Ancient literary criticism of The Epic of Gilgamesh

by the beloved prophetess Mara of Nippur

plus a brief biographical note on the Blessed Mara

Many scholars consider the following to be one of the most striking passages in the Sumerian classic The Condemnation of Mara. Here the prophetess soars to new heights (or plumbs new depths) of vitriol in her searing denunciations of the popular culture and myths of her time. Although contempt, derision, disdain, malediction and malice characterize the entire text of The Condemnation of Mara, this sublime passage (143: 27 37) stands out for its blistering ferocity, relentless progression of insults and wealth of wordplay, of which much is unfortunately lost in translation.

Hear, ye wayward winebibbers that lend yer ears to scribes that fabricate tales of harlots seducing baboons!*1 Harken, O ye who are but walking vessels of dung! Verily, for fabricating falsehood there is a punishment, and a judgement is decreed for disseminating lies. Simpletons, dullards and dimwits who believe that Utnapishtim*2 liveth still. Verily be stupidity a grave transgression, and ignorance its handmaiden. Be not yer heroes that ye have formed, thugs and buffoons? Be not yer deities that ye have fathomed, demons and harlots? Behold, yer scribes be adders, yer priests be reptiles. And ye be fools for whoring yer minds after the inventions of these mendacious sons of prostitutes. Lusteth yer goddess*3 after mankind? Blind dupes, see ye not that Inanna and Lilitu be conjured from the perverse desires of yer wicked hearts? Ye credulous that build the gilgals*4, ye gullible that construct the ziggurats. Ye brood of vipers that esteem the man of violence*5, ye spawn of snake faeces that adore the criminal! Verily could the torrents of the Idigina*6 not cleanse ye. Truly could the waters of the Buranuna*7 not cover yer iniquities. In truth be ye not even worthy of the eternal torment that awaiteth ye in the netherworld. Sela.
1 A reference to the seduction of Enkidu by a prostitute 2 The Biblical Noah 3 A reference to Inanna/Ishtars infatuation with Gilgamesh 4 Stone Circles 5 Gilgamesh was an evil, oppressive ruler 6 Tigris 7 Euphrates

Mara held the Sumerian deities in contempt, especially Inanna (Ishtar) and Dumuzid (Tammuz). She also despised the heroes Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Brief Biography of the Blessed Mara

The beloved Sumerian prophetess Mara at the ripe old age of 108. She had retired by now and ceased publishing clay tablets. In her day, the various epistles, essays, wisdom sayings, proverbs, sequels and episodes that today make up her masterpiece The Condemnation of Mara, were all bestsellers that spent months at Number One on the Clay Tablet Charts of cities like Nippur, Ur, Uruk, Kish, Lagash and Bad-Tibira. So at this stage her disciples wrote down what she said (not much). Mostly she spent her days sunning herself in front of her house on a hilltop in a tony suburb of Nippur (provided for her by the ruler Ur-Nammu (Ur-Engir)), looking down at the Ziggurats while cursing the city, the lands of Shumer and Akkad, the neighboring states like Ilam, Assyria, Mitanni and the Hittites, and the rest of the world in general. Sometimes she ended an extended cursing session with the formulaic expression "The Lord sleepeth not."

Mara disapproved of most things and she made no distinction between the pious and the wicked but consigned them all to eternal torment in the most graphic descriptions of the underworld which she at various times called "Apsu" (abyss), Netherworld, Realm of Nergal or All-Encompassing Void. MARA 60:26. Verily weary ye the Lord with yer incessant expressions of piety. Know ye not that in hell, a special place of unimaginable suff'ring has been reserved for the pious?

In the few rare instances where Mara does mention the mercy of God, it is with reluctance and disapproval. MARA 111: 44 47. Hark! Yer resurrection myths are falsehoods. Verily have yer sins not one of which is forgiven coloured ye blood red. Behold, ye will be tormented in the abyss until the Creator pulls ye out of it. A grave error, in my opinion, yet durst I not raise my voice. Sela. These writings made her extremely popular amongst both the elites and the common people in the Land of Shumer and even beyond its borders where fragments of The Condemnation of Mara have been found in languages like Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hittite (Nesite), Hurrian, Old Persian and Ugaritic. Let us conclude this tribute to the First Individual and the First Monotheist in History with the introductory verse of her magnificent collected works, The Condemnation of Mara 1 verse 1: When thou awakest in the morning, rejoice! For thou art one day closer to the hour of thy death.

The Sumerians were known for their piety, of which Mara disapproved.

Related Reading
Death in all Directions:
The bestselling clay tablet that unintentionally gave rise to the tourism industry
http://www.scribd.com/doc/135793016/Death-in-All-Directions

To Maras fury and bitterness, the popular clay tablet box set promoted travel and tourism. One week after release, the set hit the besteller clay tablet lists in Nippur, Ur and Uruk. Within three months, it had reached number one in every major city of Shumer and entered the top 10 in Agade up north. Within a year, the Akkadian translation became a hit all over again in Northern Mesopatamia whilst the Sumerian version was still in the top 5. As evidenced by later sections in The Condemnation of Mara, the prophetess initial rage at the boom in foreign travel inspired by the box set changed to a wry and grim satisfaction in the incorrigibility of the human soul.