Dreams & Divine Revelation
The gods spoke in sleep — commissioning kings, warning of doom, in dreams the learned knew how to read.
Dreams were a recognized channel of divine communication. A god might appear in a dream to commission a king to build a temple (as Ningirsu does to Gudea), to warn of coming danger, or to reveal hidden things; ominous dreams foretold the future and could be interpreted by experts using dream-handbooks. Some dreams were clear messages, others cryptic signs requiring decoding, and rituals existed to ward off the evil portended by a bad dream. From royal building-accounts to the dream-omen series, the dream sits alongside divination as a means by which the unseen will of the gods broke through into waking life.
Key passages(9)
His heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside. The lad's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside. Dumuzid's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countr
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[... ] a man keeps seeing [... ] in his dream [... ] he lifts it [... ] you make a wax figurine of a child; you write [... ] (on) its left hip; you set out the ritual assemblage in front of Šamaš; you
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... [... ] ... [... ] Of... [... ]. Incantation: [ O Ea,... ]... of heaven and earth, creator of [... ], Designer of [...,... ] of help, he who decides the verdicts concerning the gods [... ]. (On acc
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[ Incantation: ] O clod, O clod! [ In ] the lump that is pinched off from you (is a bit of) myself; [ in ] the lump that is pinched off from me (is a bit of) yourself. [ O clod! ] The evil of the drea
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The building of Ninĝirsu's temple (Gudea, cylinders A and B)
On the day when in heaven and earth the fates had been decided, Lagaš raised its head high in full grandeur, and Enlil looked at Lord Ninĝirsu with approval. In our city there was perfection. The hea
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To …… the sanctuary like a cargo ship; to …… its great furnaces; to see that its canals …… waters of joy, to see that the hoes till the arable tracts and that …… the fields; to turn the house of Kiš,
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[ For the goddess ] Ištar, the exalted lady who resides in the city Ar [ bela,... ]..., who subjugates [... ] Ashurbanipal, who (m) to/for... [... ], (whom) you gave the just scepter, which expands th
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Lacuna [... ]... [... saying: “Grasp the feet of Ashur ] banipal, king of [ Assyria, and conquer your enemies through the mention of his name.” On the (very) day ] he saw [ thi ] s [ dream, he sent
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[ Incantation: ] O merciful [ goddess ], reviver of the dying man, [ whose ] look is life and whose favourable attention is peace; [ wise woman ] among the gods, controller of the populace, holder of
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