eturn of Ningirsu's
favour and that of the other gods, and his country once more enjoyed the
blessings of peace and prosperity.

In the opening words of the first of his cylinders Gudea describes how
the great gods themselves took counsel and decreed that he should build
the temple of E-ninnu and thereby restore to his city the supply of
water it had formerly enjoyed. He records that on the day on which the
destinies were fixed in heaven and upon earth, Enlil, the chief of the
gods, and Ningirsu, the city-god of Shirpurla, held converse. And Enlil,
turning to Ningirsu, said: "In my city that which is fitting is not
done. The stream doth not rise. The stream of Enlil doth not rise. The
high waters shine not, neither do they show their splendour. The stream
of Enlil bringeth not good water like the Tigris. Let the King (i.e.
Ningirsu) therefore proclaim the temple. Let the decrees of the temple
E-ninnu be made illustrious in heaven and upon earth!" The great gods
did not communicate their orders directly to Gudea, but conveyed their
wishes to him by means of a dream. And while the patesi slept a vision
of the night came to him, and he beheld a man whose stature was so great
that it equalled the heavens and the earth. And by the crown he wore
upon his head Gudea knew that the figure must be a god. And by his side
was the divine eagle, the emblem of Shirpurla, and his feet rested upon
the whirlwind, and a lion was crouching upon his right hand and upon his
left. And the figure spoke to the patesi, but he did not understand the
meaning of the words. Then it seemed to Gudea that the sun rose from
the earth and he beheld a woman holding in her hand a pure reed, and she
carried also a tablet on which was a star of the heavens, and she seemed
to take counsel with herself. And while Gudea was gazing he seemed to
see a second man who was like a warrior; and he carried a slab of lapis
lazuli and on it he drew out the plan of a temple. And before the patesi
himself it seemed that a fair cushion was placed, and upon the cushion
was set a mould, and within the mould was a brick, the brick of destiny.
And on the right hand the patesi beheld an ass which lay upon the
ground.

Such was the dream which Gudea beheld in a vision of the night, and he
was troubled because he could not interpret it. So he decided to go
to the goddess Nina, who could divine all mysteries of the gods, and
beseech her to tell him the meaning of the vision. But b