Nungal Hymn

Nungal Hymn

The cuneiform script, like our own alphabet, was used to write many different languages. This cuneiform tablet, written in Sumerian, contains 15 lines from a hymn to the goddess Nungal. The hymn was probably written by a scribe who found himself accused of a serious crime. Before his sentencing, and in the hope of obtaining leniency, he sings the praises of Nungal and of the prison over which she presides. This hymn became a literary classic, and more than 50 copies of it have survived.

Inscription

The gate of the great house, which is a furious storm,
a flood which covers everybody:
when a man of whom his god disapproves reaches it,
he is delivered into the august hands of Nungal,
the warden of the prison;
this man is held by a painful grip
like a wild bull with spread forelegs.
He is led to a house of sorrow.

Collected by

Joint Nippur Expedition
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1951-1952