The Divine Laws · The Powers of Civilization · What Makes Us Human Sumerian: untranslatable — the sacred forces and decrees that constitute civilization
The Me are a list. A long, specific, extraordinary list. They include: kingship, godship, the descent to the underworld, the ascent from the underworld, the art of lovemaking, the art of prostitution, the gift of truth, the gift of lying, the scribal arts, the craft of the smith, the craft of the leather worker, the musical instruments, the power to destroy cities, the power to rebuild them, the beating heart, the mouth of the deep.
Enki held them in the Abzu. Inanna got him drunk on beer and sweet wine at a divine feast and he gave them to her one by one. All of them. When he sobered, he sent messenger after messenger to retrieve them. She carried them in her sacred boat back to her city Uruk and distributed them to the people.
The Me are the DNA of civilization — not just the laws, but the forces that make law-making possible. The fact that Inanna stole them from Enki is significant: these powers were not granted from above. They were taken by the one willing to do what was necessary to bring them to where they were needed.
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