The article discusses the nature of the so-called “removal of Uruk” in the Gilgamesh versions. The interpretation of the words gišellag and gišeke4/kè-ma in the Sumerian versions and their equivalents, pukku and mekkû in the Akkadian versions constitute the focus of this discussion. Although scientists currently agree that the general meaning can be found in a sports or gaming context, it has never been considered part of the board game scenario, which seems most likely. This discussion combines gišellag/pukku with a “game board” and giše-ke4-ma/mekkû with “game pieces”. Although iconographic evidence has already been discussed in relation to the mother goddess/fertility,2 textual evidence will form the core of this article, as Inanna and Ištar were previously generally associated with game contexts. Your royal game is an old game and not everything about the game is known, including its name. Since it is not played today and no definitive account of the rules is known, what follows is nothing more than conjecture. Among the various sets of rules hypothetically established for this game, this author has struggled to find one that plays well, is elegant, and is probably also a faithful reproduction of the original. In the end, it was decided to list several sets of rules, give a recommendation, and let the players decide for themselves. Our rules are complete instructions for a friendly match.

When in doubt, always follow the local rules of the game or house. These rules are provided by Masters Traditional Games, an online store that sells high-quality traditional games, pub games and unusual games. You can find general or copying and copyright information on our Rules Information page. From every corner of the earth. Studien zur Ikonographie und Kultur des Alten Orients zu Ehren von F.A.M. Wiggermann Mining the archives: Festschrift für Christopher . Copyright James Masters, 2022. All rights reserved. Many literary texts portray the Mesopotamian underworld as relentlessly dark, but archaeological evidence of funerary goods suggests that there may have been another way of thinking about life after death. An analysis of the types of objects found in burials shows that many people might have expected a less harsh form of existence after death. In addition, iconographic allusions to the goddess Inana/Ishtar in some burials raise the possibility that this deity was associated with the descent of the human dead into the underworld.

The occasional presence of his image and iconography in funerary contexts does not necessarily imply the belief that Inana/Ishtar would personally grant the deceased a happy life after death, but it could be an allusion to his own escape from the unwanted underworld of literary storytelling. Inana/Ishtar`s status as a border figure and borderbreaker may also have encouraged Mesopotamians to associate her with the transition from life to death. Under the same sky: mathematics and astronomy in the ..