Eanna Inanna Sumer, Э-Ана, Инанна, Шумеры
"Eanna Inanna Sumer , Э-Ана, Инанна, Шумеры"
https://proza.ru/2021/12/27/670
http://stihi.ru/2021/12/27/2924
diary on line
дневник он лайн
27.12.2021. UK, Внликобритания, Ноттингемшире
diary on-line
Eanna Inanna Sumer , Э-Ана, Инанна, Шумеры
Please, not THAT while I am Miss Eanna Inna Balzina-Balzin
born as Inna Aleksandrovna Balzina and baptised as Irina Erina
that name "Inna" "Ina" (Enna, Ena), Inga, Ingrida (Enga, Engrida)
is a popular female name in Baltic region (Norway, ..., Latvia, ..., Poland)
The male name Ean is popular name in England writing similar Ioan Eoan Ean Eann
Please note, "England" and "land of Eng" , names Eng, Ing, or wife (wife, daugter, sister, mother of) Eng/Ing as Enga or Inga
working wor-king /work-ing
So, may be "England" name had some hidden roots connections to Sumer
and name of Eanna /Inanna old ancient temple point in Iraq
as Sumer culture spreaded widely in Turkey area which closed
and Irish old families came from Turkey some ancient settlements.
I say and i write "may be". May yes, may be not.
The names of ancients goddess had been noy sounding and some moved to an ordinary life
as names.
Really, old English male name was "Ean"
Females names with -e or -a on the end , Eanne or Eanna.
So, if to see the male name Ean in England
with a move to Sumer time place to find Eanna Temple (in Iraq) (from Sumer time).
I mean, old ancient names of Goddess, Gods, transformed in names.
So, we are humans, and some never knew they cared names of ancient old places/goddess/Sumer time.
------------------------------------
Notes
Ean
Eann
- the English name Ean
Ean
EAN
Ean
name of boy, a man
Origin: Scottish
Meaning: God is gracious
Ean
as a boy's name is of
Irish, Scottish, and Hebrew origin,
and the meaning of Ean is "God is gracious".
Popularity:2984
Similar Names
Ean
Eoin
Ian
Eian
Keenan
Aedan
Leon
Reno
Egan
Eamon
Gian
Enoch
Ethan
Dino
Edan
Zeno
Nino
Gino
Keon
Lino
Aeson
Ean - Baby Name Meaning, Origin and Popularity - TheBump ...
https://www.thebump.com/b/ean-baby-name
Ean
Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name
Ean
Ean
is the Gaelic-Manx form of
John.
Other Gaelic forms of
John are
Sean (Irish) and
Ian (Scottish)
while the Welsh people use Evan.
But wait, who are the Manx people exactly?
They are the folks who live
on the Isle of Man
in the Irish Sea
between
Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Like Irish-Gaelic and Scottish-Gaelic,
Manx is another Celtic language
stemming from the Gaelic branch
(while Breton, Cornish and Welsh come from the Brythonic branch).
Although the Celts
date back to the Iron Age on the Isle of Man,
many Celtic Druids from Britannia
found shelter there during the Roman occupation of England in the first centuries A.D.
Later in the 5th century, Gaels from Ireland, mostly Christian missionaries, brought the Gaelic branch of the Celtic language to the island, and from there the Manx-Gaelic language developed in isolation (which is why it’s distinctly different than the Irish or Scottish-Gaelic languages).
You can see how close the Manx Ean is to the Scottish Ian
– which became ethnic forms of John in their own native tongue.
The name John was popularized throughout the British Isles after the Crusades
(a series of religious wars between the 11th and 13th centuries).
Many Christian knights and peasants throughout Western Europe made their way east to the Holy Lands in order to restore Christian access to the sacred city of Jerusalem and to liberate the Eastern Christians from invading and occupying Turkish Sunni Muslims.
When the so-called pilgrim-warriors returned home from their crusades reinvigorated by their faith, they brought the Biblical name John back to England (anglicized from the Hebrew Yochanan and the Greek Ioannes meaning “God is gracious”).
From that point on, there was no stopping the popularity of this name throughout Western Europe – and every language had their own version of the name.
It was the Manx people we can thank for giving us Ean.
Popularity
OF THE BOY NAME EAN
We’re not quite sure who discovered this little Manx charmer, but Ean first appeared on the U.S. male naming charts in 1999. Compared to other Celtic forms of John (Sean, Ian, Evan), Ean is a distant favorite. Because so few people are even aware of the history and culture of the Manx people or even the location of the Isle of Man, we have to assume Ean was introduced to American parents merely as a phonetically altered form of Ian. In fact, we think Manx people pronounce Ean as EEN whereas Americans would say EE-an. Regardless how Ean found his way to the Top 1000 list, we find the background interesting. If you are a lover of Celtic culture and names, then Ean would be an unusual and original choice. American Idol runner-up Bo Bice would agree; he named his third son Ean Jacob in 2010.
Famous People
NAMED EAN
Ean Evans (former bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Historic Figures
WITH THE NAME EAN
We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Ean
*** They had not looked in Sumer for Eanna and Inanna
All baby names: Ean
https://ohbabynames.com/all-baby-names/ean/
All Baby name: Ean
https://ohbabynames.com/all-baby-names/ean/
-------------------------------------
Notes
Ean
Ian
Ean
Ian
International Article Number originally :
European Article Number
The International Article Number is a standard describing a barcode symbology and numbering system used in global trade to identify a specific retail product type, in a specific packaging configuration, from a specific manufacturer. Wikipedia
European Article numbering code (EAN) is a series of letters and numbers in a unique order that helps identify specific products within your own .
------------------------------------------------------
My note
Ean Ин Э-ан
ean
air
Home Ean Ave Aven
Heaven Хэвен Рай (Дом Иэн)
-----------------------------------
Notes
From Wikipedia - a Free Enciclopedia
EANNA
INANNA
Eanna - Wikipedia
Eanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eanna
E-anna was an ancient Sumerian temple in Uruk. Considered "the residence of Inanna" and Anu, it is mentioned several times in the Epic of Gilgamesh, ...
Inanna - Wikipedia
Inanna
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Inanna
Inanna is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, war, justice and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sumer under ...
Eanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eanna
Inanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
EANNA
E-anna
Sumerian: E-AN.NA, "house of heavens"
was
an ancient Sumerian temple in Uruk.
Considered
"the residence of Inanna" and Anu,
it is mentioned several times
in the Epic of Gilgamesh,
and elsewhere.
The evolution of the gods
to whom the temple
was dedicated is the subject of scholarly study.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
From Tablet One:
"He carved on a stone stela all of his toils,
and built the wall of Uruk-Haven,
the wall of the sacred Eanna Temple, the holy sanctuary."
See also
Uruk - Eanna district
References
Jeffrey H. Tigay (1982). The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic.
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers. ISBN 9780865165465.
"Epic of Gilgamesh: Tablet I".
Photos
Part of the front of Inanna's temple from Uruk
Photograph of modern reconstruction from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, of columns with decorative clay pins resembling mosaics from the Eanna temple
---------------------------------------------------------
Inanna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
---------------------------------------------------------
Inanna
Inanna/Ishtar
Queen of Heaven
Goddess of sex, love, war, justice, and political power
Goddess
Ishtar
on an Akkadian Empire seal, 2350–2150 BCE.
She is equipped with weapons on her back,
has a horned helmet, and is trampling a lion held on a leash.
Major cult center
Uruk; Agade; Nineveh
Abode Heaven
Planet Venus
Symbol
hook-shaped knot of reeds, eight-pointed star (snowdrop), lion, rosette, dove
Mount Lion
-------------------------------------------------------
Personal information
-----------------------------------------------------------
Parents
most common tradition:
Nanna and
Ningal
-----------------------------------------------------------
Possible alternate tradition:
An
and an unknown mother
In some literary works: possibly
Enlil and an unknown mother
or
Enki and an unknown mother
----------------------------------------------
Siblings
Utu/Shamash (twin brother)
in Inanna's Descent:
Ereshkigal (older sister)
In some neo-Assyrian sources:
Hadad (brother)
-------------------------------------------
Consort
Dumuzid the Shepherd;
Zababa;
many unnamed others
---------------------------------------------
Children
usually none, but rarely
Lulal and/or Shara or Nanaya
-------------------------------------------------
--------------------------
Equivalents:
---------------------------
Inanna
Ishtar
Greek equivalent Aphrodite, Athena
Roman equivalent Venus, Minerva
Canaanite equivalent Astarte
Elamite equivalent Pinikir
Hurrian equivalent Shaushka
Inanna
Inanna
is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, war, justice and political power.
She was originally worshiped in Sumer under the name "Inanna",
and was later worshipped
by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name Ishtar.
She was known as the "Queen of Heaven"
and was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk [in Iraque],
which was her main cult center.
She was associated with the planet Venus
and her most prominent symbols included the lion and the eight-pointed star.
Her husband was the god Dumuzid
(later known as Tammuz)
and her sukkal, or personal attendant,
was the goddess Ninshubur
(who later became conflated with the male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal).
Inanna was worshiped in Sumer
at least as early as
the Uruk period
(c. 4000 BCE – c. 3100 BCE),
but
she had little cult activity before
the conquest of Sargon of Akkad.
During the post-Sargonic era, she became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Sumerian pantheon, with temples across Mesopotamia.
The cult of Inanna/Ishtar,
which may have been associated with a variety of sexual rites, was continued
by the East Semitic-speaking people
(Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians)
who succeeded and absorbed the Sumerians in the region.
She was especially beloved by the Assyrians,
who elevated her to become the highest deity in their pantheon,
ranking above their own national god Ashur.
Inanna/Ishtar
is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible
and she greatly influenced the Ugaritic Ashtart
and later Phoenician Astarte,
who in turn possibly influenced the development
of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Her cult continued to flourish until its gradual decline
between the first and sixth centuries CE
in the wake of Christianity.
Inanna appears in more myths than any other Sumerian deity.
She also had a uniquely high number of epithets and alternate names,
comparable only to Nergal.
Many of her myths involve her taking over the domains of other deities.
She was believed to have been given the mes, which represented all positive and negative aspects of civilization, by Enki, the god of wisdom.
She was also believed to have taken over the Eanna temple from An, the god of the sky.
Alongside her twin brother Utu (later known as Shamash), Inanna was the enforcer of divine justice; she destroyed Mount Ebih for having challenged her authority,
unleashed her fury
upon the gardener Shukaletuda
after he raped her in her sleep,
and tracked down the bandit woman Bilulu
and killed her in divine retribution for having murdered Dumuzid.
In the standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh,
Ishtar asks Gilgamesh
to become her consort.
When he refuses,
she unleashes the Bull of Heaven,
resulting in the death of Enkidu
and Gilgamesh's subsequent grapple with his mortality.
Inanna/Ishtar's most famous myth
is the story of her descent into and return from Kur,
the Ancient Mesopotamian underworld,
a myth
in which she attempts to conquer
the domain of
her older sister Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld,
but is instead deemed guilty by the seven judges of the underworld and struck dead.
Three days later, Ninshubur pleads with all the gods to bring Inanna back, but all of them refuse her except Enki, who sends two sexless beings to rescue Inanna.
They escort Inanna out of the underworld, but the galla, the guardians of the underworld, drag her husband Dumuzid down to the Underworld as her replacement.
Dumuzid is eventually permitted to return to heaven for half the year while his sister Geshtinanna remains in the underworld for the other half, resulting in the cycle of the seasons.
Etymology
Inanna receiving offerings on the Uruk Vase, circa 3200-3000 BCE.
Inanna and Ishtar were originally separate, unrelated deities,[14][3][15][16] but they were equated with each other during the reign of Sargon of Akkad and came to be regarded as effectively the same goddess under two different names.[14][3][15][16] Inanna's name may derive from the Sumerian phrase nin-an-ak, meaning "Lady of Heaven",[17][18] but the cuneiform sign for Inanna (;) is not a ligature of the signs lady (Sumerian: nin; Cuneiform: ;; SAL.TUG2) and sky (Sumerian: an; Cuneiform: ; AN).[18][17][19] These difficulties led some early Assyriologists to suggest that Inanna may have originally been a Proto-Euphratean goddess, who was only later accepted into the Sumerian pantheon. This idea was supported by Inanna's youthfulness, as well as the fact that, unlike the other Sumerian divinities, she seems to have initially lacked a distinct sphere of responsibilities.[18] The view that there was a Proto-Euphratean substrate language in Southern Iraq before Sumerian is not widely accepted by modern Assyriologists.[20]
The name Ishtar occurs as an element in personal names from both the pre-Sargonic and post-Sargonic eras in Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia.[21] It is of Semitic derivation[22][21] and is probably etymologically related to the name of the West Semitic god Attar, who is mentioned in later inscriptions from Ugarit and southern Arabia.[22][21] The morning star may have been conceived as a male deity who presided over the arts of war and the evening star may have been conceived as a female deity who presided over the arts of love.[21] Among the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the name of the male god eventually supplanted the name of his female counterpart,[16] but, due to extensive syncretism with Inanna, the deity remained as female, although her name was in the masculine form.[16]
Origins and development
The Uruk Vase (Warka Vase), depicting votive offerings to Inanna (3200-3000 BCE).[23]
Inanna has posed a problem for many scholars of ancient Sumer due to the fact that her sphere of power contained more distinct and contradictory aspects than that of any other deity.[24] Two major theories regarding her origins have been proposed.[25] The first explanation holds that Inanna is the result of a syncretism between several previously unrelated Sumerian deities with totally different domains.[25] The second explanation holds that Inanna was originally a Semitic deity who entered the Sumerian pantheon after it was already fully structured, and who took on all the roles that had not yet been assigned to other deities.[26]
As early as the Uruk period (c. 4000 – c. 3100 BCE), Inanna was already associated with the city of Uruk.[3] During this period, the symbol of a ring-headed doorpost was closely associated with Inanna.[3] The famous Uruk Vase (found in a deposit of cult objects of the Uruk III period) depicts a row of naked men carrying various objects, including bowls, vessels, and baskets of farm products,[27] and bringing sheep and goats to a female figure facing the ruler.[28] The female stands in front of Inanna's symbol of the two twisted reeds of the doorpost,[28] while the male figure holds a box and stack of bowls, the later cuneiform sign signifying the En, or high priest of the temple.[29]
Seal impressions from the Jemdet Nasr period (c. 3100 – c. 2900 BCE) show a fixed sequence of symbols representing various cities, including those of Ur, Larsa, Zabalam, Urum, Arina, and probably Kesh.[30] This list probably reflects the report of contributions to Inanna at Uruk from cities supporting her cult.[30] A large number of similar seals have been discovered from phase I of the Early Dynastic period (c. 2900 – c. 2350 BCE) at Ur, in a slightly different order, combined with the rosette symbol of Inanna.[30] These seals were used to lock storerooms to preserve materials set aside for her cult.[30]
Various inscriptions in the name of Inanna are known, such as a bead in the name of King Aga of Kish circa 2600 BCE, or a tablet by King Lugal-kisalsi circa 2400 BCE:
BM 91013 Tablet dedicated by Lugal-tarsi.jpg
"For An, king of all the lands, and for Inanna, his mistress, Lugal-kisalsi, king of Kish, built the wall of the courtyard."
—;Inscription of Lugal-kisalsi.[31]
During the Akkadian period (c.;2334 – 2154 BCE), following the conquests of Sargon of Akkad, Inanna and originally independent Ishtar became so extensively syncretized that they became regarded as effectively the same.[14][16] The Akkadian poet Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon, wrote numerous hymns to Inanna, identifying her with Ishtar.[14][32] Sargon himself proclaimed Inanna and An as the sources of his authority.[33] As a result of this,[14] the popularity of Inanna/Ishtar's cult skyrocketed.[14][3][15] Alfonso Archi, who was involved in early excavations of Ebla, assumes Ishtar was originally a goddess venerated in the Euphrates valley, pointing out that an association between her and the desert poplar is attested in the most ancient texts from both Ebla and Mari. He considers her, a moon god (e.g. Sin) and a sun deity of varying gender (Shamash/Shapash) to be the only deities shared between various early Semitic peoples of Mesopotamia and ancient Syria, who otherwise had different not necessarily overlapping pantheons.[34]
Worship
Inanna's symbol: the reed ring-post
Emblem of goddess Inanna, circa 3000 BCE.[36]
Ring posts of Inanna on each side of a temple door, with naked devotee offering libations.[35]
On the Warka Vase
Cuneiform logogram "Inanna"
Inanna's symbol is a ring post made of reed, an ubiquitous building material in Sumer. It was often beribboned and positionned at the entrance of temples, and marked the limit between the profane and the sacred realms.[35] The design of the emblem was simplified between 3000-2000 BCE to become the cuneiform logogram for Inanna: ;, generally preceded by the symbol for "deity" ;.[17]
Ancient Sumerian statuette of two gala priests, dating to c. 2450 BCE, found in the temple of Inanna at Mari
Gwendolyn Leick assumes that during the Pre-Sargonic era, the cult of Inanna was rather limited,[14] though other experts argue that she was already the most prominent deity in Uruk and a number of other political centers in the Uruk period.[37] [12][19][9] She had temples in Nippur, Lagash, Shuruppak, Zabalam, and Ur,[14] but her main cult center was the Eanna temple in Uruk,[14][38][18][c] whose name means "House of Heaven" (Sumerian: e2-anna; Cuneiform: ;; E2.AN).[d] Some researches assume that the original patron deity of this fourth-millennium BCE city was An.[18] After its dedication to Inanna, the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess.[18] Next to Uruk, Zabalam was the most important early site of Inanna worship, as the name of the city was commonly written with the signs MUs3 and UNUG, meaning respectively "Inanna" and "sanctuary."[40] It's possible that the city goddess of Zabalam was originally a distinct deity, though one whose cult was absorbed by that of the Urukean goddess very early on.[40] Joan Goodnick Westenholz proposed that a goddess identified by the name Nin-UM (reading and meaning uncertain), associated with Ishtaran in a zame hymn, was the original identity of Inanna of Zabalam.[41]
In the Old Akkadian period, Inanna merged with the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, associated with the city of Agade.[42] A hymn from that period addresses the Akkadian Ishtar as "Inanna of the Ulmas" alongside Inanna of Uruk and of Zabalam.[42] The worship of Ishtar and syncretism between her and Inanna was encouraged by Sargon and his successors,[42] and as a result she quickly became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon.[14] In inscriptions of Sargon, Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri Ishtar is the most frequently invoked deity.[43]
In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were, in addition to aforementioned Uruk, Zabalam and Agade, also Ilip.[44] Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish.[45]
During later times, while her cult in Uruk continued to flourish,[46] Ishtar also became particularly worshipped in the Upper Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria (modern northern Iraq, northeast Syria and southeast Turkey), especially in the cities of Nineveh, Assur and Arbela (modern Erbil).[47] During the reign of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal, Ishtar rose to become the most important and widely venerated deity in the Assyrian pantheon, surpassing even the Assyrian national god Ashur.[46] Votive objects found in her primary Assyrian temple indicate that she was a popular deity among women.[48]
Individuals who went against the traditional gender binary were heavily involved in the cult of Inanna.[49] During Sumerian times, a set of priests known as gala worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.[50] Men who became gala sometimes adopted female names and their songs were composed in the Sumerian eme-sal dialect, which, in literary texts, is normally reserved for the speech of female characters. Some Sumerian proverbs seem to suggest that gala had a reputation for engaging in anal sex with men.[51] During the Akkadian Period, kurgarr; and assinnu were servants of Ishtar who dressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.[52] Several Akkadian proverbs seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities.[52] Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian hijra.[53] In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.[54]
According to the early scholar Samuel Noah Kramer, towards the end of the third millennium BCE, kings of Uruk may have established their legitimacy by taking on the role of the shepherd Dumuzid, Inanna's consort.[55] This ritual lasted for one night on the tenth day of the Akitu,[55][56] the Sumerian new year festival,[56] which was celebrated annually at the spring equinox.[55] The king would then partake in a "sacred marriage" ceremony,[55] during which he engaged in ritual sexual intercourse with the high priestess of Inanna, who took on the role of the goddess.[55][56] In the late twentieth century, the historicity of the sacred marriage ritual was treated by scholars as more-or-less an established fact,[57] but, largely due to the writings of Pirjo Lapinkivi, many have begun to regard the sacred marriage as a literary invention rather than an actual ritual.[57]
The cult of Ishtar was long thought to have involved sacred prostitution,[58][59][47][60] but this is now rejected among many scholars.[61][62][63][64] Hierodules known as ishtaritum are reported to have worked in Ishtar's temples,[59] but it is unclear if such priestesses actually performed any sex acts[62] and several modern scholars have argued that they did not.[63][61] Women across the ancient Near East worshipped Ishtar by dedicating to her cakes baked in ashes (known as kam;n tumri).[65] A dedication of this type is described in an Akkadian hymn.[66] Several clay cake molds discovered at Mari are shaped like naked women with large hips clutching their breasts.[66] Some scholars have suggested that the cakes made from these molds were intended as representations of Ishtar herself.[67]
Iconography
Symbols
The eight-pointed star was Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol.[68][69] Here it is shown alongside the solar disk of her brother Shamash (Sumerian Utu) and the crescent moon of her father Sin (Sumerian Nanna) on a boundary stone of Meli-Shipak II, dating to the twelfth century BCE.
Lions were one of Inanna/Ishtar's primary symbols.[70][71] The lion above comes from the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, which was constructed in around 575 BCE under the orders of Nebuchadnezzar II.[72]
Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol was the eight-pointed star,[68] though the exact number of points sometimes varies.[69] Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown.[73] The eight-pointed star seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens,[74] but, by the Old Babylonian Period (c. 1830 – c. 1531 BCE), it had come to be specifically associated with the planet Venus, with which Ishtar was identified.[74] Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc.[73] During later Babylonian times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star.[73][75] On boundary stones and cylinder seals, the eight-pointed star is sometimes shown alongside the crescent moon, which was the symbol of Sin (Sumerian Nanna) and the rayed solar disk, which was a symbol of Shamash (Sumerian Utu).[69]
Inanna's cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse, a common symbol of fertility and plenty.[76] The rosette was another important symbol of Inanna, which continued to be used as a symbol of Ishtar after their syncretism.[77] During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911 – 609 BCE), the rosette may have actually eclipsed the eight-pointed star and become Ishtar's primary symbol.[78] The temple of Ishtar in the city of Assur was adorned with numerous rosettes.[77]
Inanna/Ishtar was associated with lions,[70][71] which the ancient Mesopotamians regarded as a symbol of power.[70] Her associations with lions began during Sumerian times;[71] a chlorite bowl from the temple of Inanna at Nippur depicts a large feline battling a giant snake and a cuneiform inscription on the bowl reads "Inanna and the Serpent", indicating that the cat is supposed to represent the goddess.[71] During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was frequently depicted as a heavily armed warrior goddess with a lion as one of her attributes.[79]
Doves were also prominent animal symbols associated with Inanna/Ishtar.[80][81] Doves are shown on cultic objects associated with Inanna as early as the beginning of the third millennium BCE.[81] Lead dove figurines were discovered in the temple of Ishtar at Assur, dating to the thirteenth century BCE[81] and a painted fresco from Mari, Syria shows a giant dove emerging from a palm tree in the temple of Ishtar,[80] indicating that the goddess herself was sometimes believed to take the form of a dove.[80]
As the planet Venus
Inanna was associated with the planet Venus, which is named after her Roman equivalent Venus.[38][82][38] Several hymns praise Inanna in her role as the goddess or personification of the planet Venus.[83] Theology professor Jeffrey Cooley has argued that, in many myths, Inanna's movements may correspond with the movements of the planet Venus in the sky.[83] In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, unlike any other deity, Inanna is able to descend into the netherworld and return to the heavens. The planet Venus appears to make a similar descent, setting in the West and then rising again in the East.[83] An introductory hymn describes Inanna leaving the heavens and heading for Kur, what could be presumed to be the mountains, replicating the rising and setting of Inanna to the West.[83] In Inanna and Shukaletuda, Shukaletuda is described as scanning the heavens in search of Inanna, possibly searching the eastern and western horizons.[84] In the same myth, while searching for her attacker, Inanna herself makes several movements that correspond with the movements of Venus in the sky.[83]
Because the movements of Venus appear to be discontinuous (it disappears due to its proximity to the sun, for many days at a time, and then reappears on the other horizon), some cultures did not recognize Venus as a single entity;[83] instead, they assumed it to be two separate stars on each horizon: the morning and evening star.[83] Nonetheless, a cylinder seal from the Jemdet Nasr period indicates that the ancient Sumerians knew that the morning and evening stars were the same celestial object.[83] The discontinuous movements of Venus relate to both mythology as well as Inanna's dual nature.[83]
Modern astrologers recognize the story of Inanna's descent into the underworld as a reference to an astronomical phenomenon associated with retrograde Venus. Seven days before retrograde Venus makes its inferior conjunction with the sun, it disappears from the evening sky. The seven day period between this disappearance and the conjunction itself is seen as the astronomical phenomenon on which the myth of descent was based. After the conjunction, seven more days elapse before Venus appears as the morning star, corresponding to the ascent from the underworld.[85][86]
Inanna in her aspect as Anun;tu was associated with the eastern fish of the last of the zodiacal constellations, Pisces.[87][88] Her consort Dumuzi was associated with the contiguous first constellation, Aries.[87]
Babylonian terracotta relief of Ishtar from Eshnunna (early second millennium BCE)
Life-sized statue of a goddess, probably Ishtar, holding a vase from Mari, Syria (eighteenth century BC)
Terracotta relief of Ishtar with wings from Larsa (second millennium BCE)
Stele showing Ishtar holding a bow from Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum (eighth century BCE)
Hellenized bas-relief sculpture of Ishtar standing with her servant from Palmyra (third century CE)
Character
Ancient Akkadian cylinder seal depicting Inanna resting her foot on the back of a lion while Ninshubur stands in front of her paying obeisance, c. 2334 – c. 2154 BCE[89]
The Sumerians worshipped Inanna as the goddess of both warfare and love.[3] Unlike other gods, whose roles were static and whose domains were limited, the stories of Inanna describe her as moving from conquest to conquest.[24][90] She was portrayed as young and impetuous, constantly striving for more power than she had been allotted.[24][90]
Although she was worshipped as the goddess of love, Inanna was not the goddess of marriage, nor was she ever viewed as a mother goddess.[91][92] Andrew R. George goes as far as stating that "According to all mythology, Istar was not(...) temperamentally disposed" towards such functions.[93] As noted by Joan Goodnick Westenholz, it has even been proposed that Inanna was significant specifically because she was not a mother goddess.[94] As a love goddess, she was commonly invoked in incantations.[95]
In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, Inanna treats her lover Dumuzid in a very capricious manner.[91] This aspect of Inanna's personality is emphasized in the later standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh in which Gilgamesh points out Ishtar's infamous ill-treatment of her lovers.[96][97] However, according to assyriologist Dina Katz, the portrayal of Inanna's relationship with Dumuzi in the Descent myth is unusual.[98][99]
Inanna was also worshipped as one of the Sumerian war deities.[38][100] One of the hymns dedicated to her declares: "She stirs confusion and chaos against those who are disobedient to her, speeding carnage and inciting the devastating flood, clothed in terrifying radiance. It is her game to speed conflict and battle, untiring, strapping on her sandals."[101] Battle itself was occasionally referred to as the "Dance of Inanna".[102] Epithets related to lions in particular were meant to highlight this aspect of her character.[103] As a war goddess she was sometimes referred to with the name Irnina ("victory"),[104] though this epithet could be applied to other deities as well,[105][106][107] in addition to functioning as a distinct goddess linked to Ningishzida[108] rather than Ishtar. Another epithet highlighting this aspect of Ishtar's nature was Anunitu ("the martial one").[109] Like Irnina, Anunitu could also be a separate deity,[110] and as such she is first attested in documents from the Ur III period.[111]
Assyrian royal curse formulas invoked both of Ishtar's primary functions at once, invoking her to remove potency and martial valor alike.[112] Mesopotamian texts indicate that traits perceived as heroic, such as a king's ability to lead his troops and to triumph over enemies, and sexual prowess were regarded as interconnected.[113]
While Inanna/Ishtar was a goddess, her gender could be ambiguous at times.[114] Gary Beckman states that "ambiguous gender identification" was a characteristic not just of Ishtar herself but of a category of deities he refers to as "Ishtar type" goddesses (ex. Shaushka, Pinikir or Ninsianna).[115] A late hymn contains the phrase "she [Ishtar] is Enlil, she is Ninil" which might be a reference to occasionally "dimorphic" character of Ishtar, in addition to serving as an exaltation.[116] A hymn to Nanaya alludes to a male aspect of Ishtar from Babylon alongside a variety of more standard descriptions.[117] However, Illona Zsonlany only describes Ishtar as a "feminine figure who performed a masculine role" in certain contexts, for example as a war deity.[118]
Family
The marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid
An ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid[119]
Inanna's twin brother was Utu (known as Shamash in Akkadian), the god of the sun and justice .[120][121][122] In Sumerian texts, Inanna and Utu are shown as extremely close;[123] some modern authors perceive their relationship as bordering on incestuous.[123][124] In the myth of her descent into the underworld, Inanna addresses Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld, as her "older sister",[125][126] but the two goddesses almost never appear together in Sumerian literature[126] and weren't placed in the same category in god lists.[127] Due to Hurrian influence, in some neo-Assyrian sources (for example penalty clauses) Ishtar was also associated with Adad, with the relationship mirroring that between Shaushka and her brother Teshub in Hurrian mythology.[128]
The most common tradition regarded Nanna and his wife Ningal as her parents.[1][2] Examples of it are present in sources as diverse as a god list from the Early Dynastic period,[129] a hymn of Ishme-Dagan relaying how Enlil and Ninlil bestowed Inanna's powers upon her,[130] a late syncretic hymn to Nanaya,[131] and an Akkadian ritual from Hattusa.[132] While some authors assert that in Uruk Inanna was usually regarded as the daughter of the sky god An,[3][4] it's possible references to him as her father are only referring to his status as an ancestor of Nanna and thus his daughter.[2] In literary texts, Enlil[3][4] or Enki may be addressed as her fathers[3][4] but references to major gods being "fathers" can also be examples of the use of this word as an epithet indicating seniority.[94]
Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), the god of shepherds, is usually described as Inanna's husband,[121] but according to some interpretations Inanna's loyalty to him is questionable;[3] in the myth of her descent into the Underworld, she abandons Dumuzid and permits the galla demons to drag him down into the underworld as her replacement.[133][134] In a different myth, The Return of Dumuzid Inanna instead mourns over Dumuzid's death and ultimately decrees that he will be allowed to return to Heaven to be with her for one half of the year.[135][134] Dina Katz notes that the portrayal of their relationship in Inanna's Descent is unusual;[99] it doesn't resemble the portrayal of their relationship in other myths about Dumuzi's death, which almost never pin the blame for it on Inanna, but rather on demons or even human bandits.[98] A large corpus of love poetry describing encounters between Inanna and Dumuzi has been assembled by researchers.[136] However, local manifestations of Inanna/Ishtar weren't necessarily associated with Dumuzi.[137] In Kish, the tutelary deity of the city, Zababa (a war god), was viewed as the consort of a local hyposthasis of Ishtar,[138] though after the Old Babylonian period Bau, introduced from Lagash, became his spouse (an example of a couple consisting out of a warrior god and a medicine goddess, common in Mesopotamian mythology[139]) and Ishtar of Kish started to instead be worshiped on her own.[138]
Inanna is not usually described as having any offspring,[3] but, in the myth of Lugalbanda and in a single building inscription from the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 – c. 2004 BCE), the warrior god Shara is described as her son.[140] She was also sometimes considered the mother of Lulal,[141] who is described in other texts as the son of Ninsun.[141] Wilfred G. Lambert described the relation between Inanna and Lulal as "close but unspecified" in the context of Inanna's Descent.[142]There is also similarly scarce evidence for the love goddess Nanaya being regarded as her daughter (a song, a votive formula and an oath), but it's possible all of these instances merely refer to an epithet indicating closeness between the deities and weren't a statement about actual parentage.[143]
Sukkal
Main article: Ninshubur
Inanna's sukkal was the goddess Ninshubur,[144] whose relationship with Inanna is one of mutual devotion.[144] In some texts, Ninshubur was listed right after Dumuzi as a member of Inanna's circle, even before some of her relatives;[145] in one text the phrase "Ninshubur, beloved vizier" appears.[145] In another text Ninshubur is listed even before Nanaya, originally possibly a hyposthasis of Inanna herself,[146] in a list of deities from her entourage.[147] In an Akkadian ritual text known from Hittite archives Ishtar's sukkal is invoked alongside her family members (Sin, Ningal and Shamash).[148]
Other members of Inanna's entourage frequently listed in god lists were the goddesses Nanaya (usually placed right behind Dumuzi and Ninshubur), Kanisurra, Gazbaba and Bizila, all of them also associated with each other in various configurations independently from this context.[147][149]
Syncretism and influence on other deities
In addition to the full conflation of Inanna and Ishtar during the reign of Sargon and his successors,[42] she was syncretised with a large number of deities[150] to a varying degree. The oldest known syncretic hymn is dedicated to Inanna,[151] and has been dated to the Early Dynastic period.[152] Many god lists compiled by ancient scribes contained entire "Inanna group" sections enumerating similar goddesses,[153] and tablet IV of the monumental god list An-Anum (7 tablets total) is known as the "Ishtar tablet" due to most of its contents being the names of Ishtar's equivalents, her titles and various attendants.[154] Some modern researchers use the term Ishtar-type to define specific figures of this variety.[155][132] Some texts contained references to "all the Ishtars" of a given area.[156]
In later periods Ishtar's name was sometimes used as a generic term ("goddess") in Babylonia, while a logographic writing of Inanna was used to spell the title B;ltu, leading to further conflations.[157] A possible example of such use of the name is also known from Elam, as a single Elamite inscription written in Akkadian refers to "Manzat-Ishtar," which might in this context mean "the goddess Manzat."[158]
Specific examples
Ashtart: in cities like Mari and Ebla, the Eastern and Western Semitic forms of the name (Ishtar and Ashtart) were regarded as basically interchangeable.[159] However, the western goddess evidently lacked the astral character of Mesopotamian Ishtar.[160] Ugaritic god lists and ritual texts equate the local Ashtart with both Ishtar and Hurrian Ishara.[161]
Ishara: due to association with Ishtar,[162] the Syrian goddess Ishara started to be regarded as a "lady of love" like her (and Nanaya) in Mesopotamia.[163][146] However, in Hurro-Hittite context Ishara was associated with the underworld goddess Allani instead and additionally functioned as a goddess of oaths.[163][164]
Nanaya: a goddess uniquely closely linked to Inanna, as according to assyriologist Frans Wiggermann her name was originally an epithet of Inanna (possibly serving as an appellative, "My Inanna!").[146] Nanaya was associated with erotic love, but she eventually developed a warlike aspect of her own too ("Nanaya Eursaba").[165] In Larsa Inanna's functions were effectively split between three separate figures and she was worshiped as part of a trinity consisting out of herself, Nanaya (as a love goddess) and Ninsianna (as an astral goddess).[166] Inanna/Ishtar and Nanaya were often accidentally or intentionally conflated in poetry.[167]
Ninegal: while she was initially an independent figure, starting with Old Babylonian period in some texts "Ninegal" is used as a title of Inanna, and in god lists she was a part of the "Inanna group" usually alongside Ninsianna.[168] An example of the usage of "Ninegal" as an epithet can be found in the text designated as Hymn to Inana as Ninegala (Inana D) in the ETCSL.
Ninisina: a special case of syncretism was that between the medicine goddess Ninisina and Inanna, which occurred for political reasons.[169] Isin at one point lost control over Uruk and identification of its tutelary goddess with Inanna (complete with assigning a similar warlike character to her), who served as a source of royal power, was likely meant to serve as a theological solution of this problem.[169] As a result, in a number of sources Ninisina was regarded as analogous to similarly named Ninsianna, treated as a manifestation of Inanna.[169] It's also possible that a ceremony of "sacred marriage" between Ninisina and the king of Isin had been performed as a result.[170]
Ninsianna: a Venus deity of varying gender.[171] Ninsianna was referred to as male by Rim-Sin of Larsa (who specifically used the phrase "my king") and in texts from Sippar, Ur, and Girsu, but as "Ishtar of the stars" in god lists and astronomical texts, which also applied Ishtar's epithets related to her role as a personification of Venus to this deity.[172] In some locations Ninsianna was also known as a female deity, in which case her name can be understood as "red queen of heaven."[169]
Pinikir: originally an Elamite goddess, recognised in Mesopotamia, and as a result among Hurrians and Hittites, as an equivalent of Ishtar due to similar functions. She was identified specifically as her astral aspect (Ninsianna) in god lists.[173] In a Hittite ritual she was identified by the logogram dIsTAR and Shamash, Suen and Ningal were referred to as her family; Enki and Ishtar's sukkal were invoked in it as well.[174] in Elam she was a goddess of love and sex[175] and a heavenly deity ("mistress of heaven").[176] Due to syncretism with Ishtar and Ninsianna Pinikir was referred to as both a female and male deity in Hurro-Hittite sources.[177]
sauska: her name was frequently written with the logogram dIsTAR in Hurrian and Hittite sources, while Mesopotamian texts recognised her under the name "Ishtar of Subartu."[178] Some elements peculiar to her were associated with the Assyrian hyposthasis of Ishtar, Ishtar of Nineveh, in later times.[179] Her handmaidens Ninatta and Kulitta were incorporated into the circle of deities believed to serve Ishtar in her temple in Ashur.[180][181]
Obsolete theories
Some researchers in the past attempted to connect Ishtar to the minor goddess Ashratu,[182] the Babylonian reflection of West Semitic Athirat (Asherah), associated with Amurru,[183] but as demonstrated by Steve A. Wiggins this theory was baseless, as the sole piece of evidence that they were ever conflated or even just confused with each other was the fact Ishtar and Ashratu shared an epithet[182] - however the same epithet was also applied to Marduk, Ninurta, Nergal, and Suen,[182] and no further evidence can be found in sources such as god lists.[184] There is also no evidence that Athtart (Ashtart), the Ugaritic cognate of Ishtar, was ever confused or conflated with Athirat by the Amorites.[185]
Sumerian mythology
Origin myths
The poem of Enki and the World Order (ETCSL 1.1.3) begins by describing the god Enki and his establishment of the cosmic organization of the universe.[186] Towards the end of the poem, Inanna comes to Enki and complains that he has assigned a domain and special powers to all of the other gods except for her.[187] She declares that she has been treated unfairly.[188] Enki responds by telling her that she already has a domain and that he does not need to assign her one.[189]
Original Sumerian tablet of the Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzid
The myth of "Inanna and the Huluppu Tree", found in the preamble to the epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (ETCSL 1.8.1.4),[190] centers around a young Inanna, not yet stable in her power.[191][192] It begins with a huluppu tree, which Kramer identifies as possibly a willow,[193] growing on the banks of the river Euphrates.[193][194][195] Inanna moves the tree to her garden in Uruk with the intention to carve it into a throne once it is fully grown.[193][194][195] The tree grows and matures, but the serpent "who knows no charm", the Anz;-bird, and Lilitu (Ki-Sikil-Lil-La-Ke in Sumerian),[196] seen by some as the Sumerian forerunner to the Lilith of Jewish folklore, all take up residence within the tree, causing Inanna to cry with sorrow.[193][194][195] The hero Gilgamesh, who, in this story, is portrayed as her brother, comes along and slays the serpent, causing the Anz;-bird and Lilitu to flee.[197][194][195] Gilgamesh's companions chop down the tree and carve its wood into a bed and a throne, which they give to Inanna,[198][194][195] who fashions a pikku and a mikku (probably a drum and drumsticks respectively, although the exact identifications are uncertain),[199] which she gives to Gilgamesh as a reward for his heroism.[200][194][195]
The Sumerian hymn Inanna and Utu contains an etiological myth describing how Inanna became the goddess of sex.[201] At the beginning of the hymn, Inanna knows nothing of sex,[201] so she begs her brother Utu to take her to Kur (the Sumerian underworld),[201] so that she may taste the fruit of a tree that grows there,[201] which will reveal to her all the secrets of sex.[201] Utu complies and, in Kur, Inanna tastes the fruit and becomes knowledgeable.[201] The hymn employs the same motif found in the myth of Enki and Ninhursag and in the later Biblical story of Adam and Eve.[201]
The poem Inanna Prefers the Farmer (ETCSL 4.0.8.3.3) begins with a rather playful conversation between Inanna and Utu, who incrementally reveals to her that it is time for her to marry.[12][202] She is courted by a farmer named Enkimdu and a shepherd named Dumuzid.[12] At first, Inanna prefers the farmer,[12] but Utu and Dumuzid gradually persuade her that Dumuzid is the better choice for a husband, arguing that, for every gift the farmer can give to her, the shepherd can give her something even better.[203] In the end, Inanna marries Dumuzid.[203] The shepherd and the farmer reconcile their differences, offering each other gifts.[204] Samuel Noah Kramer compares the myth to the later Biblical story of Cain and Abel because both myths center around a farmer and a shepherd competing for divine favor and, in both stories, the deity in question ultimately chooses the shepherd.[12]
Conquests and patronage
Akkadian cylinder seal from c.;2300 BCE or thereabouts depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud[205]
Inanna and Enki (ETCSL t.1.3.1) is a lengthy poem written in Sumerian, which may date to the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2112 BCE – c. 2004 BCE);[206] it tells the story of how Inanna stole the sacred mes from Enki, the god of water and human culture.[207] In ancient Sumerian mythology, the mes were sacred powers or properties belonging to the gods that allowed human civilization to exist.[208] Each me embodied one specific aspect of human culture.[208] These aspects were very diverse and the mes listed in the poem include abstract concepts such as Truth, Victory, and Counsel, technologies such as writing and weaving, and also social constructs such as law, priestly offices, kingship, and prostitution. The mes were believed to grant power over all the aspects of civilization, both positive and negative.[207]
In the myth, Inanna travels from her own city of Uruk to Enki's city of Eridu, where she visits his temple, the E-Abzu.[209] Inanna is greeted by Enki's sukkal, Isimud, who offers her food and drink.[210][211] Inanna starts up a drinking competition with Enki.[207][212] Then, once Enki is thoroughly intoxicated, Inanna persuades him to give her the mes.[207][213] Inanna flees from Eridu in the Boat of Heaven, taking the mes back with her to Uruk.[214][215] Enki wakes up to discover that the mes are gone and asks Isimud what has happened to them.[214][216] Isimud replies that Enki has given all of them to Inanna.[217][218] Enki becomes infuriated and sends multiple sets of fierce monsters after Inanna to take back the mes before she reaches the city of Uruk.[219][220] Inanna's sukkal Ninshubur fends off all of the monsters that Enki sends after them.[221][220][144] Through Ninshubur's aid, Inanna successfully manages to take the mes back with her to the city of Uruk.[221][222] After Inanna escapes, Enki reconciles with her and bids her a positive farewell.[223] It is possible that this legend may represent a historic transfer of power from the city of Eridu to the city of Uruk.[18][224] It is also possible that this legend may be a symbolic representation of Inanna's maturity and her readiness to become the Queen of Heaven.[225]
The poem Inanna Takes Command of Heaven is an extremely fragmentary, but important, account of Inanna's conquest of the Eanna temple in Uruk.[18] It begins with a conversation between Inanna and her brother Utu in which Inanna laments that the Eanna temple is not within their domain and resolves to claim it as her own.[18] The text becomes increasingly fragmentary at this point in the narrative,[18] but appears to describe her difficult passage through a marshland to reach the temple while a fisherman instructs her on which route is best to take.[18] Ultimately, Inanna reaches her father An, who is shocked by her arrogance, but nevertheless concedes that she has succeeded and that the temple is now her domain.[18] The text ends with a hymn expounding Inanna's greatness.[18] This myth may represent an eclipse in the authority of the priests of An in Uruk and a transfer of power to the priests of Inanna.[18]
Inanna briefly appears at the beginning and end of the epic poem Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (ETCSL 1.8.2.3). The epic deals with a rivalry between the cities of Uruk and Aratta. Enmerkar, the king of Uruk, wishes to adorn his city with jewels and precious metals, but cannot do so because such minerals are only found in Aratta and, since trade does not yet exist, the resources are not available to him.[226] Inanna, who is the patron goddess of both cities,[227] appears to Enmerkar at the beginning of the poem[228] and tells him that she favors Uruk over Aratta.[229] She instructs Enmerkar to send a messenger to the lord of Aratta to ask for the resources Uruk needs.[227] The majority of the epic revolves around a great contest between the two kings over Inanna's favor.[230] Inanna reappears at the end of the poem to resolve the conflict by telling Enmerkar to establish trade between his city and Aratta.[231]
Justice myths
The original Sumerian clay tablet of Inanna and Ebih, which is currently housed in the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago
Inanna and her brother Utu were regarded as the dispensers of divine justice,[123] a role which Inanna exemplifies in several of her myths.[232] Inanna and Ebih (ETCSL 1.3.2), otherwise known as Goddess of the Fearsome Divine Powers, is a 184-line poem written by the Akkadian poet Enheduanna describing Inanna's confrontation with Mount Ebih, a mountain in the Zagros mountain range.[233] The poem begins with an introductory hymn praising Inanna.[234] The goddess journeys all over the entire world, until she comes across Mount Ebih and becomes infuriated by its glorious might and natural beauty,[235] considering its very existence as an outright affront to her own authority.[236][233] She rails at Mount Ebih, shouting:
Mountain, because of your elevation, because of your height,
Because of your goodness, because of your beauty,
Because you wore a holy garment,
Because An organized(?) you,
Because you did not bring (your) nose close to the ground,
Because you did not press (your) lips in the dust.[237]
Inanna petitions to An, the Sumerian god of the heavens, to allow her to destroy Mount Ebih.[235] An warns Inanna not to attack the mountain,[235] but she ignores his warning and proceeds to attack and destroy Mount Ebih regardless.[235] In the conclusion of the myth, she explains to Mount Ebih why she attacked it.[237] In Sumerian poetry, the phrase "destroyer of Kur" is occasionally used as one of Inanna's epithets.[238]
The poem Inanna and Shukaletuda (ETCSL 1.3.3) begins with a hymn to Inanna, praising her as the planet Venus.[239] It then introduces Shukaletuda, a gardener who is terrible at his job. All of his plants die, except for one poplar tree.[239] Shukaletuda prays to the gods for guidance in his work. To his surprise, the goddess Inanna sees his one poplar tree and decides to rest under the shade of its branches.[239] Shukaletuda removes her clothes and rapes Inanna while she sleeps.[239] When the goddess wakes up and realizes she has been violated, she becomes furious and determines to bring her attacker to justice.[239] In a fit of rage, Inanna unleashes horrible plagues upon the Earth, turning water into blood.[239] Shukaletuda, terrified for his life, pleads his father for advice on how to escape Inanna's wrath.[239] His father tells him to hide in the city, amongst the hordes of people, where he will hopefully blend in.[239] Inanna searches the mountains of the East for her attacker,[239] but is not able to find him.[239] She then releases a series of storms and closes all roads to the city, but is still unable to find Shukaletuda,[239] so she asks Enki to help her find him, threatening to leave her temple in Uruk if he does not.[239] Enki consents and Inanna flies "across the sky like a rainbow".[239] Inanna finally locates Shukaletuda, who vainly attempts to invent excuses for his crime against her. Inanna rejects these excuses and kills him.[240] Theology professor Jeffrey Cooley has cited the story of Shukaletuda as a Sumerian astral myth, arguing that the movements of Inanna in the story correspond with the movements of the planet Venus.[83] He has also stated that, while Shukaletuda was praying to the goddess, he may have been looking toward Venus on the horizon.[240]
The text of the poem Inanna and Bilulu (ETCSL 1.4.4), discovered at Nippur, is badly mutilated[241] and scholars have interpreted it in a number of different ways.[241] The beginning of the poem is mostly destroyed,[241] but seems to be a lament.[241] The intelligible part of the poem describes Inanna pining after her husband Dumuzid, who is in the steppe watching his flocks.[241][242] Inanna sets out to find him.[241] After this, a large portion of the text is missing.[241] When the story resumes, Inanna is being told that Dumuzid has been murdered.[241] Inanna discovers that the old bandit woman Bilulu and her son Girgire are responsible.[243][242] She travels along the road to Edenlila and stops at an inn, where she finds the two murderers.[241] Inanna stands on top of a stool[241] and transforms Bilulu into "the waterskin that men carry in the desert",[241][244][243][242] forcing her to pour the funerary libations for Dumuzid.[241][242]
Descent into the underworld
Copy of the Akkadian version of Ishtar's Descent into the Underworld from the Library of Assurbanipal, currently held in the British Museum in London, England
Depiction of Inanna/Ishtar from the Ishtar Vase, dating to the early second millennium BCE (Mesopotamian, Terracotta with cut, moulded, and painted decoration, from Larsa)
Two different versions of the story of Inanna/Ishtar's descent into the underworld have survived:[245][246] a Sumerian version dating to the Third Dynasty of Ur (circa 2112 BCE – 2004 BCE) (ETCSL 1.4.1)[245][246] and a clearly derivative Akkadian version from the early second millennium BCE.[245][246] The Sumerian version of the story is nearly three times the length of the later Akkadian version and contains much greater detail.[247]
Sumerian version
In Sumerian religion, the Kur was conceived of as a dark, dreary cavern located deep underground;[248] life there was envisioned as "a shadowy version of life on earth".[248] It was ruled by Inanna's sister, the goddess Ereshkigal.[125][248] Before leaving, Inanna instructs her minister and servant Ninshubur to plead with the deities Enlil, Nanna, An, and Enki to rescue her if she does not return after three days.[249][250] The laws of the underworld dictate that, with the exception of appointed messengers, those who enter it may never leave.[249] Inanna dresses elaborately for the visit; she wears a turban, wig, lapis lazuli necklace, beads upon her breast, the 'pala dress' (the ladyship garment), mascara, a pectoral, and golden ring, and holds a lapis lazuli measuring rod.[251][252] Each garment is a representation of a powerful me she possesses.[253]
Inanna pounds on the gates of the underworld, demanding to be let in.[254][255][250] The gatekeeper Neti asks her why she has come[254][256] and Inanna replies that she wishes to attend the funeral rites of Gugalanna, the "husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal".[125][254][256] Neti reports this to Ereshkigal,[257][258] who tells him: "Bolt the seven gates of the underworld. Then, one by one, open each gate a crack. Let Inanna enter. As she enters, remove her royal garments."[259] Perhaps Inanna's garments, unsuitable for a funeral, along with Inanna's haughty behavior, make Ereshkigal suspicious.[260] Following Ereshkigal's instructions, Neti tells Inanna she may enter the first gate of the underworld, but she must hand over her lapis lazuli measuring rod. She asks why, and is told, "It is just the ways of the underworld." She obliges and passes through. Inanna passes through a total of seven gates, at each one removing a piece of clothing or jewelry she had been wearing at the start of her journey,[261] thus stripping her of her power.[262][250] When she arrives in front of her sister, she is naked:[262][250]
After she had crouched down and had her clothes removed, they were carried away. Then she made her sister Erec-ki-gala rise from her throne, and instead she sat on her throne. The Anna, the seven judges, rendered their decision against her. They looked at her – it was the look of death. They spoke to her – it was the speech of anger. They shouted at her – it was the shout of heavy guilt. The afflicted woman was turned into a corpse. And the corpse was hung on a hook.[263]
Three days and three nights pass, and Ninshubur, following instructions, goes to the temples of Enlil, Nanna, An, and Enki, and pleads with each of them to rescue Inanna.[264][265][266] The first three deities refuse, saying Inanna's fate is her own fault,[264][267][268] but Enki is deeply troubled and agrees to help.[269][270][268] He creates two sexless figures named gala-tura and the kur-jara from the dirt under the fingernails of two of his fingers.[269][271][268] He instructs them to appease Ereshkigal[269][271] and, when she asks them what they want, ask for the corpse of Inanna, which they must sprinkle with the food and water of life.[269][271] When they come before Ereshkigal, she is in agony like a woman giving birth.[272] She offers them whatever they want, including life-giving rivers of water and fields of grain, if they can relieve her,[273] but they refuse all of her offers and ask only for Inanna's corpse.[272] The gala-tura and the kur-jara sprinkle Inanna's corpse with the food and water of life and revive her.[274][275][268] Galla demons sent by Ereshkigal follow Inanna out of the underworld, insisting that someone else must be taken to the underworld as Inanna's replacement.[276][277][268] They first come upon Ninshubur and attempt to take her,[276][277][268] but Inanna stops them, insisting that Ninshubur is her loyal servant and that she had rightfully mourned for her while she was in the underworld.[276][277][268] They next come upon Shara, Inanna's beautician, who is still in mourning.[278][279][268] The demons attempt to take him, but Inanna insists that they may not, because he had also mourned for her.[280][281][268] The third person they come upon is Lulal, who is also in mourning.[280][282][268] The demons try to take him, but Inanna stops them once again.[280][282][268]
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing Dumuzid being tortured in the underworld by the galla demons
Finally, they come upon Dumuzid, Inanna's husband.[283][268] Despite Inanna's fate, and in contrast to the other individuals who were properly mourning her, Dumuzid is lavishly clothed and resting beneath a tree, or upon her throne, entertained by slave-girls. Inanna, displeased, decrees that the galla shall take him.[283][268][284] The galla then drag Dumuzid down to the underworld.[283][268] Another text known as Dumuzid's Dream (ETCSL 1.4.3) describes Dumuzid's repeated attempts to evade capture by the galla demons, an effort in which he is aided by the sun-god Utu.[285][286][e]
In the Sumerian poem The Return of Dumuzid, which begins where The Dream of Dumuzid ends, Dumuzid's sister Geshtinanna laments continually for days and nights over Dumuzid's death, joined by Inanna, who has apparently experienced a change of heart, and Sirtur, Dumuzid's mother.[287] The three goddesses mourn continually until a fly reveals to Inanna the location of her husband.[288] Together, Inanna and Geshtinanna go to the place where the fly has told them they will find Dumuzid.[289] They find him there and Inanna decrees that, from that point onwards, Dumuzid will spend half of the year with her sister Ereshkigal in the underworld and the other half of the year in Heaven with her, while his sister Geshtinanna takes his place in the underworld.[290][268][291]
Akkadian version
The Akkadian version begins with Ishtar approaching the gates of the underworld and demanding the gatekeeper to let her in:
If you do not open the gate for me to come in,
I shall smash the door and shatter the bolt,
I shall smash the doorpost and overturn the doors,
I shall raise up the dead and they shall eat the living:
And the dead shall outnumber the living![292]
The gatekeeper (whose name is not given in the Akkadian version[292]) hurries to tell Ereshkigal of Ishtar's arrival. Ereshkigal orders him to let Ishtar enter, but tells him to "treat her according to the ancient rites".[293] The gatekeeper lets Ishtar into the underworld, opening one gate at a time.[293] At each gate, Ishtar is forced to shed one article of clothing. When she finally passes the seventh gate, she is naked.[294] In a rage, Ishtar throws herself at Ereshkigal, but Ereshkigal orders her servant Namtar to imprison Ishtar and unleash sixty diseases against her.[295]
After Ishtar descends to the underworld, all sexual activity ceases on earth.[296] The god Papsukkal, the Akkadian counterpart to Ninshubur,[297] reports the situation to Ea, the god of wisdom and culture.[296] Ea creates an androgynous being called Asu-shu-namir and sends them to Ereshkigal, telling them to invoke "the name of the great gods" against her and to ask for the bag containing the waters of life. Ereshkigal becomes enraged when she hears Asu-shu-namir's demand, but she is forced to give them the water of life. Asu-shu-namir sprinkles Ishtar with this water, reviving her. Then, Ishtar passes back through the seven gates, receiving one article of clothing back at each gate, and exiting the final gate fully clothed.[296]
Interpretations in modern assyriology
The "Burney Relief", which is speculated to represent either Ishtar or her older sister Ereshkigal (c. 19th or 18th century BCE)
Dina Katz, an authority on Sumerian afterlife beliefs and funerary customs, considers the narrative of Inanna's descent to be a combination of two distinct preexisting traditions rooted in broader context of Mesopotamian religion.
In one tradition, Inanna was only able to leave the underworld with the help of Enki's trick, with no mention of the possibility of finding a substitute.[298] This part of the myth belongs to the genre of myths about deities struggling to obtain power, glory etc. (such as Lugal-e or Enuma Elish),[298] and possibly served as a representation of Inanna's character as a personification of a periodically vanishing astral body.[299] According to Katz, the fact that Inanna's instructions to Ninshubur contain a correct prediction of her eventual fate, including the exact means of her rescue, show that the purpose of this composition was simply highlighting Inanna's ability to traverse both the heavens and the underworld, much like how Venus was able to rise over and over again.[299] She also points out Inanna's return has parallels in some Udug-hul incantations.[299]
Another was simply one of the many myths about the death of Dumuzi (such as Dumuzi's Dream or Inana and Bilulu; in these myths Inanna isn't to blame for his death),[300] tied to his role as an embodiment of vegetation. She considers it possible that the connection between the two parts of the narrative was meant to mirror some well attested healing rituals which required a symbolic substitute of the person being treated.[99]
Katz also notes that the Sumerian version of the myth is not concerned with matters of fertility, and points out any references to it (e.g. to nature being infertile while Ishtar is dead) were only added in later Akkadian translations;[301] so was the description of Tammuz's funeral.[301] The purpose of these changes was likely to make the myth closer to cultic traditions linked to Tammuz, namely the annual mourning of his death followed by celebration of a temporary return.[302] According to Katz it is notable that known many copies of the later versions of the myth come from Assyrian cities which were known for their veneration of Tammuz, such as Ashur and Nineveh.[301]
Other interpretations
A number of less scholarly interpretations of the myth arose through the 20th century, many of them rooted in the tradition of Jungian analysis rather than assyriology. Some authors draw comparisons to the Greek myth of the abduction of Persephone as well.[303]
Diane Wolkstein interprets the myth as a union between Inanna and her own "dark side": her twin sister-self, Ereshkigal. When Inanna ascends from the underworld, it is through Ereshkigal's powers, but, while Inanna is in the underworld, it is Ereshkigal who apparently takes on the powers of fertility. The poem ends with a line in praise, not of Inanna, but of Ereshkigal. Wolkstein interprets the narrative as a praise-poem dedicated to the more negative aspects of Inanna's domain, symbolic of an acceptance of the necessity of death in order to facilitate the continuance of life.[304] It should be pointed out that cultic texts such as god lists do not associate Ereshkigal and Inanna with each other: the former doesn't belong to the circle of Inanna's hyposthases and attendants, but to a grouping of underworld gods (Ninazu, Ningishzida, Inshushinak, Tishpak, etc.) in the famous An-Anum god list;[305] and her "alter egos" in various god lists were similar foreign deities (Hurrian queen of the dead Allani, Hattian and Hittite death deity Lelwani etc.),[306][307] not Inanna.
Joseph Campbell interpreted the myth as a tale about the psychological power of a descent into the unconscious, the realization of one's own strength through an episode of seeming powerlessness, and the acceptance of one's own negative qualities.[308]
Later myths
Epic of Gilgamesh
Ancient Mesopotamian terracotta relief showing Gilgamesh slaying the Bull of Heaven, sent by Ishtar in Tablet VI of the Epic of Gilgamesh after he spurns her amorous advances[309]
Main article: Epic of Gilgamesh
In the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, Ishtar appears to Gilgamesh after he and his companion Enkidu have returned to Uruk from defeating the ogre Humbaba and demands Gilgamesh to become her consort.[310] Gilgamesh refuses her, pointing out that all of her previous lovers have suffered:[310]
Listen to me while I tell the tale of your lovers. There was Tammuz, the lover of your youth, for him you decreed wailing, year after year. You loved the many-coloured Lilac-breasted Roller, but still you struck and broke his wing [...] You have loved the lion tremendous in strength: seven pits you dug for him, and seven. You have loved the stallion magnificent in battle, and for him you decreed the whip and spur and a thong [...] You have loved the shepherd of the flock; he made meal-cake for you day after day, he killed kids for your sake. You struck and turned him into a wolf; now his own herd-boys chase him away, his own hounds worry his flanks.[96]
Infuriated by Gilgamesh's refusal,[310] Ishtar goes to heaven and tells her father Anu that Gilgamesh has insulted her.[310] Anu asks her why she is complaining to him instead of confronting Gilgamesh herself.[310] Ishtar demands that Anu give her the Bull of Heaven[310] and swears that if he does not give it to her, she will "break in the doors of hell and smash the bolts; there will be confusion [i.e., mixing] of people, those above with those from the lower depths. I shall bring up the dead to eat food like the living; and the hosts of the dead will outnumber the living."[311]
Original Akkadian Tablet XI (the "Deluge Tablet") of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Anu gives Ishtar the Bull of Heaven, and Ishtar sends it to attack Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu.[309][312] Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to the sun-god Shamash.[313][312] While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of Uruk and curses Gilgamesh.[313][314] Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,[313][314] saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."[315] (Enkidu later dies for this impiety.)[314] Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"[313] and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.[313][314] Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull of Heaven's defeat.[316][314]
Later in the epic, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the Great Flood,[317] which was sent by the god Enlil to annihilate all life on earth because the humans, who were vastly overpopulated, made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping.[318] Utnapishtim tells how, when the flood came, Ishtar wept and mourned over the destruction of humanity, alongside the Anunnaki.[319] Later, after the flood subsides, Utnapishtim makes an offering to the gods.[320] Ishtar appears to Utnapishtim wearing a lapis lazuli necklace with beads shaped like flies and tells him that Enlil never discussed the flood with any of the other gods.[321] She swears him that she will never allow Enlil to cause another flood[321] and declares her lapis lazuli necklace a sign of her oath.[321] Ishtar invites all the gods except for Enlil to gather around the offering and enjoy.[322]
Other tales
A myth about the childhood of the god Ishum, viewed as a son of Shamash, describes Ishtar seemingly temporarily taking care of him, and possibly expressing annoyance at that situation.[323]
In a pseudepigraphical Neo-Assyrian text written in the seventh century BCE, but which claims to be the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad,[324] Ishtar is claimed to have appeared to Sargon "surrounded by a cloud of doves" while he was working as a gardener for Akki, the drawer of the water.[324] Ishtar then proclaimed Sargon her lover and allowed him to become the ruler of Sumer and Akkad.[324]
In Hurro-Hittite texts the logogram dISHTAR denotes the goddess sauska, who was identified with Ishtar in god lists and similar documents as well and influenced the development of the late Assyrian cult of Ishtar of Nineveh according to hittitologist Gary Beckman.[178] She plays a prominent role in the Hurrian myths of the Kumarbi cycle.[325]
Later influence
In antiquity
Phoenician figure dating to the seventh century BCE representing a goddess, probably Astarte, called the "Lady of Galera" (National Archaeological Museum of Spain)
The cult of Inanna/Ishtar may have been introduced to the Kingdom of Judah during the reign of King Manasseh[326] and, although Inanna herself is not directly mentioned in the Bible by name,[327] the Old Testament contains numerous allusions to her cult.[328] Jeremiah 7:18 and Jeremiah 44:15–19 mention "the Queen of Heaven", who is probably a syncretism of Inanna/Ishtar and the West Semitic goddess Astarte.[326][329][330][65] Jeremiah states that the Queen of Heaven was worshipped by women who baked cakes for her.[67]
The Song of Songs bears strong similarities to the Sumerian love poems involving Inanna and Dumuzid,[331] particularly in its usage of natural symbolism to represent the lovers' physicality.[331] Song of Songs 6:10 Ezekiel 8:14 mentions Inanna's husband Dumuzid under his later East Semitic name Tammuz[332][333][334] and describes a group of women mourning Tammuz's death while sitting near the north gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.[333][334] Marina Warner (a literary critic rather than Assyriologist) claims that early Christians in the Middle East assimilated elements of Ishtar into the cult of the Virgin Mary.[335] She argues that the Syrian writers Jacob of Serugh and Romanos the Melodist both wrote laments in which the Virgin Mary describes her compassion for her son at the foot of the cross in deeply personal terms closely resembling Ishtar's laments over the death of Tammuz.[336] However, broad comparisons between Tammuz and other dying gods are rooted in the work of James George Frazer and are regarded as a relic of less rigorous early 20th century Assyriology by more recent publications.[337]
The cult of Inanna/Ishtar also heavily influenced the cult of the Phoenician goddess Astarte.[338] The Phoenicians introduced Astarte to the Greek islands of Cyprus and Cythera,[329][339] where she either gave rise to or heavily influenced the Greek goddess Aphrodite.[340][339][341][338] Aphrodite took on Inanna/Ishtar's associations with sexuality and procreation.[342][343] Furthermore, she was known as Ourania (;;;;;;;), which means "heavenly",[344][343] a title corresponding to Inanna's role as the Queen of Heaven.[344][343]
Altar from the Greek city of Taras in Magna Graecia, dating to c. 400 – c. 375 BCE, depicting Aphrodite and Adonis, whose myth is derived from the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Dumuzid[345][346]
Early artistic and literary portrayals of Aphrodite are extremely similar to Inanna/Ishtar.[342][343] Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess;[342][339][347] the second-century AD Greek geographer Pausanias records that, in Sparta, Aphrodite was worshipped as Aphrodite Areia, which means "warlike".[348][349] He also mentions that Aphrodite's most ancient cult statues in Sparta and on Cythera showed her bearing arms.[348][349][350][342] Modern scholars note that Aphrodite's warrior-goddess aspects appear in the oldest strata of her worship[351] and see it as an indication of her Near Eastern origins.[351][347] Aphrodite also absorbed Ishtar's association with doves,[80][347] which were sacrificed to her alone.[347] The Greek word for "dove" was perister;,[80][81] which may be derived from the Semitic phrase pera; Istar, meaning "bird of Ishtar".[81] The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is derived from the story of Inanna and Dumuzid.[345][346]
Classical scholar Charles Penglase has written that Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, resembles Inanna's role as a "terrifying warrior goddess".[352] Others have noted that the birth of Athena from the head of her father Zeus could be derived from Inanna's descent into and return from the Underworld.[353] However, as noted by Gary Beckman, a rather direct parallel to Athena's birth is found in the Hurrian Kumarbi cycle, where Teshub is born from the surgically split skull of Kumarbi,[354] rather than in any Inanna myths.
The cult of Inanna may also have influenced the deities Ainina and Danina of the Caucasian Iberians mentioned by the medieval Georgian Chronicles.[355] Anthropologist Kevin Tuite argues that the Georgian goddess Dali was also influenced by Inanna,[356] noting that both Dali and Inanna were associated with the morning star,[357] both were characteristically depicted nude,[358] (but note that Assyriologists assume the "naked goddess" motif in Mesopotamian art in most cases cannot be Ishtar,[359] and the goddess most consistently depicted as naked was Shala, a weather goddess unrelated to Ishtar[360]) both were associated with gold jewelry,[358] both sexually preyed on mortal men,[361] both were associated with human and animal fertility,[362] (note however that Assyriologist Dina Katz pointed out the references to fertility are more likely to be connected to Dumuzi than Inanna/Ishtar in at least some cases[302]) and both had ambiguous natures as sexually attractive, but dangerous, women.[363]
Traditional Mesopotamian religion began to gradually decline between the third and fifth centuries AD as ethnic Assyrians converted to Christianity. Nonetheless, the cult of Ishtar and Tammuz managed to survive in parts of Upper Mesopotamia.[334] In the tenth century AD, an Arab traveler wrote that "All the Sabaeans of our time, those of Babylonia as well as those of Harran, lament and weep to this day over Tammuz at a festival which they, more particularly the women, hold in the month of the same name."[334]
Worship of Venus deities possibly connected to Inanna/Ishtar was known in Pre-Islamic Arabia right up until the Islamic period. Isaac of Antioch (d. 406 AD) says that the Arabs worshipped 'the Star' (kawkabta), also known as Al-Uzza, which many identify with Venus.[364] Isaac also mentions an Arabian deity named Baltis, which according to Jan Rets; most likely was another designation for Ishtar.[365] In pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions themselves, it appears that the deity known as Allat was also a Venusian deity.[366] Attar, a male god whose name is a cognate of Ishtar's, is a plausible candidate for the role of Arabian Venus deity too on the account of both his name and his epithet "eastern and western."[367]
Modern relevance
Illustration of Ishtar's Midnight Courtship from Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's 1884 book-length poem Ishtar and Izdubar, loosely based on George Smith's recent translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh[368]
In his 1853 pamphlet The Two Babylons, as part of his argument that Roman Catholicism is actually Babylonian paganism in disguise, Alexander Hislop, a Protestant minister in the Free Church of Scotland, incorrectly argued that the modern English word Easter must be derived from Ishtar due to the phonetic similarity of the two words.[369] Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion.[370][371][372] Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of evangelical Protestants[370] and the ideas promoted in it have become widely circulated, especially through the Internet, due to a number of popular Internet memes.[372]
Ishtar had a major appearance in Ishtar and Izdubar,[373] a book-length poem written in 1884 by Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton, an American lawyer and businessman, loosely based on the recently translated Epic of Gilgamesh.[373] Ishtar and Izdubar expanded the original roughly 3,000 lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh to roughly 6,000 lines of rhyming couplets grouped into forty-eight cantos.[368] Hamilton significantly altered most of the characters and introduced entirely new episodes not found in the original epic.[368] Significantly influenced by Edward FitzGerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Edwin Arnold's The Light of Asia,[368] Hamilton's characters dress more like nineteenth-century Turks than ancient Babylonians.[374] In the poem, Izdubar (the earlier misreading for the name "Gilgamesh") falls in love with Ishtar,[375] but, then, "with hot and balmy breath, and trembling form aglow", she attempts to seduce him, leading Izdubar to reject her advances.[375] Several "columns" of the book are devoted to an account of Ishtar's descent into the Underworld.[374] At the conclusion of the book, Izdubar, now a god, is reconciled with Ishtar in Heaven.[376] In 1887, the composer Vincent d'Indy wrote Symphony Ishtar, variations symphonique, Op. 42, a symphony inspired by the Assyrian monuments in the British Museum.[377]
A modern illustration depicting Inanna-Ishtar's descent into the Underworld taken from Lewis Spence's Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916)
Inanna has become an important figure in modern feminist theory because she appears in the male-dominated Sumerian pantheon,[378] but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside.[378] Simone de Beauvoir, in her book The Second Sex (1949), argues that Inanna, along with other powerful female deities from antiquity, have been marginalized by modern culture in favor of male deities.[377] Tikva Frymer-Kensky has argued that Inanna was a "marginal figure" in Sumerian religion who embodies the "socially unacceptable" archetype of the "undomesticated, unattached woman".[377] Feminist author Johanna Stuckey has argued against this idea, pointing out Inanna's centrality in Sumerian religion and her broad diversity of powers, neither of which seem to fit the idea that she was in any way regarded as "marginal".[377] Assyriologist Julia M. Asher-Greve, who specializes in the study of position of women in antiquity, criticizes Frymer-Kensky's studies of Mesopotamian religion as a whole, highlighting the problems with her focus on fertility, the small selection of sources her works relied on, her view that position of goddesses in the pantheon reflected that of ordinary women in society (so-called "mirror theory"), as well as the fact her works do not accurately reflect the complexity of changes of roles of goddesses in religions of ancient Mesopotamia.[379] Ilona Zsolnay regards Frymer-Kensky's methodology as faulty.[380]
In Neopaganism and Sumerian reconstructionism
Inanna's name is also used to refer to the Goddess in modern Neopaganism and Wicca.[381] Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant",[382] one of the most widely used Wiccan liturgies.[382] Inanna's Descent into the Underworld was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess",[383] one of the most popular texts of Gardnerian Wicca.[383]
Paul Thomas, a scholar of new religious movements, has criticized the modern portrayal of Inanna, accusing it of anachronistically imposing modern gender conventions on the ancient Sumerian story, portraying Inanna as a wife and mother,[384] two roles the ancient Sumerians never ascribed to her,[384][3] while ignoring the more masculine elements of Inanna's cult, particularly her associations with warfare and violence.[384] Gary Beckman, a researcher of religions of ancient Near East, calls neopagan authors "not revivalists, but inventors,"[385] and notes that they often incorrectly "view all historically attested female divinities as full or partial manifestations of a single figure,"[386] and highlights that while Ishtar did overshadow many other deities, she was never a "single Goddess."[387]
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2021)
In popular culture
While classical deities such as Apollo and Aphrodite frequently appear in modern popular culture,[377] Mesopotamian deities have, by contrast, fallen into almost complete obscurity.[377] Inanna/Ishtar has somewhat resisted this tendency, but has not been immune to it.[377] She usually only appears in works with strong mythological input,[377] and most modern portrayals of Inanna/Ishtar have virtually nothing in common with the ancient goddess except for her name.[377]
The 1963 splatter film Blood Feast concerns a serial killer who sacrifices his victims to Ishtar, who is incorrectly identified as an "Egyptian goddess".[388]
In the 1979 art installation The Dinner Party by American feminist artist Judy Chicago, Inanna is one of the names on the Heritage Floor as a woman related to Ishtar, who has a seat at the table.[389]
Ishtar also gave her name to the 1987 box office bomb Ishtar, in which the character Shirra was loosely modeled on her.[378]
The character Sailor Venus in the Japanese manga series Sailor Moon (1991-1997) is partially based on Inanna.[390] The television series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999), following the portrayal in Blood Feast, portrays Ishtar as a soul-eating Egyptian mummy.[388] According to Louise Pryke, the character Buffy Summers in television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) bears remarkably strong similarities to Ishtar,[391] but these may be coincidental.[392] In 1998, one of the two highlands of the planet Venus was named "Ishtar Terra".[388]
John Craton composed a full-length opera about Ishtar, Inanna: An Opera of Ancient Sumer (2003).[377] The Argentinian feminist artist Liliana Kleiner created an exhibition of paintings depicting her interpretations of Inanna's myths,[393] which was first displayed in Mexico in 2008.[393] The exhibition was later shown in Jerusalem in 2011 and in Berlin in 2015.[393]
Inanna has also been referenced in numerous rock and death metal songs.[394]
Inanna
Dates (approximate)
Historical sources
Time Period Source
c.;5300–4100 BCE Ubaid period
c.;4100–2900 BCE Uruk period Uruk vase[27]
c.;2900–2334 BCE Early Dynastic period
c.;2334–2218 BCE Akkadian Empire writings by Enheduanna:[14][32]
Nin-me-sara, "The Exaltation of Inanna"
In-nin sa-gur-ra, "A Hymn to Inanna (Inana C)"
In-nin me-hus-a, "Inanna and Ebih"
The Temple Hymns
Hymn to Nanna, "The Exaltation of Inanna"
c.;2218–2047 BCE Gutian Period
c.;2047–1940 BCE Ur III Period Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld
Inanna and Enki[206]
Inanna's Descent into the Underworld
See also
Anat
Ishtar Hotel
Nana (Bactrian goddess)
Star of Ishtar
Notes
/;;n;;n;/; Sumerian: ;; Dinanna, also ;;;;; Dnin-an-na[6][7]
/;;;t;;r/; Distar[6]
modern-day Warka, Biblical Erech
;-an-na means "sanctuary" ("house" + "Heaven" ["An"] + genitive)[39]
Dumuzid's Dream is attested in seventy-five known sources, fifty-five of which come from Nippur, nine from Ur, three probably from the region around Sippar, one each from Uruk, Kish, Shaduppum, and Susa.[284]
----------------------------------------------
Photos
Goddess Ishtar on an Akkadian Empire seal, 2350–2150 BCE. She is equipped with weapons on her back, has a horned helmet, and is trampling a lion held on a leash
Inanna receiving offerings on the Uruk Vase, circa 3200-3000 BCE.
The Uruk Vase (Warka Vase), depicting votive offerings to Inanna (3200-3000 BCE).[23]
"For An, king of all the lands, and for Inanna, his mistress, Lugal-kisalsi, king of Kish, built the wall of the courtyard."
—;Inscription of Lugal-kisalsi.[31]
Inanna's symbol: the reed ring-post
Emblem of goddess Inanna, circa 3000 BCE.[36]
Ring posts of Inanna on each side of a temple door, with naked devotee offering libations.[35]
On the Warka Vase
Cuneiform logogram "Inanna"
Inanna's symbol is a ring post made of reed, an ubiquitous building material in Sumer. It was often beribboned and positionned at the entrance of temples, and marked the limit between the profane and the sacred realms.[35] The design of the emblem was simplified between 3000-2000 BCE to become the cuneiform logogram for Inanna: ;, generally preceded by the symbol for "deity" ;.[17]
Ancient Sumerian statuette of two gala priests, dating to c. 2450 BCE, found in the temple of Inanna at Mari
The eight-pointed star was Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol.[68][69] Here it is shown alongside the solar disk of her brother Shamash (Sumerian Utu) and the crescent moon of her father Sin (Sumerian Nanna) on a boundary stone of Meli-Shipak II, dating to the twelfth century BCE.
Lions were one of Inanna/Ishtar's primary symbols.[70][71] The lion above comes from the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, which was constructed in around 575 BCE under the orders of Nebuchadnezzar II.[72]
Babylonian terracotta relief of Ishtar from Eshnunna (early second millennium BCE)
Life-sized statue of a goddess, probably Ishtar, holding a vase from Mari, Syria (eighteenth century BC)
Terracotta relief of Ishtar with wings from Larsa (second millennium BCE)
Stele showing Ishtar holding a bow from Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum (eighth century BCE)
Hellenized bas-relief sculpture of Ishtar standing with her servant from Palmyra (third century CE)
Ancient Akkadian cylinder seal depicting Inanna resting her foot on the back of a lion while Ninshubur stands in front of her paying obeisance, c. 2334 – c. 2154 BCE[89]
An ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid[119]
Original Sumerian tablet of the Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzid
Akkadian cylinder seal from c.;2300 BCE or thereabouts depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimud[205]
The original Sumerian clay tablet of Inanna and Ebih, which is currently housed in the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago
Copy of the Akkadian version of Ishtar's Descent into the Underworld from the Library of Assurbanipal, currently held in the British Museum in London, England
Depiction of Inanna/Ishtar from the Ishtar Vase, dating to the early second millennium BCE (Mesopotamian, Terracotta with cut, moulded, and painted decoration, from Larsa)
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing Dumuzid being tortured in the underworld by the galla demons
The "Burney Relief", which is speculated to represent either Ishtar or her older sister Ereshkigal (c. 19th or 18th century BCE)
Ancient Mesopotamian terracotta relief showing Gilgamesh slaying the Bull of Heaven, sent by Ishtar in Tablet VI of the Epic of Gilgamesh after he spurns her amorous advances[309]
Original Akkadian Tablet XI (the "Deluge Tablet") of the Epic of Gilgamesh
Phoenician figure dating to the seventh century BCE representing a goddess, probably Astarte, called the "Lady of Galera" (National Archaeological Museum of Spain)
Altar from the Greek city of Taras in Magna Graecia, dating to c. 400 – c. 375 BCE, depicting Aphrodite and Adonis, whose myth is derived from the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Dumuzid[345][346]
Illustration of Ishtar's Midnight Courtship from Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's 1884 book-length poem Ishtar and Izdubar, loosely based on George Smith's recent translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh[368]
A modern illustration depicting Inanna-Ishtar's descent into the Underworld taken from Lewis Spence's Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916)
References
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 230.
Wilcke 1980, p. 80.
Black & Green 1992, p. 108.
Leick 1998, p. 88.
Penglase 1994, p. 233–235.
Heffron 2016.
"Sumerian dictionary". oracc.iaas.upenn.edu.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. xviii.
Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 182.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. xv.
Penglase 1994, pp. 42–43.
Kramer 1961, p. 101.
Wiggermann 1999, p. 216.
Leick 1998, p. 87.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. xviii, xv.
Collins 1994, pp. 110–111.
Leick 1998, p. 86.
Harris 1991, pp. 261–278.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. xiii–xix.
Rubio 1999, pp. 1–16.
Collins 1994, p. 110.
Leick 1998, p. 96.
Suter 2014, p. 51.
Vanstiphout 1984, pp. 225–228.
Vanstiphout 1984, p. 228.
Vanstiphout 1984, pp. 228–229.
Suter 2014, p. 551.
Suter 2014, pp. 550–552.
Suter 2014, pp. 552–554.
Van der Mierop 2007, p. 55.
Maeda 1981, p. 8.
Collins 1994, p. 111.
Mark 2017.
A. Archi, The Gods of Ebla [in:] J. Eidem, C.H. van Zoest (eds.), Annual Report NINO and NIT 2010, 2011, p. 3
Meador, Betty De Shong (2000). Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna. University of Texas Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-292-75242-9.
"Site officiel du mus;e du Louvre". cartelfr.louvre.fr.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 27.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 108–109.
Halloran 2009.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 42.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 50.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 62.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 172.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 79.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 21.
Black & Green 1992, p. 99.
Guirand 1968, p. 58.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 20.
Leick 2013, pp. 157–158.
Leick 2013, p. 285.
Roscoe & Murray 1997, p. 65.
Roscoe & Murray 1997, pp. 65–66.
Leick 2013, pp. 158–163.
Roscoe & Murray 1997, p. 66.
Kramer 1970.
Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 196.
Pryke 2017, p. 128.
Day 2004, pp. 15–17.
Marcovich 1996, p. 49.
Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 193.
Assante 2003, pp. 14–47.
Day 2004, pp. 2–21.
Sweet 1994, pp. 85–104.
Pryke 2017, p. 61.
Ackerman 2006, pp. 116–117.
Ackerman 2006, p. 115.
Ackerman 2006, pp. 115–116.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 156, 169–170.
Liungman 2004, p. 228.
Black & Green 1992, p. 118.
Collins 1994, pp. 113–114.
Kleiner 2005, p. 49.
Black & Green 1992, p. 170.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 169–170.
Nemet-Nejat 1998, pp. 193–194.
Jacobsen 1976.
Black & Green 1992, p. 156.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 156–157.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 119.
Lewis & Llewellyn-Jones 2018, p. 335.
Botterweck & Ringgren 1990, p. 35.
Nemet-Nejat 1998, p. 203.
Cooley 2008, pp. 161–172.
Cooley 2008, pp. 163–164.
Caton 2012.
Meyer n.d.
Foxvog 1993, p. 106.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 34–35.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 92, 193.
Penglase 1994, pp. 15–17.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 108–9.
Leick 2013, pp. 65–66.
George 2015, p. 8.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 140.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 242.
Gilgamesh, p. 86
Pryke 2017, p. 146.
Katz 1996, p. 93-103.
Katz 2015, p. 67-68.
Vanstiphout 1984, pp. 226–227.
Enheduanna pre 2250 BCE "A hymn to Inana (Inana C)". The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. 2003. lines 18–28. 4.07.3.
Vanstiphout 1984, p. 227.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 203-204.
Westenholz 1997, p. 78.
Wiggermann 1997, p. 42.
Streck & Wasserman 2013, p. 184.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 113-114.
Wiggermann 1999a, p. 369, 371.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 71.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 133.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 286.
Zsolnay 2010, p. 397-401.
Zsolnay 2010, p. 393.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 17.
Beckman 1999, p. 25.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 127.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 116-117.
Zsolnay 2010, p. 401.
Lung 2014.
Black & Green 1992, pp. 108, 182.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. x–xi.
Pryke 2017, p. 36.
Pryke 2017, pp. 36–37.
Black & Green 1992, p. 183.
Black & Green 1992, p. 77.
Pryke 2017, p. 108.
Wiggermann 1997, p. 47-48.
Schwemer 2007, p. 157.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 45.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 75.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 116.
Beckman 2002, p. 37.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 71–84.
Leick 1998, p. 93.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 89.
Peterson 2010, p. 253.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 80.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 78.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 38.
Black & Green 1992, p. 173.
Hallo 2010, p. 233.
Lambert 1987, p. 163-164.
Drewnowska-Rymarz 2008, p. 30.
Pryke 2017, p. 94.
Wiggermann 1988, p. 228-229.
Wiggermann 2010, p. 417.
Stol 1998, p. 146.
Beckman 2002, p. 37-38.
Drewnowska-Rymarz 2008, p. 23.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 109.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 48.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 100.
Behrens & Klein 1998, p. 345.
Litke 1998, p. 148.
Beckman 1999, p. 26.
Beckman 1998, p. 4.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 110-111.
Potts 2010, p. 487.
Smith 2014, p. 35.
Smith 2014, p. 36.
Smith 2014, p. 39, 74-75.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 134.
Murat 2009, p. 176.
Taracha 2009, p. 124, 128.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 282.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 92.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 116-117; 120.
Behrens & Klein 1998, p. 343-345.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 86.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 270.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 92-93.
Heimpel 1998, p. 487-488.
Beckman 1999, p. 27.
Beckman 2002, p. 37-39.
Abdi 2017, p. 10.
Henkelman 2008, p. 266.
Beckman 1999, p. 25-27.
Beckman 1998, p. 1-3.
Beckman 1998, p. 7-8.
Frantz-Szab; 1983, p. 304.
Wilhelm 1989, p. 52.
Wiggins 2007, p. 156.
Wiggins 2007, p. 153.
Wiggins 2007, p. 156-163.
Wiggins 2007, p. 169.
Kramer 1963, pp. 172–174.
Kramer 1963, p. 174.
Kramer 1963, p. 182.
Kramer 1963, p. 183.
Kramer 1961, p. 30.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 141.
Pryke 2017, pp. 153–154.
Kramer 1961, p. 33.
Mark 2018.
Fontenrose 1980, p. 172.
"CDLI Tablet P346140". cdli.ucla.edu.
Kramer 1961, pp. 33–34.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 140.
Kramer 1961, p. 34.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 9.
Leick 1998, p. 91.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 30–49.
Kramer 1961, pp. 102–103.
Kramer 1961, pp. 101–103.
Kramer 1961, pp. 32–33.
Leick 1998, p. 90.
Kramer 1961, p. 66.
Black & Green 1992, p. 130.
Kramer 1961, p. 65.
Kramer 1961, pp. 65–66.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 13–14.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 14.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 14–20.
Kramer 1961, pp. 66–67.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 20.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 20–21.
Kramer 1961, p. 67.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 21.
Kramer 1961, pp. 67–68.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 20–24.
Kramer 1961, p. 68.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 24–25.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 26–27.
Green 2003, p. 74.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 146-150.
Vanstiphout 2003, pp. 57–61.
Vanstiphout 2003, p. 49.
Vanstiphout 2003, pp. 57–63.
Vanstiphout 2003, pp. 61–63.
Vanstiphout 2003, pp. 63–87.
Vanstiphout 2003, p. 50.
Pryke 2017, pp. 162–173.
Pryke 2017, p. 165.
Attinger 1988, pp. 164–195.
Karahashi 2004, p. 111.
Kramer 1961, pp. 82–83.
Karahashi 2004, pp. 111–118.
Kramer 1961, p. 82.
Cooley 2008, p. 162.
Cooley 2008, p. 163.
Leick 1998, p. 89.
Fontenrose 1980, p. 165.
Pryke 2017, p. 166.
Black & Green 1992, p. 109.
Kramer 1961, pp. 83–86.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 127–135.
Dalley 1989, p. 154.
Choksi 2014.
Kramer 1961, pp. 86–87.
Penglase 1994, p. 17.
Kramer 1961, p. 88.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1961, p. 56.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 157.
Kramer 1961, p. 90.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 54–55.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 55.
Kramer 1961, p. 91.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 56–57.
Wolkstein 1983, p. 57.
Kilmer 1971, pp. 299–309.
Kramer 1961, p. 87.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 157–159.
Black, Jeremy; Cunningham, Graham; Fl;ckiger-Hawker, Esther; Robson, Eleanor; Taylor, John; Z;lyomi, G;bor. "Inana's descent to the netherworld". Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. Oxford University. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
Kramer 1961, pp. 93–94.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 61–64.
Penglase 1994, pp. 17–18.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 61–62.
Penglase 1994, p. 18.
Kramer 1961, p. 94.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 62–63.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 64.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 65–66.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, p. 65.
Kramer 1961, pp. 94–95.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 67–68.
Kramer 1961, p. 95.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 68–69.
Kramer 1961, pp. 95–96.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 69–70.
Kramer 1961, p. 96.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 70.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 70–71.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 71–73.
Tinney 2018, p. 86.
Tinney 2018, pp. 85–86.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 74–84.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 85–87.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 87–89.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 88–89.
Kramer 1966, p. 31.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 85–89.
Dalley 1989, p. 155.
Dalley 1989, p. 156.
Dalley 1989, pp. 156–157.
Dalley 1989, p. 157-158.
Dalley 1989, pp. 158–160.
Bertman 2003, p. 124.
Katz 2015, p. 65.
Katz 2015, p. 66.
Katz 2015, p. 68.
Katz 2015, p. 70.
Katz 2015, p. 70-71.
Dobson 1992.
Wolkstein & Kramer 1983, pp. 158–162.
Wiggermann 1997, p. 34.
Archi 2014, p. 3-5.
Wilhelm 2014, p. 346.
Campbell 2008, pp. 88–90.
Dalley 1989, pp. 81–82.
Dalley 1989, p. 80.
Gilgamesh, p. 87
Fontenrose 1980, pp. 168–169.
Dalley 1989, p. 82.
Fontenrose 1980, p. 169.
Gilgamesh, p. 88
Dalley 1989, p. 82-83.
Dalley 1989, pp. 109–116.
Dalley 1989, pp. 109–111.
Dalley 1989, p. 113.
Dalley 1989, p. 114.
Dalley 1989, pp. 114–115.
Dalley 1989, p. 115.
George 2015, p. 7-8.
Westenholz 1997, pp. 33–49.
Hoffner 1998, p. 41.
Pryke 2017, p. 193.
Pryke 2017, pp. 193, 195.
Pryke 2017, pp. 193–195.
Breitenberger 2007, p. 10.
Smith 2002, p. 182.
Pryke 2017, p. 194.
Black & Green 1992, p. 73.
Pryke 2017, p. 195.
Warner 2016, p. 211.
Warner 2016, pp. 210–212.
Warner 2016, p. 212.
Alster 2013, p. 433-434.
Marcovich 1996, pp. 43–59.
Cyrino 2010, pp. 49–52.
Breitenberger 2007, pp. 8–12.
Puhvel 1987, p. 27.
Breitenberger 2007, p. 8.
Penglase 1994, p. 162.
Breitenberger 2007, pp. 10–11.
West 1997, p. 57.
Burkert 1985, p. 177.
Penglase 1994, p. 163.
Cyrino 2010, pp. 51–52.
Budin 2010, pp. 85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125.
Graz 1984, p. 250.
Iossif & Lorber 2007, p. 77.
Penglase 1994, p. 235.
Penglase 1994, pp. 233–325.
Beckman 2011, p. 29.
Tseretheli 1935, pp. 55–56.
Tuite 2004, pp. 16–18.
Tuite 2004, p. 16.
Tuite 2004, pp. 16–17.
Wiggermann 1998, p. 49.
Wiggermann 1998, p. 51.
Tuite 2004, p. 17.
Tuite 2004, pp. 17–18.
Tuite 2004, p. 18.
Healey 2001, p. 114-119.
Rets; 2014, p. 604-605.
Al-Jallad 2021, p. 569-571.
Ayali-Darshan 2014, p. 100-101.
Ziolkowski 2012, p. 21.
Hislop 1903, p. 103.
Grabbe 1997, p. 28.
Brown 1976, p. 268.
D'Costa 2013.
Ziolkowski 2012, pp. 20–21.
Ziolkowski 2012, pp. 22–23.
Ziolkowski 2012, p. 22.
Ziolkowski 2012, p. 23.
Pryke 2017, p. 196.
Pryke 2017, pp. 196–197.
Asher-Greve & Westenholz 2013, p. 25-26.
Zsolnay 2009, p. 105.
Rountree 2017, p. 167.
Weston & Bennett 2013, p. 165.
Buckland 2001, pp. 74–75.
Thomas 2007, p. 1.
Beckman 2000, p. 23.
Beckman 2000, p. 14.
Beckman 2000, p. 18.
Pryke 2017, p. 203.
Chicago 2007.
Drazen (2002), p. 286.
Pryke 2017, pp. 202–203.
Pryke 2017, p. 202.
Kleiner 2016.
Pryke 2017, p. 197.
Bibliography
Abdi, Kamyar (2017). "Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court". Dabir (Digital Archive of Brief notes & Iran Review). Irvine: Jordan Center for Persian Studies (3). Retrieved 10 August 2021.
Ackerman, Susan (2006) [1989], Day, Peggy Lynne (ed.), Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel, Minneapolis, Minnesota: Fortress Press, ISBN 978-0-8006-2393-7
Al-Jallad, Ahmad (2021). "On the origins of the god Ru;aw and some remarks on the pre-Islamic North Arabian pantheon". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s1356186321000043. ISSN 1356-1863.
Alster, Bendt (2013), "Tammuz(/Dumuzi)", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Archi, Alfonso (2014). "The Anatolian Fate-Goddesses and their Different Traditions". Diversity and Standardization. M;nchen: DE GRUYTER. doi:10.1524/9783050057576.1.
Asher-Greve, Julia M.; Westenholz, Joan G. (2013). Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources (PDF). ISBN 978-3-7278-1738-0.
Assante, Julia (2003), "From Whores to Hierodules: The Historiographic Invention of Mesopotamian Female Sex Professionals", in Donahue, A. A.; Fullerton, Mark D. (eds.), Ancient Art and Its Historiography, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, pp. 13–47
Attinger, Pascal (1988), "Inana et Ebih", Zeitschrift f;r Assyriologie, 3, pp. 164–195
Ayali-Darshan, Noga (2014). "The Role of Astabi in the Song of Ullikummi and the Eastern Mediterranean "Failed God" Stories". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. University of Chicago Press. 73 (1): 95–103. doi:10.1086/674665. ISSN 0022-2968.
Baring, Anne; Cashford, Jules (1991), The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, London, England: Penguin Books, ISBN 978-0-14-019292-6
Beckman, Gary (1998). "Istar of Nineveh Reconsidered". Journal of Cuneiform Studies. American Schools of Oriental Research. 50: 1–10. ISSN 0022-0256. JSTOR 1360026. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
Beckman, Gary (1999). "The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from ;attusa (CTH 644)". Kt;ma: civilisations de l'Orient, de la Gr;ce et de Rome antiques. PERSEE Program. 24 (1). doi:10.3406/ktema.1999.2206. hdl:2027.42/77419. ISSN 0221-5896.
Beckman, Gary (2000). "Goddess Worship—Ancient and Modern". A Wise and Discerning Mind: Essays in Honor of Burke O. Long. Brown Judaic Studies. ISBN 978-1-946527-90-5. JSTOR j.ctvzgb93t.9. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
Beckman, Gary (2002). "Babyloniaca Hethitica: The "babilili-Ritual" from Bogazk;y (CTH 718)". Recent Developments in Hittite Archaeology and History. Penn State University Press. doi:10.5325/j.ctv1bxh36t.6.
Beckman, Gary (2011). "Primordial Obstetrics. "The Song of Emergence" (CTH 344)". Hethitische Literatur: ;berlieferungsprozesse, Textstrukturen, Ausdrucksformen und Nachwirken : Akten des Symposiums vom 18. bis 20. Februar 2010 in Bonn. M;nster: Ugarit-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86835-063-0. OCLC 768810899.
Behrens, H.; Klein, J. (1998), "Ninegalla", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Bertman, Stephen (2003), Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-518364-1
Black, Jeremy; Green, Anthony (1992), Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary, The British Museum Press, ISBN 978-0-7141-1705-8
Botterweck, G. Johannes; Ringgren, Helmer (1990), Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, VI, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., ISBN 978-0-8028-2330-4
Breitenberger, Barbara (2007), Aphrodite and Eros: The Development of Greek Erotic Mythology, New York City, New York and London, England, ISBN 978-0-415-96823-2
Brown, Peter Lancaster (1976), Megaliths, Myths and Men: An Introduction to Astro-Archaeology, New York City, New York: Dover Publications, ISBN 978-0-8008-5187-3
Buckland, Raymond (2001), Wicca for Life: The Way of the Craft -- From Birth to Summerland, New York City, New York: Kensington Publishing Corporation, ISBN 978-0-8065-2455-9
Budin, Stephanie L. (2010), "Aphrodite Enoplion", in Smith, Amy C.; Pickup, Sadie (eds.), Brill's Companion to Aphrodite, Brill's Companions in Classical Studies, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Publishers, pp. 85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125, ISBN 978-90-474-4450-3
Burkert, Walter (1982), Structure and History in Greek Mythology and Ritual, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520047709
Burkert, Walter (1985), Greek Religion, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-36281-9
Campbell, Joseph (2008), The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Novato, California: New World Library, pp. 88–90
Caton, Gary P. (14 May 2012), "Astrology as if the Sky Matters: Venus Retrograde", Mountainastrologer.com, retrieved 12 August 2021
Chicago, Judy (2007), The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation, London, England: Merrell, ISBN 978-1-85894-370-1
Choksi, M. (2014), "Ancient Mesopotamian Beliefs in the Afterlife", World History Encyclopedia
Collins, Paul (1994), "The Sumerian Goddess Inanna (3400-2200 BCE)", Papers of from the Institute of Archaeology, 5, UCL
Cooley, Jeffrey L. (2008), "Inana and sukaletuda: A Sumerian Astral Myth", KASKAL, 5: 161–172, ISSN 1971-8608
Cyrino, Monica S. (2010), Aphrodite, Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World, New York City, New York and London, England: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-77523-6
Dalley, Stephanie (1989), Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-283589-5
Day, John (2004), "Does the Old Testament Refer to Sacred Prostitution and Did It Actual Exist in Ancient Israel?", in McCarthy, Carmel; Healey, John F. (eds.), Biblical and Near Eastern Essays: Studies in Honour of Kevin J. Cathcart, Cromwell Press, pp. 2–21, ISBN 978-0-8264-6690-7
D'Costa, Krystal (31 March 2013), "Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter: Don't believe every meme you encounter.", Scientific American, Nature America, Inc.
Dobson, Marcia W. D-S. (1992). "Ritual Death, Patriarchal Violence, and Female Relationships in the Hymns to Demeter and Inanna". NWSA Journal. 4 (1): 42–58.
Drazen, Patrick (October 2002). Anime Explosion! The What? Why? & Wow! of Japanese Animation. Berkeley, California: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 1-880656-72-8. OCLC 50898281.
Drewnowska-Rymarz, Olga (2008). Mesopotamian goddess Nan;ja. Warszawa: Agade. ISBN 978-83-87111-41-0. OCLC 263460607.
Enheduanna. "The Exaltation of Inanna (Inanna B): Translation". The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature. 2001.
Fiore, Simon (1965), Voices From the Clay: The Development of Assyro-Babylonian Literature, Norman, University of Oklahoma Press
Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy (1980) [1959], Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins, Berkeley, California, Los Angeles, California, and London, England: The University of California Press, ISBN 978-0-520-04106-6
Foxvog, D. (1993), "Astral Dumuzi", in Hallo, William W.; Cohen, Mark E.; Snell, Daniel C.; et al. (eds.), The Tablet and the scroll: Near Eastern studies in honor of William W. Hallo (2nd ed.), CDL Press, p. 106, ISBN 978-0-9620013-9-0
Frantz-Szab;, Gabriella (1983), "Kulitta, Ninatta und", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 10 August 2021
George, Andrew, ed. (1999), The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-044919-1
George, Andrew R. (2015). "The Gods Isum and ;endursanga: Night Watchmen and Street-lighting in Babylonia". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. University of Chicago Press. 74 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1086/679387. ISSN 0022-2968.
Grabbe, Lester L. (1997), Can a "History of Israel" Be Written?, The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies, 245, Sheffield, England: Sheffield Academic Press, ISBN 978-0-567-04320-7
Graz, F. (1984), Eck, W. (ed.), "Women, War, and Warlike Divinities", Zeitschrift f;r Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bonn, Germany: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 55 (55): 245–254, JSTOR 20184039
Green, Alberto R. W. (2003). The Storm-God in the Ancient Near East. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 978-1-57506-069-9.
Guirand, Felix (1968), "Assyro-Babylonian Mythology", New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, translated by Aldington; Ames, London, England: Hamlyn, pp. 49–72
Healey, John (2001). The religion of the Nabataeans: a conspectus. Leiden Boston: Brill. ISBN 90-04-10754-1. OCLC 43185847.
Hallo, William W. (2010), The World's Oldest Literature: Studies in Sumerian Belles-Lettres, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-17381-1
Harris, Rivkah (February 1991), "Inanna-Ishtar as Paradox and a Coincidence of Opposites", History of Religions, 30 (3): 261–278, doi:10.1086/463228, JSTOR 1062957, S2CID 162322517
Heffron, Ya;mur (2016), "Inana/Istar (goddess)", Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses, University of Pennsylvania Museum
Heimpel, Wolfgang (1998), "Ninsiana", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 10 August 2021
Henkelman, Wouter F. M. (2008). The other gods who are: studies in Elamite-Iranian acculturation based on the Persepolis fortification texts. Leiden: Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten. ISBN 978-90-6258-414-7.
Hislop, Alexander (1903) [1853], The Two Babylons: The Papal Worship Proved to Be the Worship of Nimrod and His Wife (Third ed.), S.W. Partridge
Hoffner, Harry (1998). Hittite myths. Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press. ISBN 978-0-7885-0488-4. OCLC 39455874.
Jacobsen, Thorkild (1976), The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-02291-9
Iossif, Panagiotis; Lorber, Catharine (2007), "Laodikai and the Goddess Nikephoros", L'Antiquit; Classique, 76: 63–88, doi:10.3406/antiq.2007.2618, ISSN 0770-2817, JSTOR 41665635
Karahashi, Fumi (April 2004), "Fighting the Mountain: Some Observations on the Sumerian Myths of Inanna and Ninurta", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 63 (2): 111–8, doi:10.1086/422302, JSTOR 422302, S2CID 161211611
Katz, Dina (1996). "How Dumuzi Became Inanna's Victim: On the Formation of "Inanna's Descent"". Acta Sumerologica. Dept. of Linguistics, University of Hiroshima. 18: 93–103.
Katz, Dina (2015). "Myth and Ritual through Tradition and Innovation". Tradition and Innovation in the Ancient Near East. Penn State University Press. pp. 59–74. doi:10.1515/9781575063584-007.
Kilmer, Anne Draffkorn (1971), "How Was Queen Ereshkigal Tricked? A New Interpretation of the Descent of Ishtar", Ugarit-Forschungen, 3: 299–309
Kleiner, Fred (2005), Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Belmont, California: Thompson Learning, Inc., p. 49, ISBN 978-0-15-505090-7
Kleiner, Liliana (2016), "About", lilianakleiner.org, Liliana Kleiner
Kramer, Samuel Noah (1961), Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C.: Revised Edition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-1047-7
Kramer, Samuel Noah (1963), The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character, Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0-226-45238-8
Kramer, Samuel Noah (October 1966), "Dumuzi's Annual Resurrection: An Important Correction to 'Inanna's Descent'", Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, 183 (183): 31, doi:10.2307/1356459, JSTOR 1356459, S2CID 163544444
Kramer, Samuel Noah (28 April 1970), The Sacred Marriage Rite, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0-253-35035-0
Kramer, Samuel Noah (1988), History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History (3rd ed.), University of Pennsylvania Press, ISBN 978-0-8122-1276-1
Lambert, Wilfred G. (1987), "Lulal/L;tar;k", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 6 August 2021
Leick, Gwendolyn (1998) [1991], A Dictionary of Ancient Near Eastern Mythology, New York City, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-19811-0
Leick, Gwendolyn (2013) [1994], Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature, New York City, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-134-92074-7
Lewis, Sian; Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd (2018), The Culture of Animals in Antiquity: A Sourcebook with Commentaries, New York City, New York and London, England: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-315-20160-3
Litke, Richard L. (1998). A reconstruction of the Assyro-Babylonian god lists, AN:dA-nu-umm and AN:Anu s; Ameli (PDF). New Haven: Yale Babylonian Collection. ISBN 978-0-9667495-0-2. OCLC 470337605.
Lung, Tang (2014), "Marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi", World History Encyclopedia
Liungman, Carl G. (2004), Symbols: Encyclopedia of Western Signs and Ideograms, Liding;, Sweden: HME Publishing, ISBN 978-91-972705-0-2
Maeda, Tohru (1981). ""KING OF KISH" IN PRE-SAROGONIC SUMER". Orient. The Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan. 17: 1–17. doi:10.5356/orient1960.17.1. ISSN 1884-1392.
Marcovich, Miroslav (1996), "From Ishtar to Aphrodite", Journal of Aesthetic Education, 39 (2): 43–59, doi:10.2307/3333191, JSTOR 3333191
Mark, Joshua (20 January 2017), "Anu", World History Encyclopedia
Mark, Joshua J. (29 March 2018), "Gilgamesh", World History Encyclopedia
Mcllhenny, Albert M. (2011), This Is the Sun?: Zeitgeist and Religion (Volume I: Comparative Religion), p. 60, ISBN 978-1-105-33967-7
Meyer, Michael R. (n.d.), "Venus Morning Star - Venus Evening Star", Astro.com, retrieved 12 August 2021
Murat, Leyla (2009). "Goddess Ishara". Ankara ;niversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Co;rafya Fak;ltesi Tarih B;l;m; Tarih Ara;t;rmalar; Dergisi. 45.
Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea (1998), Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia, Daily Life, Greenwood, ISBN 978-0-313-29497-6
Penglase, Charles (1994), Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod, New York City, New York: Routledge, ISBN 978-0-415-15706-3
Peterson, Jeremiah (2010). "A fragmentary Erotic Sumerian Context Featuring Inana". Aula orientalis: revista de estudios del Pr;ximo Oriente Antiguo. 28 (2): 253–258. ISSN 0212-5730.
Piveteau, Jean (1981) [1964], "Man Before History", in Dunan, Marcel; Bowle, John (eds.), The Larousse Encyclopedia of Ancient and Medieval History, New York City, New York: Excaliber Books, ISBN 978-0-89673-083-0
Potts, Daniel T. (2010). "Appendix 2: Catalogue of Elamite Sources". From the foundations to the crenellations: essays on temple building in the Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible. M;nster: Ugarit-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-86835-031-9. OCLC 618338811.
Pryke, Louise M. (2017), Ishtar, New York and London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-138-86073-5
Puhvel, Jaan (1987), Comparative Mythology, Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN 978-0-8018-3938-2
Rets;, Jan (2014). The Arabs in antiquity: their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. London New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-0-415-76003-4. OCLC 960211049.
Roscoe, Will; Murray, Stephen O. (1997), Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature, New York City, New York: New York University Press, ISBN 978-0-8147-7467-0
Rountree, Kathryn (2017), Rountree, Kathryn (ed.), Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Modern Paganism, Palgrave Studies in New and Alternative Spiritualities, doi:10.1057/978-1-137-56200-5, ISBN 978-1-137-57040-6
Rubio, Gonzalo (1999), "On the Alleged "Pre-Sumerian Substratum"", Journal of Cuneiform Studies, 51: 1–16, doi:10.2307/1359726, JSTOR 1359726, S2CID 163985956
"Inana's descent to the nether world: translation", The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford, 2001
Schwemer, Daniel (2007). "The Storm-Gods of the Ancient Near East: Summary, Synthesis, Recent Studies Part I" (PDF). Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. Brill. 7 (2): 121–168. doi:10.1163/156921207783876404. ISSN 1569-2116.
Smith, Mark S. (2002), The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel (2nd ed.), Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, ISBN 978-0-8028-3972-5
Smith, Mark S. (2014). "'Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts". Transformation of a goddess: Ishtar--Astarte--Aphrodite. Fribourg G;ttingen: Academic Press Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 3-7278-1748-8. OCLC 881612038.
Stol, Martin (1998), "Nanaja", Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German), retrieved 1 August 2021
Streck, Michael P.; Wasserman, Nathan (2013). "More Light on Nan;ya" (PDF). Zeitschrift f;r Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Arch;ologie. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. 102 (2): 183–201. doi:10.1515/za-2012-0010. ISSN 1613-1150.
Suter, Claudia E. (2014), "Human, Divine, or Both?: The Uruk Vase and the Problem of Ambiguity in Early Mesopotamian Visual Arts", in Feldman, Marian; Brown, Brian (eds.), Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art, Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter, pp. 545–568, ISBN 978-1-61451-035-2
Sweet, R. (1994), "A New Look at the 'Sacred Marriage' in Ancient Mesopotamia", in Robbins, E.; Sandahl, E. (eds.), Corolla Torontonensis: Studies in Honour of Ronald Morton Smith, Toronto, pp. 85–104
Taracha, Piotr (2009). Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia. Harrassowitz. ISBN 978-3447058858.
Thomas, Paul (2007), "Re-Imagining Inanna: The Gendered Reappropriation of the Ancient Goddess in Modern Goddess Worship", The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies, 6, doi:10.1558/pome.v6i1.53
Thompson, Gary D. (2020). "The Development, Heyday, and Demise of Panbabylonism". Westnet. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
Tinney, Steve (April 2018), Woods, Christopher; Richardson, Seth; Osborne, James; El Shamsy, Ahmed (eds.), ""Dumuzi's Dream" Revisited", Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Chicago, Illinois: The University of Chicago Press, 77 (1): 85–89, doi:10.1086/696146, ISSN 0022-2968, S2CID 165931671
Tseretheli, Michael (1935), "The Asianic (Asia Minor) elements in national Georgian paganism", Georgica, 1 (1): 55–56
Tuite, Kevin (20 February 2004), "The meaning of D;l. Symbolic and spatial associations of the south Caucasian goddess of game animals.", Linguaculture: Studies in the interpenetration of language and culture. Essays to Honor Paul Friedrich (PDF), Montreal, Quebec: University of Montreal
Van der Mierop, Marc (2007), A History of the Ancient Near East: 3,000–323 BCE, Blackwell, ISBN 978-1-4051-4911-2
Vanstiphout, H. L. (1984), "Inanna/Ishtar as a Figure of Controversy", Struggles of Gods: Papers of the Groningen Work Group for the Study of the History of Religions, Berlin: Mouton Publishers, 31, ISBN 978-90-279-3460-4
Vanstiphout, Herman (2003), Epics of Sumerian Kings (PDF), Atlanta, Georgia: Society of Biblical Literature, pp. 49–96, ISBN 978-1-58983-083-7
Warner, Marina (2016) [1976], Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary, Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-963994-6
West, M. L. (1997), The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth, Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, p. 57, ISBN 978-0-19-815221-7
Westenholz, Joan Goodnick (1997), Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts, pp. 33, 49, ISBN 978-0-931464-85-0
Weston, Donna; Bennett, Andy (2013), Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music, New York and London: Routledge, ISBN 978-1-84465-647-9
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1988). "An Unrecognized Synonym of Sumerian sukkal, "Vizier"". Zeitschrift f;r Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Arch;ologie. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. 78 (2). doi:10.1515/zava.1988.78.2.225. ISSN 0084-5299.
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1997). "Transtigridian Snake Gods". In Finkel, I. L.; Geller, M. J. (eds.). Sumerian Gods and their Representations. ISBN 978-90-56-93005-9.
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1998), "Nackte G;ttin A. Philologisch · Naked goddess A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1999), "Nergal A. Philologisch · Nergal A. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (1999a), "Nin-;iszida", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 6 August 2021
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2001), "Nin-subur", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 6 August 2021
Wiggermann, Frans A. M. (2010), "Sexualit;t A. In Mesopotamien · Sexuality A. In Mesopotamia", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 6 August 2021
Wiggins, Steve (2007). A reassessment of Asherah: with further considerations of the goddess. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press. ISBN 978-1-59333-717-9. OCLC 171049273.
Wilcke, Claus (1980), "Inanna/Istar A. Mesopotamien. Philologisch · Inanna/Istar A. Mesopotamia. Philological", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Wilhelm, Gernot (1989). The Hurrians. Warminster, England: Aris & Phillips. ISBN 978-0-85668-442-5. OCLC 21036268.
Wilhelm, Gernot (2014), "Unterwelt, Unterweltsgottheiten C. In Anatolien", Reallexikon der Assyriologie, retrieved 10 August 2021
Wolkstein, Diane; Kramer, Samuel Noah (1983), Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer, New York City, New York: Harper&Row Publishers, ISBN 978-0-06-090854-6
Ziolkowski, Theodore (2012), Gilgamesh among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic, Ithaca, New York and London, England: Cornell University Press, ISBN 978-0-8014-5035-8
Zsolnay, Ilona (2009). "DO DIVINE STRUCTURES OF GENDER MIRROR MORTAL STRUCTURES OF GENDER?". In the Wake of Tikva Frymer-Kensky. Gorgias Press. doi:10.31826/9781463219185-010.
Zsolnay, Ilona (2010). "Istar, "Goddess of War, Pacifier of Kings": An Analysis of Istar's Martial Role in the Maledictory Sections of the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions". City Administration in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 53e Rencontre assyriologique internationale. Vol. 2. Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns. ISBN 1-57506-168-6. OCLC 759160119.
Further reading
Black, Jeremy (2004). The Literature of Ancient Sumer. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-926311-0.
"The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature". Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford. 2003.
Fulco, William J. (1987). "Inanna". In Eliade, Mircea (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Religion. 7. New York: Macmillan Group. pp. 145–146.
Halloran, John A. (2009). "Sumerian Lexicon Version 3.0".
Maier, John R. (2018). Gilgamesh and the Great Goddess of Uruk. Suny Brockport eBooks. ISBN 978-0-9976294-3-9.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Inanna and Ishtar.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Inanna
Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Inana/Istar (goddess)
"Documents that Changed the World: The Exaltation of Inanna, 2300 BCE", University of Washington News, 5 May 2015
The dictionary definition of Ishtar at Wiktionary
Sumerian mythology
Eanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eanna
Inanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
-------------------------
Russian articles
On Russian
-------------------------
Шумерская Мифология
Э-Ана
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Э-Ана
Инанна
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Инанна
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
Э-Ана
Материал из Википедии — свободной энциклопедии
Достопримечательность
Э-Ана
храм, крепость
Страна Ирак
Местоположение Урук
Конфессия вавилонская
Архитектурный стиль Искусство Вавилонии
Первое упоминание «Эпосе о Гильгамеше»
Э-Ана
Материал из Википедии — свободной энциклопедии
Э-Ана
Э-Ана, Эана
Eanna,
E-Ana — «Храм Небес»
обнесённый стеной
священный участок древнего города-государства шумеров
Урук в Шумерах
в Южном Двуречье (Южный Ирак),
место почитания богини,
известной в историческую эпоху как Инанна (аккад. Иштар).
Храм Эана
упомянут
в одном из старейших сохранившихся
литературных произведений в мире —
«Эпосе о Гильгамеше»:
В дальний путь ходил, но устал и смирился,
Рассказ о трудах на камне высек,
Стеною обнёс Урук ограждённый,
Светлый амбар Эаны священной.
Осмотри стену, чьи венцы, как по нити,
Погляди на вал, что не знает подобья,
Прикоснись к порогам, лежащим издревле,
И вступи в Эану, жилище Иштар…
Примечания
Эпос о Гильгамеше / примечания И. Дьяконова. — Библиотека Всемирной Литературы. — М.: Художественная Литература, 1973. — Т. 1. Поэзия и проза Древнего Востока.
Ссылки
Эпос о Гильгамеше: («О всё видавшем») / Перевод с аккадского И. М. Дьяконова. — М.; Л.: Издательство Академии наук СССР, 1961. — 214 с.: ил. (pdf)
Langdon S. The Epic of Gilgamish. Publications of the Babylonian Section of the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania, X, 3. — Philadelphia, 1917.
Jastrow M., Clay A. An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic, Yale Orienial Series, Researches, IV, 3. — New Haven, 1920.
«Древняя Месопотамия»
Древняя Месопотамия
Категории: Культовые сооружения по алфавиту Урук
Инанна
Из Википедии, Свободной Энциклопедии
Inanna
Инанна
Покровительница продовольствия, урожая, плодородия и любви, победы, правосудия, семейной жизни
Мифология Шумеро-аккадская
Пол женский
Отец Нанна
Мать Нингаль
Братья и сёстры Уту и Эрешкигаль
Супруг Думузи-пастух и Ану
Дети Шара
Inanna
Инанна
В иных культурах
Иштар, Анаит, Анахита, Афродита, Астарта, Афина, Венера, Миневра, Пиникир, Шаушка
Equivalents:
---------------------------
Inanna
Ishtar
Greek equivalent Aphrodite, Athena
Roman equivalent Venus, Minerva
Canaanite equivalent Astarte
Elamite equivalent Pinikir
Hurrian equivalent Shaushka
Инанна, в шумерской мифологии и религии — центральное женское божество. Первоначально Инанна считалась покровительницей продовольствия, была символом обильных урожаев, богиней плодородия и любви.
Её символ — пучок тростника.
На изображениях она часто предстаёт с солнечными лучами вокруг головы.
При неизвестных обстоятельствах культ этой богини вытеснил в Уруке культ бога Ану. Заняв место Ану, Инанна одновременно выполняла функции и богини победы, и богини урожая, и богини правосудия, являлась покровительницей семейной жизни и т. д.
Инанна считалась дочерью бога Луны Нанна и богини Нингаль — то есть внучкой Энлиля и правнучкой Ану (хотя некоторые мифы называют Инанну дочерью Ану)[источник не указан 874 дня].
Согласно мифам об Энмеркаре, первоначально Инанна была богиней Аратты, однако позднее её благосклонностью стал пользоваться соперничавший с Араттой Урук.
Во 2-м тысячелетии до н. э. культ аккадской Иштар широко распространился среди хурритов, митаннийцев, финикийцев (соответствует финикийской Астарте.
Главное место почитания — Урук, где находился главный храм Инанны — Э-Ана.
В её честь названа борозда Инанны на Плутоне.
Также
богиня восхода,
отождествлялась с планетой Венера
(у шумеров — Дильбат)
и аккадской богиней Иштар
[1]. "Послы Аги"
Послы Аги
[ Послы Аги
Литература Шумера и Вавилонии
Литература Шумера
«Послы Аги...»
Таблички основного и вариантных текстов сказания о Гильгамешв и Аге найдены экспедицией Пенсильванского университета в Ниппуре, древнейшем шумерском культовом центре (а в конце V тыс. до н. э. и центре шумерского племенного союза).
Датируются началом II тыс. до н. э. и, возможно, являются копиями более ранних шумерских записей поэмы.
Текст издан С.-Н. Крамером («Ашепсап 1оигпа1 о( Агспаео1о(*у», 53, 1949, N1,0 дополнениями и комментариями Т. Якобсена).
На русском языке текст опубликован
И. Т. Каневой
в «Хрестоматии по истории Древнего Востока», М. 1963, стр. 266, след.,
и в «Вестнике Древней истории» (далее — ВДИ), 3, 1964, стр. 245, след.
Настоящий перевод выполнен с учетом обеих публикаций,
а также работ Э. Эбелинга и Д.-О. Эдцарда.
Ага
(Ага или Ака) (------- река Ока [Ока, Ака] в России -----)
Ага (или Ака) — последний царь I династии Киша, а Гильгамеш — пятый царь I династии города У рука (XXVII в. до н. э., так называемый «II раннединастический период»). Историчность Гильгамеша, легендарного героя пяти известных нам шумерских эпических сказаний, а также знаменитою аккадского эпоса, косвенно подтверждается рядом письменных и археологических памятников. Однако только в «Послах Аги...» он выступает как историческое лицо. Сказание, видимо, отражает важнейшие политические события истории раннединастического Шумера: победу Гильгамеша над Агой, вождем политического объединения северных областей нижнего Двуречья во главе с городом Кишем. ]
Содержание
1 Замужество Инанны
2 Семь тайных сил Инанны
3 Смерть Инанны
4 Возрождение Инанны
5 Примечания
Замужество Инанны
В шумерских текстах
можно найти две версии знакомства Инанны и Думузи.
Первая представлена в поэме «Сватовство Думузи»,
где они влюбляются друг в друга при первой встрече.
Инанна гуляла в одиночестве и познакомилась с пастухом Думузи.
Он обнял её,
но Инанна
в страхе, что её мать — богиня Нингаль — рассердится на неё,
попыталась уйти.
Тогда Думузи предложил ей обмануть мать — сказать,
что Инанна
была с подругой на городской площади и танцевала.
Молодые люди проводят вместе ночь,
а после Думузи просит руки Инанны у её матери.
Вторая версия изложена в поэме «Думузи и Энкимду».
В ней говорится, что в Инанну
влюбились сразу двое — бог-пастух Думузи и бог-земледелец Энкимду.
Они оба просили её руки, и Инанна отдавала предпочтение Энкимду.
Тогда Думузи сам пришёл к Инанне и обратился к ней с речью:
"Чем я хуже земледельца Энкимду? Неужели он лучше, чем я, он – владелец канав и каналов, хозяин мотыг и плугов. Правда, он обещает тебе белоснежное полотно, но зато у меня много белых овец. Он сулит тебе темные ткани, но и у меня есть овцы с черной шерстью. Он делает из ячменя опьяняющее душу пиво, но молоко моих овец вкуснее и полезнее. Он предлагает тебе насыщающий тело хлеб и выращенные им бобы, а я приготовлю тебе лучшие сорта сыра, вкус которых приятнее меда."
(Гуляев В. И. «Шумер. Вавилон. Ассирия: 5000 лет истории». С. 230.)
В результате Инанна сделала выбор в пользу Думузи
и пригласила его в дом своей матери,
чтобы он мог посвататься.
Семь тайных сил Инанны
Инанна появлялась везде, украшенная семью вещами, имеющими тайные силы:
лента «Прелесть чела»
знаки владычества и суда
ожерелье из лазурита
двойная золотая подвеска
золотые запястья
сеть «Ко мне, мужчины, ко мне»
повязка «Одеяние владычиц»
Все семь тайных сил у неё были отняты стражем подземного царства Нети, когда Инанна спускалась в подземное царство к Эрешкигаль.
Смерть Инанны
Описывается в поэме «Нисхождение Инанны в нижний мир».
Инанна спустилась в подземное царство,
где правила её сестра Эрешкигаль,
и заявила, что хочет принести жертвы
небесному быку Гугаланна (шум. Gu-gal-an-na: «дикий бык Ану») (то есть, мужу Эрешкигаль — Нергалу).
Привратник Преисподней Нети
провел её через семь врат,
за каждыми из которых Инанне
пришлось отдавать один из своих «предметов силы»:
небесный бык
Гугаланна = Нергал, муж Эрешкигаль
Gu-gal-an-na
~~~ Гулаг
~~~ Gulag
И у неё, когда вошла,
Венец Эдена Шугур, снял с головы.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда вошла во вторые врата,
Знаки владычества и суда у неё отобрал.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда вошла она в третьи врата,
Ожерелье лазурное с шеи снял.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда в четвёртые вошла врата,
Двойную подвеску с груди её снял.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда в пятые вошла врата,
Золотые запястья с рук её снял.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда в шестые вошла врата,
Сетку «Ко мне, мужчина, ко мне» с груди её снял.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
И когда в седьмые вошла врата,
Повязку, одеянье владычиц, с бедер снял.
«Что это, что?»
«Смирись, Инанна, всесильны законы подземного мира!
Инанна, во время подземных обрядов молчи!»
[2]. Мифодрама «Нисхождение Инанны в Преисподнюю»
В конце концов она абсолютно нагая
предстала перед Эрешкигаль
и семью судьями нижнего мира.
Заподозрив сестру в нечистых намерениях,
Эрешкигаль устремила на неё свой убийственный взгляд,
а затем подвесила труп Инанны на крюк.
Возрождение Инанны
Далее в мифе происходит возрождение Инанны.
На помощь ей приходит бог Энки.
Взяв грязь из-под ногтей,
он создал двух демонов — малого плакальщика и шута,
которые могли облегчить боли Эрешкигаль, страдающей от родовых мук
(с уходом богини любви и плодородия прекратились роды на земле).
В благодарность демоны просят оживить Инанну.
Эрешкигаль соглашается, и богиня возрождается.
Однако Инанна не могла уйти из «Страны без возврата» без замены.
Она должна была найти кого-то на земле вместо себя.
Вернувшись домой,
Инанна была поражена тем,
что её муж Думузи
не только не скорбит по поводу её смерти,
а наслаждается жизнью в полной мере.
Инанна избрала его своим заместителем в подземном мире.
Думузи пытался скрыться, но демоны, сопровождавшие Инанну на пути домой,
схватили его.
Гештинанна, сестра Думузи, решила разделить судьбу брата.
Каждые полгода Гештинанна занимала место Думузи.
Когда Думузи воссоединялся с Инанной, на земле наступала весна.
Этот миф отразил многообразие образа Инанны:
она богиня любви и плодородия,
но также жестокая и коварная воинственная богиня,
выступающая олицетворением неумолимых сил природы.
В древнем Шумере
раз в год проходила торжественная церемония,
во время которой
правитель каждого города олицетворял собой Думузи,
а главная служительница культа исполняла роль Инанны.
Считалось, что ритуал священного брака,
в котором царственная чета принимала участие,
обеспечивал стране плодородие и богатство.
Примечания
Послы Аги…
Мифодрама
«Нисхождение Инанны в Преисподнюю»
«Шумеро-аккадская мифология»
Шумеро-аккадская мифология
Важнейшие боги
Игиги
Ануннаки
Аба
Адад
Ану
Ашшур
Бэл
Инанна
Иштар
Нанна (Син)
Нергал
Мардук
Уту
Шамаш
Энки
Эа
Энлиль
Ипостаси Богини-матери
Аруру
Дамгальнуна
(Дамкина)
Ки
Намму
Нинмах
Нинту
Нинхурсаг
Шассурум
Прочие боги
Агушайя
Айя
Амурру
Анту
Ануннит
Баба
Белет
Белили
Гатумдуг
Гештинанна
Гибил
(Гирра)
Гугаланна
Гула
Дагон
Ду'узу
(Таммуз, Думузи)
Забаба
Ишкур
Иштаран
Ишхара
Ласу
Лугальапиак
Лугальгирра
Лугальгудуа
Месламтаэа
Миллиту
Набу
Намтар
Нанайя
Нанше
Ниназу
Нингаль
Нингишзида
Нинисина
Нинлиль
Ниниб
Духи, демоны, мифические существа
Асаг
Кингу
Ламассу
Ламашту
Тиамат
Хумбаба
Шеду
Герои
Абгаллу
Агга
Адапа
Гильгамеш
Зиусудра
(Утнапиштим, Атрахасис)
Лугальбанда
Оанн
Энкиду
Эн-Меркар
Этана
Локации, категории, события
Абзу
Аратта
Дильмун
Дулькуг
Иркалла
Мэ
Потоп
Мифы и эпические сюжеты
Аншар и Кишар
Гильгамеш и Агга
Гильгамеш и Гора Бессмертного
Гильгамеш и Небесный Бык
Гильгамеш и Подземный мир
Лахар и Ашнан
Миф об Инанне и Энки
Миф об Этане
Поэма о Нергале и Эрешкигаль
Смерть Гильгамеша
Сошествие Иштар в Преисподнюю
Энума элиш
Эпос о Гильгамеше
Категории: Персонажи
Мифологические персонажи по алфавиту
Богини плодородия
Месопотамские боги
Умирающие и воскресающие богини
Нисходившие в подземное царство
Богини справедливости
В Википедии в статьях на русском иллюстрации:
Инанна
Покровительница продовольствия, урожая, плодородия и любви, победы, правосудия, семейной жизни
Изображение Инанны.
Инанна, в шумерской мифологии и религии — центральное женское божество. Первоначально Инанна считалась покровительницей продовольствия, была символом обильных урожаев, богиней плодородия и любви.
Её символ — пучок тростника.
На изображениях она часто предстаёт с солнечными лучами вокруг головы.
При неизвестных обстоятельствах культ этой богини вытеснил в Уруке культ бога Ану. Заняв место Ану, Инанна одновременно выполняла функции и богини победы, и богини урожая, и богини правосудия, являлась покровительницей семейной жизни и т. д.
Инанна считалась дочерью бога Луны Нанна и богини Нингаль — то есть внучкой Энлиля и правнучкой Ану (хотя некоторые мифы называют Инанну дочерью Ану)[источник не указан 874 дня].
Согласно мифам об Энмеркаре, первоначально Инанна была богиней Аратты, однако позднее её благосклонностью стал пользоваться соперничавший с Араттой Урук.
Во 2-м тысячелетии до н. э. культ аккадской Иштар широко распространился среди хурритов, митаннийцев, финикийцев (соответствует финикийской Астарте[источник не указан 883 дня]).
Главное место почитания — Урук, где находился главный храм Инанны — Э-Ана.
В её честь названа борозда Инанны на Плутоне.
Также богиня восхода, отождествлялась с планетой Венера (у шумеров — Дильбат) и аккадской богиней Иштар[1].
Sumerian mythology
Eanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eanna
Inanna
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
-------------------------
Russian articles
On Russian
-------------------------
Потоп был связан с богами.
Где обиженные боги или бог наслали потоп.
Было связано это с изнасилованием Богини, её оскорбили.
И один из богов наслал в гневе потоп.
Мифология сохранила слова, что сами Боги и Инанна или Иштар
были не в курсе затеи задумки и оттого и не успели спасти людей:
случилось внезапно без совета богов.
Мифология сохранила слова и обещания Инанна (Иштар, .., Афродита, Афина)
что она буде возможность есть, постарается сохранить людей от повторного потопа.
Т.е. как бы мы знаем была богиня которой хотелось на планете Земля чтобы была жизнь и плодородие. Однако, не всё оказалось во власти и древних богов.
Были ли эти люди исторические персонажи и реальные люди как прототипы?
Исторические хроники смешивают имена где и правители и богини боги вместе,
вместе живут, какие кто есть.
Я тут повторю ещё раз, что написала сверху, уже по русски:
Хотя меня и зовут Ианна Инна Бальзина-Бальзин,
урождённая Инна Александровна Бальзин,
бабушка моя Нина Степановна Курушина, урождённая Жеребцова от Саломеи Жеребцовой, урождённой Зеленцова от матери Катерины Зеленцовой,
а по крешению я Ирина, Ира.
Однако, имя моё "Инна" выбрала моя бабушка (по английски Нанна) Нина,
в честь одной очень доброй женщины Инна, у кого моя бабушка Нина была в прислугах дома, я не помню, вероятно, актрисы.
А написание "Ианна" это моя попытка 2009-2010 годов написать имя "Инна" на английском: получилось два варианта "Ианна" и "Инна".
Есть ещё и английское мужское имя "Иан" Ean Иан Ин Иан где то переходит в Ян Иван.
"Иванка" в женском роде после перехода. Иван - русское имя.
И мне показалось, Ean - Eanna , Ин Иан - Инна Ианна ------- Ян.Яна--- Ваня - Ванка - Иван - Иванка, соединение территорий острова Англия с именем мужчин Ean Ин Иан тут и России Ваня, Ванка, Иванка, Иван, Ван.
Сознаюсь честно, хотя в 2009-2010 у меня Интернет был,
но я как то не догадалась тогда меняя имя после развода "назад"
как то проверить в Интернете и тоько в конце 2021 наконец то нашла прочла.
Я не понимала реакции некоторых мужчин в Англии: очевидно, лучше меня знающих и историю и фольклёр, масса англичан и мужчин читают книги по истории и мифологию.
Без любви и плодородия нет жизни, нет урожаев, нет детей.
В древности людей не было количественно столь много, как сейчас,
отчего люди сильно радовались рождению детей,
сына или дочери.
Не все было так, патриахально-матриархально-мило.
Как и сейчас в 21 веке люди те же по сути,
как и в 20 веке, то мы видим историю Европы хотя бы,
как трудно выжить и выживать.
По одной из скрытых легенд,
некогда были уничтожены все женщины и жёны и дочери и сёстры.
Унитожены по приказу мужчинами. Причём ослушаться приказа правителя
уничтожить убить кого-то, мужчины не могли ни при Сталине, ни при Гитлере, при при любом правителе любой страны. Это очень важный момент.
Это очень важный момент : даже в 21 веке, правители приказали:
мужчины пошли воевать убивать , кто за деньги, кто потому, что хотели так.
И богиня пытается "снять направление ума мужчин идти воевать убивать"
на "плодородие продолжение рода секс удовольствия": мужчины занимаются
не идти куда то воевать убивать.
Пока мужчину держит дом и его женщина и семья и дети: мужчина не уходит и не идёт воевать, цел сам и целы все.
Я не знаю, как и исследователи, был ли образ богини реальный, составной, сменяемый .
Никто этого знать не может и не мог не смог бы.
Древние люди пытались "облагородить проституцию" и "похоть" через введение понятий "храм любви", "жрицы храма любви", понятие секса удовольствие с введением внесение покровителей высших сил, Бога. Мужчина соединясь с жрицей храма имел секс не секс с проституткой, а соединялся с Высшими силам Храма черех жриц жрицов: это снимала понятие "грех" и "греха" и "грешить". Жрицы обучали мужчин сексу и развлекали.
Древние мужчины частично боялись секса с женщиной: Библия , Ветхий Завет, а как много столетий могло пройти прежде рождения сына. Этот испуг есть и сейчас где-то.
Особо в Англии: масса испуганных англоговорящих мужчин неженаты, а потому не замужем и масса одиноких женщин, также и женщин с детьми.
Эротика, порно, секс, - взрослые поовозрелые люди , мужчины и женщины, их физиология, и семейная жизнь .
Современные люди иногда представляют Инаннах на части изображений мужчина леди-гей или гей, в гомосексуальной культуре мировосприятия и промывки мозга, включая особенность "воительница". Кажется, раз воительница и воин-женщина, то это скорее мужчина в женском платье. Однако !!! если мы посмотрим историю острова Англия, где имя "Ean" есть мужское британское английское, мы найдём особенность женщин - воительниц: царица Боудрика . И: женщины: они рожали детей. Не мужчины.
Так же и амазонки. Воительницы.
Т.е. мы видим примеры: Боудрика, Амазонки, где женщины и женщины и воительницы.
Отчего , откуда это у них такое тогда взялось?
От предков от кого-то?
И опускаем временную планку: Шумеры. И тут сразу же находим описываемую и мифологическим (и историческим?) персонаж Инанна в Шумерах, Вавилонии, Ираке.
Очень интересная вещь: Инанна и Иссус Христос , две истории, пересекаются.
Иисус Христос "поднял блудницу и не дал забить её камнями и поругать толпе": что иносказательно, старые боги и богини: они уходили с исторической арены, боги и богини, с которыми люди росли.
Заступая новые боги несли новые новое иное иначе.
Инанна и Иисус Христос по преданью Боги кто проходили Смерть и Воскрешение в Живые опять Это часть учёных считают иносказание в описании картин пророды, смен времён года, весна-рождение, осень-зима смерть зима и опять восркшение лето.
12 апостолов как 12 месяцев в году.
Родился Новый Год и 12 апостолов пришли "покланится ему (Новому Году)" и оставили Календарь На Год.
Древние люди описывали весну и рост трав как Возрождение в Жизнь опять: опять расла зелёная трава , опять возрождалась листва зелёная на деревьях, опять расли цветы.
В Англии эта цикличность малозамечаемая, как часть зим бывают тёплые и без снега.
Но в странах, где зимой снег есть, эта смена времён года очень контрасная:
Осень, деревья сбрасывают листу и стоят нагие, веточки-сеточки без листьев и без цветов. И так всю зиму ######## ///|\\\ \\\\|//// |||||||
Силуэты деревьев и кустраников и зима. "Сеточка" одежды Инанны и символизировала это
"Зима" *как гипотеза возникновения наряда
Иисус Христос родился по принятому Календарю "от рождения Христа" 1 января 0 или 1го года. Зимой. Это созвездие Козерога:
Зевс и часть богов изображались с двумя рогами: 1 января это Созвездие Козерога.
Хотя было ли то связано или нет? Скорее: нет.
Как астрологи это астрологи: говорят, как кто-то сказал научил.
Отношение к сексу
Ветхий Завет "Плодитесь и размножайтесь!", - благославление от Бога-Создателя.
Инанна: богиня плодородия (плодитесь и размножайтесь!) и "не суди и судим не будешь!" тогда тоже.
Иисус: "Не суди и судим не будешь!" "Прости" "Прости врага своего"
Иисус: "Что ты ищешь соринку в глазе соседа твоего, а в своём бревна не замечаешь?"
Иисус: "Не возжелай жену ближнего своего и его ослицу!"
т.е. "не суди" "прости" идёт ниткой "принимай всё как есть"
Но: еврейские законы Моисея до Иисуса иные:
"За одного убитого еврея 100 убитых"
Иисус дал новое во времена молящихся Моисею: понятие "прости" = "помилуй", помилование оно идёт по кругу и возвращается к тебе тогда милуют и тебя.
Если сравнить религии зрелищные с человеческими жертвами
и новые, где боги не требуют таких жертв,
мы видим развитие отношений к миру и событиям, друг другу и себе.
И Ианна и Иисус Христос имели смерть и воскрешение. Это особенность показывает вещи "Дети Бога", "Дети Богов". Из "Дети Бога" мы знаем по Библии только Иисуса.
Из "история религий курса" мы знаем что путь человечества проходил через смены религий разных. Знаем и что люди разных стран мира имеют разные религии и что часть мифов похожи.
Астрология учит нас фантазии или не фантазии:
что тело от отца и матери, от родителей земных,
а душа от Царя Небесного,
и часть потому и ищут приход души в наш мир с небушка неба со звёзд созвездий
- того Созведия, которое было над головой в момент рождения.
Однако, другая часть находит реакарнацию,
где одни считают: ушедшие отдыхают и потом отдохнув, возвращаются.
И атеисты считают: нет, мы живём всего один раз.
И христиане считают , что после смерти душа попадает или в рай или ад, разделяя людей родных так, что даже муж и жена и дети и родители не вместе, где если супруги не соединены церковным браком.
Масса людей становятся ментально больными, от религиозных текстов с описанием ада: мучился тут, горевал, а после смерти-и там? ещё похуже? А потому, часть делают стериализацию. Считая, не рожать детей в то что унижение пытки ад, это спасти их.
Эту тему тяжело обсуждать и очень.
Пока люди жили в раю. Адам и Ева. Они не умирали, жили.
Страх смерти подрубает.
Но, по Библии, мы читаем запрятанные изречения
Разговор Богов между собой описан, был, видно, услышан:
Волнения, что люди станут "как Боги, жить вечно".
И, затем, сценки и изгнание из Рая вон.
Из Рая - в Ад?
Из Рая - в "промежуточное месте между Рам и Адом"* в Твердь? Топь?
Т.е. описание в Библии: по некой причине Боги волновались и, вероятно, хотели изнать: как изгнали.
Смотрим людей.
Физиология.
Ссут срут пукают спят едят сношаются занимаются любовью работают
работают-шумят
Вероятно, физиология людей могла как то подпорить сад сады.
Или ещё и шум какой. Мешая.
Я не знала что моя имя имена Eanna Inna
присутствуют есть в мифологии Шумер.
Как и родители Англии, называющие сыновей Ean.
Что делать теперь?
Пойти и поменять нотариально?
Но что-то говорит мне, в мои 60 лет:
я считаю вероятной присутствие цивилизации Выше нашей и сил выше нас
по уровню и развития и технологии.
И это и описано и в Библии, и в мифах, и в легендах и в сказках:
присутствие технологий разных по уровню.
Отчего: может быть это был "Подарок" мне от кого-то, кто изучал историю Шумер.
Мой мамин отец был Курушин. Кур Курилы Курск куроны Курляндия Курземе река Кура Куруш в Адыгее на Кавказе - потомки с древней Персии, когда Кир Великий, по прозвищу Куруш (Пастух) (рос у пастухов) переселились часть в Адыгею на Кавказ после смерти Кира Великого, Персидская Империя пала.
У людей: в социально-классовых государствах часть людей сразу же отворачиваются, будто не знакомы, если что стал бедным.
У королей: король умер? да здравствует король! новый король!
История религий: Боги приходят и уходят.
21 век. Люди бояться Аппокалипсиса, описанного столько страшно.
Отчего, бояться и любой смены религий.
А что делать простому человеку?
Жить?
Только жить?
- Вы полагаете, это будет носится?
Вы полагаете, будет весна?
Юрий Левитанский
Диалог у новогодней елки
— Что происходит на свете? — А просто зима.
— Просто зима, полагаете вы? — Полагаю.
Я ведь и сам, как умею, следы пролагаю
в ваши уснувшие ранней порою дома.
— Что же за всем этим будет? — А будет январь.
— Будет январь, вы считаете? — Да, я считаю.
Я ведь давно эту белую книгу читаю,
этот, с картинками вьюги, старинный букварь.
— Чем же все это окончится? — Будет апрель.
— Будет апрель, вы уверены? — Да, я уверен.
Я уже слышал, и слух этот мною проверен,
будто бы в роще сегодня звенела свирель.
— Что же из этого следует? — Следует жить,
шить сарафаны и легкие платья из ситца.
— Вы полагаете, все это будет носиться?
— Я полагаю, что все это следует шить.
— Следует шить, ибо сколько вьюге ни кружить,
недолговечны ее кабала и опала.
— Так разрешите же в честь новогоднего бала
руку на танец, сударыня, вам предложить!
— Месяц — серебряный шар со свечою внутри,
и карнавальные маски — по кругу, по кругу!
— Вальс начинается. Дайте ж, сударыня, руку,
и — раз-два-три,
раз-два-три,
раз-два-три,
раз-два-три!..
ТЕГИ:
О ЛЮБВИ
СТИХИ ЮРИЯ ЛЕВИТАНСКОГО — О ЛЮБВИ
"Диалог у новогодней елки" (Юрий Левитанский, стихи)
https://www.culture.ru/poems/47786/dialog-u-novogodnei-elki
******************
Почему же древние религии ушли и стари мёртвые? исчезли?
Имена часть забылись?
Потому, что они не давали Света и Развития Души.
Потому, что они были инструмент власти, страха и власти,
держать рабов рабами и пардон скотом,
скотом, кто сношается, пьёт, убивает и воюет и не умеет прощать
ничего ни другим и ни себе.
Иисус Христос внёс силу Света Прощения,
он стал призывать людей Прощать друг друга:
прощать родных, родителей, прощать врагов.
Именно это слово "прощать" ему и не простили.
Как так прощать друг друга? Ведь тогда же не будет войн? войн на врагов?
Христианский правитель не начнёт войны и нападений: Завет Иисуса Христа "Не убий" и "Прости врага своего".
Мы видим англоязычные страны называющие себя "Христианские" с утратой милосердия "Прощать" гонят солдат армии в войны на другие территории.
Вьетнам. Ирак. Афганистан. Украина. Югославия бывшая. Сирия.
Мы видим страшное.
Я понимаю, что часть англоговорящих господ у власти , имеющая деньги и положение и власть, могут находить им смешно, что происходят убийства по их приказу.
Самое смешное для них: называть себя "мы христиане", вероятно.
Заповеди Иисуса Христа и Новый Завет имеет
странное
"Блажен верующие"
Там есть слова, что рай место сбора всех и ментально больных, "блаженных, нищих, и верующих".
Что читается среди всего странно "ментально больных".
Хм. Как человеку жизнь прожить без греха (прелюбодеяния,,..) трудно?
Люди в массе молились многие матери Иисуса Святой Деве Марии: как коль в самой религии и неграмотным трудно разобрать, то люди надеялись, что человек человека и мать и детей и своих и других защитит. В католичестве потому и возник такой культ Святой Деве Марии: люди просили о заступничестве именно её. И Святых: тоже люди, поймут вдруг лучше?
Часть текстов были утрачены и из них отобраны 4 текста.
В части не вошедших, сохранённых в Африке в храмах есть тесты с именами и подробностями больше чем в Библии Новом Завете.
Если сейчас вдруг изобретут Машину Времени (изобрели уже?) и посетят все эти времена
(скорее всего таки посетили уже?), то будут знать больше, что случилось и как случилось и что как было.
Однако: нам не скажут, скорее всего, опять.
А скажут: так не всем, "избранным".
Что как быо когда где: история прошлого.
Лично я, как человек обычный, рождённый от родителей моих, знаю, как и люди моего поколения (мне 60 лет), что учила в школе и читала после школы в библиотеках и дома.
Отчего все мои эти заметки, скорее курьёзы. В плане неожиданности пересечения имени и имён живших в прошлох или имён мифологий прошлого.
По этой теме есть ещё что почитать по истории. и Урук и Шумеры и Ирак и боги и боги неба
и истории все очень сильные и живые: люди в них с страстями, кто какой есть. Где и слёзы и любовь.
По одной из версий и гипотез,
наш мир умер погиб в одной из войн,
был возраждён заново как музей или по другой был устроен как ферма плантация,
одна версия описывает наш мир как круг Ада в преисподней,
многоярусный мир легче-тяжелее для души, как вес души,
где с грехами тонет ниже, без грехов выше.
Священники призывают нас исповедываться и каяться.
Я как лицо обычной, не могу советовать иного как простого, у каждого своя вера и своя религии, и там есть священники.
Но, как изучавшая историю религий, курс, тексты имена страны, сменяемость, события, как история планеты Земля и людей кто жили на ней и живут,
мы видим переплетение религий так с властью, как инструмент власти.
А люди адепты варианта Ферма как планета Земля находят своё что-то.
Страшное.
Людям и детям присущи страхи. Наша фантазия легко рисует страхи.
Ребёнок в темноте видит страхи в детстве.
Свет включает, смотрит: нет того, что напридумывалось фантазиями.
Религия с Именем Иисуса Христа помогла поддерживать свет души в человеке,
а этот свет давал затем доброту, а доброта: радость и счастье.
Гумманизм это что-то как детство. Доброе. Где тебя и любят и прощают.
Иисус Христос всё же ещё и лекарем был? Ходил и людей лечил?
Отчего, его Заповеди "Волшебные" и "Лечебные", сохраняют душу человека.
Чтобы душу сохранить живой.
Это сложно. Это не всегда так чтобы реально и просто и легко.
И это как детство. Каждый и все кругом от рождения до старости - дети.
Мы все как дети. Мечтаем, фантазируем, боимся, свои страхи, и мечтаем.
Наши Боги ушли далеко.
Или были как люди:
Любили,
И прожив их своё
Уходили
На Зелёные Нивы
В Раю.
Им прощали:
Ведь Боги как Дети:
Им прощали:
Ведь Боги они.
С ними вместе росли
На планете.
Вместе пили порой,
Или пели,
Иль сражалися вместе
В бою.
Мы мечтали:
Мы будем, как Боги:
Вот ещё чуть-чуть-чуть,
Подрастём.
И откроются нам тут дороги,
Знать, что как,
Быть всегда хорошо.
07:51 , 27.12.2021, пятница, Англия.
Тут всё так тихо-тихо-тихо сейчас и не звука:
машины и автобусы, не слышно и звуков с улицы нет.
Только и слышно, что моё стучанье по клавишам.
Что-то случилось.
На улице светло, а так кругом тихо и очень хорошо.
Отдохнуть наконец мжно после шума машин.
Шумерская Мифология
Э-Ана
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Э-Ана
Инанна
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Инанна
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
"Eanna Inanna Sumer , Э-Ана, Инанна, Шумеры"
https://proza.ru/2021/12/27/670
http://stihi.ru/2021/12/27/2924
diary on line
дневник он лайн
© Copyright: Инна Бальзина-Бальзин, 2021
Свидетельство о публикации №121122702924
Свидетельство о публикации №121122702924
Рецензии