in which they were originally placed. Thus one of the statues
previously found was set up in the temple of Ninkharsag, two others in
E-ninnu, the temple of the god Ningirsu, three more in the temple of the
goddess Bau, one in E-anna, the temple of the goddess Ninni, and another
in the temple of Gatumdug. The newly found statue of the king was made
to be set up in the temple erected by Gudea at Girsu in honour of the
god Ningishzida, as is recorded in the inscription engraved on the front
of the king's robe, which reads as follows:

"In the day when the god Ningirsu, the strong warrior of Enlil, granted
unto the god Ningishzida, the son of Ninazu, the beloved of the gods,
(the guardianship of) the foundation of the city and of the hills and
valleys, on that day Gudea, patesi of Shirpurla, the just man who
loveth his god, who for his master Ningirsu hath constructed his temple
E-ninnu, called the shining Imgig, and his temple E-pa, the temple
of-the seven zones of heaven, and for the goddess Nina, the queen, his
lady, hath constructed the temple Sirara-shum, which riseth higher than
(all) the temples in the world, and hath constructed their temples for
the great gods of Lagash, built for his god Ningishzida his temple in
Girsu. Whosoever shall proclaim the god Ningirsu as his god, even as
I proclaim him, may he do no harm unto the temple of my god! May he
proclaim the name of this temple! May that man be my friend, and may he
proclaim my name! Gudea hath made the statue, and 'Unto - Gudea - the
- builder - of - the - temple - hath life-been-given hath he called its
name, and he hath brought it into the temple."

The long name which Gudea gave to the statue, "Unto - Gudea - the -
builder - of - the - temple - hath - life-been-given," is characteristic
of the practice of the Sumerian patesis, who always gave long and
symbolical names to statues, stelae, and sacred objects dedicated and
set up in their temples. The occasion on which the temple was built, and
this statue erected within it, seems to have been the investiture of
the god Ningishzida with special and peculiar powers, and it possibly
inaugurated his introduction into the pantheon of Shirpurla. Ningishzida
is called in the inscription the son of Ninazu, who was the husband of
the Queen of the Underworld.

In one of his aspects he was therefore probably a god of the underworld
himself, and it is in this character that he was appointed by Ningirsu
as guardian of th