu again. He receives from Enki the task of ensuring that Anzu cannot steal the tablet a second time. To enable him to succeed in this, some changes must be made to Ninurta’s consciousness, during which Ninurta also receives his most important weapon, the Šarur mace, from Enki.

The action of the myth is dated to about 4100 BC. The following clues support this:

• Anzu is still young at this time. The action must therefore have taken place close to the beginning of Sumerian historiography.
• The tablet of destinies is put into operation at this time. The action is likely to have taken place after the rebellion of the Igigi mentioned at the beginning of the Atrahasis Epic, which is dated to about 1200 years before the flood. Since the flood is dated to 2900 BC, this gives 4100 BC as the most likely time of the action. However, the time specifications in the Atrahasis Epic are imprecise. Therefore, the action could also be dated a few hundred years earlier.
• The Abzu, located near Enki’s city Eridu, is mentioned, but otherwise no other cities are named. This also suggests that the action took place before 4000 BC.

The myth takes place in the marshes near Eridu, the city of the wisdom god Enki. It describes the love story between the young moon god Nanna, son of Enlil and Ninlil, and the dream interpreter Ningal. From their union come Utu, the later sun god, and Inanna, who later becomes the city goddess of Uruk.

The action is dated to about 4000 BC. The following clues support this:

• Eridu is mentioned as an established city
• Ur, the later capital of the moon cult where Nanna resides, is mentioned here for the first time

The myth takes place at the time when Uruk was still a small settlement. It describes how the young goddess Inanna, daughter of the moon god Nanna, brings the temple E-ana from heaven to earth to Uruk — against the will of the sky god An, who had bound his power to this temple. This myth marks the beginning of Uruk’s rise to an important cultural center and Inanna’s growing influence.

The action is dated to about 3900 BC. The following clues support this:

• Inanna, who was born in the previous myth, is now a young goddess
• Uruk already exists as a small settlement
• The myth describes events that take place before Uruk’s expansion, which began around 3800 BC
• The temple E-ana is mentioned here for the first time — it will play an important role in later myths

End of the Ubaid Period — Beginning of the Uruk Period

The myth takes place at the time when Uruk rises to become a significant metropolis. It describes how Inanna falls in love with the shepherd Dumuzi and makes him her husband and king of Uruk. For the chronological classification, it is important that Dumuzi was an antediluvian king according to the Sumerian King List, i.e., he ruled before the second great flood (the deluge) that took place around 2900 BC.

The action is dated to about 3400 BC. The following clues support this:

• Uruk is already an expanding city, which points to the time after the transfer of the divine powers
• The E-ana temple is described as an established center of power
• Inanna is already referred to as Dumuzi’s wife in the following myth, which is dated to around 3350 BC.

The myth takes place at the time when Eridu was recovering from the first great flood. It describes how the wisdom god Enki rebuilds the land devastated by the flood and redistributes tasks among the gods.

The action is dated to about 3350 BC. The following clues support this:

• The myth takes place after the first great flood of 3500 BC.
• The flood is just beginning to be forgotten, which suggests about 150 years after the flood.
• Eridu is described as a rebuilt but still marsh-standing city and Ur is described as bathed in water.
• The divine powers are already in Inanna’s possession, which points to the time after the myth “Inanna and Enki”
• Inanna is married to Dumuzi. Therefore, this myth must be dated after the myth “The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi” but before the myth “Inanna’s Descent into the Netherworld.”
• The described reorganization of the land fits archaeological findings of this time, which prove a phase of intensive reorganization

The myth takes place during Uruk’s heyday, when Inanna was married to King Dumuzi. It describes how Inanna decides to visit her older sister Ereshkigal in the underworld. At each of the seven gates to the underworld, she must remove a piece of clothing or jewelry, so that she finally stands naked and without her divine powers before Ereshkigal. Ereshkigal has her killed, but through the help of the wisdom god Enki she is revived. As a substitute for herself, she sends her husband Dumuzi to the underworld.

The action is dated to about 3300 BC. The following clues support this:

• The myth takes place after Inanna’s marriage to Dumuzi
• All important cities (Eridu, Nippur, Ur, and Uruk) are mentioned
• Since Dumuzi was an antediluvian king, the myth must be dated to the time before 2900 BC.
• The myth emphasizes that Inanna left her cities and their temples unprotected during her descent. It is therefore plausible that this myth was intended to explain why she could not intervene helpfully during a natural disaster. Through her actions (here: leaving her temples), causing collateral damage is typical for Inanna in the myths.

The myth tells of Adapa, a wise priest of Enki. One day, when he was fishing, a storm arose and the south wind capsized his boat. Adapa therefore broke the south wind’s wings, causing the wind to stop for a time. This angered the sky god An, who then summoned Adapa to justify himself.

The myth is dated to about 3300 BC. The following clues support this:

• The myth mentions that the shepherd god Dumuzi had recently left the earth. The action of the myth must therefore take place shortly after Inanna’s descent to the underworld.
• Adapa is probably mentioned in the myth Enki and the World Order. The myth Enki and the World Order was dated to 3350 BC. At this time, Inanna was still married to Dumuzi. Since Adapa was mortal, the action of the Adapa myth should have taken place shortly thereafter, i.e., around 3300 BC.

The myth begins at a time when the Igigi still incarnated as humans and performed the heavy work of canal construction. It describes how the Igigi rebelled against this and how the humans were then given intelligence by Ninhursag so they could take over this work. When the humans multiplied too much, the gods tried to reduce their number through the Suruppu disease and a drought. When this did not help, they decided to send the great flood (the deluge). Only Atrahasis, the king of Shuruppak, was warned by Enki and survived the flood in a boat.

The beginning of the action is dated to around 4000 BC, the end of the action to about 2900 BC. The following clues support this:

• The described deluge has been dated to about 2900 BC based on deposits in Shuruppak
• The text mentions two earlier attempts to reduce the population: the Suruppu disease and a drought. The text describes that several hundred years lay between these events
• The beginning of the action, when the Igigi still performed human work, must therefore lie around 4000 BC

End of the Uruk Period — Beginning of the Early Dynastic Period

The myth takes place shortly after the deluge, when humans were beginning to organize again. It describes how Etana, the first king of Kish, comes to the aid of an eagle thrown into a pit. This eagle is Anzu, a powerful being who will later play an important role in several myths. In gratitude, Anzu carries Etana to heaven to the gods, where a throne presumably already awaits Etana. This is the short version of a complex, very profound myth.

The action is dated to about 2850 BC. The following clues support this:

• The myth takes place shortly after the deluge of 2900 BC
• According to the Sumerian King List, Etana was the first king of Kish and the one who stabilized the land after the deluge
• The described restoration of order fits archaeological findings of this time

These myths take place during the time of King Enmerkar of Uruk, when he led a campaign against the rich city of Aratta, ruled by En-Suhgir-Ana. They describe how Lugalbanda, an officer of Enmerkar, falls ill during the journey and is left behind in a cave, where he first struggles for survival and is later healed. Lugalbanda encounters the mighty eagle Anzu and receives special abilities from him. Lugalbanda finally reaches the troops before Aratta. His actions help to influence the gods in favor of Uruk and force Aratta into submission.

The action is dated to about 2700 BC. The following clues support this:

• According to the Sumerian King List, Enmerkar was one of the early kings of Uruk after the deluge of 2900 BC. In particular, he lived before Gilgamesh, i.e., before 2600 BC.

The myth tells the story of a special tree that we already know from the myth “Enki and Ereshkigal”: the Huluppu tree, which connects the world of humans with the underworld and heaven. The tree was originally planted by Enki in Eridu, on the banks of the Euphrates, then brought by Inanna to Uruk and inhabited there by three mighty beings: the eagle Anzu in the crown, an incorruptible snake at the root, and the dark maid Lilith in the trunk. The myth describes how the hero Gilgamesh finally fells the tree.

The action is dated to about 2600 BC. The following clues support this:

• The action takes place during Gilgamesh’s lifetime, who according to the Sumerian King List was king of Uruk around this time.
• Archaeological finds show that the wall of Uruk was reinforced at this time, which is attributed to Gilgamesh.

The epic describes the adventures of Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. It tells how the initially tyrannical ruler becomes more human through friendship with the wild man Enkidu, together with him defeats the forest giant Humbaba and kills the Bull of Heaven sent by the goddess Inanna. After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh desperately seeks immortality and visits Utnapishtim (also called Atrahasis), who survived the great flood. But since he too finally lies on his deathbed, it is said of Gilgamesh that immortality was not the fate the gods had intended for him.

The action is dated to about 2600 BC. The following clues support this:

• The action takes place during Gilgamesh’s lifetime, who was king of Uruk around this time
• The reinforcement of Uruk’s city wall mentioned in the epic, attributed to Gilgamesh, has been archaeologically dated to this time
• In Gilgamesh’s conversation with Utnapishtim, the deluge is already described as an event from the more distant past

With the end of the Early Dynastic period and the conquest by Sargon of Akkad, a new phase begins in the history of Mesopotamia. Interestingly, hardly any new myths of this type emerge in the following Akkadian period and during the Third Dynasty of Ur (until 2000 BC).

End of the Early Dynastic Period