Uruk, Sumer 4,320 years before the present…

Deep within the Palace of Masks, in a torch lit chamber beside a crescent pool, the priestess collapsed to her limestone floor and wept. Ashamed but unable to contain her grief any longer she clutched her ankles, drew her knees close, and gnawed at their skin to muffle her outburst. She wore only a loose calico robe, unclasped and gathered in piles by her sides. Her breasts shook and her bare legs quivered. Plangent echoes disrupted the ritual tranquility of the priestess’ stony sanctuary.

The spring fed pool surrounded a low altar and statue of the temple’s bearded deity, Dumuzi. Simple clay columns, adorned with painted cones, stood sentry on either side. Two large urns lined the pool’s edge. In front of the urns lay four ash-gray seeds—dried fruit kernels as large as fresh dates and protected by hard, wrinkled shells with naturally velvet skins.

Beside the priestess’ robe lay three clay tablets, still moist and nearly complete, bearing the secret long kept by her lineage…

Click to read on…Akkadian Curse

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