Sacred Space & the Temple's Cosmic Center
The temple was not in the world but at its center — the founded bond where heaven touches earth.
The temple was more than a place of worship; it was understood as the center and foundation of the world. The collection of Sumerian Temple Hymns praises each great sanctuary in turn, and the Kesh Temple Hymn — one of the oldest literary texts known — exalts the temple of the mother-goddess as a thing of awe rising 'like a mountain.' Such hymns present the temple as founded by the gods in the beginning, as the secure bond joining heaven and earth, and as the source from which order and abundance flow to the land. To honor the temple was to honor the structure of the cosmos itself.
Key passages(11)
The princely lord, the princely lord came forth from the house. Enlil, the princely lord, came forth from the house. The princely lord came forth royally from the house. Enlil lifted his glance over a
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The great house is as great as a mountain. The house of Enlil is as great as a mountain. The house of Ninlil is as great as a mountain. The bedchamber is as great as a mountain. The house which knows
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O E-unir (House which is a ziqqurat), grown together with heaven and earth, foundation of heaven and earth, great banqueting hall of Eridug! Abzu, shrine erected for its prince, E-du-kug (House which
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A hymn to Nibru and Išme-Dagan (Išme-Dagan C)
Shrine of Nibru, shrine surpassing the abzu, shining E-kur; your prince is the Great Mountain Enlil who surpasses the Prince . Your great lady is the good woman, Mother Ninlil, excelling in refinement
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There is a city, there is a city whose powers are apparent. Niĝin is the city whose powers are apparent. The holy city is the city whose powers are apparent. The mountain rising from the water is the
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Enlil's commands are by far the loftiest, his words commands are holy, his utterances are immutable! The fate he decides is everlasting, his glance makes the mountains anxious, his …… reaches (?) into
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[... ] in... [... ]. [... ] in Esusugara. ... [... ]... (is) the seat of ditto (Ištar) in Egigunu. Kiunuga (is) the seat of ditto (Ištar) in Egipariminbi. Kišenšena (is) the seat of ditto (Ištar) in t
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[ F ] or [ (the god) Aššur,... who dwells in E ] šarra, the great lord, [ his ] lord: [ Sennacherib, (king of the world), king of Assyria, the one who fashioned image (s) of ] the deities Aššur, Anu,
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[... ] waits for the sceptre on the... [... ].... As... [... ], the sceptre and the shoe (for dressing the god) arise, and the gods and goddesses go in front of him and behind him, as before. They go
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O eastern (?) house of Sumer, I will declare your greatness! O E-kiš-nu-ĝal, whose purification rites are brilliant, O house of Nanna! O shrine Urim, I shall glorify your name. Emerging from the holy
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House, furious storm of heaven and earth, battering its enemies; prison, jail of the gods, august neck-stock of heaven and earth! Its interior is evening light, dusk spreading wide; its awesomeness is
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