Lament for Uruk explained

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,^[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:

1. storm of Enlil (storm in Uruk)
2. storm of Enlil (storm in Uruk)
3. storm of Enlil (storm in Sumer)
4. weeping goddess; the poet addresses Sumer
5. weeping goddess; the poet addresses Uruk
6. weeping goddess; the poet addresses Uruk (?)
7. lost
8. lost
9. lost
10. lost
11. prayer; the poet addresses the gods
12. prayer; the poet addresses Inanna^[9]

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

See also

• The Lament for Sumer and Ur
• The Lament for Ur
• The Lament for Eridu
• The Lament for Nippur

Further reading

• Green . M. W. . 1984 . The Uruk Lament . . 104 . 2 . 253–279 . 10.2307/602171 . 0003-0279 . 602171.

External links

• Full text in Sumerian
• Full text (transliteration) at ETCSL (Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature)
• Translation at ETCSL
• English translation

Notes and References

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