And seven of the great stones he set up as
stelae, and he gave them favourable names. The text then recounts
the various parts and shrines of the temple, and it describes their
splendours in similes drawn from the heavens and the earth and the
abyss, or deep, beneath the earth. The temple itself is described as,
being like the crescent of the new moon, or like the sun in the midst
of the stars, or like a mountain of lapis lazuli, or like a mountain of
shining marble. Parts of it are said to have been terrible and strong as
a savage bull, or a lion, or the antelope of the abyss, or the monster
Lakhamu who dwells in the abyss, or the sacred leopard that inspires
terror. One of the doors of the temple was guarded by a figure of the
hero who slew the monster with six heads, and at another door was a good
dragon, and at another a lion; opposite the city were set figures of
the seven heroes, and facing the rising sun was fixed the emblem of the
Sun-god. Figures of other heroes and favourable monsters were set up as
guardians of other portions of the temple. The fastenings of the main
entrance were decorated with dragons shooting out their tongues, and the
bolt of the great door was fashioned like a raging hound.
After this description of the construction and adornment of the
temple the text goes on to narrate how Gudea arranged for its material
endowment.
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