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An ancient relief depicting the courtship of Inanna and Enki.
- Hailing from Sumer, one of the earliest documented civilizations located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, the Sumerian songs, legends and stories date back to 2000 B.C. and form part of a body of literature initially inscribed on clay tablets and fragments. Over the years, a handful of translations of these ancient writings have surfaced from a small group of scholars. A few of those focus solely on the goddess Inanna, “the most beloved and revered deity” in ancient Sumerian folklore according to Samuel Noah Kramer, the Sumerian expert and translator. The most comprehensive collection of stories about Inanna was compiled by Diane Wolkstein in 1983, in collaboration with Kramer, who pieced together fragments of stories about the so-called “Queen of Heaven and Earth”—the one responsible for the plants, animals and human fertility—into one cohesive narrative they call the “Cycle of Inanna.”
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In this collection, Inanna’s cycle begins with the story of the goddess as a young woman in search of womanhood, followed by the story of how she attains queenship; her choosing the shepherd Dumuzi as her lover, husband, and King of Sumer; her descent to the underworld; and finally, her confrontation with the conditions on which she may be allowed to return.
- Through these stories that follow the goddess’s attainment of queenship, her marriage, and descent to the underworld, a seductively brazen character emerges. Inanna assertively stakes claim to her womanhood along with the myriad possibilities it offers, later descending to the underworld following a number of sexual and violent encounters, and finally making a vindictive return.
- The following section shows Inanna receiving a series of gifts, called mes, from her drunken father, who later attempts to take them back in an act of conflict: the mes she receives are both material and immaterial, sometimes embodying paradoxical properties; from the art of lovemaking to the kindling of strife, the purview of Inanna is complex, contradictory, powerful, and strikingly human. PB
An ancient relief depicting the courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi.
They drank more beer together.
They drank more and more beer together.
With their bronze vessels filled to overflowing,
With the vessels of Urash, Mother of the Earth,
They toasted each other; they challenged each other.
Enki, swaying with drink, toasted Inanna:
“In the name of my power! In the name of my holy shrine!
To my daughter Inanna I shall give
The high priesthood! Godship!
The noble, enduring crown! The throne of kingship!”
Inanna replied:
“I take them!”
Enki raised his cup and toasted Inanna a second time:
“In the name of my power! In the name of my holy shrine!
To my daughter Inanna I shall give
Truth!
Descent into the underworld! Ascent from the underworld! The art of lovemaking! The kissing of the phallus!”
Inanna replied:
“I take them!”
Enki raised his cup and toasted Inanna a third time:
“In the name of my power! In the name of my holy shrine!
To my daughter Inanna I shall give
The holy priestess of heaven!
The setting up of lamentations!
The rejoicing of the heart!
The giving of judgments! The making of decisions!”
Inanna replied:
“I take them!”
(Fourteen times Enki raised his cup to Inanna.
Fourteen times he offered his daughter five me, six me, seven me. Fourteen times Inanna accepted the holy me.)
Then Inanna, standing before her father,
Acknowledged the me Enki had given to her:
“My father has given me the me:
He gave me the high priesthood.
He gave me godship.
He gave me the noble, enduring crown.
He gave me the throne of kingship.
He gave me the noble sceptre.
He gave me the staff.
He gave me the holy measuring rod and line.
He gave me the high throne.
He gave me shepherdship.
He gave me kingship.
He gave me the princess priestess.
He gave me the divine queen priestess.
He gave me the incantation priest.
He gave me the noble priest.
He gave me the libations priest.
He gave me truth.
He gave me descent into the underworld.
He gave me ascent from the underworld.
He gave me the kurgarra.
He gave me the dagger and sword.
He gave me the black garment.
He gave me the colourful garment.
He gave me the loosening of the hair.
He gave me the binding of the hair.
He gave me the standard.
He gave me the quiver.
He gave me the art of lovemaking.
He gave me the kissing of the phallus.
He gave me the art of prostitution.
He gave me the art of speeding.
He gave me the art of forthright speech.
He gave me the art of slanderous speech.
He gave me the art of adorning speech.
He gave me the cult prostitute.
He gave me the holy tavern.
He gave me the holy shrine.
He gave me the holy priestess of heaven.
He gave me the resounding musical instrument.
He gave me the art of song.
He gave me the art of the elder.
He gave me the art of the hero.
He gave me the art of power.
He gave me the art of treachery.
He gave me the art of straightforwardness.
He gave me the plundering of cities.
He gave me the setting up of lamentations.
He gave me the rejoicing of the heart.
He gave me deceit.
He gave me the rebellious land.
He gave me the art of kindness.
He gave me travel.
He gave me the secure dwelling place.
He gave me the craft of the woodworker.
He gave me the craft of the copper worker.
He gave me the craft of the scribe.
He gave me the craft of the smith.
He gave me the craft of the leather maker.
He gave me the craft of the fuller.
He gave me the craft of the builder.
He gave me the craft of the reed worker.
He gave me the perceptive ear
He gave me the power of attention.
He gave me the holy purification rites.
He gave me the feeding pen.
He gave me the heaping up of hot coals.
He gave me the sheepfold.
He gave me fear.
He gave me consternation.
He gave me dismay.
He gave me the bitter-toothed lion.
He gave me the kindling of fire.
He gave me the putting out of fire.
He gave me the weary arm.
He gave me the assembled family.
He gave me procreation.
He gave me the kindling of strife.
He gave me counselling.
He gave me heart-soothing.
He gave me the giving of judgments.
He gave me the making of decisions.”
(Still reeling with drink) Enki spoke to his servant Isimud:
“My sukkal, Isimud—
The young woman—is about to leave—for Uruk.
It is my wish that she reach her city—safely.”
Inanna gathered all the me.
The me were placed on the Boat of Heaven.
The Boat of Heaven, with the holy me, was pushed off from the quay.
When the beer had gone out from the one who had drunk beer,
When the beer had gone out from Father Enki,
When the beer had gone out from the great God of Wisdom,
Enki looked about the Abzu.
The eyes of the King of the Abzu searched Eridu.
King Enki looked about Eridu and called to his servant Isimud, saying:
“My sukkal, Isimud—”
“My king, Enki, I stand to serve you.”
“The high priesthood? Godship?
The noble enduring crown? Where are they?”
“My king has given them to his daughter.”
“The art of the hero? The art of power?
Treachery? Deceit?
Where are they?”
“My king has given them to his daughter.”
“The perceptive ear? The power of attention?
The making of decisions?
Where are they?”
“My king has given them to his daughter.”
(Fourteen times Enki questioned his servant Isimud;
Fourteen times Isimud answered, saying:
“My king has given them to his daughter.
My king has given all the me to his daughter Inanna.”)
Then Enki spoke, saying:
“Isimud, the Boat of Heaven, with the holy me
Where is it now?”
“The Boat of Heaven is (one quay away from Eridu).”
“Go! Take the enkum- creatures
Let them bring the Boat of Heaven back to Eridu!”
Isimud spoke to Inanna:
“My queen, your father has sent me to you.
Your father's words are words of state.
They may not be disobeyed.”
Inanna answered:
“What has my father said?
What has Enki added?
What are his words of state that may not be disobeyed?”
Isimud spoke:
“My king has said:
‘Let Inanna proceed to Uruk;
Bring the Boat of Heaven with the holy me back to Eridu.’”
Inanna cried:
“My father has changed his word to me!
He has violated his pledge—broken his promise!
Deceitfully my father spoke to me!
Deceitfully he cried:
‘In the name of my power! In the name of my holy shrine!'
Deceitfully he sent you to me!”