Lament for Uruk

The Lament for Uruk, also called the Uruk Lament or the Lament for Unug,^[1] is a Sumerian lament. It is dated to the Isin-Larsa period.^[2]

History

The Lament for Uruk is one of five known Mesopotamian "city laments"—dirges for ruined cities in the voice of the city's tutelary goddess, recited by elegists called gala.^[3] It was inspired by the Lament for Ur.^[4]

First written in c. 1940 BCE,^[5] the Lament was recopied during the Hellenistic period, when Babylonia had again been overrun by foreigners.^[6]^[7]

Text

The Lament is 260 lines long, being composed of 12 kirugu (sections, songs) and 11 gišgigal (antiphons).^[8]

Numbered by kirugu, the lament is structured as follows:

storm of Enlil (storm in Uruk)
storm of Enlil (storm in Uruk)
storm of Enlil (storm in Sumer)
weeping goddess; the poet addresses Sumer
weeping goddess; the poet addresses Uruk
weeping goddess; the poet addresses Uruk (?)
lost
lost
lost
lost
prayer; the poet addresses the gods
prayer; the poet addresses Inanna^[9]

It is composed in the standard emegir dialect of Sumerian.^[10]

References

^ Mattila, Raija; Ito, Sanae; Fink, Sebastian (March 11, 2019). Animals and their Relation to Gods, Humans and Things in the Ancient World. Springer. ISBN 9783658243883 – via Google Books.
^ "Tablet - CBS13856 | Collections - Penn Museum". www.penn.museum.
^ Hirsch, Edward (April 4, 2017). The Essential Poet's Glossary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544932098 – via Google Books.
^ Ehrlich, Carl S. (January 16, 2009). From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742563476 – via Google Books.
^ Block, Daniel I. (March 27, 2014). By the River Chebar: Historical, Literary, and Theological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel. ISD LLC. ISBN 9780227902318 – via Google Books.
^ Collins, John Joseph (September 21, 2001). Seers, Sibyls, and Sages in Hellenistic-Roman Judaism. BRILL. ISBN 9780391041103 – via Google Books.
^ Porter, Paul A. (September 21, 1985). Metaphors and Monsters: A Literary-critical Study of Daniel 7 and 8. Paul A. Porter. ISBN 9780969202707 – via Google Books.
^ Bachvarova, Mary R.; Dutsch, Dorota; Suter, Ann (February 15, 2016). The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107031968 – via Google Books.
^ Bachvarova, Mary R.; Dutsch, Dorota; Suter, Ann (February 15, 2016). The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316483169 – via Google Books.
^ Suter, Ann (February 5, 2008). Lament: Studies in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-971427-8 – via Google Books.

External links

[1] Mattila, Raija; Ito, Sanae; Fink, Sebastian (March 11, 2019). Animals and their Relation to Gods, Humans and Things in the Ancient World. Springer. ISBN 9783658243883 – via Google Books.

[2] "Tablet - CBS13856 | Collections - Penn Museum". www.penn.museum.

[3] Hirsch, Edward (April 4, 2017). The Essential Poet's Glossary. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544932098 – via Google Books.

[4] Ehrlich, Carl S. (January 16, 2009). From an Antique Land: An Introduction to Ancient Near Eastern Literature. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 9780742563476 – via Google Books.

[5] Block, Daniel I. (March 27, 2014). By the River Chebar: Historical, Literary, and Theological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel. ISD LLC. ISBN 9780227902318 – via Google Books.

[6] Collins, John Joseph (September 21, 2001). Seers, Sibyls, and Sages in Hellenistic-Roman Judaism. BRILL. ISBN 9780391041103 – via Google Books.

[7] Porter, Paul A. (September 21, 1985). Metaphors and Monsters: A Literary-critical Study of Daniel 7 and 8. Paul A. Porter. ISBN 9780969202707 – via Google Books.

[8] Bachvarova, Mary R.; Dutsch, Dorota; Suter, Ann (February 15, 2016). The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107031968 – via Google Books.

[9] Bachvarova, Mary R.; Dutsch, Dorota; Suter, Ann (February 15, 2016). The Fall of Cities in the Mediterranean: Commemoration in Literature, Folk-Song, and Liturgy. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781316483169 – via Google Books.

[10] Suter, Ann (February 5, 2008). Lament: Studies in the Ancient Mediterranean and Beyond. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-971427-8 – via Google Books.

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