Post by bluefedish on Jul 16, 2007 21:09:30 GMT -5
Inanna is the Sumerian Goddess of sexual love, fertility, & warfar. The Akkandians called her Ishtar. If Inanna wasn't strapping on her battle sandals, she was seen swaggering around the streets of her home town, dragging young men out of the taverns to have sex with her. Despite her association with mating and fertility of humans and animals, Inanna was not a mother goddess, and is rarely associated with childbirth. Inanna was also associated with rain and storms and with the planet Venus.
Worship:
Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were many shrines and temples dedicated to Inanna. The temple of Eanna, meaning "house of heaven" or "house of An" in Uruk was the greatest of these. The god of this fourth-millennium city was probably originally An. After its dedication to Inanna the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess. The high priestess would choose for her bed a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year) ceremony, at the spring Equinox. In late Sumerian history (end of the third millennium) kings established their legitimacy by taking the place of Dumuzi in the temple for one night on the occasion of the New Year festival.
Iconography
Inanna's symbol is an eight-pointed star or rosette. She was associated with lions — even then a symbol of power — and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse (and thus fertility and plenty).
Myths
Inanna's descent to the underworld:
Most curious is perhaps the story of Inanna's descent to the underworld. In Sumer the Underworld was not necessarily a place like a 'hell' but it was not a heaven. When humans and heroes died that is where they headed. However based on their behavior they could be afforded better treatment or positions in the underworld.
Inanna's reason for visiting the underworld is unclear. The reason she gives to the gatekeeper of the underworld is that she wants to attend her brother-in-law Gud-gal-ana's funeral rites.
However, this may be a ruse; Inanna may have been intending to conquer the underworld. Ereshkigal's, queen of the underworld and Inanna's sister, may have suspected this, which could explain her treatment of Inanna.
Before she left, Inanna instructed her minister Ninshubur plead with the gods Enlil, Nanna, and Enki to save her if anything went wrong.
Inanna dresses elaborately for the visit, with a turban, a wig, a lapis lazuli necklace, beads upon her breast, the 'pala dress' (the ladyship garment), mascara, pectoral, a golden ring on her hand, and she held a lapis lazuli measuring rod. Perhaps Inanna's garments, unsuitable for a funeral, along with Inanna's haughty behaviour make Ereshkigal suspicious.
Following Ereshkigal's instructions, the gatekeeper 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, each removing a piece of clothing or jewelry she had been wearing at the start of her journey. In Sumerian mythology some forms of burials included burying the deceased with gifts for the gatekeepers and judges of the Underworld to win their favor. Items could also be used as an amulet or protective device so stripping Inanna of each item would leave her more vulnerable to any type of attack.
When she arrives in front of her sister she is naked. "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."
Ereškigal's hate for Inanna could be referenced in a few other myths. Ereškigal is seen as an accidental 'black sheep' of sorts. She can not leave her kingdom of the Underworld to join the other 'living' Gods and they can not visit her in the Underworld or else they can never return. Inanna symbolized love (in the sense of eros) and fertility and was the polar opposite of Ereškigal.
Three days and three nights passed and Nincurba following instructions went to Enlil, Nanna, and Enki's temples and demanded they save the Goddess of Love. The first two gods refused saying it was her own mess but Enki was deeply troubled and agreed to help. He created two sexless figures (neither male nor female) named gala-tura and the kur-jara. He instructed they were to appease Ereškigal and when asked what they wanted they were to ask for Inanna's corpse and sprinkle it with the food and water of life.
Things went as Enki said and the gala-tura and the kur-jara were able to revive Inanna. Demons of Ereškigal's followed Inanna out of the underworld and demanded she wasn’t free to go until someone took her place. They first came upon Nincurba and asked to take her. Inanna refused saying she had helped her as she had asked. They next came upon Cara, Inanna's beautician, still in mourning. The demons said they would take them but Inanna refused for he had been there for her. They next came upon Lulal also in mourning. The demons offered to take him but Inanna refused.
They next came upon Dumuzi, Inanna's husband. He was sitting in nice clothing and enjoying himself despite his wife supposedly still being missing in the underworld. Inanna wasn't happy and said they could take him.
Dumuzi tried to escape his fate but a fly told Inanna and the demons where he was. It was then decreed that Dumuzi spent half the year in the underworld and his sister take the other half.
Related deities.
Inanna is the daughter of the moon god Nanna, and sister to the sun god Utu and the rain god Ishkur. Her sister is Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld.
As the goddess of the planet Venus, Inanna was identified by the Akkadians with their own Venus deity, who may have been male. Although the Akkadian name for the goddess was Ishtar, the Akkadians used Sumerian as a religious language; so their hymns, written in Sumerian, use the name Inanna.
Selected Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
www.epilogue.net
home.tiscali.nl
Worship:
Along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were many shrines and temples dedicated to Inanna. The temple of Eanna, meaning "house of heaven" or "house of An" in Uruk was the greatest of these. The god of this fourth-millennium city was probably originally An. After its dedication to Inanna the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess. The high priestess would choose for her bed a young man who represented the shepherd Dumuzid, consort of Inanna, in a hieros gamos or sacred marriage, celebrated during the annual Akitu (New Year) ceremony, at the spring Equinox. In late Sumerian history (end of the third millennium) kings established their legitimacy by taking the place of Dumuzi in the temple for one night on the occasion of the New Year festival.
Iconography
Inanna's symbol is an eight-pointed star or rosette. She was associated with lions — even then a symbol of power — and was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionesses. Her cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse (and thus fertility and plenty).
Myths
Inanna's descent to the underworld:
Most curious is perhaps the story of Inanna's descent to the underworld. In Sumer the Underworld was not necessarily a place like a 'hell' but it was not a heaven. When humans and heroes died that is where they headed. However based on their behavior they could be afforded better treatment or positions in the underworld.
Inanna's reason for visiting the underworld is unclear. The reason she gives to the gatekeeper of the underworld is that she wants to attend her brother-in-law Gud-gal-ana's funeral rites.
However, this may be a ruse; Inanna may have been intending to conquer the underworld. Ereshkigal's, queen of the underworld and Inanna's sister, may have suspected this, which could explain her treatment of Inanna.
Before she left, Inanna instructed her minister Ninshubur plead with the gods Enlil, Nanna, and Enki to save her if anything went wrong.
Inanna dresses elaborately for the visit, with a turban, a wig, a lapis lazuli necklace, beads upon her breast, the 'pala dress' (the ladyship garment), mascara, pectoral, a golden ring on her hand, and she held a lapis lazuli measuring rod. Perhaps Inanna's garments, unsuitable for a funeral, along with Inanna's haughty behaviour make Ereshkigal suspicious.
Following Ereshkigal's instructions, the gatekeeper 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, each removing a piece of clothing or jewelry she had been wearing at the start of her journey. In Sumerian mythology some forms of burials included burying the deceased with gifts for the gatekeepers and judges of the Underworld to win their favor. Items could also be used as an amulet or protective device so stripping Inanna of each item would leave her more vulnerable to any type of attack.
When she arrives in front of her sister she is naked. "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."
Ereškigal's hate for Inanna could be referenced in a few other myths. Ereškigal is seen as an accidental 'black sheep' of sorts. She can not leave her kingdom of the Underworld to join the other 'living' Gods and they can not visit her in the Underworld or else they can never return. Inanna symbolized love (in the sense of eros) and fertility and was the polar opposite of Ereškigal.
Three days and three nights passed and Nincurba following instructions went to Enlil, Nanna, and Enki's temples and demanded they save the Goddess of Love. The first two gods refused saying it was her own mess but Enki was deeply troubled and agreed to help. He created two sexless figures (neither male nor female) named gala-tura and the kur-jara. He instructed they were to appease Ereškigal and when asked what they wanted they were to ask for Inanna's corpse and sprinkle it with the food and water of life.
Things went as Enki said and the gala-tura and the kur-jara were able to revive Inanna. Demons of Ereškigal's followed Inanna out of the underworld and demanded she wasn’t free to go until someone took her place. They first came upon Nincurba and asked to take her. Inanna refused saying she had helped her as she had asked. They next came upon Cara, Inanna's beautician, still in mourning. The demons said they would take them but Inanna refused for he had been there for her. They next came upon Lulal also in mourning. The demons offered to take him but Inanna refused.
They next came upon Dumuzi, Inanna's husband. He was sitting in nice clothing and enjoying himself despite his wife supposedly still being missing in the underworld. Inanna wasn't happy and said they could take him.
Dumuzi tried to escape his fate but a fly told Inanna and the demons where he was. It was then decreed that Dumuzi spent half the year in the underworld and his sister take the other half.
Related deities.
Inanna is the daughter of the moon god Nanna, and sister to the sun god Utu and the rain god Ishkur. Her sister is Ereshkigal, Queen of the Underworld.
As the goddess of the planet Venus, Inanna was identified by the Akkadians with their own Venus deity, who may have been male. Although the Akkadian name for the goddess was Ishtar, the Akkadians used Sumerian as a religious language; so their hymns, written in Sumerian, use the name Inanna.
Selected Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
www.epilogue.net
home.tiscali.nl
