I usually wait until I have a few links to post all at once for this feature, but this link has been making the rounds through the Linguistic blogs and is way too cool for Pagans not to share. It’s a page of recordings of academics speaking the language of Old Babylonian tablets including prayers and an incantation. Most of the pieces include a page of transciption and translation that you can follow along with while listening:
5 š?t m?li?im ru’?mam labšat
6 za’nat inb? m?qiam u kuzbam
7 ištar m?li?im ru’?mam labšat
8 za’nat inb? m?qiam u kuzbam
5 She who gets excited, clothed in sex appeal,
6 adorned with fruits, charm and allure.
7 Ishtar, who gets excited, clothed in sex appeal,
8 adorned with fruits, charm and allure.9 [š]apt?n duššupat bal??um p?ša
10 simtišša ihann?ma ??h?tum
11 šarhat irimm? ramû r?šušša
12 baniw? šimt?ša bitr?m? ?n?ša šit’ar?9 She is sweet at the lips, her mouth is life,
10 Delights are lush on her cheeks,
11 She is lovely, beads are strewn on her head,
12 Her cheeks are comely, her eyes twinkle and sparkle
The archive also includes versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar’s Descent To The Netherworld and the Code of Hammurabi.
That’s fantastic!- Zan