Every claim on this site comes from a credible source, and the source is always shown so you can check it yourself. How we check
Credible Theories Surprise me
Sumer and Babylon · Inanna and Enki

Inanna's Boat of Heaven

EvidenceDocumentedThe text exists and is quoted from a published translation. What it describes is a separate question.What this means
ReferenceInanna and Enki
Writtenc. 2000–1800 BCE
SetEridu and Uruk
Inanna visits Enki in Eridu. He gets drunk and gives her over a hundred me: kingship, the throne, the craft of the smith, writing, music, and more. She loads them into the Boat of Heaven and escapes to Uruk while Enki's monsters chase her.

Summary by the editors. Translation: Summary in my own words

Read it literally

Civilization as a set of physical items that can be stolen and carried in a vehicle. The me are the hard drives.

What scholars say

The me are the 'divine powers' of civilization.

Looks like technology From the sky
People and places hereUruk

Quick answers about Inanna and Enki

Where is Inanna and Enki found?

Inanna and Enki (Sumer and Babylon). Translation quoted: Summary in my own words.

When was Inanna and Enki written?

c. 2000–1800 BCE.

What do scholars say about Inanna and Enki?

The me are the 'divine powers' of civilization.

Rabbit holes in this passage

GodEnki (Ea)Enki saves humanity from the Flood without technically breaking his oath: bound to secrecy, he tells the plan to a wall while the hero listens on the other side. The Sumerian god of fresh water also designs the first humans, and in another story gives away civilization while drunk. Who walked off with it?PlaceEriduArchaeologists found eighteen temples stacked in the same spot at Eridu, each rebuilt on top of the last for roughly three thousand years, starting around 5400 BCE. The Sumerians said it was the oldest city in the world, where kingship first descended from heaven. How much of the legend does the digging support?GodInannaTo revive Inanna in the underworld, Enki makes two small beings from the dirt under his fingernails. She is also the goddess who, the story says, stole more than a hundred divine powers, the me behind kingship, priesthood and music, and sailed them home to Uruk in the Boat of Heaven. How did she get away with it?

Sources

  1. Enki and the World Order, ETCSL t.1.1.3, University of OxfordPrimary text
  2. The Sumerian King List, trans. Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL t.2.1.1), University of OxfordPrimary text
  3. Inana and Enki, ETCSL t.1.3.1, University of OxfordPrimary text

Scholarly dates are rounded. The wording follows the named public-domain translation.

Updated