| Part ofa series on |
| Religion in Mesopotamia |
|---|
 |
Seven gods who decree |
Minor deities
|
Demigods and heroes |
Genealogy |
Ekur (𒂍𒆳É.KUR), also known asDuranki, is aSumerian term meaning "mountain house". It is the assembly of the gods in theGarden of the gods, parallel inGreek mythology toMount Olympus and was the most revered and sacred building of ancientSumer.[1][2]
There is a clear association ofZiggurats with mountain houses. Mountain houses play a certain role inMesopotamian mythology andAssyro-Babylonian religion, associated with deities such asAnu,Enlil,Enki andNinhursag. In theHymn to Enlil, the Ekur is closely linked to Enlil whilst inEnlil and Ninlil it is the abode of theAnnunaki, from where Enlil is banished. The fall of Ekur is described in theLament for Ur. Inmythology, the Ekur was the centre of the earth and location where heaven and earth were united. It is also known asDuranki and one of its structures is known as theKiur ("great place").[2]Enamtila has also been suggested by Piotr Michalowski to be a part of the Ekur.[3] A hymn toNanna illustrates the close relationship between temples, houses and mountains. "In yourhouse on high, in your belovedhouse, I will come to live, O Nanna, up above in yourcedar perfumedmountain".
TheTummal Inscription records the first king to build a temple to Enlil asEnmebaragesi, the predecessor ofGilgamesh, around 2500 BC.[4] Ekur is generally associated with thetemple atNippur restored byNaram-Sin of Akkad andShar-Kali-Sharri during theAkkadian Empire. It is also the later name of the temple ofAssur rebuilt byShalmaneser I.[5] The word can also refer to the chapel of Enlil in the temple ofNinimma at Nippur. It is also mentioned in theInscription of Gaddas as a temple of Enlil built "outside Babylon", possibly referring to theEnamtila in west Babylon.[5] It is used as part of such Sumerian phrases ase-kur-igi-gal; "House, Mountain Endowed with Sight",e-kur-igi-bar-ra; "House, Mountain which Sees",e-kur-mah; "House, Exalted Mountain",e-kur-mah; a temple ofNinazu,e-kur-me-sikil; "House, Mountain of Pure Mes (laws or judgement)" - a sanctuary ofIshtar,e-kur-nam-ti-la; "House, Mountain of Life",e-kur-ni-zu; "House, Fearsome Mountain" - the sanctuary ofNinlil athursag-kala-ma (likely a later name of e-hursag-kalam-ma), etc.[5]
The Ekur was seen as a place of judgement and the place from which Enlil's divine laws are issued. Theethics and moral values of the site are extolled in myths, whichSamuel Noah Kramer suggested would have made it the most ethically-oriented in the entire ancientNear East. Its rituals are also described as: "banquets and feasts are celebrated from sunrise to sunset" with "festivals, overflowing with milk and cream, are alluring of plan and full of rejoicing". The priests of the Ekur festivities are described withen being the high priest,lagar as his associate,mues the leader of incantations and prayers, andguda the priest responsible for decoration. Sacrifices and food offerings were brought by theking, described as "faithful shepherd" or "noble farmer".[2]
The physical structure of the Ekur included shrines and storehouses where foreigners brought offerings. These included the shrines of Enlil's wifeNinlil (her chamber, theGagisua is described as the place where they lived happily together) and their sons,Nanna andNinurta along with the house of his vizierNuska and mistressSuzianna. Descriptions of these locations show the physical structures about the Ekur, these included an assembly hall, hut forploughs, a lofty stairway up a foothill from a "house of darkness" considered by some to be aprison orchasm. It also contained various gates such as the gate "where no grain was cut", the "lofty gate", "gate of peace" and "gate of judgement", it also haddrainage channels. Other locations such as a multi-story "giguna" are mentioned, among others which have proved unintelligible, even to modern scholars.
The Ekur was noted for inspiring fear, dread, terror and panic in people, especially amongst theevil andignorant. Kramer suggested the Ekur complex may have included a primordialdungeon of the netherworld or "house of lament" where the damned were sent after judgement.Nungal is the Sumerian goddess who was given the title "Queen of the Ekur". The hymnNungal in the Ekur describes the dark side of the complex with a house that "examines closely both the righteous and the wicked and does not allow the wicked to escape". This house is described as having a "River of ordeal" which leads to the "mouth of catastrophe" through a lock and bolt. Further descriptions of its structural components are given including foundations, doors, a fearsome gate,architrave, abuttressed structure called a"dubla" and a magnificentvault, all described with terrifyingmetaphors. The hymn also references a "house of life" where sinners are rehabilitated and returned to their gods through the compassion of Nungal, who holds the "tablet of life".[6][7]
The destruction and fall of these various structures is remembered in variousCity Laments, destroyed either in a greatstorm,flood or by variouslyElamites,Subarians,Gutians and some other, as yet unidentified"Su-people". It was also recorded that the terrible acts of final destruction of the Ekur and its divine laws was committed bySargon the Great against his own people in approximately 2300 BC. TheCurse of Agade describes the same thing happening at the hands ofNaram-Sin "Enlil, because his beloved Ekur had been attacked, what destruction he wrought". The foundations are broken with largeaxes and itswatercourses are disabled, the "gate ofpeace" is demolished andwars start all over the land, statues are burnt and wealth carried off. There is a body of evidence showing that Naram-Sin instead rebuilt the Ekur, likely in a single building project that continued into the reign of his sonShar-Kali-Sharri, suggesting it was destroyed duringGutian raids. It was noted that statues of theSargonic kings were still honoured there during theUr III period.[8] Restorations of the Ekur were later carried out byUr-Nammu around 2050 BC andIshme-Dagan around 1950 BC, who made it fragrant again with incense"like a fragrant cedar forest".[2] Evidence was also found of further building work under the reign ofAgum Kakrime.[9] Another restoration at Nippur was carried out byAssyrian andBabylonian kingEsarhaddon between 681 and 669 BC.[10]
A hymn to Urninurta mentions the prominence of a tree in the courtyard of the Ekur, reminiscent of thetree of life in theGarden of Eden: "O, chosencedar, adornment of the yard of Ekur, Urinurta, for thy shadow the country may feel awe!". This is suggested by G. Windgren to reflect the concept of the tree as a mythical and ritual symbol of both king and god.[11]
The Ekur reconstruction project was documented in the Ekur archive; a number of administrative tablets found under theUr Gur platform or pavement level. These were found by an expedition from theUniversity of Pennsylvania between 1889 and 1900, led byJohn Punnett Peters,John Henry Haynes, andHermann Volrath Hilprecht. The tablets detail records of the building work and furnishings of the temple under Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri. These tablets describe the walls featuring statues of fourgoldbison. Thecourtyard was paved with a pattern of red and yellow bricks. The main entrance to the Ekur was adorned with twocopperlahmu-figures with golden faces. These obscure figures heldemblem-poles on either side. Two figures of large, winged, copperdragons guarded the gateway, their roaring mouths inlaid with gold. The doors were studded with copper and gold with heavy bolts resembling either dragons orwater buffalo. The interior likely featured an exquisite, carved wooden decorations, panelling and furniture. Inner shrines had doors, which were also built with golden facedlahmu-figures either side along with a number of votive statues plated with gold. Around twenty nine kilograms of gold was used making one hundred moon crescents and one hundred sun discs used in the decorations. Two hundred kilograms ofsilver were used in the construction of a singleshrine. No records of any personal adornments orjewellery were ever found in the Ekur.[9]
A total of seventy seven joiners were used in teams of eleven under seven foremen and fifty four carpenters under three foremen. Eighty six goldsmiths were employed under six foremen along with ten sculptors. The vast amounts of bronze suggested there were as many as two hundred smiths under fifteen foremen and an unknown number of engravers under three foremen. The Ekur archive is a testament to the power and wealth of theAkkadian Empire with artisans coming from around the land to participate under the direction of the master craftsman and 'Minister of Public Works' of the King. Manufacture was suggested to have taken place both in the temple and special workshop (Nippur cubitmeasuring rod pictured). The splendour of the designs and decorations led Age Westenholz to suggest the analogy of this spiritual sanctuary to the Sumerian empire with that of theVatican to theRoman Catholic world. The chief administrator of the Ekur or"sanga" of Enlil was appointed by the king and held special status in Nippur and votive inscriptions of the kings indicate that it had held this position since early dynastic times.[9]
Peter Jensen also associated the Ekur with the underworld in "Die Kosmologie der Babylonier", where he translated it as a settlement of demons.[12] The location also appears inLudlul bēl nēmeqi and other myths as a home of demons who go out into the land. It is noted by Wayne Horowitz that in none of thebilingual texts do the demons appear to be "going upwards" but "outwards", contrary to what would be expected if Ekur referred to later concepts such asSheol,Hades andHell, which were believed to be located under the surface of the earth.[13]Morris Jastrow discussed the place of the Ekur in Sumeriancosmology, "Another name which specifies the relationship ofAralu to the world is Ekur or 'mountain house' of the dead. Ekur is one of the names for the earth, but is applied more particularly to that part of the mountain, also known asE-khar-sag-kurkura (É.ḪAR.SAG.KUR.KUR-'a' "house of the mountain of all lands") where the gods were born. Before the later speculative view was developed, according to which the gods, or most of them, have their seats in heaven, it was on this mountain also that the gods were supposed to dwell. Hence Ekur became also one of the names for temple, as the seat of a god."[14]
In Chapter 18 of theRight Ginza, the Ekur is referred to inMandaic asekura (Classical Mandaic:ࡏࡊࡅࡓࡀ).[15]
