Skip to main content
The Sumerian ME, divine decrees / arts of civilization
Mythic

The Sumerian ME, divine decrees / arts of civilization

Dalamatia Ten Councils, civilization delivered as organized knowledge
UB

Dalamatia Ten Councils, civilization delivered as organized knowledge

Dalamatia Ten Councils, civilization delivered as organized knowledge = The Sumerian ME, divine decrees / arts of civilization

Informed SpeculationModerate evidenceSumerian / Mesopotamian

The Connection

The Prince's 100 staff were organized into 10 councils of 10, each governing a domain: food, domestication, science, trade, religion, health, art, mining, tribal relations, and the supreme court. The Sumerian ME are divine decrees governing identical domains (kingship, priesthood, crafts, music, writing, law) held by Enki at Eridu. In both traditions, civilization arrives as a package delivered by superhuman beings, organized into discrete categories.

UB Citation

UB 66:5.1-14

Academic Source

ETCSL 1.3.1: Inanna and Enki; Kramer, The Sumerians (1963)

Historical Evidence(Moderate evidence)

The myth of Inanna stealing the ME from Enki (ETCSL 1.3.1) lists over 100 divine decrees covering every domain of civilized life. S. N. Kramer: the ME represent "the fundamental, unalterable, comprehensive assortment of powers and duties, norms and standards, rules and regulations relating to civilized life." The UB describes the same concept: 10 organized councils teaching civilization to primitive humanity, predating the Sumerian literary tradition by ~200,000 years. The myth of Inanna taking the ME from Enki may encode a memory of the rebellion splitting the staff's civilizational knowledge between factions.

Related Mappings

Related Articles