https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110712230-004 Nathan Wasserman Lists and Chains: Enumeration in Akkadian Literary Texts. With an appendix on this Device in Borges and Hughes Stars, bread, libraries of East and West... J.L. Borges, Matthew XXV: 30 Lists, in their most basic meaning — longer or shorter sequences of words 1 — are an essential part of the ancient Mesopotamian literary tradition. Since Mesopota- mian literature (along with Egyptian), is the earliest recorded literary tradition in the world, we can say with some certainty that lists are a basic component of world literature. In this article I draw a picture of different kinds of lists in Meso- potamian literature, first non-literary lists, then lists found within a literary con- text. My paper is divided into four parts. In the first part (§ 1), I present a short introduction to the scribal tradition of lexical lists in ancient Mesopotamia. Some methodological comments follow (§ 2). The main part of my paper is devoted to lists of different kinds which are embedded in Akkadian literary compositions. I discuss simple lists or CATALOGUES, CHAIN-LIKE lists, and a special kind of enumer- ation which I call a COMPLEX CHAIN (§§ 3–6). In Classical rhetoric the terms relevant to our discussion are enumeratio, 2 and gradatio, 3 and to some extent also accu- mulatio 4 (it should be noted that definitions of these devices differ according to textbook). A discussion of the complex relationship between enumeration and oral literature serves as a summary (§ 7). I finish my paper with notes on two mod- ern poets, Jorge Luis Borges (§ 8.1) and Ted Hughes (§ 8.2), whose reliance on enumeration to a great extent reflects its usage in ancient literature thus reveal the enduring applicability of enumeration as a literary device. || 1 This article treats lists of words with clear literary function. It does not concern keywords anal- ysis as a means of determining the aboutness of a given text. For statistical lexicography, see Archer’s 2009 useful collection of papers. 2 Lausberg 1960, §§ 669–674; Lausberg 1967, §§ 298–305; Dupriez 1980, 185–187; Mo- lino/Grades-Tamine 1982, 199–200. 3 Lausberg 1967, § 259; von Wilpert 1979, 305 (Gradatio), 394–395 (Klimax), 32 (Antiklimax); Braak 1980, 47; Dupriez 1980, 221–222; Morier 1981, 497. 4 Lausberg 1960, §§ 623–624; Lausberg 1967, § 256–258; Plett 1979, 34; Molino/Grades-Tamine 1982, 194–195.