Myths and Legends—Southwest Asia (Ancient Mesopotamia)

Enki and the confusion of tongues

A When the world was new,all the people of the world spoke one tongue.There was no hunger and people were never sick.The heat of the day brought no insects and no wild dogs came in the dark night.All the people had bread and fish to eat.

B In the land of the two great rivers there were many gods but Enki was among the greatest.It was Enki who had brought water to the land.He was wise and powerful,and a builder of things.

C The king of the city of Uruk was building a great temple to Enki,higher and more beautiful than any temple ever built.Skilled workers from across the land had been working for many years but it was still not complete.The king came to see the building and he wasn’t satisfied.‘This temple must be the most beautiful in the world,’ he cried.‘I must have more gold and diamonds.’

D The land of Aratta had mountains full of gold and diamonds,so the king of Uruk sent a message to demand they be sent to him.The king of Aratta refused angrily,saying,‘You will never have the treasure of my people.You must send your armies and we will make war.’

E Enki saw that thousands of people would die so he spoke his nam-shub—words of magic in the original language of the world—and the minds of people became confused.One language became many languages.The kings of Aratta and Uruk,the soldiers and all the people found that they could not understand each other so they travelled across the world to build new cities for themselves.At the end of time,Enki will speak a new nam-shub and the tongues of the world will be united again.

Activity 1

Before you read,complete the sentences with words from the box.

1.A ______ is a language or style of speaking.

2.When two or more things are joined together in one group,they are ______.

3.Someone who has experience and knowledge,and makes good decisions is ______.

4.A ______ is a very expensive,clear stone,often used on wedding rings.

5.Someone who is ______ at something is very good at doing it.

6.______ is a collection of valuable things,often made of metals like gold or silver.

Activity 2

Match descriptions 1–5 with paragraphs A–E in the story.

1.Two powerful men disagree

2.A perfect place

3.An amazing building for a god

4.The magic of Enki

5.About a god

Activity 3

Put these events from the story in the right order.

1.Enki uses his nam-shub to unite the tongues.

2.The king of Uruk wants more treasure.

3.Enki uses his nam-shub to confuse the tongues.

4.Enki brings water to the land.

5.The king of Aratta refuses the king of Uruk.

Activity 4

In the story,we read that ‘Skilled workers from across the land had been working for many years…’.This is the past perfect continuous tense.We use it to talk about something that started before and then continued up to the events in our story.It often describes the reason for something.

Example:The builders were tired because they had been working for a long time.

Match the sentence beginnings (1–5)with the endings (a–e).

1.When the world was new,the people were happy because

2.The king of Aratta got angry with the king of Uruk because

3.Enki used his nam-shub to confuse the languages because

4.The king of Uruk wasn’t satisfied with the temple because

5.Before Enki used his nam-shub people understood each other because

a.the workers had not been using enough gold and diamonds.

b.they had all been speaking the same language.

c.they had been getting enough to eat.

d.he had been asking for too much.

e.the kings had been getting ready for war.

Activity 5

This story about one world language being divided into many is told in similar ways in many cultures.Can you think of any other stories that are shared like this?

Answers

Activity 1

1.c;2.e;3.f;4.a;5.b;6.d

Activity 2

1.D;2.A;3.C;4.E;5.B

Activity 3

4,2,5,3,1

Activity 4

1.c;2.d;3.e;4.a;5.b