The Sumerian term for the sacred divine powers governing civilization was me.
The me were supernatural ordinances, capacities, or institutions associated with the gods and with the functioning of an organized society. They could encompass kingship, priestly offices, truth, craftsmanship, music, justice, conflict, and other features of human culture. Rather than being a single moral code, the me represented the divinely grounded structures and practices that made civilization possible.
The myth Enki and the World Order describes the me as being placed under the care of Enki, the god of wisdom, freshwater, and culture. Inanna later obtains them from Enki and transports them to Uruk, symbolizing the city’s acquisition of civilization and divine legitimacy.
The concept is more complicated than the common translation “divine powers” suggests. Recent scholarship emphasizes that some references to me concern rituals or the correct performance of sacred institutions. The surviving lists are incomplete, and they include both desirable qualities—such as victory—and destructive forces such as falsehood and the destruction of cities.