Debate between Winter and Summer
The “Debate between Winter and Summer,” also known as the “Myth of Emesh and Enten,” is a Sumerian creation myth dating from the mid to late 3rd millennium BC. This narrative is composed on clay tablets and is part of the ancient Mesopotamian tradition of disputations or debate poems.
In this story, two cultural entities, initially identified as vegetation gods Emesh and Enten by Kramer, represent the natural phenomena of Summer and Winter, respectively. The myth portrays these two seasons as brothers, born from the union of the god Enlil with a hill (“hursag”). The destinies of Summer and Winter are subsequently outlined, with Summer being responsible for founding towns and villages and bringing about plentiful harvests, while Winter’s role is to bring the vital spring floods.
The central part of the narrative revolves around a debate between the two brothers at Enlil’s “house of life,” the E-namtila. Here, Summer and Winter argue about their respective merits. Summer criticizes Winter’s harshness and its impact on people, while Winter emphasizes its essential role in providing water for irrigation, leading to abundant harvests and filled granaries. This debate culminates in the god Enlil’s intervention. Enlil declares Winter the winner, emphasizing the critical importance of water for agriculture in the hot climate of ancient Mesopotamia. The narrative ends with a scene of reconciliation between the two brothers.
See also
- Wiki › Comparative Mythology
- Resources › Barton Cylinder
- Resources › Debate between sheep and grain
- Resources › The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
- Resources › The Eridu Genesis