Dilmun: The Mythologies

In Dilmun, the raven utters no cry,

The lion kills not. 

The wolf snatches not the lamb.

Unknown is the grain-devouring bear.

The sick-headed says not, "I am sick-headed."

The old woman says not, "I am an old woman."

The old man says not, "I am an old man."

Within the hundreds of clay tablets inscribed with the earliest form of writing known as cuneiform, we know of the ancient Sumerian legends and myths about Dilmun. The ancient people of Mesopotamia, modern-day southern Iraq, believe that Dilmun was Paradise, and that their gods lived there. 

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, where the eponymous hero sought the secret of immortality, the Sumerian version (and probably the original from which the Biblical version was copied) of the Great Flood narrative tells us that Dilmun is where Utnapishtim (so called Sumerian Noah) was taken by the gods to live forever. 

The Biblical story of the Garden Of Eden is told by ancient cuneiform tablets as being located in Dilmun.

There had been several theories as to where Dilmun now is geographically located, but archaeological studies in Bahrain had now given us a scholarly consensus that Dilmun was located along the whole eastern part of Saudi Arabia, including present day parts of Kuwait, the whole of Bahrain, up to parts of Qatar and the UAE. The center of the Dilmun civilization is now pointed at the island of Bahrain, and several sites have been excavated and studied.

But beware, when you search Google for the lost paradise of Dilmun, you might be directed to the waterpark in Al Areen! Maybe you just might need a dip in the cool water of their pools. Just maybe.

#pinoyindilmun