The Ancients Series | Part I: Sumerians

The Ancients Series for AboveTopSecret.com
Authored by serbsta.

Part I: The Sumerians
Part II: The Indians
Part III: The Chinese
Part IV: The Egyptians
Part V: The Maya

Welcome to the Ancients series. There has been a lot of recent news regarding new archaeological discoveries which continually make us question conventional history. In this series I will aim to explore 5 ancient civilizations which all heavily dispute our currently accepted history through their recorded literature and technological feats. The main focus will be on any areas of interest in regards to these civilizations, whether these be technological, mythological, etc. In doing so I hope to cement a strong case that will at least allow for credible discretion against current accepted theory ; further, to have a guide here for those who are new to this area and are interested in getting the basics and exploring the main areas of interest for each civilization.

Disclaimer: I subscribe to no ideas, theories, philosophies presented below, they serve only for the purpose of discussion and education.

PART I | THE SUMERIANS

Sumer, and those of

The Sumerians, the people of the land of Sumer, are sometimes called the ‘sudden civilization’, and for good reason. They suddenly spawned around 4000BC in between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Mesopotamia. Many Biblical scholars claim this area to be the Biblical site of the ‘Garden of ED.EN’; it is regarded as the Cradle of Civilization. The Sumerians developed to become the most advanced civilization on Earth, creating incredible developments in mathematics, science, astrology, architecture and agriculture and are credited with many inventions such as the early developments of the wheel, military weaponry and cuneiform, the first writing system in the world. How did this sudden expanse in human ingenuity happen?
What I believe to be of significant importance when researching any ancient civilization is to look at the meanings of words, the definitions, the origins.

Sumer literally translates to ‘Land of the Lords of Brightness’. What possible reasoning could there to call it this? After all, the naming of a nation and one’s land held detrimental importance not only for ancient cultures but for modern day ones aswell. A logical example, whether fictional or not, would be Egypt. Egypt got its name when Noah’s son, Ham, married a woman called Egypt. Their daughter was named Egyptus, and she first discovered the land while it was still covered with water. Once the floods had receded, Egyptus settled down and named the land after her mother, Egypt. The reason that Egypt (the land) is sometimes referred to as Kemet (or Kermit) is because Egypt (the person) was black by decent, hence Kermit meaning ‘the Black land’. That’s just one logical example to put things into perspective. There has to be reasoning behind the naming of a people and their land, so who or what were these ‘lords of brightness’, and what possible importance could they hold with the people of Sumer? It’s important to note here that light has strong associations with knowledge and enlightenment; this is evident in all ancient cultures.

Now the Sumerians themselves called their land ‘the water land’. It’s interesting that a lot of Origins ‘myths’ talk about lands covered with water, leaves a lot for speculation, but that is for another time. The Sumerians referred to themselves as ùĝ saĝ gígpe which translates to ‘the big-headed people’. The reasoning behind this choice of definition could have many reasons, the people of Sumer were no different biologically to other humans of the period, so this definition, if not depicting what they actually are (being ‘big-headed’) could only be describing what they want to be OR what they are in some way connected to. Ancient Sumerian mythology carries vivid tales of wars between men and God’s, interaction between men and God’s and the transferring of knowledge between men and God’s.

The son’s of Anu

Sumerian religion is somewhat difficult to grasp as it (like many other civilizations) encompassed a dangerous blend of recorded ‘reality’ and depicted ‘myth’. It was however, a polytheistic system of belief which rendered God’s as men and men as God’s. The deities of the Sumerian people were called Annunaki (sometimes Ananaki). Annunaki were ‘those of royal blood’ as they were the children of Heaven (Anu) and (Na) Earth (Ki). So what were these God’s, and how did their existence within Sumer come to be.

Anu was the prime God, the God of heaven, the God of god’s. Anu was one of the first Sumerian God’s, along with Enki and Enlil.

Enki was the God of water, but more importantly he was considered the God knowledge and wisdom as it was Enki who travelled to Earth and taught man. Enki means lord (En) of Earth (Ki). Enki’s sacred number was the number 40 (the number of death), further, Enki is regarded by some as the snake (devil) in the Garden of ED.EN in Genesis. The demonization of Enki is evident.

Enlil was the God of air, the ‘lord of the wind’. Anu, Enki and Enlil are the three prime deities of Sumerian mythology.

Sumerian God’s were worshipped through the building of zigurrat’s.

The Epic of Enuma Elish

The Enuma Elish Epic is a Babylonian creation myth. However, the God’s of Sumer were the God’s of the Fertile Crescent, or Mesopotamia. Hence, the Enuma Elish is a depiction of the Creation based on Sumerian mythology which was later used in Babylonian, Akkadian and Assyrian myths.

The Enuma Elish is recorded on 7 tablets in ancient Babylonian, its importance for this thread is fundamental as it depicts the God’s of Sumer and their involvement in the Creation. In the Epic, the God Marduk is the son of Enki, the ‘lord’ God of ancient Babylon. The epic depicts the battle between Marduk and Tiamat (mother of life), Tiamat is believed by some to be the physical and metaphysical planet Earth. Tiamat seeks revenge over Ea (Enki’s father, primeval God) after Ea killed Tiamat’s husband, Apsu (primeval God). Marduk, being Enki’s son fights against Kingu (the consort of Tiamat) over who will have control of Earth. Marduk ends up winning and slays Kingu; he then creates humankind from his own blood.

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Figure 1: The original Enuma Elish Epic in Sumerian Cunieform.

The following is a basic rundown of the battle that occurs in the Enuma Elish.

The first tablet begins:

When the sky above was not named,
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name,
And the primeval Apsû, who begat them,
And chaos, Tiamat, the mother of them both,
Their waters were mingled together,
And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen;
When of the gods none had been called into being.

Take this with the Hebrew Bible which states in Genesis:

In the beginning of God's creating the skies and the earth, when the earth had been shapeless and formless, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and God's spirit was hovering on the face of the water, God said, 'Let there be light!'

In order to see the similarities between these two recounts of Creation it is recommended to re-read both and to understand the fundamental elements of each. In the Epic the earth existed as a solid rock and Apsu existed within the sea that surrounded it. The sky curved over the sea, and the God’s resided about the sky.

CONTINUED BELOW


[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]
EDIT: making changes per request of OP

[edit on 23-11-2009 by gimme_some_truth]

CONTINUED

The English translation of Genesis above can easily be translated to depict the immediate chaos after God’s creation of Earth. In both, the existence of the world is empty besides the water. The sequence of creation is also similar; light, firmaments, land, luminaries and man.

Night and day were created as a regulator of time:

Gen. 1:14: And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years”

Enuma Elish 5:12–13: “The Moon-god he caused to shine forth, the night he entrusted to him. He appointed him, a being of the night, to determine the days;”

The consultation of God(s) before the creation of man:

Gen 1:26: "God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

Enuma Elish 6:4-9: That which he had conceived in his heart he imparted unto him:"My blood will I take and bone will I fashion. I will make man, that man may. I will create man who shall inhabit the earth”

The similarities are many and there is a high chance that the Hebrew Bible is in fact a derivation of the original Epic. So our Sumerian God’s survived in literature, in a way, to this very day. The question then is now how such coincidences came to be as it is clear (only few examples provided above) that the writers of Genesis were very familiar with the Enuma Elish, but why they would base this ‘new’ creation on an already told account, could it be they were simply trying to retell the same story in a different style.

Enki, the original Prometheus

Prometheus was, according to Greek mythology a God who stole the fire from Zeus, the fire symbolising knowledge, and gave it to mankind. Prometheus is credited, in Greek mythology as being an enthusiast of mankind as he went against the other God’s wishes and taught forbidden knowledge. Much like Enki, who was considered the God of wisdom and knowledge, among other things. Enki was one of the keepers of divine decrees called ME, these ME made civilization possible as they held the secrets to technology, societal development, agriculture, etc.

According to Laurence Gardner, “The dominant tenet of the new thought was based wholly on the utmost fear of Enlil [Enki’s brother], who was known to have instigated the great Flood [or else acquiesced in not warning the humans, or making any attempt to save them], and to have facilitated the invasion and destruction of civilized Sumer. Here was a deity who spared no mercy for those who did not comply with his dictatorial authority.”

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/b3ac631300a4.png[/atsimg]
Figure 2: Two depictions of 'The Temptation', one of a serpent, the other of a half-man hybrid.

Bramley states that, “We therefore find Ea [Enki] as the reputed culprit who tried to teach early man (Adam) the way to spiritual freedom. This suggests that Ea intended his creation, Homo sapiens, to be suited for Earth labor, but at some point he changed his mind about using spiritual enslavement as a means.”

Let’s look at this feisty relationship between the brother God’s in the Biblical perspective.

+It was Enki who created the first humans, AD.AM and EVE.

+It was Enlil though, who created the land that was, ED.EN.

+Enki was the serpent in the garden who urged AD.AM and EVE to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, Enki was the serpent.

+It was Enlil then, who drove them out of ED.EN once they had betrayed his commands, his authority.

+Enki was there to clothe AD.AM and EVE.

It’s interesting to note here the use of the Hebrew word for snake in the Bible, nâchâsh, which translates to ‘the hissing serpent’. But it comes from the word NHSH, which means ‘to decipher, to find out’.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/f5bfeb88b33a.png[/atsimg]
Figure 3: The Annunaki God's(outisde) pass knowledge to the King's(inside) standing around the Tree of Knowledge.

The above image is an Assyrian (remember, Babylonian and Assyrian mythology derived from Sumerian mythology) peice which depicts ANUNAKI gods on the outside and humans on the inside. Popular belief is that the God on the left or right is Enki himself, giving life to the humans, with the Tree of Life in the middle, providing spiritual enlightenment, all the while being overlooked by Anshar (the flying god).

So, as we understand it, Enki gave knowledge and enlightenment to mankind. Enki is commonly represented as a double-helix snake. This symbol is the modern day symbol for medicine, but the double-helix itself, is the same shape as human DNA, oddly enough.

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/690a840f54a6.png[/atsimg]
Figure 4: Similarity between human DNA structure and the image of the twin snakes.

Further, Thoth is believed to be the son of Enki. Those who are familiar with Egyptian-Greek mythology would know that Thoth and the Greek God Hermes were believed to be one in the same, going by the name Hermes Trismegistus. The caduceus or the wand of Hermes (depicted below) is confused by many to be the symbol of medicine, while it is in fact the Rod of Asclepius (single snake around tree) which is the traditional symbol for medicine.

Before traversing on a completely different path, it is evident that Enki and his association with the snake (knowledge) has traversed the millennia and survived in modern day symbolism. In a way, the mythological Enki still survives in modern day science, as he was the father of all sciences for the Sumerians. Those who subscribe to the writings of Sitchin would say that the representation of the double-helix snake as Enki and the close resemblance to human DNA is not coincidental, as Enki was the biological designer of modern humans. However, Sitchin’s translations of Sumerian cuneiform are questionable to say the least, and in the purpose of maintaining some validity in this thread in terms of Sumerian mythology, we shall steer close of paying too much attention to Sitchin. So, Enki was the Prometheus for Sumerians, the giver of knowledge, the victor of the war between his brother Enlil.

Clay and stone, pathway to the Skies

Sumerians, like other cultures, idolized their God’s. This was done through the creation of sculptures and the building of pyramidal ziggurats among other things. The primarily used material for the creation of sculptures was clay, it was the most easily accessible as other materials had to be imported from surroundings areas ancient Mesopotamia. Statues were usually depicted in the position of prayer or meditation, with clasped hands. There is a strong case of accentuation of the eyes in many carvings, sculptures. This accentuation is mostly done when the sculpture is depicted a deity.

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Figure 5: Sculpture with enlarged eyes, indented eyes.

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Figure 6: Enlarged eyes on a sculpture.

Whatever the case may be with this peculiar art form, it is clear that these are unique cases and not all Sumerian sculptures were attributed with such strange characteristics.

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Figure 7: Examples of sculptures with typical human characteristics.

CONTINUED BELOW


[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]

[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]

CONTINUED

Fig. 7 shows an array of Sumerian art, which unlike the example in Fig. 6 depicts humans with normal facial characteristics. What’s interesting to note is that Fig. 6 is adorned with neck jewellery, signifying their importance, prestige, authority, etc. Fig. 6 could itself be a simple oddity within the large collection of Sumerian sculptures.

Sumerian temples were small brick houses where God’s were supposed to come and visit periodically. These temples were ornamented with decorations and artefacts so as to recall those that were built by the earliest Sumerians. These temples houses continued to grow larger and larger as they were now being built on platforms. These were called ziggurats, which is derived from the Akkadian ziquratu which translates to ‘the high’ or ‘the raised’. These ziggurats became one of the greatest architectural feats by mankind and coincided with the era of Pyramid building which saw progress in areas such as China, Central America, Egypt, etc.

Fig. 8 (below) shows the Great Ziggurat of Ur or E-temen-nigur in Sumerian which translates to ‘house whose foundation creates terror’. Again I stress the importance of names and their purpose. The approximate completion of the first temple was approximately around the 21st century BC, before later modifications and reparations.

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Figure 8: The Great Ziggurat of Ur

END OF PART ONE: THE SUMERIANS

PART 2 WILL BE PUBLISHED AT A LATER DATE

=====================================================

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...
home.comcast.net...
home.comcast.net...
faculty.gvsu.edu...
encyclopedia.farlex.com...
faculty.gvsu.edu...
www.sacred-texts.com...
www.archaeos.org...
www.jstor.org...
www.godchecker.com...
ancienthistory.about.com...
rbedrosian.com...
www.jrank.org...
www.jameswbell.com...

Laurence Gardner, Genesis of the Grail Kings, Bantam Press, New York, 1999.

Zecharia Sitchin, The 12th Planet, 1976, The Stairway to Heaven, 1980, The Wars of Gods and Men, 1985, The Lost Realms, 1990, When Time Began, 1990, Genesis Revisited, 1990, Divine Encounters, 1995, Avon Books, New York.

William Bramley, The Gods of Eden, Avon Books, New York, 1989, 1990.


[edit on 29/10/2009 by serbsta]

Bid you the bestest of days and the widest of smiles all throughout friend... gaggin to go home read this Much thanks.

Warm regards,

aLaN

Best wishes for your Ancients Series which provides some basic education on concepts that have often been used on ATS but their origin and context rarely understood.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Best wishes for your Ancients Series which provides some basic education on concepts that have often been used on ATS but their origin and context rarely understood.

Thankyou very much. Your input into this was greatly appreciated aswell.

As for the thread, please feel free to discuss/question/refute/debate/etc on anything above.

Cheers.

Great info foe those unfamiliar with the Sumerians. S&F for your time.

Question though - What happened to "Lilith"? Supposedly the first woman created “with” AD.AM before EVE and the rib? How does she or was she or did she get placed in by myth and imagination?

Love Part 1

Thank you!!

I love reading these threads. I learn sooooo much!

Just one question.... I have a hard time following ancient time lines as depending on who you read they sometimes conflict. You mention that the Summarians appeared around 4000BC but the zuggarats were build in the 21st century BC. I don't understand those dates in relation to each other. Is 21st century BC = 21,000 BC?

Perhaps you could include a short timeline with your series. It sure would help me understand better.

Thanks - S & F.

reply to post by Julie Washington


It's 2100 years Julie, you have an extra 0 in there.


I really enjoy learning the Sumerian culture, but it tends to upset a lot of the hard core Christians, many of the "original" stories in the Bible were known legend to the Sumerian people, except the miracles were attributed to different people.

FABULOUS!



Thank you for this great work!

Springer...

reply to post by Rhetoric


Ahh, I see. Thank you. 2100BC
Of course, that makes sense.
Thank you.

I was going to put something like this together but you beat me to it

But thanks for doing this i love reading about the ancients

But question wouldn't it be safe to say that Enki and Enlil where both serpents since are brothers

I've studied Sumerian culture and epics, as well. Great information here. Nicely presented I think. Better not mention the similarities between the Sumerian Epics and the Holy Bible to a preacher or Christian Theologian. It may upset them and besides, you won't convince them of anything.

Looking forward to Part II.

S & F

Excellent work.
Well thought out and researched.
I'm looking forward to part 2.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Best wishes for your Ancients Series which provides some basic education on concepts that have often been used on ATS but their origin and context rarely understood.

Basic indeed.. I couldn't read past the first post me self, from an "academic" viewpoint, it is a butchery of history.. and a great, great deal of speculation. Biblical references and lizard aliens typically tune me out. I am unsure of why people have recently taken to.. I don't know.. trying to make ancient Gods into aliens or real Gods even.. Why can't a story, be a story?

An Absoltley well deserved S+F

Sometimes i wish i wasnt so lazy as i have dabbled into doing this. But, this is a great introduction for those unfamilur with the Sumerians.....bring on PT2, really looking forward to it

Spiritual Spiro!

It is interesting to note that 1 million years ago the Earth was a water-world, according to Stewart Swerdlow. That's why god's spirit (spacecraft?) was hovering above the face of water.
This means Earth wasn't colinisable for gods until water got away.

This makes a lot of sense. So in the bible, Enki and his followers would be the fallen angels while Enlil would be the almighty. you could connect the dots now.

Sumer literally translates to ‘Land of the Lords of Brightness’.

Land of Lucifer. Enlil did not want us to eat the apple because he knew we would turn out the way we are today. While Enki felt compassionate to make us like them. It seems that Enki was not as smart as Enlil.

I hope I'm not to off topic with this, but I've been thinking recently about the inventions that we attribute to early civilizations and this post brings up the invention of the wheel within the first paragraph, so what better place to discuss it since I can't start my own thread.

I was driving through the country this past winter looking out into nature and since I had recently been reading about sacred geometry I began looking for shapes that naturally occur. Then I began to think of what pre-civilized men would have seen without the interference of modern construction.

So let's imagine; there are no lights; no buildings; only nature. What do you see? The only perfect shape that I could come up with is the circle. We see the sun during the day and the moon and stars at night.

Then I thought of what the first artists would have depicted. Certainly these perfect circles that exist in the sky would have been prime candidates. And then, of course, artists tend to depict the objects of their affections so how long do we think it would have taken, before cave men began to depict their lovers faces which include an ovular head and oval eyes.

So then how long before the first sculptor came along and rendered these heavenly circles, faces and eyes into what would have essentially been the first wheel? How long before they dropped it onto the ground and discovered that it rolled?

With this in mind, the wheel doesn't seem like such a miraculous invention to me...it seems like an obvious first step in the world of 3D art. What I find far more interesting are the inventions of the triangle and rectangle. Certainly, some trees are vaguely rectangular as are mountains but I can't find a perfect triangle anywhere in nature the way that I can find perfect circles. It seems an even further leap, to me, to find a rectangle in nature, let alone a perfect square (though human teeth come close).

So who invented the brick and where did the inspiration come from? And who first decided to stack those bricks into a pyramid? Are these inventions not far more astounding? In fact, I don't even regard the wheel as an invention of man anymore. Regardless of to whom/what you attribute the creation of the universe, that creator is the inventor of the wheel. Man merely depicted it in 3 dimensions and discovered that it rolled.

[edit on 29-10-2009 by winston37]