Sumerian Epics and Myths
Cuneiform Series · Volume III
Edward Chiera
University of Chicago Press · 1934 · First Edition
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Sumerian, Text 79
“Enki, lord of the abundance of the Anunna…” “…heaven and earth…” “…Eridu…” “…the Abzu…” “…the land…” “…abundance…” “…Sumer…” “…its destiny…” “…he established…” “…he caused [it] to prosper…”
The tablet is damaged. Broken portions are left incomplete rather than silently reconstructed.
ᵈEnki en ḫe₂-gal₂-la ᵈA-nun-na-ke₄-ne
The Anunna are actually written in the text. This isn't an identification inferred from the subject of the myth.
ENKI — LORD OF ABUNDANCE OF THE ANUNNA
Enki appears here within a divine order that spans heaven and Earth. The text describes him as “lord of the abundance of the Anunna,” directly linking Enki with the divine collective later known in Akkadian tradition as the Anunnaki..
The rest of the tablet shows Enki’s role through the growth and prosperity of the land. His authority isn't just a divine title; it functions within the world: Sumer, its abundance, its future, and its established order all fall under his influence.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Sumerian, Reverse Cols. III–IV, Col. III
“…the Anunna gods…” “…Enki…” “…the great lord…” “…the people / humankind…” “…the land…” “…its abundance…” “…grain…” “…to establish / make firm…” “…the fate…” “…he decreed…”
Col. IV: “…Enki, the lord…” “…the Anunna gods…” “…the land…” “…its people…” “…food / provisions…” “…abundance…” “…he caused to be…” “…the destiny…” “…was determined…”
ENKI, THE ANUNNA, AND THE ORDERING OF HUMAN LIFE
The remaining text continues to place Enki and the Anunna within the human world. The focus isn't solely on divine existence. Here, gods are connected with ordering the land and its people. Ensuring the agricultural abundance and provisions that sustain them.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — Sumerian, Obverse Cols. I–II
“…Enki…” “…lord…” “…the great gods…” “…the Anunna…” “…the land…” “…its people…” “…abundance…” “…grain…” “…the fields…” “…the shepherd…” “…cattle…” “…sheep…” “…he established…” “…their fate…” “…he decreed…”
THE DIVINE ORDERING OF THE LAND CONTINUED…
The additional columns reinforce this same divine framework, with Enki and the Anunna again appearing alongside the ordering of the land and the conditions that sustain human life. The passage continues the association between divine decree and the organization of the inhabited world.
DIRECT TRANSLATION — SUMERIAN, TEXT 81
The surviving signs belong to the opening cosmological/temple-building sequence. Independently, the text is approximately:
“…after the water … had been determined… …abundance … in heaven… …the land … vegetation… …Enki, lord of the Abzu… …Enki, the lord who determines destinies… …his house… …silver and lapis lazuli… …in the Abzu… …Eridu… …the house of Enki…”
The reverse is extremely fragmentary, but continues the description surrounding Enki, his divine house, Eridu and the Abzu.
ENKI — ABUNDANCE BORN IN HEAVEN
The account places Enki within a world already in the process of divine ordering. It highlights the connection between abundance and heaven before the land is covered with vegetation. Enki, lord of the Abzu and determiner of destinies, then establishes his divine home at Eridu.
