Tablet of Destinies (mythic item)

In Mesopotamian mythology, the Tablet of Destinies[1] (Sumerian: 饞伨饞墕饞嫽饞姀 dub namtarra;[2] Akkadian: 峁璾p 拧墨m膩tu, 峁璾ppi 拧墨m膩ti) was envisaged as a clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform writing, also impressed with cylinder seals, which, as a permanent legal document, conferred upon the god Enlil his supreme authority as ruler of the universe.

In the Sumerian poem Ninurta and the Turtle it is the god Enki, rather than Enlil, who holds the tablet.[3] Both this poem and the Akkadian Anz没 poem share concern of the theft of the tablet by the bird Imdugud (Sumerian) or Anz没 (Akkadian).[4] Supposedly, whoever possessed the tablet ruled the universe.[5] In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, Tiamat bestows this tablet on Kingu and gives him command of her army. Marduk, the chosen champion of the gods, then fights and destroys Tiamat and her army. Marduk reclaims the Tablet of Destinies for himself, thereby strengthening his rule among the gods.

See also

References
  1. Not, as frequently misquoted in general works, the Tablets of Destiny.
  2. "The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature". etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  3. Oxford.
  4. Black, J; Green, A (1992), "Tablet of Destinies", Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, London: British Museum Press.
  5. Antiqillum.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.