The king of Uruk, Enmerkar, once planned to make a campaign against Aratta and conquer the rebellious country. He called out across the cities and lands, and hordes of warriors began to flock to Uruk. This campaign was led by seven mighty and famous heroes. Lugalbanda joins them.
They had barely covered half the journey when Lugalbanda was attacked by some strange disease. Weakness and pain shackled the hero; he could not move his arm or leg. Friends decided that he had died and thought for a long time what to do with him. In the end, they leave him on Mount Hurum, laying him a magnificent bed, leaving him with all kinds of food. On the way back from the campaign, they plan to pick up his body and take it to Uruk.
But Lugalbanda did not die. After some time, waking up, he begins to pray to the gods, and they restore his health.
Alone, Lugalbanda wanders through the forests and steppes in search of his comrades. One day he has a divine dream, in which the god of dreams says that the hero needs to arrange a sacrificial dinner for the gods. Lugalbanda follows the instructions given to him exactly: he bakes ritual cakes, kills a mountain bull and dedicates its entrails to Utu, slaughters a goat and a female goat and drains their blood.
Unfortunately, the text breaks down at this point. Further see "Lugalbanda and Enmerkar"
In those days, the king planned a campaign against the city.
Enmerkar, son of Utu,
To mountainous Aratta, the land of the most pure Essences,
I decided to go.
He is coming to destroy a rebellious country.
He announced the call by city.
Messengers blow horns throughout all countries.
The call of Uruk comes with the lord.
Kulab's summon comes with Enkerkar.
Uruk! The upheaval of his call is a storm!
Kulab! The uplift of his call is heavy clouds!
Storm clouds that reach the earth,
They go into the sky like a mighty storm.
Like locusts that fly to the crops,
He gathers his people.
Brother gives signs to brother.
The king who leads them is
He goes at the head of his detachment.
Enmerkar, who leads them,
He goes at the head of his detachment.
They huddled at the edge of the mountains like sheep.
On the plateau they crowd like bulls.
They are looking for the road, looking for ways.
They're roaming the mountains. Five days have passed
On the sixth day we crossed the river.
The seventh day came and they entered the mountains.
Mountains where no one has walked are crossed.
Above the stream, from the snake swamp they rise to the left.
Their lord, the saddler of storms,
Son of God Utu, pure precious silver,
Its stretch is from heaven to earth.
Above his head are rays of radiance.
The arrow on the helmet sparkles like lightning.
Uruk. bronze battle ax as his sign
Gave it to him in radiance.
I am familiar with this, like a dog devouring corpses,
He speaks proudly.
There were seven of them in those days, indeed there were seven of them.
Pets, descendants of Kulaba-grad,
Truly there were seven of them.
There are seven of them that were created by the goddess Urash,
They were fed with wild cow's milk.
They are mighty heroes, they are the offspring of Sumer,
They are the sovereign's seed.
In An's feast they were nourished, in his hand they were nurtured.
This seven are leaders to leaders,
Leaders to leaders,
They are the leaders of all leaders.
Over three hundred, the leaders are three hundred for each.
Over six hundred leaders -
six hundred each.
Rulers over the great multitude -
for each there is a great multitude.
They came with their chosen troops
to the lord high priest.
And the eighth among them is Lugalbanda.
He's barely half way, half way,
As the illness entered into him, the headache entered into him.
Like a snake caught by an ax,
Chopping, she caught up with him,
Like a gazelle caught in a trap,
She pressed his face to the ground.
He cannot turn his grasping hands.
He cannot move his nimble legs.
He cannot rise to the royal call.
Clouds are falling on the great mountains.
They don’t know how to take it to Uruk.
They don’t know how to take it to Kulab.
In the mountains, teeth chatter from the cold.
They bring it to a secluded warm place.
They arranged a parking lot for him, like a nest.
Dates, figs, cheeses in abundance,
Sweet bread, what the sick eat,
Placed in a basket of palm leaves.
The most tender fat, fresh cream -
provisions for barns and pens,
Eggs with butter, eggs baked in butter,
Before him, as if on a table laid and clean,
They set it up.
Sweet beer, mixed with date syrup,
On a stand, stocks of premium oil,
It was like they placed it on a table in front of him.
Provisions placed in a leather bucket,
Food hidden in a leather bag,
His brothers, his friends,
Like a ship loaded with harvest,
They placed him in a dark mountain gorge in his head.
In tight leather furs - don’t let it spill out, -
Dark beer, heady drink, emmer beer,
Sweet wine that tastes good to the sky,
They placed him in a dark mountain gorge in his head.
They made him a bed, like a house, from narrow leather furs.
Herbs, resinous incense, fragrant resins
They placed them around him,
They were scattered in his head, in a dark mountain gorge.
His battle ax, whose metal is sparkling -
Heavenly iron,
What was bartered in the white mountains,
They put it in his head.
His filigree iron dagger,
What was bartered in the black mountains,
They tied him to his side.
Your eyes are like wells full of water,
Light Lugalbanda opened wide.
Your lips are the doors of the sun,
He did not reveal it to his brothers.
They raised the back of their head - there was no breathing.
His brothers, his friends
Hold advice, consult:
“If our brother gets up from his bed, like Utu.
The God who struck him will leave.
If he eats all this, if he eats all this.
Then the strength will return to his feet.
So that he crosses the mountain chains,
So that he crosses the mountain ranges.
But if our brother's Utu
Calls you to a pure hidden place,
Then the health of his members will leave,
And when we return from Aratta,
Let's take his body to the bricks of Kulab."
And like among Naina’s scattered light cows,
And like a month-old bull, which is for increasing
Left behind a fence,
So are his brothers and his friend
Bright Lugalbanda is left in a dark mountain gorge.
With tears and moans,
With screams and sobs,
In sadness and sorrow
Big brothers, big brothers of Lugalbanda
Then we went to the mountains.
Two days have passed since Lugalbanda fell ill,
Two days and half more
When Utu glanced at his parking lot,
So that the steppe four-legged creatures raise their heads to him.
The day has come, the coolness has descended,
And his body seemed to be smeared with oil,
But the disease has not yet left him.
He raised his eyes to heaven to Utu,
As if in front of my own father, I cried in front of him,
He raised his good hands to him in the darkness of the mountains:
“Utu, I salute you, may I not be ill again!
Hero, son of Ningal, I salute you,
I won't be sick anymore!
Utu, you let me climb into the mountains with my brothers!
In a dark mountain gorge, in a terrifying place,
I won't be sick anymore!
Where there is no mother, where there is no father,
Where there are no acquaintances, where there are no loved ones,
Where my mother is - "Oh, my child!" - won't tell me
My brother - "Oh, my brother!" - won't tell me
The neighbor who comes to my mother’s house will not cry for me,
Mother's guardian gods,
Father's guardian gods about leaving,
Guardian gods of the fence - “Here, he has disappeared!” - they will say!
An unfamiliar dog is bad
A stranger is terrible
On unknown paths that wind along the edges of the mountains.
O Utu, a stranger is a terrible man!
In a ruined place, let me not melt into water,
I won’t eat bitter earth instead of grain!
In the unknown steppe, like a stick, let me not be thrown!
So that my brothers do not tease me, let me not be abandoned!
So that the Druze don’t laugh at me,
I won't be sick anymore!
I won’t show my weakness to the mountains!”
And Utu listened to his tears,
His life force in the dark mountain gorge
He gave it back.
She who brings joy to the poor where they sing and dance,
We honor: the harlot who is from the gate
holy whoredom comes out,
She who makes the bed sweet,
From the poor - food of joy,
Inanna, daughter of Zuen.
Why did the country raise its head to him like a bull,
Its sparkles are like bright stars,
Her starry face illuminated the mountains,
And he raised his eyes to Inania, to the sky,
As if in front of his own father, he cried in front of her,
He raised his good hands to her in the darkness of the mountains:
"O Inanna, return my home to me,
Return my native city to me!
The city where my mother gave birth to me, let it be with me,
Like a snake - a deserted place, let it be with me,
Like the earth’s chasm to a scorpion, let it be with me!
To the great queen, my mistress, let me bring my cries to you,
O my lady, dressed in flames...
Among small stones, precious stones,
Among their brilliance,
From rocky peaks to rocky ground
In the claws of the Sabum plateau,
Into the cleft mouth, thrown into its beak,
May I not leave my hands and feet in the Khashurya-apricot mountains."
Inanna listened to his tears.
The forces of life covered him, like a sleeping Uta,
Like a woolen scarf,
She wrapped her hearts in quiet joy.
And she went to Kulab herself.
Bull devouring a black field.
The luminary, the pure calf that stands guard,
Which, like the morning star, lights up the sky,
Sheds a shining light into the night,
Zuen, who is honored like the new moon,
Father Nanna, who straightens the path for Utu the sun,
Lord of light, who was created for the tiara,
Zuen, Enlil's beloved child,
God, who stands as a decoration in the middle of the sky.
Whose rays of radiance are pure and holy,
Whose face illuminates the mountains with light,
He raised his eyes to Zuen,
How I cried in front of my father,
He raised his good hands to him in the darkness of the mountains:
“Sir, who in the distant sky does not come to you?
Zuen, who in the distant sky does not come to you?
Lord, who loves the truth, who hates evil,
Zuen. who loves the truth, who hates evil!
Truth comes to you as righteousness in the joy of your heart,
Euphrates poplar, great trunk, like a scepter,
It increases for you,
Justice, untie its shackles!
Evil, don’t untie its shackles!
Let evil leave from the front, let it be carried away from behind!
When your heart rises in anger,
It is like a snake that releases venom,
You spit saliva for evil!”
Zuen listened to his tears and gave him life.
Returned strength to his legs.
The bull appeared on the horizon for the second time.
The bull stood up above the Khashur trees.
The one who touches the earth with a shield, whose eye is
Twin Eye of the Assembly
The one who takes the shield out of the house, whose eye is
Husband's twin eye
Hero Utu your radiance, your pure brilliance
Stretched out in the sky.
Lugalbanda, his good genius, poured out from heaven,
His kind Lama took his side,
May God that tormented him, left.
He raised his eyes to heaven to Utu,
How I cried in front of my father,
He raised his good hands to him in the darkness of the mountains.
“O Utu, you are the shepherd of the country, you are the father of the blackheads!
When you go to bed, people go to bed with you,
Hero Utu, when you rise,
People stand with you!
Utu, while you are gone,
The bird is not caught in the net, the slave is in no hurry to work.
To the one who goes alone, you are his brother-comrade,
O Utu, where two go,
there truly you are third!
To the one who grabbed the bridle, you are protective blinders.
The poor, the weak, who has nothing to hide behind,
Like a long fabric, the light of your rays wraps,
Covers the body of a debtor slave,
like a robe of white wool.
And to the old people, like the very first elders,
Feasting is the light of your rays,
And now, how. since ancient times, undead them
The light of your rays is like the best oil.
The bull is the greatest, beautiful, mighty
Hero, son of Ningal, emanating light,
You are the judge of men, bull. walking,
You guide their plows,
You put them in place
Songs of your glory are sweet,
They reach you in the sky!
Hero, son of Ningal, you are glorified,
Truly as you should."
And then he, the just one, is the one who consults Enlil,
He commanded the herbs of life to grow,
In a fast stream, the mother of the mountains brought him the water of life.
He chews the herbs of life with his mouth,
He scoops up the waters of life with his hand.
When he took the herbs of life into his mouth,
When I scooped up the waters of life with my hand,
The way someone jumped out of a trap
He rushed from the ground like a stallion,
Like Shakkan's choice stallion, he rushes through the mountains,
Like a huge mighty donkey he gallops,
Like a slender donkey, fast in running, rushes.
From night to day he goes.
Zuena crosses the mountains, the deserted country, hastily.
Complete loneliness is no one's eye,
Not a single person sees him.
Your provisions in leather fur,
Your property in a leather bag,
That his brothers and his friends are
They gave him cold water, like dried bread,
Light Lugalbanda raised the mountains with him from the darkness.
He took the firestone.
The bottom of a wooden vessel was split open,
Having placed it in front of him, he split it,
Then another stone took
And, hitting them against each other,
He received bright sparks and carried them into the field.
Flint-stone nurtured the fire.
That fire illuminated the plateau, like sunlight.
Not knowing how to bake sweet bread, not having a stove in front of me,
He baked sacrificial dough on seven coals.
Nowadays he bakes the bread himself.
He uprooted the mountain reeds,
He tore off its stems,
Sweet dough for baking white bread
He skewered it.
So, not knowing how to bake sweet bread,
not having a stove in front of me,
He baked sacrificial dough on seven coals.
He baked that bread himself now.
A shaggy, yellowish bison, a bull with raised horns,
The tired bull was resting.
The horned bison dug the mountain soil, a clean place, with its hoof.
He lazily chewed black grass, like barley.
I picked up apricots like seeds.
He ground the leaves of the trees like grass.
I drank water in fast streams.
The root of the "soap" grass, pure mountain grass, was eaten away.
When the mottled bison and mountain bull wandered across the meadow,
He, Lugabanda, alone, captivated him with his wooden weapon.
He uprooted a mountain bush,
He tore off its branches,
Roots that are like long reeds,
Light Lugalbanda cut off with a knife.
He tied a brown bison, a mountain bull, with a rope.
A motley goat and a goat, together,
Tired goats, shaggy goats,
They lazily chew the black grass, like barley.
Apricots are gnawed like seeds.
The leaves of the trees are ground like grass.
They drink water in fast streams.
The root of the "soap" grass, pure mountain grass, is eaten.
When the goat and the goat wandered across the meadow,
Lugalbanda alone grabbed them with his wooden weapon.
He uprooted a mountain bush,
He tore off its branches,
Roots that are like long reeds,
Light Lugalbanda cut off with a knife.
The motley goat and the female goat, both of them, bending their knees,
He tied it with a rope.
In complete loneliness - no one's eye,
Not a single person saw him
And then sleep overcame the king.
Sleep, the land of the back of the head.
Like a skillful decree of the country, like a hand,
What breaks down the wall
Whose touch is skillful,
Who embraces the earth,
Who will reach the limits?
Who does not know the leaders and overseers,
Something that gives strength to a hero
Like from the vat of Ninkasi, the goddess of beer,
Lugalbanda! Truly sleep overcame him,
Soapy herbs, pure juristic herbs,
He lied to him,
Covered with a blanket of the purest wool,
Wrapped in a white linen blanket,
Without a maid for ablutions on the spot, he left.
The king is not lying in a dream - he is enveloped in a dream.
In the dream the door does not turn,
The door knob does not rotate.
To the false - false, to the truthful - true,
For both joys and sorrows,
This is it, the sealed basket of the gods,
This is it, the bridal chamber of Ninlil,
This is he, Inanna's adviser,
Fire bull, lion, domesticated by humans
Captured, wild bison, who does not live,
Anzakar, god of dreams,
Lugalbande himself roars like a bull,
Like the calf of a clean cow, it moos:
“Who will slaughter the motley calf for me?
Who will pour out sheep fat for me?
My battle ax, whose metal is sparkling -
Heavenly iron, may he take it,
My hip iron filigree dagger
Let him grab it
Like a strong man, he will lift a motley bison, a mountain bull,
Like a wrestler will knock you down,
Let his insides rip out,
turning towards the sunrise,
A motley goat, together with a female goat,
Let both of them have their heads,
Like mountain barley, it will crush,
To pour their blood into the pit,
To allow the fat to spread across the plain.
Then the snakes slithering in the mountains will smell that fat.”
Lugalbanda came out of his dream, trembling from sleep.
I opened my eyes and there was silence all around.
He is a battle ax, whose metal is sparkling -
Heavenly iron, takes.
Like a strong man, he lifts a motley bison, a mountain bull,
Like a wrestler, he bends him over.
He tears out his entrails and places them in the ascending Utu.
The motley goat and the little goat, both of them,
Like barley, it crushed their heads,
To pour their blood into the pit,
Allow the fat to spread throughout the valley.
And the snakes slithering in the mountains smelled the smell of that fat.
At the very rising of the Utu-sun...
Lugalbanda, calling on the name of Enlil,
Ana, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag,
He invites them to a feast before the pit.
There, in the mountains where he chose the place,
He arranged a sacrificial feast, he poured out libations there.
Black beer, mead, light emmer drink,
Wine that tastes so sweet to drink
He poured out into the field like cool water.
He stuck a knife into the motley goat.
He threw the liver and black bread into the fire.
The incense of black smoke, like incense, took off.
Then to the good fat, the gift of Dumuzi. he let it leak.
From these offerings of Lugalbanda
An, Enlil, Ninhursag, they tasted all the best.
Translation by V. K. Afanasyeva
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru