Position in chronology
A hymn to Nanna (Nanna O)
Written in modern English
The opening four lines are missing and a fifth is too damaged to read. What remains praises Nanna: An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursaja cherish him at his place of creation, and he is called the exalted adviser of heaven and earth — though the end of that line is also lost. As the youthful Suen moves across the sky, the Anuna gods stand in attendance, and across all four corners of the world the black-headed people lift their eyes to him, the firstborn son of Enlil. These lines are then repeated, with Nanna and Suen named together.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — scholar edition
ETCSL4 lines missing 1 line fragmentary You possess ......! An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaja treat you with deserved affection in your place of creation. Exalted Nanna ......, adviser in heaven and on earth ......! An, Enlil, Enki and Ninhursaja treat you with deserved affection in your place of creation. Youthful Suen, as you move the Anuna gods stand in attendance. In the four quarters of the world the black-headed people raise their eyes to you, the first-born son of Enlil. Nanna, youthful Suen, as you move the Anuna gods stand in attendance. In the four quarters of the world the black-headed people raise their eyes to you, the first-born son of Enlil.
Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature — scholar edition (Oxford, Black/Cunningham/Robson/Zólyomi).
Scholarly note
Composition c.4.13.15 in the ETCSL catalogue. Sumerian literary text reconstructed from multiple cuneiform manuscripts, the great majority Old Babylonian (c. 1900–1600 BCE). Translation reproduced from the ETCSL edition.
Attribution
Image: .
Translation excerpted from ETCSL c.4.13.15: A hymn to Nanna (Nanna O). Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Robson, E. & Zólyomi, G. (eds.), The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=c.4.13.15.
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