Curse of Agade

The Curse of Agade also spelled Akkad, is an ancient Mesopotamian story written around 2100 BCE. There are multiple versions of the story, none of them are extent, and like with most ancient works, the variants all differ, and none of them were written until about a century after the events were supposed to have transpired.

The story is about the city Agade (the capital of the Akkadian Empire) and how it was made wonderful by the goddess Inana, but the city became too prosperous and Inana was annoyed by the commotion, so she left. The other gods left as well causing the city to falter. Agade's king, Naram-Sin, grandson of Sargon the Great, dreamed that the high god Enlil was preventing any other gods from entering the city, thus keeping it weak, so the king used divination to try and understand what he had done to deserve such abandonment. The god Enlil didn't answer, so the king went into a 7-year depression. Afterward, the king became angry at Enlil, and sent soldiers to destroy Enlil's temple city. This angered Enlil so much that he sent a race of monstrous men to attack Agade, and all the other gods, angered by the king's impiety, cursed the city as well ruining it forever.

Personal

I decided to read this book after learning it was one of the oldest surviving stories in human history.

Status

This work is in the public domain. I don't own a physical copy, but have read an English translation.

Reviews

Good

• The Gutians sound pretty cool. An unbridled people, with human intelligence, but canine instincts, and the features of a monkey.

Bad

• It's funny to see a reference to inflation, "in those days, a unit of oil cost only a shekel!"
• The curses really run the gamut here. "May your columns fall to the ground like tall young men drunk on wine!" is a good curse, "May your visitors not have a restful stay," is pretty lame.

Ugly

• The story doesn't give a clear motive for why all the other gods left Agade or why Enlil prevented any further gods from entering it.

Links

 

• etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section2/tr215.htm - English translation.