A favorite view of Enlil
A favorite view
of Enlil
Sumerian scholars devised a literary genre devoted to the debate or philosophical speculation, whose main question was " which was more useful to humankind"? In such compositions, the major component is the argument between two protagonists, which goes back and forth several times, and in its course each of the rivals "talks up" his own importance and "talks down" that of his opponent. All this is written in poetic form, and compositions are rounded out formally with an appropriate mythological introduction telling of the creation of the two protagonists, and with a suitable ending in which the debate is settled by the decision of one or more of the leading deities of the Sumerian pantheon. The choice of Enlil and Enki to illustrate this file is due to the fact that disputations are in general resolved according to the wise judgement of the two Soul Brothers and Spirit of Sumer
A favorite view of Enki