LOVE IS ETERNAL
/THE LOVE SONG OF SHU-SIN
“Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,
Lion, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you.
Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you.
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.
Bridegroom, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey
In the bedchamber, honey-filled, Let me enjoy your goodly beauty,
Lion, let me caress you, My precious caress is more savory than honey.
Bridegroom, you have taken your pleasure of me,
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies, My father, he will give you gifts.
Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit,
Bridegroom, sleep in our house until dawn,
Your heart, I know where to gladden your heart,
Lion, sleep in our house until dawn.
You, because you love me,
Give me pray of your caresses,
My lord god, my lord protector,
My Shu-Sin, who gladdens Enlil’s heart,
Give my pray of your caresses.
Your place goodly as honey, pray lay your hand on it,
Bring your hand over like a gishban-garment,
Cup your hand over it like a gishban-sikin-garment.”
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Hello? Hot stuff, no? Maybe a touch erotic? Oh yeah. Those ancient Sumerians didn’t mess around!
And I have to think that those words leave pale pink heart-shaped Valentine candies with the words “Be Mine” in the dust. Plus, this was written 4000 years ago. Love is eternal …. indeed!
Every day a little history lesson from Interesting Facts arrives in my computer mailbox. Today’s entry was titled: “The World’s Oldest Love Poem is 4000 Years Old Today.” I was intrigued and wanted to share. It’s my Valentine to you. So here’s the skinny.
“The Love Song of Shu-Sin” was discovered during excavations in the Mesopotamian region in the mid-19th century but not translated until 1951. The poem, written on cuneiform tablets, had been taken to the Istanbul Museum in Turkey where it sat in a drawer for decades until a famous Sumerologist and archaeologist named Samuel Kramer came across it while translating ancient texts.
Kramer described his reaction when realizing what he had discovered. He wrote, “When I first laid eyes on it, its most attractive feature was its site of preservation. I soon realized I was reading a poem divided into a number of stanzas which celebrated beauty and love, a joyous bride and a king named Shu-Sin, a ruler in the city of Ur. As I read it again and yet again, there was no mistaking its content. What I held in my hand was one of the oldest love songs written down by the hand of man.”
Scholars believe the poem was used as part of a sacred ritual that would ensure fertility and prosperity for the year. The poem was undoubtedly recited by Shu-Sin’s chosen bride, and most likely as a song performed during their sacred marriage ceremony.
“The Love Song of Shu-Sin” predates the “Song of Solomon” (also known as The Song of Songs) which had been previously understood to be the oldest love poem extant. Today, it is on display in Mesopotamia Hall at the Istanbul Museum of Ancient Orient.
Who says love doesn’t last forever? HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!
