41
DIŠ ina
iti DU 6 UD.15.KAM
d UTU ina lìb-bi
mul
zi-ba-ni-tu 4 ina
d UTU.È KUR-ḫa u
d sin ina
IGI MUL.MUL EGIR
mul lú
ḪUN.GÁ GUB-azima 3 MA.NA EB-NUN u 4 -mi 3 MA.NA
EN.NUN GE 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIŠ ina
iti AB UD.15.KAM
mul KAK.SI.SÁ ina li-la-a-ti IGI.LÁ-ma 2 MA.NA EN.NUN
u 4 -mi 4 MA.NA EN.NUN GE 6
d UTU šá ina id
im
U 18 .LU KI SAG.DU
mul
UR.GU.LA KURḫa GUR-ma ana id
im SI.SÁ UD 40 NINDA.TA.ÀM un-da-na-ḫar UD
meš GÍD.DA
meš GE 6
meš
LUGÚD.DA
meš
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIS ina
iti BÁR UD.15.KAM
d sin ina li-la-a-ti ina SÀ
mul zi-ba-ni-tú ina
d
UTU.È u
d UTU ina
d UTU.ŠÚ.A ina IGI MUL.MUL EGIR
mul
ḪUN.GÁ GUB-ma 3 MA.NA EN.NUN u 4 -mi 3
MA.NA EN.NUN GE 6
¶ On the 15th of Month IV, the Arrow becomes visible, and 4 mina is the watch of the day,
2 mina is the watch of the night. The sun, which rises in the north with the Head of the Lion,
turns and keeps moving down towards the south 40 NINDA per day. The days become
shorter, the nights become longer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th day of Month VII, the sun rises within the Scales in the east, and the moon
stands in front of the Stars behind the Hired Man, 3 mina is the watch of the day, 3 mina is
the watch of the night.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th of Month X, the Arrow becomes visible in the evening. 2 mina is the watch
of the day, 4 mina is the watch of the night. The sun, which rises in the south with the Head
of the Lion, turns and keeps coming up towards the north 40 NINDA per day. The days
become longer, the nights become shorted.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th day of Month I, the moon stands in the evening within the Scales in the east,
and the sun in the west in front of the Stars behind the Hired Man. 3 mina is the watch of
the day, 3 mina is the watch of the night.
In addition to giving the standard values for the length of the day and night on the
dates of the solstices and equinoxes found elsewhere in MUL.APIN, each section
also comments on the position of the sun as it rises on those dates. The two sections
for the equinoxes state that the sun rises in the east with the constellation the Scales
(Libra) at the autumnal equinox and sets in the west between the constellations the
Stars (Pleiades) and the Hired Man (in Aries) at the spring equinox. The moon is
said to be in the same position but at the opposite equinox, which is as we would
expect since in the schematic calendar the equinox is on the 15th day of the month
and so the moon and sun are in opposition. The references to east and west use the
terminology ina
d
UTU.È and ina
d
UTU.ŠÚ.A which literally refer to the rising and
setting sun and seem to be used to refer to the general easterly and western horizons
rather than the points due east and due west. The same terminology is used elsewhere in MUL.APIN to indicate whether a planet is rising in the east or the west.
For example, line II II I 61 reads (Hunger & Steele, 2019: 148–149):
DIŠ
mul dele-bat lu ina
d UTU.È lu ina
d UTU.ŠÚ.A IGI.LÁ-ma 9 ITI.MEŠ ina AN-e GUBma i-tab-bal
¶ Venus becomes visible either in the east or in the west, stands in the sky for 9 months, and
disappears.
Their Equinox: Mesopotamian Conceptions of Solstices and Equinoxes
DIŠ ina
iti DU 6 UD.15.KAM
d UTU ina lìb-bi
mul
zi-ba-ni-tu 4 ina
d UTU.È KUR-ḫa u
d sin ina
IGI MUL.MUL EGIR
mul lú
ḪUN.GÁ GUB-azima 3 MA.NA EB-NUN u 4 -mi 3 MA.NA
EN.NUN GE 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIŠ ina
iti AB UD.15.KAM
mul KAK.SI.SÁ ina li-la-a-ti IGI.LÁ-ma 2 MA.NA EN.NUN
u 4 -mi 4 MA.NA EN.NUN GE 6
d UTU šá ina id
im
U 18 .LU KI SAG.DU
mul
UR.GU.LA KURḫa GUR-ma ana id
im SI.SÁ UD 40 NINDA.TA.ÀM un-da-na-ḫar UD
meš GÍD.DA
meš GE 6
meš
LUGÚD.DA
meš
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIS ina
iti BÁR UD.15.KAM
d sin ina li-la-a-ti ina SÀ
mul zi-ba-ni-tú ina
d
UTU.È u
d UTU ina
d UTU.ŠÚ.A ina IGI MUL.MUL EGIR
mul
ḪUN.GÁ GUB-ma 3 MA.NA EN.NUN u 4 -mi 3
MA.NA EN.NUN GE 6
¶ On the 15th of Month IV, the Arrow becomes visible, and 4 mina is the watch of the day,
2 mina is the watch of the night. The sun, which rises in the north with the Head of the Lion,
turns and keeps moving down towards the south 40 NINDA per day. The days become
shorter, the nights become longer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th day of Month VII, the sun rises within the Scales in the east, and the moon
stands in front of the Stars behind the Hired Man, 3 mina is the watch of the day, 3 mina is
the watch of the night.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th of Month X, the Arrow becomes visible in the evening. 2 mina is the watch
of the day, 4 mina is the watch of the night. The sun, which rises in the south with the Head
of the Lion, turns and keeps coming up towards the north 40 NINDA per day. The days
become longer, the nights become shorted.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------¶ On the 15th day of Month I, the moon stands in the evening within the Scales in the east,
and the sun in the west in front of the Stars behind the Hired Man. 3 mina is the watch of
the day, 3 mina is the watch of the night.
In addition to giving the standard values for the length of the day and night on the
dates of the solstices and equinoxes found elsewhere in MUL.APIN, each section
also comments on the position of the sun as it rises on those dates. The two sections
for the equinoxes state that the sun rises in the east with the constellation the Scales
(Libra) at the autumnal equinox and sets in the west between the constellations the
Stars (Pleiades) and the Hired Man (in Aries) at the spring equinox. The moon is
said to be in the same position but at the opposite equinox, which is as we would
expect since in the schematic calendar the equinox is on the 15th day of the month
and so the moon and sun are in opposition. The references to east and west use the
terminology ina
d
UTU.È and ina
d
UTU.ŠÚ.A which literally refer to the rising and
setting sun and seem to be used to refer to the general easterly and western horizons
rather than the points due east and due west. The same terminology is used elsewhere in MUL.APIN to indicate whether a planet is rising in the east or the west.
For example, line II II I 61 reads (Hunger & Steele, 2019: 148–149):
DIŠ
mul dele-bat lu ina
d UTU.È lu ina
d UTU.ŠÚ.A IGI.LÁ-ma 9 ITI.MEŠ ina AN-e GUBma i-tab-bal
¶ Venus becomes visible either in the east or in the west, stands in the sky for 9 months, and
disappears.
Their Equinox: Mesopotamian Conceptions of Solstices and Equinoxes