gs that cool (divine) wrath.She perfected divine service and the august offices,she said to the (surrounding) regions:"Let me institute peace there" The following is a summary of the initial creation:When An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaga [Nintur]fashioned the darkheaded (people)they had made the small animals (that come up) from (out of)the earth come up from the earth in abundance,and had let there be, as befits (it), gazelles,(wild) donkeys, and fourfooted beasts in the desert'' The god of wisdom, and Nintur were active in creation. It is obvious that this is referring to Sumerians, as they named themselves, the dark-headed people in history. This seems to indicate that this part of the text was preceded by a creation account.Shea also believes that the previous missing section is related to the development of mans plight. In a text from Ur, we find a reference to a time when there was neither agriculture nor weaving of cloth. Despite the obvious danger of this type of poverty, the people lived safely, as there were no dangerous animals and man had no opponent. The next legible section of the text, according to scholars, discusses the establishment of kingship, which was believed to be a gift from the gods. As the chief agent responsible for carrying out the gods' commands, the king directed the construction of cities and provided cult places and services for the gods. He also guided the people in the irrigation and growth of crops. Each city received half-bushel baskets from the harvest. Nintur assigned a patron deity to each of the five cities.The next portion contains the end of the list of kings who reigned in these cities. III. The Flood Story The great noise from the increasing human population prevented the gods from sleeping. Angered by this noise the god Enlil decided to eradicate mankind. Nintur mourned, but Enki foiled the plan by warning Ziusudra, the last king of Shuruppak: "May you heed my advice:By our hand a ...
