Ruins of the ziggurat at Eridu (Sumer).  Eridu islocated south-west of modern-day Nasiriyah (Iraq).T

Ruins of the ziggurat at Eridu (Sumer).  Eridu islocated south-west of modern-day Nasiriyah (Iraq).The Sumerian city of Uruk is believed to be the oldest city in theworld.  But the Sumerians themselves believed that Eridu was theoldest city, and that here order was established and civilizationbegan.According to the Sumerian King List, the gods established the city ofEridu in the region of Sumer in order to give humans the giftsnecessary for cultivating society.  Enki (the god of wisdom, waterand magic) raised the city from the watery marshes and presided overit.  He established the concept of kingship and order in the land.The founding of Eridu was seen as a sort of Golden Age.  It was thehome of the gods, and the birthplace of the meh (the rulesgoverning civilization).  It remained a real and accessible placeeven after its “fall”, and was still sacred.In the poem Inanna and the God of Wisdom, the goddess Inanna(Enki’s daughter) travels from her city of Uruk to Eridu.  Sheinvites her father to sit and drink with her, and he gets very drunk. Enki gladly hands the meh over to Inanna, and when she hasgathered them all, she runs to her ship and takes them back to Uruk.The transference of the meh to Uruk makes that citypre-eminent, and diminishes Eridu.  This myth may have come aboutbecause of the shift from an agrarian culture (symbolized by Eridu)to the urban development that was epitomized by Uruk. -- source link

More pics about