「イナンナ」の版間の差分

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[[ファイル:Ishtar vase Louvre AO17000-detail.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|花瓶に描かれたイナンナ]]
 
[[ファイル:Ishtar vase Louvre AO17000-detail.jpeg|thumb|right|250px|花瓶に描かれたイナンナ]]
 
'''イナンナ'''（シュメール語:𒀭𒈹、翻字] <sup>D</sup>INANNA、音声転写: Inanna）は、シュメール神話における[[金星]]、愛や美、戦い、豊穣の女神。別名[[イシュタル]]。ウルク文化期（紀元前4000年-紀元前3100年）からウルクの守護神として崇拝されていたことが知られている（[[エアンナ]]に祀られていた）。シンボルは[[藁|藁束]]と[[八芒星]]（もしくは十六芒星）。聖樹は[[アカシア]]、聖花は[[ギンバイカ]]、聖獣は[[ライオン]]。
 
'''イナンナ'''（シュメール語:𒀭𒈹、翻字] <sup>D</sup>INANNA、音声転写: Inanna）は、シュメール神話における[[金星]]、愛や美、戦い、豊穣の女神。別名[[イシュタル]]。ウルク文化期（紀元前4000年-紀元前3100年）からウルクの守護神として崇拝されていたことが知られている（[[エアンナ]]に祀られていた）。シンボルは[[藁|藁束]]と[[八芒星]]（もしくは十六芒星）。聖樹は[[アカシア]]、聖花は[[ギンバイカ]]、聖獣は[[ライオン]]。
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'''Inanna'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ɪ|ˈ|n|ɑː|n|ə}}; {{lang-sux|{{cuneiform|[[:wikt:𒀭𒈹|𒀭𒈹]]}}}} {{transl|sux|<sup>[[Dingir|D]]</sup>inanna, also 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾 <sup>[[Dingir|D]]</sup>nin-an-na}}{{sfn|Heffron|2016}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Sumerian dictionary |url=http://oracc.iaas.upenn.edu/epsd2/cbd/sux/N.html |website=oracc.iaas.upenn.edu}}</ref>}} is an [[List of Mesopotamian deities|ancient Mesopotamian goddess]]  of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, [[Divine law|divine justice]], and political power. She was originally worshiped in [[Sumer]] under the name "Inanna", and later by the [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadians]], [[Babylonian religion|Babylonians]], and [[Assyria]]ns under the name "'''Ishtar'''".{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|ʃ|t|ɑːr|}}; {{cuneiform|𒀭𒀹𒁯}} {{transl|sux|<sup>[[Dingir|D]]</sup>ištar}},{{sfn|Heffron|2016}} occasionally represented by the [[logogram]] {{cuneiform|𒌋𒁯}}}} She was known as the "[[Queen of heaven (antiquity)|Queen of Heaven]]" and was the patron goddess of the [[Eanna]] temple at the city of [[Uruk]], which was her main [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] center. She was associated with the planet [[Venus]] and her most prominent symbols included the [[Lion of Babylon|lion]] and the [[Star of Ishtar|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]]).
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Inanna was worshiped in [[Sumer]] at least as early as the [[Uruk period]] ({{circa}} 4000 BCE – {{circa}} 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,{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=xviii}}{{sfn|Nemet-Nejat|1998|page=182}} with temples across [[Mesopotamia]]. The cult of Inanna/Ishtar, which may have been associated with a variety of [[Sexual ritual|sexual rites]], was continued by the [[East Semitic]]-speaking people ([[Akkadians]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] and [[Babylonians]]) who succeeded and absorbed the Sumerians in the region. She was especially beloved by the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], who elevated her to become the highest deity in their pantheon, ranking above their own [[national god]] [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]]. Inanna/Ishtar is alluded to in the [[Hebrew Bible]] and she greatly influenced the [[Ugarit]]ic [[Ashtart]] and later [[Phoenicia]]n [[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]].
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Inanna appears in more myths than any other Sumerian deity.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=xv}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=42–43}}{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=101}} She also had a uniquely high number of epithets and alternate names, comparable only to [[Nergal]].{{sfn|Wiggermann|1999|p=216}} Many of her myths involve her taking over the domains of other deities. She was believed to have been given the ''[[Me (mythology)|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 [[Anu|An]], the god of the sky. Alongside her twin brother [[Utu]] (later known as Shamash), Inanna was the enforcer of [[Divine judgment|divine justice]]; she destroyed Mount Ebih for having challenged her authority, unleashed her fury upon the gardener [[#Inanna and Shukaletuda|Shukaletuda]] after he [[rape]]d 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 literature|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.
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Inanna/Ishtar's most famous myth is the story of her descent into and return from the [[ancient Mesopotamian underworld]], ruled by her older sister [[Ereshkigal]]. After she reaches Ereshkigal's throne room, the [[Anunnaki|seven judges of the underworld]] deem her guilty and strike her dead. Three days later, Ninshubur pleads with all the gods to bring Inanna back. All of them refuse her, except Enki, who sends two sexless beings to rescue Inanna. They escort Inanna out of the underworld, but the ''[[gallu|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.
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{{TOC limit|4}}
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== Etymology ==
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[[File:Inanna receiving offerings on the Uruk Vase, circa 3200-3000 BCE.jpg|thumb|Inanna receiving offerings on the [[Uruk Vase]], circa 3200-3000 BCE]]
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Scholars believe that Inanna and Ishtar were originally separate, unrelated deities,{{sfnm|1a1=Leick|1y=1998|1p=87|2a1=Black|2a2=Green|2y=1992|2p=108|3a1=Wolkstein|3a2=Kramer|3y=1983|3p=xviii, xv|4a1=Collins|4y=1994|4p=110-111|5a1=Brandão|5y=2019|5p=43}} but were conflated with one another during the reign of [[Sargon of Akkad]] and came to be regarded as effectively the same goddess under two different names.{{sfnm|1a1=Leick|1y=1998|1p=87|2a1=Black|2a2=Green|2y=1992|2p=108|3a1=Wolkstein|3a2=Kramer|3y=1983|3p=xviii, xv|4a1=Collins|4y=1994|4p=110-111}}{{efn|With exception of [[#Akkadian_version|Ana Kurnugê, qaqqari la târi]] and [[#Epic_of_Gilgamesh|Sha naqba īmuru]] who use the name Ishtar, all others texts use the name/are about Inanna.{{sfn|Brandão|2019|p=65}}}}  Inanna's name may derive from the [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] phrase ''nin-an-ak'', meaning "Lady of Heaven",{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=86}}{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} but the cuneiform sign for ''Inanna'' ({{cuneiform|𒈹}}) is not a [[Typographic ligature|ligature]] of the signs ''lady'' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: [[EREŠ|nin]]; Cuneiform: {{cuneiform|𒊩𒌆}} SAL.TUG<sub>2</sub>) and ''sky'' ([[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]: [[DINGIR|an]]; Cuneiform: {{cuneiform|𒀭}} AN).{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=86}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=xiii–xix}} 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.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} The view that there was a Proto-Euphratean substrate language in Southern Iraq before Sumerian is not widely accepted by modern Assyriologists.{{sfn|Rubio|1999|pages=1–16}}
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The name ''Ishtar'' occurs as an element in personal names from both the pre-[[Sargon of Akkad|Sargonic]] and post-Sargonic eras in Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia.{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=110}} It is of [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] derivation{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=96}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=110}} and is probably etymologically related to the name of the [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] god [[Attar (god)|Attar]], who is mentioned in later inscriptions from [[Ugarit]] and southern Arabia.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=96}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=110}} 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.{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=110}} Among the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the name of the male god eventually supplanted the name of his female counterpart,{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=110–111}} but, due to extensive syncretism with Inanna, the deity remained as female, although her name was in the masculine form.{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=110–111}}
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==Origins and development==
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[[File:Warka_vase_(background_retouched).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Uruk Vase]] (Warka Vase), depicting votive offerings to Inanna (3200-3000 BCE).{{sfn|Suter|2014|page=51}}]]
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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.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|pages=225–228}} Two major theories regarding her origins have been proposed.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|page=228}} The first explanation holds that Inanna is the result of a [[syncretism]] between several previously unrelated Sumerian deities with totally different domains.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|page=228}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=43}} 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.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|pages=228–229}}
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As early as the [[Uruk period]] ({{circa}} 4000 – {{circa}} 3100 BCE), Inanna was already associated with the city of [[Uruk]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}} During this period, the symbol of a ring-headed doorpost was closely associated with Inanna.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}} 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,{{sfn|Suter|2014|page=551}} and bringing sheep and goats to a [[female figure]] facing the ruler.{{sfn|Suter|2014|pages=550–552}} The female stands in front of Inanna's symbol of the two twisted reeds of the doorpost,{{sfn|Suter|2014|pages=550–552}} while the male figure holds a box and stack of bowls, the later [[Cuneiform script|cuneiform]] sign signifying the [[EN (cuneiform)|''En'']], or high priest of the temple.{{sfn|Suter|2014|pages=552–554}}
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Seal impressions from the [[Jemdet Nasr period]] ({{circa}} 3100 – {{circa}} 2900 BCE) show a fixed sequence of symbols representing various cities, including those of [[Ur]], [[Larsa]], [[Zabalam]], [[Urum (Babylonia)|Urum]], [[Arina]], and probably [[Kesh (Sumer)|Kesh]].{{sfn|Van der Mierop|2007|page=55}} This list probably reflects the report of contributions to Inanna at Uruk from cities supporting her cult.{{sfn|Van der Mierop|2007|page=55}} A large number of similar seals have been discovered from phase I of the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]] ({{circa}} 2900 – {{circa}} 2350 BCE) at [[Ur]], in a slightly different order, combined with the rosette symbol of Inanna.{{sfn|Van der Mierop|2007|page=55}} These seals were used to lock storerooms to preserve materials set aside for her cult.{{sfn|Van der Mierop|2007|page=55}}
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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:
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{{blockquote|[[File:BM_91013_Tablet_dedicated_by_Lugal-tarsi.jpg|left|130px]]"For [[An (god)|An]], king of all the lands, and for Inanna, his mistress, [[Lugal-kisalsi]], king of [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], built the wall of the courtyard." |Inscription of Lugal-kisalsi.{{sfn|Maeda|1981|p=8}}}}
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During the [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian period]] ({{circa}} 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.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=110–111}} The Akkadian poet [[Enheduanna]], the daughter of Sargon, wrote numerous hymns to Inanna, identifying her with Ishtar.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=111}} As a result of this,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}} the popularity of Inanna/Ishtar's cult skyrocketed.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=xviii, xv}} 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, Syria|Mari]]. He considers her, a moon god (e.g., [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|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.<ref>A. Archi, ''The Gods of Ebla'' [in:]  J. Eidem, C.H. van Zoest (eds.), ''[https://www.nino-leiden.nl/publication/annual-report-nino-and-nit-2010 Annual Report NINO and NIT 2010]'', 2011, p. 3</ref>
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==Worship==
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{{multiple image|perrow = 4|total_width = 400|caption_align = center
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| align    = right
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| direction = horizontal
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| header    = Inanna's symbol: the reed ring-post
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| image1    = Emblem of the Goddess Inanna.jpg
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| caption1  = Emblem of goddess Inanna, circa 3000 BCE.<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=9643 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>
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| image2    = Wall plaque showing libation scene from Ur, Iraq, 2500 BCE. British Museum (libation detail).jpg
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| caption2  = Ring posts of Inanna on each side of a temple door, with naked devotee offering libations.<ref name = priestess/>
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| image3    = Inanna ring posts on the Warka vase.jpg
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| caption3  = On the [[Warka Vase]]
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| image4    = Inanna symbol and cuneiform logogram, the reed ring stalk.jpg
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| caption4  = [[Cuneiform]] logogram "Inanna"
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| footer_align = center
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| footer    = 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.<ref name = priestess>{{cite book |last1=Meador |first1=Betty De Shong |title=Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart: Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna |date=2000 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-75242-9 |pages=14–15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B45PvLlj3ogC&pg=PA14 |language=en}}</ref> The design of the emblem was simplified between 3000-2000 BCE to become the [[cuneiform]] logogram for Inanna: {{cuneiform|𒈹}}, generally preceded by the symbol for "deity" {{cuneiform|[[𒀭]]}}.{{sfn|Leick|1998|p=86}}
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}}
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[[File:Couple de musiciens.jpg|thumb|upright|Ancient Sumerian [[statuette]] of two ''[[gala (priests)|gala]]'' priests, dating to {{circa}} 2450 BCE, found in the temple of Inanna at [[Mari, Syria|Mari]]]]
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Gwendolyn Leick assumes that during the Pre-Sargonic era, the cult of Inanna was rather limited,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}} 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]].{{sfnm|1a1=Asher-Greve|1a2=Westenholz|1y=2013|1p=27|2a1=Kramer|2y=1961|2p=101|3a1=Wolkstein|3a2=Kramer|3y=1983|3pp=xiii–xix|4a1=Nemet-Nejat|4y=1998|4p=182}} She had temples in [[Nippur]], [[Lagash]], [[Shuruppak]], [[Zabalam]], and [[Ur]],{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}} but her main cult center was the [[Eanna]] temple in [[Uruk]],{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=108–109}}{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages=261–278}}{{efn|modern-day Warka, Biblical [[Erech]]}} whose name means "House of Heaven" (Sumerian: e<sub>2</sub>-anna; Cuneiform: {{cuneiform|𒂍𒀭}} E<sub>2</sub>.AN).{{efn|''é-an-na'' means "sanctuary" ("house" + "Heaven" ["An"] + genitive){{sfn|Halloran|2009}}}} Some researches assume that the original patron deity of this fourth-millennium BCE city was [[Anu|An]].{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages=261–278}}  After its dedication to Inanna, the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages=261–278}} 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 MUŠ<sub>3</sub> and UNUG, meaning respectively "Inanna" and "sanctuary."{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=42}} It is 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.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=42}} [[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.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=50}}
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In the Old Akkadian period, Inanna merged with the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, associated with the city of Agade.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=62}} A hymn from that period addresses the Akkadian Ishtar as "Inanna of the Ulmaš" alongside Inanna of Uruk and of Zabalam.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=62}} The worship of Ishtar and syncretism between her and Inanna was encouraged by Sargon and his successors,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=62}} and as a result she quickly became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}} In inscriptions of Sargon, [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]] and [[Shar-Kali-Sharri]] Ishtar is the most frequently invoked deity.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=172}}
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In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were, in addition to aforementioned Uruk, Zabalam and Agade, also Ilip.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=79}} Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=21}}
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During later times, while her cult in Uruk continued to flourish,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=99}} Ishtar also became particularly worshipped in the [[Upper Mesopotamia]]n kingdom of [[Assyria]] (modern northern [[Iraq]], northeast [[Syria]] and southeast [[Turkey]]), especially in the cities of [[Nineveh]], [[Assur|Aššur]] and [[Erbil|Arbela]] (modern Erbil).{{sfn|Guirand|1968|page=58}} 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 (god)|Ashur]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=99}} Votive objects found in her primary Assyrian temple indicate that she was a popular deity among women.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=20}}
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Individuals who went against the traditional [[gender binary]] were heavily involved in the cult of Inanna.{{sfn|Leick|2013|pages=157–158}} During Sumerian times, a set of priests known as ''[[gala (priests)|gala]]'' worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.{{sfn|Leick|2013|page=285}} Men who became ''gala'' sometimes adopted female names and their songs were composed in the Sumerian ''[[Sumerian language#Dialects|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.{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|page=65}} During the Akkadian Period, ''kurgarrū'' and ''assinnu'' were servants of Ishtar who [[cross-dressing|dressed in female clothing]] and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|pages=65–66}} Several Akkadian [[proverb]]s seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities.{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|pages=65–66}} Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian ''[[Hijra (South Asia)|hijra]]''.{{sfn|Leick|2013|pages=158–163}} In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|page=66}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=63}}
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Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, it was widely believed that the cult of Inanna involved a "[[hieros gamos|sacred marriage]]" ritual, in which a king would establish his legitimacy by taking on the role of Dumuzid and engaging in ritual sexual intercourse with the high priestess of Inanna, who took on the role of the goddess.{{sfn|Kramer|1970}}{{sfn|Nemet-Nejat|1998|page=196}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=56}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=128–129}} This view, however, has been challenged and scholars continue to debate whether the sacred marriage described in literary texts involved any kind of physical ritual enactment at all and, if so, whether this ritual enactment involved actual intercourse or merely the symbolic representation of intercourse.{{sfn|George|2006|page=6}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=128–129}} The scholar of the ancient Near East Louise M. Pryke states that most scholars now maintain, if the sacred marriage was a ritual that was actually acted out, then it involved only symbolic intercourse.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=129}}
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The cult of Ishtar was long thought to have involved [[sacred prostitution]],{{sfnm|1a1=Day|1y=2004|1pp=15–17|2a1=Marcovich|2y=1996|2p=49|3a1=Guirand|3y=1968|3p=58|4a1=Nemet-Nejat|4y=1998|4p=193}} but this is now rejected among many scholars.{{sfnm|1a1=Assante|1y=2003|1pp=14–47|2a1=Day|2y=2004|2pp=2–21|3a1=Sweet|3y=1994|3pp=85–104|4a1=Pryke|4y=2017|4p=61}} [[Hierodules]] known as ''ishtaritum'' are reported to have worked in Ishtar's temples,{{sfn|Marcovich|1996|page=49}} but it is unclear if such priestesses actually performed any [[sex act]]s{{sfn|Day|2004|pages=2–21}} and several modern scholars have argued that they did not.{{sfn|Sweet|1994|pages=85–104}}{{sfn|Assante|2003|pages=14–47}} Women across the ancient Near East worshipped Ishtar by dedicating to her cakes baked in ashes (known as ''kamān tumri'').{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|pages=116–117}} A dedication of this type is described in an Akkadian hymn.{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|page=115}} Several clay cake molds discovered at Mari are shaped like naked women with large hips clutching their breasts.{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|page=115}} Some scholars have suggested that the cakes made from these molds were intended as representations of Ishtar herself.{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|pages=115–116}}
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==Iconography==
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===Symbols===
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{{multiple image
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  | image1    = Kudurru Melishipak Louvre Sb23 n02.jpg
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  | width1    =
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  | caption1  = The eight-pointed star was Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=156, 169–170}}{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}} Here it is shown alongside the [[solar symbol|solar disk]] of her brother [[Shamash]] (Sumerian Utu) and the [[crescent|crescent moon]] of her father [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] (Sumerian Nanna) on a [[kudurru|boundary stone]] of [[Meli-Shipak II]], dating to the twelfth century BCE.
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  | image2    = Pergamon Museum Berlin 2007112.jpg
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  | alt2      =
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  | width2    = 200
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  | caption2  = Lions were one of Inanna/Ishtar's primary symbols.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=118}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=113–114}} 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]].{{sfn|Kleiner|2005|page=49}}
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}}
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Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol was the eight-pointed star,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=156, 169–170}} though the exact number of points sometimes varies.{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}} Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}} The eight-pointed star seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169–170}} but, by the [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian Period]] ({{circa}} 1830 – {{circa}} 1531 BCE), it had come to be specifically associated with the planet [[Venus]], with which Ishtar was identified.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169–170}} Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}} During later Babylonian times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}}{{sfn|Nemet-Nejat|1998|pages=193–194}} On [[kudurru|boundary stones]] and [[cylinder seals]], the eight-pointed star is sometimes shown alongside the [[crescent|crescent moon]], which was the symbol of [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]] (Sumerian Nanna) and the rayed [[solar symbol|solar disk]], which was a symbol of [[Shamash]] (Sumerian Utu).{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}}
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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.{{sfn|Jacobsen |1976}} The [[rosette (design)|rosette]] was another important symbol of Inanna, which continued to be used as a symbol of Ishtar after their syncretism.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=156}} During the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian Period]] (911 – 609 BCE), the rosette may have actually eclipsed the eight-pointed star and become Ishtar's primary symbol.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=156–157}} The temple of Ishtar in the city of [[Aššur]] was adorned with numerous rosettes.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=156}}
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Inanna/Ishtar was associated with lions,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=118}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=113–114}} which the ancient Mesopotamians regarded as a symbol of power.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=118}} Her associations with lions began during Sumerian times;{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=113–114}} 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.{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=113–114}} During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was frequently depicted as a heavily armed warrior goddess with a lion as one of her attributes.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=119}}
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Doves were also prominent animal symbols associated with Inanna/Ishtar.{{sfn|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}{{sfn|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} Doves are shown on cultic objects associated with Inanna as early as the beginning of the third millennium BCE.{{sfn|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} Lead dove figurines were discovered in the temple of Ishtar at Aššur, dating to the thirteenth century BCE{{sfn|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} and a painted fresco from [[Mari, Syria]] shows a giant dove emerging from a palm tree in the temple of Ishtar,{{sfn|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}} indicating that the goddess herself was sometimes believed to take the form of a dove.{{sfn|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}
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===As the planet Venus===
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Inanna was associated with the planet Venus, which is named after her Roman equivalent [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=108–109}}{{sfn|Nemet-Nejat|1998|page=203}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=108–109}} Several hymns praise Inanna in her role as the goddess or personification of the planet Venus.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} In ''Inanna and Shukaletuda'', Shukaletuda is described as scanning the heavens in search of Inanna, possibly searching the eastern and western horizons.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=163–164}} In the same myth, while searching for her attacker, Inanna herself makes several movements that correspond with the movements of Venus in the sky.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}}
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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;{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} instead, they assumed it to be two separate stars on each horizon: the morning and evening star.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} The discontinuous movements of Venus relate to both mythology as well as Inanna's dual nature.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}}
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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.{{sfn|Caton|2012}}{{sfn|Meyer|n.d.}}
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Inanna in her aspect as Anunītu was associated with the eastern fish of the last of the zodiacal constellations, [[Pisces (constellation)|Pisces]].{{sfn|Foxvog|1993|page=106}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=34–35}} Her consort Dumuzi was associated with the contiguous first constellation, [[Aries (constellation)|Aries]].{{sfn|Foxvog|1993|page=106}}
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<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
 +
File:Ishtar Eshnunna Louvre AO12456.jpg|Babylonian terracotta relief of Ishtar from [[Eshnunna]] (early second millennium BCE)
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File:Deesse au vase (Mari).jpg|Life-sized statue of a goddess, probably Ishtar, holding a vase from [[Mari, Syria]] (eighteenth century BC)
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File:Winged goddess-AO6501-IMG 0638-black.jpg|Terracotta relief of Ishtar with wings from [[Larsa]] (second millennium BCE)
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File:Ishtar - stele of Shamsh-res-usur, governor of Mari and Suhi.jpg|Stele showing Ishtar holding a bow from [[Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum]] (eighth century BCE)
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File:IshtarDamascusMuseum.jpg|[[Hellenistic art|Hellenized]] bas-relief sculpture of Ishtar standing with her servant from [[Palmyra]] (third century CE)
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</gallery>
 +
 +
==Character==
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[[File:Seal of Inanna, 2350-2150 BCE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Ancient [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] [[cylinder seal]] depicting Inanna resting her foot on the back of a lion while [[Ninshubur]] stands in front of her paying obeisance, {{circa}} 2334 – {{circa}} 2154 BCE{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=92, 193}}]]
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The [[Sumer]]ians worshipped Inanna as the goddess of both warfare and love.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}} Unlike other gods, whose roles were static and whose domains were limited, the stories of Inanna describe her as moving from conquest to conquest.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|pages=225–228}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=15–17}} She was portrayed as young and impetuous, constantly striving for more power than she had been allotted.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|pages=225–228}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=15–17}}
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 +
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.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=108–9}}{{sfn|Leick|2013|pages=65–66}} [[Andrew R. George]] goes as far as stating that  "According to all mythology,
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Ištar was not(...) temperamentally disposed" towards such functions.{{sfn|George|2015|p=8}} Julia M. Asher-Greve has even proposed (by Asher-Greve) that Inanna was significant specifically because she was not a mother goddess.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=140 | postscript = " Asher-Greve 2003; cf. Groneberg (1986a: 45) argues that Inana is significant because she is ''not'' a mother goddess [...]"}}  As a love goddess, she was commonly{{quantify|date=August 2022}} invoked by Mesopotamians in incantations.<ref>
 +
{{cite book
 +
|last1                = Asher-Greve
 +
|first1              = Julia M.
 +
|editor-last1        = Asher-Greve
 +
|editor-first1        = Julia M.
 +
|editor-last2        = Westenholz
 +
|editor-first2        = Joan Goodnick
 +
|editor-link2        = Joan Goodnick Westenholz
 +
|chapter              = Images
 +
|series              = Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis: 259
 +
|title                = Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources
 +
|year = 2013
 +
|url                  = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf
 +
|location            = Fribourg
 +
|publisher            = Academic Press
 +
|publication-date    = 2013
 +
|page                = 242
 +
|isbn                = 9783525543825
 +
|access-date          = 26 August 2022
 +
|quote                = According to Graham Cunningham (1997: 171) incantations are connected with 'forms of symbolic identification', and it seems obvious that symbolic identitification with some goddesses relates to their divine function or domain, e.g. [...] sex and love related matters with Inana and Nanaya [...].
 +
}}
 +
</ref>
 +
 +
In ''Inanna's Descent to the Underworld'', Inanna treats her lover Dumuzid in a very capricious manner.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pp=108–9}} 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.<ref name="Gilgamesh' p. 86">[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 86</ref>{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=146}} However, according to assyriologist Dina Katz, the portrayal of Inanna's relationship with Dumuzi in the Descent myth is unusual.{{sfn|Katz|1996|p=93-103}}{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=67-68}}
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Inanna was also worshipped as one of the Sumerian war deities.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=108–109}}{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|pages=226–227}} 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."<ref>[[Enheduanna]] pre 2250 BCE {{cite web |title=A hymn to Inana (Inana C) |id=4.07.3 |year=2003 |work=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.4.07.3# |at=lines 18–28 |ref={{harvid|ETCSL 4.07.3}}}}</ref> Battle itself was occasionally referred to as the "Dance of Inanna".{{sfn|Vanstiphout|1984|page=227}} Epithets related to lions in particular were meant to highlight this aspect of her character.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=203-204}} As a war goddess she was sometimes referred to with the name [[Irnina]] ("victory"),{{sfn|Westenholz|1997|p=78}} though this epithet could be applied to other deities as well,{{sfn|Wiggermann|1997|p=42}}{{sfn|Streck|Wasserman|2013|p=184}}{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=113-114}} in addition to functioning as a distinct goddess linked to [[Ningishzida]]{{sfn|Wiggermann|1999a|p=369, 371}} rather than to Ishtar. Another epithet highlighting this aspect of Ishtar's nature was Anunitu ("the martial one").{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=71}} Like Irnina, Anunitu could also be a separate deity,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=133}} and as such she is first attested in documents from the Ur III period.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=286}}
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Assyrian royal curse-formulas invoked both of Ishtar's primary functions at once, invoking her to remove potency and martial valor alike.{{sfn|Zsolnay|2010|p=397-401}} 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.{{sfn|Zsolnay|2010|p=393}}
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 +
While Inanna/Ishtar was a goddess, her gender could be ambiguous at times.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=17}} [[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 (such as [[Shaushka]], [[Pinikir]] or [[Ninsianna]]).{{sfn|Beckman|1999|p=25}} 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.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=127}} A hymn to [[Nanaya]] alludes to a male aspect of Ishtar from [[Babylon]] alongside a variety of more standard descriptions.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p= 116-117}} However, Illona Zsonlany only describes Ishtar as a "feminine figure who performed a masculine role" in certain contexts, for example as a war deity.{{sfn|Zsolnay|2010|p=401}}
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==Family==
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[[File:Marriage_of_Inanna_and_Dumuzi.png|thumb|left|upright|alt=The marriage of Inanna and Dumuzid|An ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and [[Dumuzid the Shepherd|Dumuzid]]{{sfn|Lung|2014}}]]
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Inanna's twin brother was [[Utu]] (known as Shamash in Akkadian), the god of the sun and justice.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=108, 182}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=x–xi}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=36}} In Sumerian texts, Inanna and Utu are shown as extremely close;{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=36–37}} some modern authors perceive their relationship as bordering on [[incest]]uous.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=36–37}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=183}} In the myth of her descent into the underworld, Inanna addresses [[Ereshkigal]], the queen of the underworld, as her "older sister",{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=77}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=108}} but the two goddesses almost never appear together in Sumerian literature{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=108}} and were not placed in the same category in god lists.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1997|p=47-48}} 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]].{{sfn|Schwemer|2007|p=157}}
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 +
The most common tradition regarded Nanna and his wife Ningal as her parents.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=230}}{{sfn|Wilcke|1980|p=80}} Examples of it are present in sources as diverse as a god list from the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=45}} a hymn of [[Ishme-Dagan]] relaying how Enlil and Ninlil bestowed Inanna's powers upon her,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=75}} a late syncretic hymn to [[Nanaya]],{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=116}} and an Akkadian ritual from [[Hattusa]].{{sfn|Beckman|2002|p=37}} While some authors assert that in Uruk Inanna was usually regarded as the daughter of the sky god [[Anu|An]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=88}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|pp=47, 74}} it is possible that references to him as her father are only referring to his status as an ancestor of Nanna and thus his daughter.{{sfn|Wilcke|1980|p=80}} In literary texts, [[Enlil]] or [[Enki]] may be addressed as her fathers{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=88}}{{sfn|Brandão|2019|p=74}} but references to major gods being "fathers" can also be examples of the use of this word as an epithet indicating seniority.<ref>
 +
{{cite book
 +
|last1                = Asher-Greve
 +
|first1              = Julia M.
 +
|editor-last1        = Asher-Greve
 +
|editor-first1        = Julia M.
 +
|editor-last2        = Westenholz
 +
|editor-first2        = Joan Goodnick
 +
|editor-link2        = Joan Goodnick Westenholz
 +
|chapter              = Facets of Change
 +
|series              = Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis: 259
 +
|title                = Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources
 +
|year = 2013
 +
|url                  = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf
 +
|location            = Fribourg
 +
|publisher            = Academic Press
 +
|publication-date    = 2013
 +
|page                = 140
 +
|isbn                = 9783525543825
 +
|access-date          = 26 August 2022
 +
}}
 +
</ref>
 +
 +
[[Dumuzid]] (later known as Tammuz), the god of shepherds, is usually described as Inanna's husband,{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=x–xi}} but according to some interpretations Inanna's loyalty to him is questionable;{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}} in the myth of her descent into the Underworld, she abandons Dumuzid and permits the ''[[gallu|galla]]'' demons to drag him down into the underworld as her replacement.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=71–84}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=93}} 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.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=89}}{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=93}} Dina Katz notes that the portrayal of their relationship in Inanna's Descent is unusual;{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=67-68}} it does not 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.{{sfn|Katz|1996|p=93-103}} A large corpus of love poetry describing encounters between Inanna and Dumuzi has been assembled by researchers.{{sfn|Peterson|2010|p=253}} However, local manifestations of Inanna/Ishtar were not necessarily associated with Dumuzi.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=80}} In [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], the tutelary deity of the city, [[Zababa]] (a war god), was viewed as the consort of a local hypostasis of Ishtar,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=78}} though after the [[Old Babylonian period]] [[Bau (goddess)|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{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=38}}) and Ishtar of Kish started to instead be worshiped on her own.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=78}}
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Inanna is not usually described as having any offspring,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=108}} but, in the myth of [[Lugalbanda]] and in a single building inscription from the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] ({{circa}} 2112 – {{circa}} 2004 BCE), the warrior god [[Shara (god)|Shara]] is described as her son.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=173}} She was also sometimes considered the mother of [[Lulal]],{{sfn|Hallo|2010|page=233}} who is described in other texts as the son of [[Ninsun]].{{sfn|Hallo|2010|page=233}} [[Wilfred G. Lambert]] described the relation between Inanna and Lulal as "close but unspecified" in the context of Inanna's Descent.{{sfn|Lambert|1987|p=163-164}} 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 is possible all of these instances merely refer to an epithet indicating closeness between the deities and were not a statement about actual parentage.{{sfn|Drewnowska-Rymarz|2008|p=30}}
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=== Sukkal ===
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{{Main article|Ninshubur}}
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Inanna's ''[[sukkal]]'' was the goddess [[Ninshubur]],{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=94}} whose relationship with Inanna is one of mutual devotion.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=94}} In some texts, Ninshubur was listed right after Dumuzi as a member of Inanna's circle, even before some of her relatives;{{sfn|Wiggermann|1988|p=228-229}} in one text the phrase "Ninshubur, beloved vizier" appears.{{sfn|Wiggermann|1988|p=228-229}} In another text Ninshubur is listed even before [[Nanaya]], originally possibly a hypostasis of Inanna herself,{{sfn|Wiggermann|2010|p=417}} in a list of deities from her entourage.{{sfn|Stol|1998|p=146}} In an Akkadian ritual text known from [[Hittites|Hittite]] archives Ishtar's ''sukkal'' is invoked alongside her family members (Sin, Ningal and Shamash).{{sfn|Beckman|2002|p=37-38}}
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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 [[Bizilla|Bizila]], all of them also associated with each other in various configurations independently from this context.{{sfn|Stol|1998|p=146}}{{sfn|Drewnowska-Rymarz|2008|p=23}}
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{{-}}
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== Syncretism and influence on other deities ==
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In addition to the full conflation of Inanna and Ishtar during the reign of Sargon and his successors,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=62}} she was [[Religious syncretism|syncretised]] with a large number of deities{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=109}} to a varying degree. The oldest known syncretic hymn is dedicated to Inanna,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=48}} and has been dated to the [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic period]].{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=100}} Many god lists compiled by ancient scribes contained entire "Inanna group" sections enumerating similar goddesses,{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=345}} 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.{{sfn|Litke|1998|p=148}} Some modern researchers use the term ''Ishtar-type'' to define specific figures of this variety.{{sfn|Beckman|1999|p=26}}{{sfn|Beckman|2002|p=37}} Some texts contained references to "all the Ishtars" of a given area.{{sfn|Beckman|1998|p=4}}
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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 ''Bēltu'', leading to further conflations.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=110-111}} 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 (goddess)|Manzat]]-Ishtar," which might in this context mean "the goddess Manzat."{{sfn|Potts|2010|p=487}}
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=== Specific examples ===
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* '''[[Ashtart]]''': in cities like [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] and [[Ebla]], the Eastern and Western Semitic forms of the name (Ishtar and Ashtart) were regarded as basically interchangeable.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=35}} However, the western goddess evidently lacked the astral character of Mesopotamian Ishtar.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=36}} [[Ugarit]]ic god lists and ritual texts equate the local Ashtart with both Ishtar and Hurrian Ishara.{{sfn|Smith|2014|p=39, 74-75}}
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* '''[[Ishara]]''': due to association with Ishtar,{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=134}} the Syrian goddess Ishara started to be regarded as a "lady of love" like her (and Nanaya) in Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Murat|2009|p=176}}{{sfn|Wiggermann|2010|p=417}} However, in Hurro-Hittite context Ishara was associated with the underworld goddess [[Allani]] instead and additionally functioned as a goddess of oaths.{{sfn|Murat|2009|p=176}}{{sfn|Taracha|2009|p=124, 128}}
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* '''[[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!").{{sfn|Wiggermann|2010|p=417}} Nanaya was associated with erotic love, but she eventually developed a warlike aspect of her own too ("Nanaya Euršaba").{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=282}} 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).{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=92}} Inanna/Ishtar and Nanaya were often accidentally or intentionally conflated in poetry.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=116-117; 120}}
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* '''[[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]].{{sfn|Behrens|Klein|1998|p=343-345}} An example of the usage of "Ninegal" as an epithet can be found in the text designated as [https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section4/tr4074.htm Hymn to Inana as Ninegala (Inana D)] in the [[Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature|ETCSL]].
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* '''[[Ninisina]]''': a special case of syncretism was that between the medicine goddess Ninisina and Inanna, which occurred for political reasons.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=86}} 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.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=86}} As a result, in a number of sources Ninisina was regarded as analogous to similarly named Ninsianna, treated as a manifestation of Inanna.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=86}} It is also possible that a ceremony of "sacred marriage" between Ninisina and the king of Isin had been performed as a result.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=270}}
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* '''[[Ninsianna]]''': a Venus deity of varying gender.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=92-93}} Ninsianna was referred to as male by [[Rim-Sîn I|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.{{sfn|Heimpel|1998|p=487-488}} In some locations Ninsianna was also known as a female deity, in which case her name can be understood as "red queen of heaven."{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=86}}
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* '''[[Pinikir]]''': originally an [[Elam#Religion|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.{{sfn|Beckman|1999|p=27}}  In a Hittite ritual she was identified by the logogram <sup>d</sup>IŠTAR and [[Shamash]], [[Suen]] and [[Ningal]] were referred to as her family; [[Enki]] and Ishtar's [[sukkal]] were invoked in it as well.{{sfn|Beckman|2002|p=37-39}}  in Elam she was a goddess of love and sex{{sfn|Abdi|2017|p=10}} and a heavenly deity ("mistress of heaven").{{sfn|Henkelman|2008|p=266}}  Due to syncretism with Ishtar and Ninsianna Pinikir was referred to as [[Genderfluid|both a female and male deity]] in Hurro-Hittite sources.{{sfn|Beckman|1999|p=25-27}}
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* '''[[Šauška]]''': her name was frequently written with the logogram <sup>d</sup>IŠTAR in Hurrian and Hittite sources, while Mesopotamian texts recognised her under the name "Ishtar of [[Subartu]]."{{sfn|Beckman|1998|p=1-3}} Some elements peculiar to her were associated with the Assyrian hypostasis of Ishtar, Ishtar of Nineveh, in later times.{{sfn|Beckman|1998|p=7-8}} Her handmaidens [[Ninatta and Kulitta]] were incorporated into the circle of deities believed to serve Ishtar in her temple in [[Assur|Ashur]].{{sfn|Frantz-Szabó|1983|p=304}}{{sfn|Wilhelm|1989|p=52}}
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=== Obsolete theories ===
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Some researchers in the past attempted to connect Ishtar to the minor goddess Ashratu,{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=156}} the Babylonian reflection of West Semitic Athirat ([[Asherah]]), associated with [[Amurru (god)|Amurru]],{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=153}} 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{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=156}} - however the same epithet was also applied to [[Marduk]], [[Ninurta]], [[Nergal]], and [[Suen]],{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=156}} and no further evidence can be found in sources such as god lists.{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=156-163}} There is also no evidence that Athtart ([[Ashtart]]), the Ugaritic cognate of Ishtar, was ever confused or conflated with Athirat by the [[Amorites]].{{sfn|Wiggins|2007|p=169}}
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== Sumerian texts ==
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=== Origin myths ===
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The poem of ''Enki and the World Order'' ([[Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature|ETCSL]] [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr113.htm 1.1.3]) begins by describing the god [[Enki]] and his establishment of the cosmic organization of the universe.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|pages=172–174}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=174}} She declares that she has been treated unfairly.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=182}} Enki responds by telling her that she already has a domain and that he does not need to assign her one.{{sfn|Kramer|1963|page=183}}
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[[File:Inanna prefers the farmer. Enkimdu and Damuzi were mentioned. Terracotta tablet from Nippur, Iraq. 1st half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg|thumb|upright|Original Sumerian tablet of the ''Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzid'']]
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The myth of "Inanna and the ''Huluppu'' Tree", found in the preamble to the epic of ''[[Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld]]'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1814.htm 1.8.1.4]),{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=30}} centers around a young Inanna, not yet stable in her power.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=141}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=153–154}} It begins with a ''huluppu'' tree, which Kramer identifies as possibly a [[willow]],{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=33}} growing on the banks of the river [[Euphrates]].{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Inanna moves the tree to her garden in [[Uruk]] with the intention to carve it into a throne once it is fully grown.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} The tree grows and matures, but the serpent "who knows no charm", the ''[[Anzû (mythology)|Anzû]]''-bird, and ''Lilitu'' (Ki-Sikil-Lil-La-Ke in Sumerian),<ref>{{cite web |title=CDLI Tablet P346140 |url=https://cdli.ucla.edu/search/archival_view.php?ObjectID=P346140 |website=cdli.ucla.edu}}</ref> 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=33}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} The hero [[Gilgamesh]], who, in this story, is portrayed as her brother, comes along and slays the serpent, causing the ''Anzû''-bird and Lilitu to flee.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=33–34}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} Gilgamesh's companions chop down the tree and carve its wood into a bed and a throne, which they give to Inanna,{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=140}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}} who fashions a ''pikku'' and a ''mikku'' (probably a drum and drumsticks respectively, although the exact identifications are uncertain),{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=34}} which she gives to Gilgamesh as a reward for his heroism.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=9}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=172}}
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The Sumerian hymn ''Inanna and Utu'' contains an [[Origin myth|etiological myth]] describing how Inanna became the goddess of sex.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} At the beginning of the hymn, Inanna knows nothing of sex,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} so she begs her brother Utu to take her to [[Kur]] (the Sumerian underworld),{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} so that she may taste the fruit of a tree that grows there,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} which will reveal to her all the secrets of sex.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} Utu complies and, in Kur, Inanna tastes the fruit and becomes knowledgeable.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}} The hymn employs the same [[Motif (folkloristics)|motif]] found in the myth of ''Enki and Ninhursag'' and in the later Biblical story of [[Adam and Eve]].{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=91}}
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The poem ''Inanna Prefers the Farmer'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section4/tr40833.htm 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=101}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=30–49}} She is courted by a farmer named [[Enkimdu]] and a shepherd named [[Dumuzid the Shepherd|Dumuzid]].{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=101}} At first, Inanna prefers the farmer,{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=101}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=102–103}} In the end, Inanna marries Dumuzid.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=102–103}} The shepherd and the farmer reconcile their differences, offering each other gifts.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=101–103}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=101}}
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===Conquests and patronage===
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[[File:Ea (Babilonian) - EnKi (Sumerian).jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Akkadian [[cylinder seal]] from {{circa|2300}} BCE or thereabouts depicting the deities Inanna, [[Utu]], [[Enki]], and [[Isimud]]{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=32–33}}]]
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''Inanna and Enki'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.3.1# 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);{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=90}} it tells the story of how Inanna stole the sacred ''[[Me (mythology)|mes]]'' from [[Enki]], the god of water and human culture.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=66}} In ancient Sumerian mythology, the ''mes'' were sacred powers or properties belonging to the gods that allowed human civilization to exist.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=130}} Each ''me'' embodied one specific aspect of human culture.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=130}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=66}}
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In the myth, Inanna travels from her own city of [[Uruk]] to Enki's city of [[Eridu]], where she visits his temple, the [[Abzu|E-Abzu]].{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=65}} Inanna is greeted by Enki's ''sukkal'', [[Isimud]], who offers her food and drink.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=65–66}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=13–14}} Inanna starts up a drinking competition with Enki.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=66}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=14}} Then, once Enki is thoroughly intoxicated, Inanna persuades him to give her the ''mes''.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=66}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=14–20}} Inanna flees from Eridu in the Boat of Heaven, taking the ''mes'' back with her to Uruk.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=66–67}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=20}} Enki wakes up to discover that the mes are gone and asks Isimud what has happened to them.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=66–67}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=20–21}} Isimud replies that Enki has given all of them to Inanna.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=67}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=21}} Enki becomes infuriated and sends multiple sets of fierce monsters after Inanna to take back the ''mes'' before she reaches the city of Uruk.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=67–68}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=20–24}} Inanna's ''sukkal'' [[Ninshubur]] fends off all of the monsters that Enki sends after them.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=68}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=20–24}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=94}} Through Ninshubur's aid, Inanna successfully manages to take the ''mes'' back with her to the city of Uruk.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=68}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=24–25}} After Inanna escapes, Enki reconciles with her and bids her a positive farewell.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=26–27}} It is possible that this legend may represent a historic transfer of power from the city of [[Eridu]] to the city of [[Uruk]].{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}}{{sfn|Green|2003|page=74}} 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 (antiquity)|Queen of Heaven]].{{sfn|Wolkstein| Kramer|1983|page=146-150}}
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The poem ''Inanna Takes Command of Heaven'' is an extremely fragmentary, but important, account of Inanna's conquest of the [[Eanna]] temple in Uruk.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages=261–278}} 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.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages=261–278}} The text becomes increasingly fragmentary at this point in the narrative,{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} 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.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} Ultimately, Inanna reaches her father [[Anu|An]], who is shocked by her arrogance, but nevertheless concedes that she has succeeded and that the temple is now her domain.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} The text ends with a hymn expounding Inanna's greatness.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}} 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.{{sfn|Harris|1991|pages= 261–278}}
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Inanna briefly appears at the beginning and end of the epic poem ''[[Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta]]'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr1823.htm 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.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|pages=57–61}} Inanna, who is the patron goddess of both cities,{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|page=49}} appears to Enmerkar at the beginning of the poem{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|pages=57–63}} and tells him that she favors Uruk over Aratta.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|pages=61–63}} She instructs Enmerkar to send a messenger to the lord of Aratta to ask for the resources Uruk needs.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|page=49}} The majority of the epic revolves around a great contest between the two kings over Inanna's favor.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|pages=63–87}} Inanna reappears at the end of the poem to resolve the conflict by telling Enmerkar to establish trade between his city and Aratta.{{sfn|Vanstiphout|2003|page=50}}
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=== Justice myths ===
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[[File:Tablet describing goddess Inanna's battle with the mountain Ebih, Sumerian - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07117.JPG|thumb|upright|The original Sumerian clay tablet of ''Inanna and Ebih'', which is currently housed in the [[University of Chicago Oriental Institute|Oriental Institute]] at the [[University of Chicago]]]]
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Inanna and her brother Utu were regarded as the dispensers of divine justice,{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=36–37}} a role which Inanna exemplifies in several of her myths.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=162–173}} ''Inanna and [[Ebiḫ|Ebih]]'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr132.htm 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.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=165}} The poem begins with an introductory hymn praising Inanna.{{sfn|Attinger|1988|pages=164–195}} The goddess journeys all over the entire world, until she comes across Mount Ebih and becomes infuriated by its glorious might and natural beauty,{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|page=111}} considering its very existence as an outright affront to her own authority.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=82–83}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=165}} She rails at Mount Ebih, shouting:
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{{blockquote|<poem>
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Mountain, because of your elevation, because of your height,
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Because of your goodness, because of your beauty,
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Because you wore a holy garment,
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Because An organized(?) you,
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Because you did not bring (your) nose close to the ground,
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Because you did not press (your) lips in the dust.{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|pages=111–118}}
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</poem>}}
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Inanna petitions to [[Anu|An]], the Sumerian god of the heavens, to allow her to destroy Mount Ebih.{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|page=111}} An warns Inanna not to attack the mountain,{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|page=111}} but she ignores his warning and proceeds to attack and destroy Mount Ebih regardless.{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|page=111}} In the conclusion of the myth, she explains to Mount Ebih why she attacked it.{{sfn|Karahashi|2004|pages=111–118}} In Sumerian poetry, the phrase "destroyer of Kur" is occasionally used as one of Inanna's epithets.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=82}}
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{{anchor|Inanna and Shukaletuda}}The poem ''Inanna and Shukaletuda'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr133.htm 1.3.3]) begins with a hymn to Inanna, praising her as the planet Venus.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} It then introduces Shukaletuda, a gardener who is terrible at his job. All of his plants die, except for one poplar tree.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} Shukaletuda removes her clothes and rapes Inanna while she sleeps.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} When the goddess wakes up and realizes she has been violated, she becomes furious and determines to bring her attacker to justice.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} In a fit of rage, Inanna unleashes horrible plagues upon the Earth, turning water into blood.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} Shukaletuda, terrified for his life, pleads his father for advice on how to escape Inanna's wrath.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} His father tells him to hide in the city, amongst the hordes of people, where he will hopefully blend in.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} Inanna searches the mountains of the East for her attacker,{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} but is not able to find him.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} She then releases a series of storms and closes all roads to the city, but is still unable to find Shukaletuda,{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} so she asks [[Enki]] to help her find him, threatening to leave her temple in [[Uruk]] if he does not.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} Enki consents and Inanna flies "across the sky like a rainbow".{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=162}} Inanna finally locates Shukaletuda, who vainly attempts to invent excuses for his crime against her. Inanna rejects these excuses and kills him.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=163}} 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.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|pages=161–172}} He has also stated that, while Shukaletuda was praying to the goddess, he may have been looking toward Venus on the horizon.{{sfn|Cooley|2008|page=163}}
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The text of the poem ''Inanna and [[Bilulu]]'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr144.htm 1.4.4]), discovered at Nippur, is badly mutilated{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} and scholars have interpreted it in a number of different ways.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} The beginning of the poem is mostly destroyed,{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} but seems to be a lament.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} The intelligible part of the poem describes Inanna pining after her husband Dumuzid, who is in the steppe watching his flocks.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=165}} Inanna sets out to find him.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} After this, a large portion of the text is missing.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} When the story resumes, Inanna is being told that Dumuzid has been murdered.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} Inanna discovers that the old bandit woman Bilulu and her son Girgire are responsible.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=166}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=165}} She travels along the road to Edenlila and stops at an [[inn]], where she finds the two murderers.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} Inanna stands on top of a stool{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}} and transforms Bilulu into "the waterskin that men carry in the desert",{{sfnm|1a1=Leick|1y=1998|1p=89|2a1=Black|2a2=Green|2y=1992|2p=109|3a1=Pryke|3y=2017|3p=166|4a1=Fontenrose|4y=1980|4p=165}} forcing her to pour the funerary [[libation]]s for Dumuzid.{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=89}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=165}}
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==Descent into the underworld==
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{{multiple image
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| direction = horizontal
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| header =
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| width = <!-- Image 1 -->
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| image1 = Ishtar descent to the Underworld BM ME K.162.jpg
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| width1 = 120
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| alt1 =
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| caption1 = 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
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<!-- Image 2 -->| image2 = Ishtar vase Louvre AO17000-detail.jpg
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| width2 = 120
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| alt2 =
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| caption2 = 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)
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| total_width =
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}}
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Two different versions of the story of Inanna/Ishtar's [[Katabasis|descent into the underworld]] have survived:{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=83–86}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=127–135}} a Sumerian version dating to the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] (circa 2112 BCE – 2004 BCE) (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm 1.4.1]){{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=83–86}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=127–135}} and a clearly derivative Akkadian version from the early second millennium BCE.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=83–86}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=127–135}}{{efn|{{harvnb|Brandão|2019}} disagrees that the Akkadian poem only summarizes or distorts the Sumerian poem, although there is no doubt of the intertextual relations {{sfn|Brandão|2019|pp=19, 65-67}}}} The Sumerian version of the story is nearly three times the length of the later Akkadian version and contains much greater detail.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=154}}
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===Sumerian version===
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In [[Sumerian religion]], the ''[[Kur]]'' was conceived of as a dark, dreary cavern located deep underground;{{sfn|Choksi|2014}} life there was envisioned as "a shadowy version of life on earth".{{sfn|Choksi|2014}} It was ruled by Inanna's sister, the goddess [[Ereshkigal]].{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=77}}{{sfn|Choksi|2014}} Before leaving, Inanna instructs her minister and servant [[Ninshubur]] to plead with the deities [[Enlil]], [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]], [[Anu|An]], and [[Enki]] to rescue her if she does not return after three days.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=86–87}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=17}} The laws of the underworld dictate that, with the exception of appointed messengers, those who enter it may never leave.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=86–87}} 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]].{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=88}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=56}} Each garment is a representation of a powerful ''me'' she possesses.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=157}}
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Inanna pounds on the gates of the underworld, demanding to be let in.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=90}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=54–55}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=17}} The gatekeeper [[Neti (deity)|Neti]] asks her why she has come{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=90}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=55}} and Inanna replies that she wishes to attend the funeral rites of [[Gugalanna]], the "husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal".{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=77}}{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=90}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=55}} Neti reports this to Ereshkigal,{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=91}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=56–57}} 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."{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=57}} Perhaps Inanna's garments, unsuitable for a funeral, along with Inanna's haughty behavior, make Ereshkigal suspicious.{{sfn|Kilmer|1971|pages=299–309}} 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,{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=87}} thus stripping her of her power.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=157–159}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=17}} When she arrives in front of her sister, she is naked:{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=157–159}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=17}}
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{{blockquote|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 [[Anunnaki|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.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Black|first1=Jeremy|last2=Cunningham|first2=Graham|last3=Flückiger-Hawker|first3=Esther|last4=Robson|first4=Eleanor|last5=Taylor|first5=John|last6=Zólyomi|first6=Gábor|title=Inana's descent to the netherworld|url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm|website=Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature|publisher=Oxford University|access-date=22 June 2017}}</ref>}}
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Three days and three nights pass, and Ninshubur, following instructions, goes to the temples of [[Enlil]], [[Nanna (Sumerian deity)|Nanna]], [[Anu|An]], and [[Enki]], and pleads with each of them to rescue Inanna.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=93–94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=61–64}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=17–18}} The first three deities refuse, saying Inanna's fate is her own fault,{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=93–94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=61–62}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} but Enki is deeply troubled and agrees to help.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=62–63}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} He creates two sexless figures named ''gala-tura'' and the ''kur-jara'' from the dirt under the fingernails of two of his fingers.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=64}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} He instructs them to appease Ereshkigal{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=64}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=94}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=64}} When they come before Ereshkigal, she is in agony like a woman giving birth.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=65–66}} She offers them whatever they want, including life-giving rivers of water and fields of grain, if they can relieve her,{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=65}} but they refuse all of her offers and ask only for Inanna's corpse.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=65–66}} The ''gala-tura'' and the ''kur-jara'' sprinkle Inanna's corpse with the food and water of life and revive her.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=94–95}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=67–68}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} ''[[Gallu|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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=95}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=68–69}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} They first come upon Ninshubur and attempt to take her,{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=95}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=68–69}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=95}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=68–69}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} They next come upon Shara, Inanna's beautician, who is still in mourning.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|pages=95–96}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=69–70}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} The demons attempt to take him, but Inanna insists that they may not, because he had also mourned for her.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=96}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=70}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} The third person they come upon is Lulal, who is also in mourning.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=96}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=70–71}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} The demons try to take him, but Inanna stops them once again.{{sfn|Kramer|1961|page=96}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=70–71}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}}
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[[File:Dumuzi aux enfers.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Ancient Sumerian [[cylinder seal]] impression showing [[Dumuzid the Shepherd|Dumuzid]] being tortured in the underworld by the ''[[gallu|galla]]'' demons]]
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Finally, they come upon Dumuzid, Inanna's husband.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=71–73}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} 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.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=71–73}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}}{{sfn|Tinney|2018|page=86}} The ''galla'' then drag Dumuzid down to the underworld.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=71–73}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}} Another text known as ''Dumuzid's Dream'' (ETCSL [http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr143.htm 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.{{sfn|Tinney|2018|pages=85–86}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=74–84}}{{efn|''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 (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Shaduppum]], and [[Susa]].{{sfn|Tinney|2018|page=86}}}}
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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.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=85–87}} The three goddesses mourn continually until a [[fly]] reveals to Inanna the location of her husband.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=87–89}} Together, Inanna and Geshtinanna go to the place where the fly has told them they will find Dumuzid.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=88–89}} 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.{{sfn|Kramer|1966|page=31}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=18}}{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=85–89}}
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===Akkadian version===
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This version had two manuscripts found in the Library of Ashurbanipal and a third was found in Asshur, all dating from the first half of the first millennium before the common era.{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=11}} Of the Ninevite version, the first cuneiform version was published in 1873 by François Lenormant, and the transliterated version was published by Peter Jensen in 1901.{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=11}} Its title in Akkadian is ''Ana Kurnugê, qaqqari la târi''.{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=11}}
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The Akkadian version begins with Ishtar approaching the gates of the [[Irkalla|underworld]] and demanding the gatekeeper to let her in:
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{{blockquote|<poem>If you do not open the gate for me to come in,
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I shall smash the door and shatter the bolt,
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I shall smash the doorpost and overturn the doors,
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I shall raise up the dead and they shall eat the living:
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And the dead shall outnumber the living!{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=155}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=13}}</poem>}}
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The gatekeeper (whose name is not given in the Akkadian version{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=155}}) 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".{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=156}} The gatekeeper lets Ishtar into the underworld, opening one gate at a time.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=156}} At each gate, Ishtar is forced to shed one article of clothing. When she finally passes the seventh gate, she is naked.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=156–157}} In a rage, Ishtar throws herself at Ereshkigal, but Ereshkigal orders her servant [[Namtar]] to imprison Ishtar and unleash sixty diseases against her.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=157-158}}
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After Ishtar descends to the underworld, all sexual activity ceases on earth.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=158–160}}{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|pp=15-16}} The god [[Papsukkal]], the Akkadian counterpart to Ninshubur,{{sfn|Bertman|2003|page=124}} reports the situation to [[Enki|Ea]], the god of wisdom and culture.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=158–160}} 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.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=158–160}}
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===Interpretations in modern assyriology===
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[[File:British Museum Queen of the Night.jpg|thumb|upright|The "[[Burney Relief]]", which is speculated to represent either Ishtar or her older sister [[Ereshkigal]] ({{circa}} 19th or 18th century BCE)]]
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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.
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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.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=65}} 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]]),{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=65}} and possibly served as a representation of Inanna's character as a personification of a periodically vanishing astral body.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=66}} 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.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=66}} She also points out Inanna's return has parallels in some [[Udug-hul]] incantations.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=66}}
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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 is not to blame for his death),{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=68}} 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.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=67-68}}
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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;{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=70}} so was the description of [[Tammuz]]'s funeral.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=70}} 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.{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=70-71}} According to Katz it is notable that known many copies of the later versions of the myth come from [[Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] cities which were known for their veneration of Tammuz, such as [[Assur|Ashur]] and [[Nineveh]].{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=70}}
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===Other interpretations===
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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 [[Persephone#Abduction myth|the Greek myth of the abduction of Persephone]] as well.{{sfn|Dobson|1992}}
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Monica Otterrmann performed a feminist interpretation of the myth, questioning its interpretation as related to the cycle of nature,{{sfn|Brandão|2019|p=71}} claiming that the narratives represent that Inanna's powers were being restricted by the Mesopotamian patriarchy, due to the fact that, according to her, the region was not conducive to fertility.{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=72}} Brandão questions this idea in part, for although Inanna's power is at stake in the Sumerian text, in the Akkadian text the goddess' relationship to fertility and fertilization is at stake. Furthermore, in the Sumerian text Inanna's power is not limited by a man, but by another equally powerful goddess, Ereskigal.{{sfn|Brandão|2019|p=72}}
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==Later myths==
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===''Epic of Gilgamesh''===
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[[File:O.1054 color.jpg|thumb|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{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}]]
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{{main|Epic of Gilgamesh}}
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In the [[Akkadian literature|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.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}}{{efn|Abush proposes the thesis that Ishtar's proposal would be for Gilgamesh to become a worker in the world of the dead.{{Sfn|Brandão|2019|p=59}}}} Gilgamesh refuses her, pointing out that all of her previous lovers have suffered:{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}}
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{{blockquote|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|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.<ref name="Gilgamesh' p. 86">[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 86</ref>}}
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Infuriated by Gilgamesh's refusal,{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Ishtar goes to heaven and tells her father [[Anu]] that Gilgamesh has insulted her.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Anu asks her why she is complaining to him instead of confronting Gilgamesh herself.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Ishtar demands that Anu give her the [[Bull of Heaven]]{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=80}} 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."<ref>[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 87</ref>
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[[File:British Museum Flood Tablet.jpg|thumb|Original Akkadian Tablet XI (the "Deluge Tablet") of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'']]
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Anu gives Ishtar the Bull of Heaven, and Ishtar sends it to attack Gilgamesh and his friend [[Enkidu]].{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=81–82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}} Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to the sun-god Shamash.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|pages=168–169}} While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of [[Uruk]] and curses Gilgamesh.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."<ref name="Gilgamesh-p88">[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 88</ref> (Enkidu later dies for this impiety.){{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}}  Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}} and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}} Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull of Heaven's defeat.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=82-83}}{{sfn|Fontenrose|1980|page=169}}
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Later in the epic, [[Utnapishtim]] tells Gilgamesh the story of the [[Great Flood]],{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=109–116}} which was sent by the god [[Enlil|Elil]] to annihilate all life on earth because the humans, who were vastly overpopulated, made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=109–111}} Utnapishtim tells how, when the flood came, Ishtar wept and mourned over the destruction of humanity, alongside the [[Anunnaki]].{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=113}} Later, after the flood subsides, Utnapishtim makes an offering to the gods.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=114}} 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.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=114–115}} She swears him that she will never allow Enlil to cause another flood{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=114–115}} and declares her lapis lazuli necklace a sign of her oath.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|pages=114–115}} Ishtar invites all the gods except for Enlil to gather around the offering and enjoy.{{sfn|Dalley|1989|page=115}}
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=== ''Song of Agušaya'' ===
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{{main|Agushaya Hymn}}
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The ''Song of Agušaya'',<ref>Foster, Benjamin R. (2005<sup>3</sup>), Before the Muses. An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, Bethesda, pp. 96-106.
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SEAL: [https://seal.huji.ac.il/node/7493?tid=114 VS 10, 214 (Agušaya A)]
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SEAL: [https://seal.huji.ac.il/node/7494?tid=114 RA 15, 159ff. (Agušaya B)]</ref> an Akkadian text presumably from the time of Hammurapi, tells a myth mixed with hymnic passages: the war goddess Ištar is filled with constant wrath and plagues the earth with war and battle. With her roar she finally even threatens the wise god Ea in Apsû. He appears before the assembly of gods and decides (similar to Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgameš) to create an equal opponent for Ištar. From the dirt of his fingernails he forms the powerful goddess Ṣaltum ("fight, quarrel"), whom he instructs to confront Ištar disrespectfully and plague her day and night with her roar. The text section with the confrontation of both goddesses is not preserved, but it is followed by a scene in which Ištar demands from Ea to call Ṣaltum back, which he does. Subsequently, Ea establishes a festival in which henceforth a "whirl dance" (''gūštû'') is to be performed annually in commemoration of the events. The text ends with the statement that Ištar's heart has calmed down.
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===Other tales===
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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.{{sfn|George|2015|p=7-8}}
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In [[Sargon of Akkad#Birth legend|a pseudepigraphical Neo-Assyrian text]] written in the seventh century BCE, but which claims to be the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad,{{sfn|Westenholz|1997|pages=33–49}} 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.{{sfn|Westenholz|1997|pages=33–49}} Ishtar then proclaimed Sargon her lover and allowed him to become the ruler of Sumer and Akkad.{{sfn|Westenholz|1997|pages=33–49}}
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In Hurro-Hittite texts the logogram <sup>d</sup>ISHTAR denotes the goddess [[Šauška]], 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]].{{sfn|Beckman|1998|p=1-3}} She plays a prominent role in the Hurrian myths of the [[Kumarbi]] cycle.{{sfn|Hoffner|1998|p=41}}
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==Later influence==
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===In antiquity===
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[[File:Dama de Galera (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg|thumb|Phoenician figure dating to the seventh century BCE representing a goddess, probably [[Astarte]], called the "[[Lady of Galera]]" ([[National Archaeological Museum of Spain]])]]
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The cult of Inanna/Ishtar may have been introduced to the [[Kingdom of Judah]] during the reign of [[Manasseh of Judah|King Manasseh]]{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=193}} and, although Inanna herself is not directly mentioned in the [[Bible]] by name,{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=193, 195}} the [[Old Testament]] contains numerous allusions to her cult.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=193–195}} {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|7:18|9}} and {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|44:15-19|9}} mention "the Queen of Heaven", who is probably a syncretism of Inanna/Ishtar and the West Semitic goddess [[Astarte]].{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=193}}{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|page=10}}{{sfn|Smith|2002|page=182}}{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|pages=116–117}} Jeremiah states that the Queen of Heaven was worshipped by women who baked cakes for her.{{sfn|Ackerman|2006|pages=115–116}}
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The [[Song of Songs]] bears strong similarities to the Sumerian love poems involving Inanna and Dumuzid,{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=194}} particularly in its usage of natural symbolism to represent the lovers' physicality.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=194}} {{bibleverse|Song of Songs|6:10|9}} {{bibleverse|Ezekiel|8:14|9}} mentions Inanna's husband Dumuzid under his later East Semitic name [[Tammuz (mythology)|Tammuz]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=73}}{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=195}}{{sfn|Warner|2016|page=211}} and describes a group of women mourning Tammuz's death while sitting near the north gate of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=195}}{{sfn|Warner|2016|page=211}} [[Marina Warner]] (a literary critic rather than Assyriologist) claims that [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] in the Middle East assimilated elements of Ishtar into the cult of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].{{sfn|Warner|2016|pages=210–212}} 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 [[Jesus|her son]] at the foot of the cross in deeply personal terms closely resembling Ishtar's laments over the death of Tammuz.{{sfn|Warner|2016|page=212}} 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.{{sfn|Alster|2013|p=433-434}}
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The cult of Inanna/Ishtar also heavily influenced the cult of the [[Phoenicia]]n goddess [[Astarte]].{{sfn|Marcovich|1996|pages=43–59}} The Phoenicians introduced Astarte to the Greek islands of [[Cyprus]] and [[Kythira|Cythera]],{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|page=10}}{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}} where she either gave rise to or heavily influenced the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]].{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|pages=8–12}}{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}}{{sfn|Puhvel|1987|page=27}}{{sfn|Marcovich|1996|pages=43–59}} Aphrodite took on Inanna/Ishtar's associations with sexuality and procreation.{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=162}} Furthermore, she was known as [[Aphrodite Urania|Ourania]] (Οὐρανία), which means "heavenly",{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|pages=10–11}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=162}} a title corresponding to Inanna's role as the Queen of Heaven.{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|pages=10–11}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=162}}
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[[File:Aphrodite und Adonis - Altar 2.jpg|thumb|Altar from the Greek city of [[Taranto|Taras]] in [[Magna Graecia]], dating to {{circa}} 400 – c. 375 BCE, depicting [[Aphrodite]] and [[Adonis]], whose myth is derived from the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Dumuzid{{sfn|West|1997|page=57}}{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=177}}]]
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Early artistic and literary portrayals of Aphrodite are extremely similar to Inanna/Ishtar.{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=162}} Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess;{{sfn|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=163}} the second-century AD Greek geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] records that, in Sparta, Aphrodite was worshipped as ''[[Aphrodite Areia]]'', which means "warlike".{{sfn|Cyrino|2010|pages=51–52}}{{sfn|Budin|2010|pages=85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125}} He also mentions that Aphrodite's most ancient cult statues in [[Sparta]] and on Cythera showed her bearing arms.{{sfnm|1a1=Cyrino|1y=2010|1pp=51–52|2a1=Budin|2y=2010|2pp=85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125|3a1=Graz|3y=1984|3p=250|4a1=Breitenberger|4y=2007|4p=8}} Modern scholars note that Aphrodite's warrior-goddess aspects appear in the oldest strata of her worship{{sfn|Iossif|Lorber|2007|page=77}} and see it as an indication of her Near Eastern origins.{{sfn|Iossif|Lorber|2007|page=77}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=163}} Aphrodite also absorbed Ishtar's association with doves,{{sfn|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=163}} which were sacrificed to her alone.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=163}} The Greek word for "dove" was ''peristerá'',{{sfn|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}{{sfn|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} which may be derived from the Semitic phrase ''peraḥ Ištar'', meaning "bird of Ishtar".{{sfn|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} The myth of Aphrodite and [[Adonis]] is derived from the story of Inanna and Dumuzid.{{sfn|West|1997|page=57}}{{sfn|Burkert|1985|page=177}}
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Classical scholar Charles Penglase has written that [[Athena]], the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, resembles Inanna's role as a "terrifying warrior goddess".{{sfn|Penglase|1994|page=235}} 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.{{sfn|Penglase|1994|pages=233–325}} However, as noted by [[Gary Beckman]], a rather direct parallel to Athena's birth is found in the [[Hurrian religion|Hurrian]] [[Kumarbi]] cycle, where [[Teshub]] is born from the surgically split skull of Kumarbi,{{sfn|Beckman|2011|p=29}} rather than in any Inanna myths.
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In [[Mandaean cosmology]], one of the names for Venus is ''ʿStira'', which is derived from the name Ishtar.<ref name="Bhayro 2020">{{cite book|last=Bhayro|first=Siam|title=Hellenistic Astronomy|chapter=Cosmology in Mandaean Texts|publisher=Brill|date=2020-02-10|chapter-url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004400566/BP000051.xml|access-date=2021-09-03|pages=572–579|doi=10.1163/9789004400566_046|isbn=9789004400566|s2cid=213438712}}</ref>
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Anthropologist [[Kevin Tuite]] argues that the [[Georgian mythology|Georgian goddess]] [[Dali (goddess)|Dali]] was also influenced by Inanna,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|pages=16–18}} noting that both Dali and Inanna were associated with the morning star,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|page=16}} both were characteristically depicted nude,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|pages=16–17}} (but note that Assyriologists assume the "naked goddess" motif in Mesopotamian art in most cases cannot be Ishtar,{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=49}} and the goddess most consistently depicted as naked was [[Shala]], a weather goddess unrelated to Ishtar{{sfn|Wiggermann|1998|p=51}}) both were associated with gold jewelry,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|pages=16–17}} both sexually preyed on mortal men,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|page=17}} both were associated with human and animal fertility,{{sfn|Tuite|2004|pages=17–18}} (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{{sfn|Katz|2015|p=70-71}}) and both had ambiguous natures as sexually attractive, but dangerous, women.{{sfn|Tuite|2004|page=18}}
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Traditional Mesopotamian religion began to gradually decline between the third and fifth centuries AD as [[Assyrian people|ethnic Assyrians]] converted to Christianity. Nonetheless, the cult of Ishtar and Tammuz managed to survive in parts of Upper Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Warner|2016|page=211}} 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."{{sfn|Warner|2016|page=211}}
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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.{{sfn|Healey|2001|p=114-119}} Isaac also mentions an Arabian deity named [[Baltis]], which according to Jan Retsö most likely was another designation for Ishtar.{{sfn|Retsö|2014|p=604-605}} In pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions themselves, it appears that the deity known as [[Allat]] was also a Venusian deity.{{sfn|Al-Jallad|2021|p=569-571}} [[Attar (god)|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."{{sfn|Ayali-Darshan|2014|p=100-101}}
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===Modern relevance===
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[[File:ISHTAR-EPOS p067 ISHTAR'S MIDNIGHT COURTSHIP.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration of ''Ishtar's Midnight Courtship'' from Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's 1884 book-length poem ''Ishtar and Izdubar'', loosely based on [[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]]'s recent translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}}]]
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In his 1853 pamphlet ''[[The Two Babylons]]'', as part of his argument that [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] is actually Babylonian paganism in disguise, [[Alexander Hislop]], a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] minister in the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|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.{{sfn|Hislop|1903|page=103}} Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion.{{sfn|Grabbe|1997|page=28}}{{sfn|Brown|1976|page=268}}{{sfn|D'Costa|2013}} Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Protestants]]{{sfn|Grabbe|1997|page=28}} and the ideas promoted in it have become widely circulated, especially through the [[Internet]], due to a number of popular [[Internet meme]]s.{{sfn|D'Costa|2013}}
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Ishtar had a major appearance in ''Ishtar and Izdubar'',{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=20–21}} 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''.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=20–21}} ''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 [[canto]]s.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Hamilton significantly altered most of the characters and introduced entirely new episodes not found in the original epic.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Significantly influenced by [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]]'s ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]'' and [[Edwin Arnold]]'s ''[[The Light of Asia]]'',{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Hamilton's characters dress more like nineteenth-century Turks than ancient Babylonians.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=22–23}} In the poem, Izdubar (the earlier misreading for the name "Gilgamesh") falls in love with Ishtar,{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=22}} but, then, "with hot and balmy breath, and trembling form aglow", she attempts to seduce him, leading Izdubar to reject her advances.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=22}} Several "columns" of the book are devoted to an account of Ishtar's descent into the Underworld.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=22–23}} At the conclusion of the book, Izdubar, now a god, is reconciled with Ishtar in Heaven.{{sfn|Ziolkowski|2012|page=23}} 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]].{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=196}}
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[[File:Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (14801964123).jpg|thumb|left|upright|A modern illustration depicting Inanna-Ishtar's descent into the [[Kur|Underworld]] taken from [[Lewis Spence]]'s ''Myths and Legends of [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]]'' (1916)]]
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Inanna has become an important figure in modern [[feminist theory]] because she appears in the [[patriarchy|male-dominated]] [[Sumerian pantheon]],{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=196–197}} but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|pages=196–197}} [[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.{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=196}} [[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".{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=196}} 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".{{sfn|Pryke|2017|page=196}} 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.{{sfn|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=25-26}} Ilona Zsolnay regards Frymer-Kensky's methodology as faulty.{{sfn|Zsolnay|2009|p=105}}
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====In Neopaganism and Sumerian reconstructionism====
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Inanna's name is also used to refer to the [[Goddess movement|Goddess]] in modern [[Neopaganism]] and [[Wicca]].{{sfn|Rountree|2017|page=167}} Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant",{{sfn|Weston|Bennett|2013|page=165}} one of the most widely used Wiccan [[liturgy|liturgies]].{{sfn|Weston|Bennett|2013|page=165}} ''Inanna's Descent into the Underworld'' was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess",{{sfn|Buckland|2001|pages=74–75}} one of the most popular texts of [[Gardnerian Wicca]].{{sfn|Buckland|2001|pages=74–75}}
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== In popular culture ==
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* Features as Gilgamesh's archenemy and a huntress in ''[[Smite (video game)|SMITE]]'' (2014) under her Ishtar name.
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* Inanna appears as separate and playable Archer-class, Rider-class, and Avenger-class Servants in ''[[Fate/Grand Order]]'' (2015), under her Ishtar name. Her Avenger-class form is later revealed to be [[Astarte]] (stylized in-game as Ashtart), sharing a similar form as Ishtar.
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==Dates (approximate)==
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{| class="toccolours collapsible nowraplinks" style="background-color:#fff; width:100%;"
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| colspan="3" style="text-align:center; width:100%; background-color:#aaf" |<span style="font-size:110%;">'''Historical sources'''</span>
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|-
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| style="background:#ccf; text-align:right; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa" | '''Time'''
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| style="background:#ccf; text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa" | '''Period'''
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| style="background:#ccf; text-align:left; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa" | '''Source'''
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|5300–4100}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | [[Ubaid period]]
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| style="text-align:left;" | &nbsp;
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|4100–2900}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | [[Uruk period]]
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| style="text-align:left;" | [[Warka Vase|Uruk vase]]{{sfn|Suter|2014|page=551}}
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|2900–2334}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | Early Dynastic period
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| style="text-align:left;" | &nbsp;
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|2334–2218}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | [[Akkadian Empire]]
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| style="text-align:left;" | writings by [[Enheduanna]]:{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=87}}{{sfn|Collins|1994|page=111}}<br />
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''Nin-me-šara'', "The Exaltation of Inanna"<br />
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''In-nin ša-gur-ra'', "A Hymn to Inanna (Inana C)"<br />
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''In-nin me-huš-a'', "Inanna and Ebih"<br />
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''The Temple Hymns''<br />
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''Hymn to Nanna'', "The Exaltation of Inanna"<br />
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|2218–2047}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | [[Gutian Period]]
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| style="text-align:left;" | &nbsp;
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|-
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| style="white-space:nowrap; background:#ddf; text-align:right;" | {{circa|2047–1940}} BCE
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| style="background:#eef; text-align:left;" | [[Ur III|Ur III Period]]
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| style="text-align:left;" | ''[[Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta]]''<br />
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''[[Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld]]''<br />
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''Inanna and Enki''{{sfn|Leick|1998|page=90}}<br />
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''Inanna's Descent into the Underworld''<br />
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|}
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== See also ==
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* [[Anat]]
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* [[Nana (Bactrian goddess)]]
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* [[Rati]]
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* [[Isis]]
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* [[Star of Ishtar]]
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== Notes ==
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{{notelist|30em}}
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== References ==
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{{Reflist|30em}}
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===Bibliography===
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{{refbegin|30em}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Abdi |first=Kamyar |title=Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court |journal=Dabir (Digital Archive of Brief Notes & Iran Review) |url=https://www.academia.edu/31797493 |issue=3 |year=2017 |publisher=Jordan Center for Persian Studies |publication-place=Irvine |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{citation |last=Ackerman |first=Susan |date=2006 |orig-year=1989 |title=Gender and Difference in Ancient Israel |editor-last=Day |editor-first=Peggy Lynne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=38aX_-PqViIC&pg=PA116 |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |publisher=Fortress Press |isbn=978-0-8006-2393-7}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Al-Jallad | first=Ahmad |title=On the origins of the god Ruḍaw and some remarks on the pre-Islamic North Arabian pantheon |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |publisher=Cambridge University Press (CUP) |date=2021 | volume=31 | issue=3 | pages=559–571 |issn=1356-1863  |doi=10.1017/s1356186321000043| s2cid=233679011 }}
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*{{citation |first=Bendt |last=Alster |entry=Tammuz(/Dumuzi) |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#11412 |year=2013 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{cite book |last=Archi |first=Alfonso |title=Diversity and Standardization |chapter=The Anatolian Fate-Goddesses and their Different Traditions |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7003669 |year=2014 |pages=1–26 |publisher=DE GRUYTER |publication-place=München |doi=10.1524/9783050057576.1|isbn=978-3-05-005756-9 }}
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*{{cite book |first1=Julia M. |last1=Asher-Greve |first2=Joan G.  |last2=Westenholz  |url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/135436/1/Asher-Greve_Westenholz_2013_Goddesses_in_Context.pdf |title=Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources  |year=2013  |isbn=978-3-7278-1738-0}}
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*{{citation |last=Assante |first=Julia |date=2003 |article=From Whores to Hierodules: The Historiographic Invention of Mesopotamian Female Sex Professionals |title=Ancient Art and Its Historiography |editor1-last=Donahue |editor1-first=A. A. |editor2-last=Fullerton |editor2-first=Mark D. |location=Cambridge, England |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=13–47}}
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*{{citation |last=Attinger |first=Pascal |article=Inana et Ebih |title=Zeitschrift für Assyriologie |volume=3 |date=1988 |pages=164–195}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Ayali-Darshan |first=Noga |title=The Role of Aštabi in the Song of Ullikummi and the Eastern Mediterranean "Failed God" Stories |url=https://www.academia.edu/44462602 |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies  | publisher=University of Chicago Press |volume=73 |issue=1 |year=2014 |issn=0022-2968 |doi=10.1086/674665 |pages=95–103|s2cid=163770018 }}
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*{{citation |last1=Baring |first1=Anne |last2=Cashford |first2=Jules |date=1991 |title=The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XedISRtcZYC&pg=PT338 |location=London, England |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-019292-6}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Beckman |first=Gary |title=Ištar of Nineveh Reconsidered |journal=Journal of Cuneiform Studies |publisher=American Schools of Oriental Research |volume=50 |year=1998 |issn=0022-0256 |jstor=1360026 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.2307/1360026 |s2cid=163362140 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360026 |access-date=2021-07-28}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Beckman |first=Gary  |title=The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from Ḫattuša (CTH 644) |journal=Ktèma: Civilisations de l'Orient, de la Grèce et de Rome antiques |publisher=PERSEE Program |volume=24 |issue=1 |year=1999 |pages=25–39 |issn=0221-5896 |doi=10.3406/ktema.1999.2206 | hdl=2027.42/77419 |hdl-access=free }}
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*{{cite book |last=Beckman |first=Gary |title=A Wise and Discerning Mind: Essays in Honor of Burke O. Long |chapter=Goddess Worship—Ancient and Modern |publisher=Brown Judaic Studies |year=2000 |pages=11–24 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvzgb93t.9 |isbn=978-1-946527-90-5 |jstor=j.ctvzgb93t.9 |hdl=2027.42/77415 |s2cid=190264355 |chapter-url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvzgb93t.9 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{cite book |last=Beckman |first=Gary | title=Recent Developments in Hittite Archaeology and History |chapter=Babyloniaca Hethitica: The "babilili-Ritual" from Bogazköy (CTH 718) |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/44963754 |publisher=Penn State University Press |date=2002 |doi=10.5325/j.ctv1bxh36t.6}}
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*{{cite book |last=Beckman |first=Gary |title=Hethitische Literatur: Überlieferungsprozesse, Textstrukturen, Ausdrucksformen und Nachwirken : Akten des Symposiums vom 18. bis 20. Februar 2010 in Bonn |chapter=Primordial Obstetrics. "The Song of Emergence" (CTH 344) |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/48247742 |publisher=Ugarit-Verlag |publication-place=Münster |year=2011 |isbn=978-3-86835-063-0 |oclc=768810899}}
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*{{citation |last1=Behrens |first1=H. |first2=J. |last2=Klein |entry=Ninegalla |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie  |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8599 |year=1998 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{citation |last=Bertman |first=Stephen |date=2003 |title=Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-518364-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1C4NKp4zgIQC&q=Papsukkal+%2B+Ninshubur&pg=PA124}}
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*{{citation |last1=Black  |first1=Jeremy  |first2=Anthony  |last2=Green  |title=Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05LXAAAAMAAJ&q=Inana |publisher=The British Museum Press |year=1992  |isbn= 978-0-7141-1705-8}}
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*{{cite journal |last1=Streck |first1=Michael P. |last2=Wasserman |first2=Nathan |title=More Light on Nanāya |url=https://altorient.gko.uni-leipzig.de/StreckPub/Streck_Wasserman_2012_Nanaya.pdf |journal=Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH |volume=102 |issue=2 |date=2013 |issn=1613-1150 |doi=10.1515/za-2012-0010 |pages=183–201|s2cid=163386405 }}
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*{{citation |last=Suter |first=Claudia E. |date=2014 |article=Human, Divine, or Both?: The Uruk Vase and the Problem of Ambiguity in Early Mesopotamian Visual Arts |title=Approaches to Ancient Near Eastern Art |editor1-last=Feldman |editor1-first=Marian |editor2-last=Brown |editor2-first=Brian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F4DoBQAAQBAJ&q=Human%2C+Divine%2C+or+Both%3F%3A+The+Uruk+Vase+and+the+Problem+of+Ambiguity+in+Early+Mesopotamian+Visual+Arts&pg=PA545 |location=Berlin, Germany |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |pages=545–568 |isbn=978-1-61451-035-2}}
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*{{citation |last=Sweet |first=R. |article=A New Look at the 'Sacred Marriage' in Ancient Mesopotamia |editor1-last=Robbins |editor1-first=E. |editor2-last=Sandahl |editor2-first=E. |title=Corolla Torontonensis: Studies in Honour of Ronald Morton Smith |location=Toronto |date=1994 |pages=85–104}}
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*{{cite book |first=Piotr |last=Taracha  |title=Religions of Second Millennium Anatolia  |publisher=Harrassowitz |year=2009 |isbn=978-3447058858}}
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*{{citation |last=Thomas |first=Paul |title=Re-Imagining Inanna: The Gendered Reappropriation of the Ancient Goddess in Modern Goddess Worship |journal=The Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies |volume=6 |date=2007 |pages=53–69 |doi=10.1558/pome.v6i1.53 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250013190}}
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*{{cite web |last=Thompson |first=Gary D. |title=The Development, Heyday, and Demise of Panbabylonism |website=Westnet |url=http://members.westnet.com.au/gary-david-thompson/page9e.html |year=2020 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{citation |last=Tinney |first=Steve |date=April 2018 |title="Dumuzi's Dream" Revisited |journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies |location=Chicago, Illinois |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |editor1-last=Woods |editor1-first=Christopher |editor2-last=Richardson |editor2-first=Seth |editor3-last=Osborne |editor3-first=James |editor4-last=El Shamsy |editor4-first=Ahmed |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=85–89 |doi=10.1086/696146 |s2cid=165931671 |issn=0022-2968}}
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*{{citation |article=The meaning of Dæl. Symbolic and spatial associations of the south Caucasian goddess of game animals. |last=Tuite |first=Kevin |author-link=Kevin Tuite |date=20 February 2004 |url=http://www.mapageweb.umontreal.ca/tuitekj/publications/Tuite-2000-Dali.pdf |title=Linguaculture: Studies in the interpenetration of language and culture. Essays to Honor Paul Friedrich |location=Montreal, Quebec |publisher=University of Montreal}}
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*{{citation |last=Van der Mierop  |first=Marc  |title=A History of the Ancient Near East: 3,000–323 BCE  |publisher=Blackwell  |year=2007  |isbn=978-1-4051-4911-2 }}
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*{{citation |last=Vanstiphout |first=H. L. |year=1984 |title=Inanna/Ishtar as a Figure of Controversy |journal=Struggles of Gods: Papers of the Groningen Work Group for the Study of the History of Religions |volume=31 |publisher=Mouton Publishers |location=Berlin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQnv_Wh3gCwC&pg=PA225 |isbn=978-90-279-3460-4}}
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*{{citation |last=Vanstiphout |first=Herman |date=2003 |title=Epics of Sumerian Kings |publisher=Society of Biblical Literature |location=Atlanta, Georgia |pages=49–96 |url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/materialworlds/files/1308642.pdf |isbn=978-1-58983-083-7}}
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*{{citation |last=Warner |first=Marina |date=2016 |orig-year=1976 |title=Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and Cult of the Virgin Mary |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4DATDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA210 |location=Oxford, England |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-963994-6}}
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*{{citation |last1=West |first1=M. L. |title=The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth |date=1997 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford, England |isbn=978-0-19-815221-7 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fIp0RYIjazQC&q=Adonis}}
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*{{citation |last=Westenholz |first=Joan Goodnick |title=Legends of the Kings of Akkade: The Texts |date=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izhhWQEJkrQC&pg=PA33 |pages=33, 49 |isbn=978-0-931464-85-0}}
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*{{citation |last1=Weston |first1=Donna |last2=Bennett |first2=Andy |title=Pop Pagans: Paganism and Popular Music |publisher=Routledge |location=New York and London |date=2013 |isbn=978-1-84465-647-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcXoBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165}}
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*{{cite journal |last=Wiggermann |first=Frans A. M. |title=An Unrecognized Synonym of Sumerian sukkal, "Vizier" |url=https://www.academia.edu/2378463 |journal=Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und Vorderasiatische Archäologie |publisher=Walter de Gruyter GmbH |volume=78 |issue=2 |year=1988 |issn=0084-5299 |doi=10.1515/zava.1988.78.2.225|s2cid=161099846 }}
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*{{cite book |first=Frans A. M. |last=Wiggermann |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/540407 |chapter=Transtigridian Snake Gods |editor1-first=I. L. |editor1-last=Finkel |editor2-first=M. J. |editor2-last=Geller |title=Sumerian Gods and their Representations |year=1997 |isbn=978-90-56-93005-9 }}
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*{{citation |first=Frans A. M. |last=Wiggermann |entry=Nackte Göttin A. Philologisch · Naked goddess A. Philological |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8151 |year=1998 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{citation |first=Frans A. M. |last=Wiggermann |entry=Nergal A. Philologisch · Nergal A. Philological |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8961 |year=1999 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{citation |first=Frans A. M. |last=Wiggermann |entry=Nin-ĝišzida |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#8687 | year=1999a |access-date=2021-08-06}}
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*{{citation |first=Frans A. M. |last=Wiggermann |entry=Sexualität A. In Mesopotamien · Sexuality A. In Mesopotamia |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#10715 |year=2010 |access-date=2021-08-06}}
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*{{cite book |last=Wiggins |first=Steve |title=A reassessment of Asherah: with further considerations of the goddess |url=https://www.academia.edu/1307031 |publisher=Gorgias Press |publication-place=Piscataway, NJ |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-59333-717-9 |oclc=171049273}}
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*{{citation |first=Claus |last=Wilcke |entry= Inanna/Ištar A. Mesopotamien. Philologisch · Inanna/Ištar A. Mesopotamia. Philological |encyclopedia=Reallexikon der Assyriologie |entry-url=http://publikationen.badw.de/en/rla/index#5767 |year=1980 |access-date=2021-08-10}}
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*{{cite book |last=Wilhelm |first=Gernot |title=The Hurrians |publisher=Aris & Phillips |publication-place=Warminster, England |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-85668-442-5 |oclc=21036268}}
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*{{citation |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |date=2012 |title=Gilgamesh among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=snz_Wle6zvgC&q=Gilgamesh+epic+controversy&pg=PA28 |location=Ithaca, New York and London, England |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-5035-8}}
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*{{cite book |last=Zsolnay |first=Ilona |title=City Administration in the Ancient Near East: Proceedings of the 53e Rencontre assyriologique internationale. Vol. 2 |chapter=Ištar, “Goddess of War, Pacifier of Kings”: An Analysis of Ištar’s Martial Role in the Maledictory Sections of the Assyrian Royal Inscriptions |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/4009945 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |publication-place=Winona Lake |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-57506-168-9 |oclc=759160119}}
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{{refend}}
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==Further reading==
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{{refbegin}}
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*{{cite book |first=Jeremy |last=Black |title=The Literature of Ancient Sumer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pm_K2kjKp54C |year=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-926311-0}}
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*{{cite web |year=2003 |title=The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature |publisher=Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Oxford |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk}}
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*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Fulco |first=William J. |article=Inanna |editor-link=Mircea Eliade |editor-last=Eliade |editor-first=Mircea |title=The Encyclopedia of Religion |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan Group |year=1987 |volume=7 |pages=145–146}}
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*{{cite web |last=Halloran |first=John A. |title=Sumerian Lexicon Version 3.0 |date=2009 |url=http://www.sumerian.org/sumerlex.htm }}
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*{{cite book |last=Maier |first=John R. |title=Gilgamesh and the Great Goddess of Uruk |publisher=Suny Brockport eBooks |date=2018 |url=https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/sunybeb/4/ |isbn=978-0-9976294-3-9}}
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{{refend}}
 +
 +
==External links==
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*[http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/inanaitar/ Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Inana/Ištar (goddess)]
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*[https://www.washington.edu/news/2015/05/05/documents-that-changed-the-world-the-exaltation-of-inanna-2300-bce/ "Documents that Changed the World: The Exaltation of Inanna, 2300 BCE"], [[University of Washington]] News, 5 May 2015
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== 呼称 ==
 
== 呼称 ==

2022年12月8日 (木) 23:45時点における版

両手に鎚矛を持ち、背中に翼の生えた天の女主人・イナンナ。
イナンナがライオンの背に足をかけ、その前にニンシュブルが立って敬意を表している様子を描いた古代アッカド語の円筒印章（紀元前2334年頃～2154年頃）[1]
花瓶に描かれたイナンナ

イナンナ（シュメール語:𒀭𒈹、翻字] DINANNA、音声転写: Inanna）は、シュメール神話における金星、愛や美、戦い、豊穣の女神。別名イシュタル。ウルク文化期（紀元前4000年-紀元前3100年）からウルクの守護神として崇拝されていたことが知られている（エアンナに祀られていた）。シンボルは藁束と八芒星（もしくは十六芒星）。聖樹はアカシア、聖花はギンバイカ、聖獣はライオン。


Inannaテンプレート:Efn is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Sumer under the name "Inanna", and later by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians under the name "Ishtar".テンプレート:Efn She was known as the "Queen of Heaven" and was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, 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 (テンプレート:Circa 4000 BCE – テンプレート:Circa 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,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn She also had a uniquely high number of epithets and alternate names, comparable only to Nergal.テンプレート:Sfn 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 the ancient Mesopotamian underworld, ruled by her older sister Ereshkigal. After she reaches Ereshkigal's throne room, the seven judges of the underworld deem her guilty and strike her dead. Three days later, Ninshubur pleads with all the gods to bring Inanna back. 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.

テンプレート:TOC limit

Etymology

ファイル:Inanna receiving offerings on the Uruk Vase, circa 3200-3000 BCE.jpg
Inanna receiving offerings on the Uruk Vase, circa 3200-3000 BCE

Scholars believe that Inanna and Ishtar were originally separate, unrelated deities,テンプレート:Sfnm but were conflated with one another during the reign of Sargon of Akkad and came to be regarded as effectively the same goddess under two different names.テンプレート:Sfnmテンプレート:Efn Inanna's name may derive from the Sumerian phrase nin-an-ak, meaning "Lady of Heaven",テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn but the cuneiform sign for Inanna (テンプレート:Cuneiform) is not a ligature of the signs lady (Sumerian: nin; Cuneiform: テンプレート:Cuneiform SAL.TUG2) and sky (Sumerian: an; Cuneiform: テンプレート:Cuneiform AN).テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn The view that there was a Proto-Euphratean substrate language in Southern Iraq before Sumerian is not widely accepted by modern Assyriologists.テンプレート:Sfn

The name Ishtar occurs as an element in personal names from both the pre-Sargonic and post-Sargonic eras in Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia.テンプレート:Sfn It is of Semitic derivationテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Among the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the name of the male god eventually supplanted the name of his female counterpart,テンプレート:Sfn but, due to extensive syncretism with Inanna, the deity remained as female, although her name was in the masculine form.テンプレート:Sfn

Origins and development

ファイル:Warka vase (background retouched).jpg
The Uruk Vase (Warka Vase), depicting votive offerings to Inanna (3200-3000 BCE).テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn Two major theories regarding her origins have been proposed.テンプレート:Sfn The first explanation holds that Inanna is the result of a syncretism between several previously unrelated Sumerian deities with totally different domains.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

As early as the Uruk period (テンプレート:Circa 4000 – テンプレート:Circa 3100 BCE), Inanna was already associated with the city of Uruk.テンプレート:Sfn During this period, the symbol of a ring-headed doorpost was closely associated with Inanna.テンプレート:Sfn 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,テンプレート:Sfn and bringing sheep and goats to a female figure facing the ruler.テンプレート:Sfn The female stands in front of Inanna's symbol of the two twisted reeds of the doorpost,テンプレート:Sfn while the male figure holds a box and stack of bowls, the later cuneiform sign signifying the En, or high priest of the temple.テンプレート:Sfn

Seal impressions from the Jemdet Nasr period (テンプレート:Circa 3100 – テンプレート:Circa 2900 BCE) show a fixed sequence of symbols representing various cities, including those of Ur, Larsa, Zabalam, Urum, Arina, and probably Kesh.テンプレート:Sfn This list probably reflects the report of contributions to Inanna at Uruk from cities supporting her cult.テンプレート:Sfn A large number of similar seals have been discovered from phase I of the Early Dynastic period (テンプレート:Circa 2900 – テンプレート:Circa 2350 BCE) at Ur, in a slightly different order, combined with the rosette symbol of Inanna.テンプレート:Sfn These seals were used to lock storerooms to preserve materials set aside for her cult.テンプレート:Sfn

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: テンプレート:Blockquote

During the Akkadian period (テンプレート:Circa 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The Akkadian poet Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon, wrote numerous hymns to Inanna, identifying her with Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn As a result of this,テンプレート:Sfn the popularity of Inanna/Ishtar's cult skyrocketed.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.[2]

Worship

テンプレート:Multiple image

ファイル:Couple de musiciens.jpg
Ancient Sumerian statuette of two gala priests, dating to テンプレート:Circa 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,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnm She had temples in Nippur, Lagash, Shuruppak, Zabalam, and Ur,テンプレート:Sfn but her main cult center was the Eanna temple in Uruk,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Efn whose name means "House of Heaven" (Sumerian: e2-anna; Cuneiform: テンプレート:Cuneiform E2.AN).テンプレート:Efn Some researches assume that the original patron deity of this fourth-millennium BCE city was An.テンプレート:Sfn After its dedication to Inanna, the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess.テンプレート:Sfn 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 MUŠ3 and UNUG, meaning respectively "Inanna" and "sanctuary."テンプレート:Sfn It is 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

In the Old Akkadian period, Inanna merged with the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, associated with the city of Agade.テンプレート:Sfn A hymn from that period addresses the Akkadian Ishtar as "Inanna of the Ulmaš" alongside Inanna of Uruk and of Zabalam.テンプレート:Sfn The worship of Ishtar and syncretism between her and Inanna was encouraged by Sargon and his successors,テンプレート:Sfn and as a result she quickly became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon.テンプレート:Sfn In inscriptions of Sargon, Naram-Sin and Shar-Kali-Sharri Ishtar is the most frequently invoked deity.テンプレート:Sfn

In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were, in addition to aforementioned Uruk, Zabalam and Agade, also Ilip.テンプレート:Sfn Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish.テンプレート:Sfn

During later times, while her cult in Uruk continued to flourish,テンプレート:Sfn 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, Aššur and Arbela (modern Erbil).テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Votive objects found in her primary Assyrian temple indicate that she was a popular deity among women.テンプレート:Sfn

Individuals who went against the traditional gender binary were heavily involved in the cult of Inanna.テンプレート:Sfn During Sumerian times, a set of priests known as gala worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn During the Akkadian Period, kurgarrū and assinnu were servants of Ishtar who dressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples.テンプレート:Sfn Several Akkadian proverbs seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities.テンプレート:Sfn Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian hijra.テンプレート:Sfn In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, it was widely believed that the cult of Inanna involved a "sacred marriage" ritual, in which a king would establish his legitimacy by taking on the role of Dumuzid and engaging in ritual sexual intercourse with the high priestess of Inanna, who took on the role of the goddess.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn This view, however, has been challenged and scholars continue to debate whether the sacred marriage described in literary texts involved any kind of physical ritual enactment at all and, if so, whether this ritual enactment involved actual intercourse or merely the symbolic representation of intercourse.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The scholar of the ancient Near East Louise M. Pryke states that most scholars now maintain, if the sacred marriage was a ritual that was actually acted out, then it involved only symbolic intercourse.テンプレート:Sfn

The cult of Ishtar was long thought to have involved sacred prostitution,テンプレート:Sfnm but this is now rejected among many scholars.テンプレート:Sfnm Hierodules known as ishtaritum are reported to have worked in Ishtar's temples,テンプレート:Sfn but it is unclear if such priestesses actually performed any sex actsテンプレート:Sfn and several modern scholars have argued that they did not.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Women across the ancient Near East worshipped Ishtar by dedicating to her cakes baked in ashes (known as kamān tumri).テンプレート:Sfn A dedication of this type is described in an Akkadian hymn.テンプレート:Sfn Several clay cake molds discovered at Mari are shaped like naked women with large hips clutching their breasts.テンプレート:Sfn Some scholars have suggested that the cakes made from these molds were intended as representations of Ishtar herself.テンプレート:Sfn

Iconography

Symbols

テンプレート:Multiple image

Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol was the eight-pointed star,テンプレート:Sfn though the exact number of points sometimes varies.テンプレート:Sfn Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown.テンプレート:Sfn The eight-pointed star seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens,テンプレート:Sfn but, by the Old Babylonian Period (テンプレート:Circa 1830 – テンプレート:Circa 1531 BCE), it had come to be specifically associated with the planet Venus, with which Ishtar was identified.テンプレート:Sfn Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc.テンプレート:Sfn During later Babylonian times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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).テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn The rosette was another important symbol of Inanna, which continued to be used as a symbol of Ishtar after their syncretism.テンプレート:Sfn During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911 – 609 BCE), the rosette may have actually eclipsed the eight-pointed star and become Ishtar's primary symbol.テンプレート:Sfn The temple of Ishtar in the city of Aššur was adorned with numerous rosettes.テンプレート:Sfn

Inanna/Ishtar was associated with lions,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn which the ancient Mesopotamians regarded as a symbol of power.テンプレート:Sfn Her associations with lions began during Sumerian times;テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was frequently depicted as a heavily armed warrior goddess with a lion as one of her attributes.テンプレート:Sfn

Doves were also prominent animal symbols associated with Inanna/Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Doves are shown on cultic objects associated with Inanna as early as the beginning of the third millennium BCE.テンプレート:Sfn Lead dove figurines were discovered in the temple of Ishtar at Aššur, dating to the thirteenth century BCEテンプレート:Sfn and a painted fresco from Mari, Syria shows a giant dove emerging from a palm tree in the temple of Ishtar,テンプレート:Sfn indicating that the goddess herself was sometimes believed to take the form of a dove.テンプレート:Sfn

As the planet Venus

Inanna was associated with the planet Venus, which is named after her Roman equivalent Venus.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Several hymns praise Inanna in her role as the goddess or personification of the planet Venus.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn In Inanna and Shukaletuda, Shukaletuda is described as scanning the heavens in search of Inanna, possibly searching the eastern and western horizons.テンプレート:Sfn In the same myth, while searching for her attacker, Inanna herself makes several movements that correspond with the movements of Venus in the sky.テンプレート:Sfn

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;テンプレート:Sfn instead, they assumed it to be two separate stars on each horizon: the morning and evening star.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn The discontinuous movements of Venus relate to both mythology as well as Inanna's dual nature.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Inanna in her aspect as Anunītu was associated with the eastern fish of the last of the zodiacal constellations, Pisces.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Her consort Dumuzi was associated with the contiguous first constellation, Aries.テンプレート:Sfn

  • Ishtar Eshnunna Louvre AO12456.jpg

    Babylonian terracotta relief of Ishtar from Eshnunna (early second millennium BCE)

  • Deesse au vase (Mari).jpg

    Life-sized statue of a goddess, probably Ishtar, holding a vase from Mari, Syria (eighteenth century BC)

  • Winged goddess-AO6501-IMG 0638-black.jpg

    Terracotta relief of Ishtar with wings from Larsa (second millennium BCE)

  • Ishtar - stele of Shamsh-res-usur, governor of Mari and Suhi.jpg

    Stele showing Ishtar holding a bow from Ennigaldi-Nanna's museum (eighth century BCE)

  • IshtarDamascusMuseum.jpg

    Hellenized bas-relief sculpture of Ishtar standing with her servant from Palmyra (third century CE)

Character

ファイル:Seal of Inanna, 2350-2150 BCE.jpg
Ancient Akkadian cylinder seal depicting Inanna resting her foot on the back of a lion while Ninshubur stands in front of her paying obeisance, テンプレート:Circa 2334 – テンプレート:Circa 2154 BCEテンプレート:Sfn

The Sumerians worshipped Inanna as the goddess of both warfare and love.テンプレート:Sfn Unlike other gods, whose roles were static and whose domains were limited, the stories of Inanna describe her as moving from conquest to conquest.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn She was portrayed as young and impetuous, constantly striving for more power than she had been allotted.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Andrew R. George goes as far as stating that "According to all mythology, Ištar was not(...) temperamentally disposed" towards such functions.テンプレート:Sfn Julia M. Asher-Greve has even proposed (by Asher-Greve) that Inanna was significant specifically because she was not a mother goddess.テンプレート:Sfn As a love goddess, she was commonlyテンプレート:Quantify invoked by Mesopotamians in incantations.[3]

In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, Inanna treats her lover Dumuzid in a very capricious manner.テンプレート:Sfn 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.[4]テンプレート:Sfn However, according to assyriologist Dina Katz, the portrayal of Inanna's relationship with Dumuzi in the Descent myth is unusual.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Inanna was also worshipped as one of the Sumerian war deities.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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."[5] Battle itself was occasionally referred to as the "Dance of Inanna".テンプレート:Sfn Epithets related to lions in particular were meant to highlight this aspect of her character.テンプレート:Sfn As a war goddess she was sometimes referred to with the name Irnina ("victory"),テンプレート:Sfn though this epithet could be applied to other deities as well,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn in addition to functioning as a distinct goddess linked to Ningishzidaテンプレート:Sfn rather than to Ishtar. Another epithet highlighting this aspect of Ishtar's nature was Anunitu ("the martial one").テンプレート:Sfn Like Irnina, Anunitu could also be a separate deity,テンプレート:Sfn and as such she is first attested in documents from the Ur III period.テンプレート:Sfn

Assyrian royal curse-formulas invoked both of Ishtar's primary functions at once, invoking her to remove potency and martial valor alike.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

While Inanna/Ishtar was a goddess, her gender could be ambiguous at times.テンプレート:Sfn 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 (such as Shaushka, Pinikir or Ninsianna).テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn A hymn to Nanaya alludes to a male aspect of Ishtar from Babylon alongside a variety of more standard descriptions.テンプレート:Sfn However, Illona Zsonlany only describes Ishtar as a "feminine figure who performed a masculine role" in certain contexts, for example as a war deity.テンプレート:Sfn

Family

ファイル:Marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi.png
An ancient Sumerian depiction of the marriage of Inanna and Dumuzidテンプレート:Sfn

Inanna's twin brother was Utu (known as Shamash in Akkadian), the god of the sun and justice.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn In Sumerian texts, Inanna and Utu are shown as extremely close;テンプレート:Sfn some modern authors perceive their relationship as bordering on incestuous.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn In the myth of her descent into the underworld, Inanna addresses Ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld, as her "older sister",テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn but the two goddesses almost never appear together in Sumerian literatureテンプレート:Sfn and were not placed in the same category in god lists.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

The most common tradition regarded Nanna and his wife Ningal as her parents.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Examples of it are present in sources as diverse as a god list from the Early Dynastic period,テンプレート:Sfn a hymn of Ishme-Dagan relaying how Enlil and Ninlil bestowed Inanna's powers upon her,テンプレート:Sfn a late syncretic hymn to Nanaya,テンプレート:Sfn and an Akkadian ritual from Hattusa.テンプレート:Sfn While some authors assert that in Uruk Inanna was usually regarded as the daughter of the sky god An,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn it is possible that references to him as her father are only referring to his status as an ancestor of Nanna and thus his daughter.テンプレート:Sfn In literary texts, Enlil or Enki may be addressed as her fathersテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn but references to major gods being "fathers" can also be examples of the use of this word as an epithet indicating seniority.[6]

Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), the god of shepherds, is usually described as Inanna's husband,テンプレート:Sfn but according to some interpretations Inanna's loyalty to him is questionable;テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Dina Katz notes that the portrayal of their relationship in Inanna's Descent is unusual;テンプレート:Sfn it does not 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.テンプレート:Sfn A large corpus of love poetry describing encounters between Inanna and Dumuzi has been assembled by researchers.テンプレート:Sfn However, local manifestations of Inanna/Ishtar were not necessarily associated with Dumuzi.テンプレート:Sfn In Kish, the tutelary deity of the city, Zababa (a war god), was viewed as the consort of a local hypostasis of Ishtar,テンプレート:Sfn 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テンプレート:Sfn) and Ishtar of Kish started to instead be worshiped on her own.テンプレート:Sfn

Inanna is not usually described as having any offspring,テンプレート:Sfn but, in the myth of Lugalbanda and in a single building inscription from the Third Dynasty of Ur (テンプレート:Circa 2112 – テンプレート:Circa 2004 BCE), the warrior god Shara is described as her son.テンプレート:Sfn She was also sometimes considered the mother of Lulal,テンプレート:Sfn who is described in other texts as the son of Ninsun.テンプレート:Sfn Wilfred G. Lambert described the relation between Inanna and Lulal as "close but unspecified" in the context of Inanna's Descent.テンプレート:Sfn 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 is possible all of these instances merely refer to an epithet indicating closeness between the deities and were not a statement about actual parentage.テンプレート:Sfn

Sukkal

テンプレート:Main article Inanna's sukkal was the goddess Ninshubur,テンプレート:Sfn whose relationship with Inanna is one of mutual devotion.テンプレート:Sfn In some texts, Ninshubur was listed right after Dumuzi as a member of Inanna's circle, even before some of her relatives;テンプレート:Sfn in one text the phrase "Ninshubur, beloved vizier" appears.テンプレート:Sfn In another text Ninshubur is listed even before Nanaya, originally possibly a hypostasis of Inanna herself,テンプレート:Sfn in a list of deities from her entourage.テンプレート:Sfn In an Akkadian ritual text known from Hittite archives Ishtar's sukkal is invoked alongside her family members (Sin, Ningal and Shamash).テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn テンプレート:-

Syncretism and influence on other deities

In addition to the full conflation of Inanna and Ishtar during the reign of Sargon and his successors,テンプレート:Sfn she was syncretised with a large number of deitiesテンプレート:Sfn to a varying degree. The oldest known syncretic hymn is dedicated to Inanna,テンプレート:Sfn and has been dated to the Early Dynastic period.テンプレート:Sfn Many god lists compiled by ancient scribes contained entire "Inanna group" sections enumerating similar goddesses,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Some modern researchers use the term Ishtar-type to define specific figures of this variety.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Some texts contained references to "all the Ishtars" of a given area.テンプレート:Sfn

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 Bēltu, leading to further conflations.テンプレート:Sfn 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."テンプレート:Sfn

Specific examples

Obsolete theories

Some researchers in the past attempted to connect Ishtar to the minor goddess Ashratu,テンプレート:Sfn the Babylonian reflection of West Semitic Athirat (Asherah), associated with Amurru,テンプレート:Sfn 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テンプレート:Sfn - however the same epithet was also applied to Marduk, Ninurta, Nergal, and Suen,テンプレート:Sfn and no further evidence can be found in sources such as god lists.テンプレート:Sfn There is also no evidence that Athtart (Ashtart), the Ugaritic cognate of Ishtar, was ever confused or conflated with Athirat by the Amorites.テンプレート:Sfn

Sumerian texts

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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn She declares that she has been treated unfairly.テンプレート:Sfn Enki responds by telling her that she already has a domain and that he does not need to assign her one.テンプレート:Sfn

ファイル:Inanna prefers the farmer. Enkimdu and Damuzi were mentioned. Terracotta tablet from Nippur, Iraq. 1st half of the 2nd millennium BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul.jpg
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),テンプレート:Sfn centers around a young Inanna, not yet stable in her power.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn It begins with a huluppu tree, which Kramer identifies as possibly a willow,テンプレート:Sfn growing on the banks of the river Euphrates.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Inanna moves the tree to her garden in Uruk with the intention to carve it into a throne once it is fully grown.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The tree grows and matures, but the serpent "who knows no charm", the Anzû-bird, and Lilitu (Ki-Sikil-Lil-La-Ke in Sumerian),[7] 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The hero Gilgamesh, who, in this story, is portrayed as her brother, comes along and slays the serpent, causing the Anzû-bird and Lilitu to flee.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Gilgamesh's companions chop down the tree and carve its wood into a bed and a throne, which they give to Inanna,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn who fashions a pikku and a mikku (probably a drum and drumsticks respectively, although the exact identifications are uncertain),テンプレート:Sfn which she gives to Gilgamesh as a reward for his heroism.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

The Sumerian hymn Inanna and Utu contains an etiological myth describing how Inanna became the goddess of sex.テンプレート:Sfn At the beginning of the hymn, Inanna knows nothing of sex,テンプレート:Sfn so she begs her brother Utu to take her to Kur (the Sumerian underworld),テンプレート:Sfn so that she may taste the fruit of a tree that grows there,テンプレート:Sfn which will reveal to her all the secrets of sex.テンプレート:Sfn Utu complies and, in Kur, Inanna tastes the fruit and becomes knowledgeable.テンプレート:Sfn The hymn employs the same motif found in the myth of Enki and Ninhursag and in the later Biblical story of Adam and Eve.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn She is courted by a farmer named Enkimdu and a shepherd named Dumuzid.テンプレート:Sfn At first, Inanna prefers the farmer,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn In the end, Inanna marries Dumuzid.テンプレート:Sfn The shepherd and the farmer reconcile their differences, offering each other gifts.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

Conquests and patronage

ファイル:Ea (Babilonian) - EnKi (Sumerian).jpg
Akkadian cylinder seal from テンプレート:Circa BCE or thereabouts depicting the deities Inanna, Utu, Enki, and Isimudテンプレート:Sfn

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);テンプレート:Sfn it tells the story of how Inanna stole the sacred mes from Enki, the god of water and human culture.テンプレート:Sfn In ancient Sumerian mythology, the mes were sacred powers or properties belonging to the gods that allowed human civilization to exist.テンプレート:Sfn Each me embodied one specific aspect of human culture.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna is greeted by Enki's sukkal, Isimud, who offers her food and drink.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Inanna starts up a drinking competition with Enki.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Then, once Enki is thoroughly intoxicated, Inanna persuades him to give her the mes.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Inanna flees from Eridu in the Boat of Heaven, taking the mes back with her to Uruk.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Enki wakes up to discover that the mes are gone and asks Isimud what has happened to them.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Isimud replies that Enki has given all of them to Inanna.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Enki becomes infuriated and sends multiple sets of fierce monsters after Inanna to take back the mes before she reaches the city of Uruk.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Inanna's sukkal Ninshubur fends off all of the monsters that Enki sends after them.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Through Ninshubur's aid, Inanna successfully manages to take the mes back with her to the city of Uruk.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn After Inanna escapes, Enki reconciles with her and bids her a positive farewell.テンプレート:Sfn It is possible that this legend may represent a historic transfer of power from the city of Eridu to the city of Uruk.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

The poem Inanna Takes Command of Heaven is an extremely fragmentary, but important, account of Inanna's conquest of the Eanna temple in Uruk.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn The text becomes increasingly fragmentary at this point in the narrative,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn The text ends with a hymn expounding Inanna's greatness.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna, who is the patron goddess of both cities,テンプレート:Sfn appears to Enmerkar at the beginning of the poemテンプレート:Sfn and tells him that she favors Uruk over Aratta.テンプレート:Sfn She instructs Enmerkar to send a messenger to the lord of Aratta to ask for the resources Uruk needs.テンプレート:Sfn The majority of the epic revolves around a great contest between the two kings over Inanna's favor.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna reappears at the end of the poem to resolve the conflict by telling Enmerkar to establish trade between his city and Aratta.テンプレート:Sfn

Justice myths

ファイル:Tablet describing goddess Inanna's battle with the mountain Ebih, Sumerian - Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago - DSC07117.JPG
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,テンプレート:Sfn a role which Inanna exemplifies in several of her myths.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn The poem begins with an introductory hymn praising Inanna.テンプレート:Sfn The goddess journeys all over the entire world, until she comes across Mount Ebih and becomes infuriated by its glorious might and natural beauty,テンプレート:Sfn considering its very existence as an outright affront to her own authority.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn She rails at Mount Ebih, shouting:

テンプレート:Blockquote

Inanna petitions to An, the Sumerian god of the heavens, to allow her to destroy Mount Ebih.テンプレート:Sfn An warns Inanna not to attack the mountain,テンプレート:Sfn but she ignores his warning and proceeds to attack and destroy Mount Ebih regardless.テンプレート:Sfn In the conclusion of the myth, she explains to Mount Ebih why she attacked it.テンプレート:Sfn In Sumerian poetry, the phrase "destroyer of Kur" is occasionally used as one of Inanna's epithets.テンプレート:Sfn

テンプレート:AnchorThe poem Inanna and Shukaletuda (ETCSL 1.3.3) begins with a hymn to Inanna, praising her as the planet Venus.テンプレート:Sfn It then introduces Shukaletuda, a gardener who is terrible at his job. All of his plants die, except for one poplar tree.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Shukaletuda removes her clothes and rapes Inanna while she sleeps.テンプレート:Sfn When the goddess wakes up and realizes she has been violated, she becomes furious and determines to bring her attacker to justice.テンプレート:Sfn In a fit of rage, Inanna unleashes horrible plagues upon the Earth, turning water into blood.テンプレート:Sfn Shukaletuda, terrified for his life, pleads his father for advice on how to escape Inanna's wrath.テンプレート:Sfn His father tells him to hide in the city, amongst the hordes of people, where he will hopefully blend in.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna searches the mountains of the East for her attacker,テンプレート:Sfn but is not able to find him.テンプレート:Sfn She then releases a series of storms and closes all roads to the city, but is still unable to find Shukaletuda,テンプレート:Sfn so she asks Enki to help her find him, threatening to leave her temple in Uruk if he does not.テンプレート:Sfn Enki consents and Inanna flies "across the sky like a rainbow".テンプレート:Sfn Inanna finally locates Shukaletuda, who vainly attempts to invent excuses for his crime against her. Inanna rejects these excuses and kills him.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn He has also stated that, while Shukaletuda was praying to the goddess, he may have been looking toward Venus on the horizon.テンプレート:Sfn

The text of the poem Inanna and Bilulu (ETCSL 1.4.4), discovered at Nippur, is badly mutilatedテンプレート:Sfn and scholars have interpreted it in a number of different ways.テンプレート:Sfn The beginning of the poem is mostly destroyed,テンプレート:Sfn but seems to be a lament.テンプレート:Sfn The intelligible part of the poem describes Inanna pining after her husband Dumuzid, who is in the steppe watching his flocks.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Inanna sets out to find him.テンプレート:Sfn After this, a large portion of the text is missing.テンプレート:Sfn When the story resumes, Inanna is being told that Dumuzid has been murdered.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna discovers that the old bandit woman Bilulu and her son Girgire are responsible.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn She travels along the road to Edenlila and stops at an inn, where she finds the two murderers.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna stands on top of a stoolテンプレート:Sfn and transforms Bilulu into "the waterskin that men carry in the desert",テンプレート:Sfnm forcing her to pour the funerary libations for Dumuzid.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Descent into the underworld

テンプレート:Multiple image

Two different versions of the story of Inanna/Ishtar's descent into the underworld have survived:テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn a Sumerian version dating to the Third Dynasty of Ur (circa 2112 BCE – 2004 BCE) (ETCSL 1.4.1)テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn and a clearly derivative Akkadian version from the early second millennium BCE.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Efn The Sumerian version of the story is nearly three times the length of the later Akkadian version and contains much greater detail.テンプレート:Sfn

Sumerian version

In Sumerian religion, the Kur was conceived of as a dark, dreary cavern located deep underground;テンプレート:Sfn life there was envisioned as "a shadowy version of life on earth".テンプレート:Sfn It was ruled by Inanna's sister, the goddess Ereshkigal.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The laws of the underworld dictate that, with the exception of appointed messengers, those who enter it may never leave.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Each garment is a representation of a powerful me she possesses.テンプレート:Sfn

Inanna pounds on the gates of the underworld, demanding to be let in.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The gatekeeper Neti asks her why she has comeテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn and Inanna replies that she wishes to attend the funeral rites of Gugalanna, the "husband of my elder sister Ereshkigal".テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Neti reports this to Ereshkigal,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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."テンプレート:Sfn Perhaps Inanna's garments, unsuitable for a funeral, along with Inanna's haughty behavior, make Ereshkigal suspicious.テンプレート:Sfn 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,テンプレート:Sfn thus stripping her of her power.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn When she arrives in front of her sister, she is naked:テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

テンプレート:Blockquote

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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The first three deities refuse, saying Inanna's fate is her own fault,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn but Enki is deeply troubled and agrees to help.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn He creates two sexless figures named gala-tura and the kur-jara from the dirt under the fingernails of two of his fingers.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn He instructs them to appease Ereshkigalテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn When they come before Ereshkigal, she is in agony like a woman giving birth.テンプレート:Sfn She offers them whatever they want, including life-giving rivers of water and fields of grain, if they can relieve her,テンプレート:Sfn but they refuse all of her offers and ask only for Inanna's corpse.テンプレート:Sfn The gala-tura and the kur-jara sprinkle Inanna's corpse with the food and water of life and revive her.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn They first come upon Ninshubur and attempt to take her,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn They next come upon Shara, Inanna's beautician, who is still in mourning.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The demons attempt to take him, but Inanna insists that they may not, because he had also mourned for her.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The third person they come upon is Lulal, who is also in mourning.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The demons try to take him, but Inanna stops them once again.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

ファイル:Dumuzi aux enfers.jpg
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing Dumuzid being tortured in the underworld by the galla demons

Finally, they come upon Dumuzid, Inanna's husband.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The galla then drag Dumuzid down to the underworld.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Efn

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.テンプレート:Sfn The three goddesses mourn continually until a fly reveals to Inanna the location of her husband.テンプレート:Sfn Together, Inanna and Geshtinanna go to the place where the fly has told them they will find Dumuzid.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Akkadian version

This version had two manuscripts found in the Library of Ashurbanipal and a third was found in Asshur, all dating from the first half of the first millennium before the common era.テンプレート:Sfn Of the Ninevite version, the first cuneiform version was published in 1873 by François Lenormant, and the transliterated version was published by Peter Jensen in 1901.テンプレート:Sfn Its title in Akkadian is Ana Kurnugê, qaqqari la târi.テンプレート:Sfn

The Akkadian version begins with Ishtar approaching the gates of the underworld and demanding the gatekeeper to let her in:

テンプレート:Blockquote

The gatekeeper (whose name is not given in the Akkadian versionテンプレート:Sfn) 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".テンプレート:Sfn The gatekeeper lets Ishtar into the underworld, opening one gate at a time.テンプレート:Sfn At each gate, Ishtar is forced to shed one article of clothing. When she finally passes the seventh gate, she is naked.テンプレート:Sfn In a rage, Ishtar throws herself at Ereshkigal, but Ereshkigal orders her servant Namtar to imprison Ishtar and unleash sixty diseases against her.テンプレート:Sfn

After Ishtar descends to the underworld, all sexual activity ceases on earth.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn The god Papsukkal, the Akkadian counterpart to Ninshubur,テンプレート:Sfn reports the situation to Ea, the god of wisdom and culture.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

Interpretations in modern assyriology

ファイル:British Museum Queen of the Night.jpg
The "Burney Relief", which is speculated to represent either Ishtar or her older sister Ereshkigal (テンプレート:Circa 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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),テンプレート:Sfn and possibly served as a representation of Inanna's character as a personification of a periodically vanishing astral body.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn She also points out Inanna's return has parallels in some Udug-hul incantations.テンプレート:Sfn

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 is not to blame for his death),テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

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;テンプレート:Sfn so was the description of Tammuz's funeral.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn

Monica Otterrmann performed a feminist interpretation of the myth, questioning its interpretation as related to the cycle of nature,テンプレート:Sfn claiming that the narratives represent that Inanna's powers were being restricted by the Mesopotamian patriarchy, due to the fact that, according to her, the region was not conducive to fertility.テンプレート:Sfn Brandão questions this idea in part, for although Inanna's power is at stake in the Sumerian text, in the Akkadian text the goddess' relationship to fertility and fertilization is at stake. Furthermore, in the Sumerian text Inanna's power is not limited by a man, but by another equally powerful goddess, Ereskigal.テンプレート:Sfn

Later myths

Epic of Gilgamesh

ファイル:O.1054 color.jpg
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テンプレート:Sfn

テンプレート:Main 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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Efn Gilgamesh refuses her, pointing out that all of her previous lovers have suffered:テンプレート:Sfn

テンプレート:Blockquote

Infuriated by Gilgamesh's refusal,テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar goes to heaven and tells her father Anu that Gilgamesh has insulted her.テンプレート:Sfn Anu asks her why she is complaining to him instead of confronting Gilgamesh herself.テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar demands that Anu give her the Bull of Heavenテンプレート:Sfn 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."[8]

ファイル:British Museum Flood Tablet.jpg
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.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to the sun-god Shamash.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of Uruk and curses Gilgamesh.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."[9] (Enkidu later dies for this impiety.)テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"テンプレート:Sfn and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull of Heaven's defeat.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Later in the epic, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the Great Flood,テンプレート:Sfn which was sent by the god Elil to annihilate all life on earth because the humans, who were vastly overpopulated, made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping.テンプレート:Sfn Utnapishtim tells how, when the flood came, Ishtar wept and mourned over the destruction of humanity, alongside the Anunnaki.テンプレート:Sfn Later, after the flood subsides, Utnapishtim makes an offering to the gods.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn She swears him that she will never allow Enlil to cause another floodテンプレート:Sfn and declares her lapis lazuli necklace a sign of her oath.テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar invites all the gods except for Enlil to gather around the offering and enjoy.テンプレート:Sfn

Song of Agušaya

テンプレート:Main

The Song of Agušaya,[10] an Akkadian text presumably from the time of Hammurapi, tells a myth mixed with hymnic passages: the war goddess Ištar is filled with constant wrath and plagues the earth with war and battle. With her roar she finally even threatens the wise god Ea in Apsû. He appears before the assembly of gods and decides (similar to Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgameš) to create an equal opponent for Ištar. From the dirt of his fingernails he forms the powerful goddess Ṣaltum ("fight, quarrel"), whom he instructs to confront Ištar disrespectfully and plague her day and night with her roar. The text section with the confrontation of both goddesses is not preserved, but it is followed by a scene in which Ištar demands from Ea to call Ṣaltum back, which he does. Subsequently, Ea establishes a festival in which henceforth a "whirl dance" (gūštû) is to be performed annually in commemoration of the events. The text ends with the statement that Ištar's heart has calmed down.

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.テンプレート:Sfn

In a pseudepigraphical Neo-Assyrian text written in the seventh century BCE, but which claims to be the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Ishtar then proclaimed Sargon her lover and allowed him to become the ruler of Sumer and Akkad.テンプレート:Sfn

In Hurro-Hittite texts the logogram dISHTAR denotes the goddess Šauška, 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.テンプレート:Sfn She plays a prominent role in the Hurrian myths of the Kumarbi cycle.テンプレート:Sfn

Later influence

In antiquity

ファイル:Dama de Galera (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg
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テンプレート:Sfn and, although Inanna herself is not directly mentioned in the Bible by name,テンプレート:Sfn the Old Testament contains numerous allusions to her cult.テンプレート:Sfn テンプレート:Bibleverse and テンプレート:Bibleverse mention "the Queen of Heaven", who is probably a syncretism of Inanna/Ishtar and the West Semitic goddess Astarte.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Jeremiah states that the Queen of Heaven was worshipped by women who baked cakes for her.テンプレート:Sfn

The Song of Songs bears strong similarities to the Sumerian love poems involving Inanna and Dumuzid,テンプレート:Sfn particularly in its usage of natural symbolism to represent the lovers' physicality.テンプレート:Sfn テンプレート:Bibleverse テンプレート:Bibleverse mentions Inanna's husband Dumuzid under his later East Semitic name Tammuz,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn and describes a group of women mourning Tammuz's death while sitting near the north gate of the Temple in Jerusalem.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

The cult of Inanna/Ishtar also heavily influenced the cult of the Phoenician goddess Astarte.テンプレート:Sfn The Phoenicians introduced Astarte to the Greek islands of Cyprus and Cythera,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn where she either gave rise to or heavily influenced the Greek goddess Aphrodite.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Aphrodite took on Inanna/Ishtar's associations with sexuality and procreation.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Furthermore, she was known as Ourania (Οὐρανία), which means "heavenly",テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn a title corresponding to Inanna's role as the Queen of Heaven.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

ファイル:Aphrodite und Adonis - Altar 2.jpg
Altar from the Greek city of Taras in Magna Graecia, dating to テンプレート:Circa 400 – c. 375 BCE, depicting Aphrodite and Adonis, whose myth is derived from the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Dumuzidテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Early artistic and literary portrayals of Aphrodite are extremely similar to Inanna/Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess;テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn the second-century AD Greek geographer Pausanias records that, in Sparta, Aphrodite was worshipped as Aphrodite Areia, which means "warlike".テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn He also mentions that Aphrodite's most ancient cult statues in Sparta and on Cythera showed her bearing arms.テンプレート:Sfnm Modern scholars note that Aphrodite's warrior-goddess aspects appear in the oldest strata of her worshipテンプレート:Sfn and see it as an indication of her Near Eastern origins.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Aphrodite also absorbed Ishtar's association with doves,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn which were sacrificed to her alone.テンプレート:Sfn The Greek word for "dove" was peristerá,テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn which may be derived from the Semitic phrase peraḥ Ištar, meaning "bird of Ishtar".テンプレート:Sfn The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is derived from the story of Inanna and Dumuzid.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Classical scholar Charles Penglase has written that Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, resembles Inanna's role as a "terrifying warrior goddess".テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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,テンプレート:Sfn rather than in any Inanna myths.

In Mandaean cosmology, one of the names for Venus is ʿStira, which is derived from the name Ishtar.[11]

Anthropologist Kevin Tuite argues that the Georgian goddess Dali was also influenced by Inanna,テンプレート:Sfn noting that both Dali and Inanna were associated with the morning star,テンプレート:Sfn both were characteristically depicted nude,テンプレート:Sfn (but note that Assyriologists assume the "naked goddess" motif in Mesopotamian art in most cases cannot be Ishtar,テンプレート:Sfn and the goddess most consistently depicted as naked was Shala, a weather goddess unrelated to Ishtarテンプレート:Sfn) both were associated with gold jewelry,テンプレート:Sfn both sexually preyed on mortal men,テンプレート:Sfn both were associated with human and animal fertility,テンプレート:Sfn (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テンプレート:Sfn) and both had ambiguous natures as sexually attractive, but dangerous, women.テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn 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."テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn Isaac also mentions an Arabian deity named Baltis, which according to Jan Retsö most likely was another designation for Ishtar.テンプレート:Sfn In pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions themselves, it appears that the deity known as Allat was also a Venusian deity.テンプレート:Sfn 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."テンプレート:Sfn

Modern relevance

ファイル:ISHTAR-EPOS p067 ISHTAR'S MIDNIGHT COURTSHIP.jpg
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テンプレート:Sfn

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.テンプレート:Sfn Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion.テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of evangelical Protestantsテンプレート:Sfn and the ideas promoted in it have become widely circulated, especially through the Internet, due to a number of popular Internet memes.テンプレート:Sfn

Ishtar had a major appearance in Ishtar and Izdubar,テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Hamilton significantly altered most of the characters and introduced entirely new episodes not found in the original epic.テンプレート:Sfn Significantly influenced by Edward FitzGerald's Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and Edwin Arnold's The Light of Asia,テンプレート:Sfn Hamilton's characters dress more like nineteenth-century Turks than ancient Babylonians.テンプレート:Sfn In the poem, Izdubar (the earlier misreading for the name "Gilgamesh") falls in love with Ishtar,テンプレート:Sfn but, then, "with hot and balmy breath, and trembling form aglow", she attempts to seduce him, leading Izdubar to reject her advances.テンプレート:Sfn Several "columns" of the book are devoted to an account of Ishtar's descent into the Underworld.テンプレート:Sfn At the conclusion of the book, Izdubar, now a god, is reconciled with Ishtar in Heaven.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn

ファイル:Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (14801964123).jpg
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,テンプレート:Sfn but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside.テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn 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".テンプレート:Sfn 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".テンプレート:Sfn 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.テンプレート:Sfn Ilona Zsolnay regards Frymer-Kensky's methodology as faulty.テンプレート:Sfn

In Neopaganism and Sumerian reconstructionism

Inanna's name is also used to refer to the Goddess in modern Neopaganism and Wicca.テンプレート:Sfn Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant",テンプレート:Sfn one of the most widely used Wiccan liturgies.テンプレート:Sfn Inanna's Descent into the Underworld was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess",テンプレート:Sfn one of the most popular texts of Gardnerian Wicca.テンプレート:Sfn

In popular culture

  • Features as Gilgamesh's archenemy and a huntress in SMITE (2014) under her Ishtar name.
  • Inanna appears as separate and playable Archer-class, Rider-class, and Avenger-class Servants in Fate/Grand Order (2015), under her Ishtar name. Her Avenger-class form is later revealed to be Astarte (stylized in-game as Ashtart), sharing a similar form as Ishtar.

Dates (approximate)

Historical sources
Time Period Source
テンプレート:Circa BCE Ubaid period  
テンプレート:Circa BCE Uruk period Uruk vaseテンプレート:Sfn
テンプレート:Circa BCE Early Dynastic period  
テンプレート:Circa BCE Akkadian Empire writings by Enheduanna:テンプレート:Sfnテンプレート:Sfn

Nin-me-šara, "The Exaltation of Inanna"
In-nin ša-gur-ra, "A Hymn to Inanna (Inana C)"
In-nin me-huš-a, "Inanna and Ebih"
The Temple Hymns
Hymn to Nanna, "The Exaltation of Inanna"

テンプレート:Circa BCE Gutian Period  
テンプレート:Circa BCE Ur III Period Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta

Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld
Inanna and Enkiテンプレート:Sfn
Inanna's Descent into the Underworld

See also

Notes

テンプレート:Notelist

References

Bibliography

テンプレート:Refbegin

テンプレート:Refend

Further reading

テンプレート:Refbegin

テンプレート:Refend

External links


呼称

その名は「nin-anna」（天の女主人）を意味するとされている[12]。

ウルクにあったイナンナのための神殿/寺院の名は「E-ana」（エアンナ、「天（アヌ）の家」の意味）であった。

イナンナのシュメール語の別名は「nin-edin」（エデンの女主人）、「Inanna-edin」（エデンのイナンナ）であった。彼女の夫であるドゥムジのシュメール語の別名は「{mulu-edin」（エデンの主）であった。

アッカド帝国（Akkadian Empire|en）期には「イシュタル」(新アッシリア語: DINGIR INANNA)と呼ばれた。イシュタルはフェニキアの女神アスタルテやシリアの女神アナトと関連し、古代ギリシアではアプロディーテーと呼ばれ、ローマのヴィーナス（ウェヌス）女神と同一視されている[12]。

神話のなかのイナンナ

系譜

イナンナは系譜上はアンの娘だが、月神ナンナ（シン）の娘とされることもあり、この場合太陽神ウトゥ（シャマシュ）とは双子の兄妹で、冥界の女王エレシュキガルの妹でもある[13]。夫にドゥムジ (メソポタミア神話)（Dumuzid the Shepherd）をいただく。子供は息子シャラ（Shara, Šara, シュメール語: 𒀭𒁈, dšara2, dšara)。別の息子ルラル（Lulal）はウトゥの女祭事（神官）ニンスンの息子ともされている。

エンキの紋章を奪う

メソポタミア神話において、イナンナは知識の神エンキの誘惑をふりきり、酔っ払ったエンキから、文明生活の恵み「メー」（水神であるエンキの持っている神の権力を象徴する紋章）をすべて奪い、エンキの差し向けたガラの悪魔の追跡から逃がれ、ウルクに無事たどりついた[私注 1]。エンキはだまされたことを悟り、最終的に、ウルクとの永遠の講和を受け入れた。この神話は、太初において、政治的権威がエンキの都市エリドゥ（紀元前4900]頃に建設された都市）からイナンナの都市ウルクに移行するという事件（同時に、最高神の地位がエンキからイナンナに移ったこと）を示唆していると考えられる。

イナンナ女神の歌

シュメール時代の粘土板である『イナンナ女神の歌』よりイナンナは、ニンガルから生まれた魅力と美貌を持ち、龍のように速く飛び[14]、南風に乗りアプスーから聖なる力を得た[15]。母親ニンガルの胎内から誕生した際、すでにシタ(cita)とミトゥム(mitum)という2つの鎚矛を手にして生まれた[16]。

イナンナとフルップ（ハルブ）の樹

（出典の明記、2018年2月） ある日、イナンナはぶらぶらとユーフラテス河畔を歩いていると、強い南風にあおられて今にもユーフラテス川に倒れそうな「フルップ（ハルブ）の樹[17]」を見つけた。あたりを見渡しても他の樹木は見あたらず、イナンナはこの樹が世界の領域を表す世界樹（生命の木）であることに気がついた。

そこでイナンナはある計画を思いついた。

この樹から典型的な権力の象徴をつくり、この不思議な樹の力を利用して世界を支配しようと考えたのだ。

イナンナはそれをウルクに持ち帰り、聖なる園（エデン）に植えて大事に育てようとする。

まだ世界はちょうど創造されたばかりで、その世界樹はまだ成るべき大きさには程遠かった。イナンナは、この時すでにフルップの樹が完全に成長した日にはどのような力を彼女が持つことができるかを知っていた。

「もし時が来たらならば、この世界樹を使って輝く王冠と輝くベッド（王座）を作るのだ」

その後10年の間にその樹はぐんぐんと成長していった。

しかし、その時（アン）ズーがやって来て、天まで届こうかというその樹のてっぺんに巣を作り、雛を育て始めた。

さらに樹の根にはヘビが巣を作っていて、樹の幹にはリリスが住処を構えていた。リリスの姿は大気と冥界の神であることを示していたので、イナンナは気が気でなかった。

しばらくの後、いよいよこの樹から支配者の印をつくる時が来た時、リリスにむかって聖なる樹から立ち去るようにお願いした。

しかしながら、イナンナはその時まだ神に対抗できるだけの力を持っておらず、リリスも言うことを聞こうとはしなかった。彼女の天真爛漫な顔はみるみるうちに失望へと変わっていった。そして、このリリスを押しのけられるだけの力を持った神は誰かと考えた。そして彼女の兄弟である太陽神ウトゥに頼んでみることになった。

暁方にウトゥは日々の仕事として通っている道を進んでいる時だった。イナンナは彼に声をかけ、これまでのいきさつを話し、助けを懇願した。ウトゥはイナンナの悩みを解決しようと、銅製の斧をかついでイナンナの聖なる園にやって来た。

ヘビは樹を立ち去ろうとしないばかりかウトゥに襲いかかろうとしたので、彼はそれを退治した。ズーは子供らと高く舞い上がると天の頂きにまで昇り、そこに巣を作ることにした。リリスは自らの住居を破壊し、誰も住んでいない荒野に去っていった。

ウトゥはその後、樹の根っこを引き抜きやすくし、銅製の斧で輝く王冠と輝くベッドをイナンナのために作ってやった。彼女は「他の神々と一緒にいる場所ができた」ととても喜び、感謝の印として、その樹の根と枝を使って「プック（Pukku）とミック（Mikku）」（輪と棒）を作り、ウトゥへの贈り物とした[私注 2]。

なお、この神話には、ウトゥの代わりにギルガメシュが同じ役割として登場するヴァリエーション（変種）がある。

イナンナの冥界下り

天界の女王イナンナは、理由は明らかではないものの（一説にはイナンナは冥界を支配しようと企んでいた）、地上の七つの都市の神殿を手放し、姉のエレシュキガルの治める冥界に下りる決心をした。冥界へむかう前にイナンナは七つのメーをまとい、それを象徴する飾りなどで身を着飾って、忠実な従者であるニンシュブルに自分に万が一のことがあったときのために、力のある神エンリル、ナンナ、エンキに助力を頼むように申しつけた[18][19]。

冥界の門を到着すると、イナンナは門番であるネティに冥界の門を開くように命じ[20]、ネティはエレシュキガルの元に承諾を得に行った。エレシュキガルはイナンナの来訪に怒ったが、イナンナが冥界の七つの門の一つを通過するたびに身につけた飾りの一つをはぎ取ることを条件に通過を許した。イナンナは門を通るごとに身につけたものを取り上げられ、最後の門をくぐるときに全裸になった。彼女はエレシュキガルの宮殿に連れて行かれて、七柱のアヌンナの神々に冥界へ下りた罪を裁かれた。イナンナは死刑判決を受け、エレシュキガルが「死の眼差し」を向けると倒れて死んでしまった。彼女の死体は宮殿の壁に鉤で吊るされた[21][22]。

三日三晩が過ぎ[23]、ニンシュブルは最初にエンリル、次にナンナに経緯を伝えて助けを求めたが、彼らは助力を拒んだ。しかしエンキは自分の爪の垢からクルガルラ（泣き女）とガラトゥル（哀歌を歌う神官）という者を造り、それぞれに「命の食べ物」と「命の水」を持って、先ずエレシュキガルの下へ赴き、病んでいる彼女を癒すよう、そしてその礼として彼女が与えようとする川の水と大麦は受け取らずにイナンナの死体を貰い受け、死体に「命の食べ物」と「命の水」を振りかけるように命じた。クルガルラとガラトゥルがエンキに命じられた通りにするとイナンナは起き上がった。しかし冥界の神々はイナンナが地上に戻るには身代わりに誰かを冥界に送らなければならないという条件をつけ、ガルラという精霊たちが彼女に付いて行った[24][25]。

まず、イナンナはニンシュブルに会った。ガルラたちは彼女を連れて行こうとしたが、イナンナは彼女が自分のために手を尽くしたことと喪に服してくれたことを理由に押しとどめた。次にシャラ神、さらにラタラク神に会うが、彼らも喪に服し、イナンナが生還したことを地に伏して喜んだため、彼らが自身に仕える者であることを理由に連れて行くことを許さなかった。しかし夫の神ドゥムジが喪にも服さず着飾っていたため、イナンナは怒り、彼を自分の身代わりに連れて行くように命じた。ドゥムジはイナンナの兄ウトゥに救いを求め、憐れんだウトゥは彼の姿を蛇に変えた。ドゥムジは姉のゲシュティンアンナの下へ逃げ込んだが、最後には羊小屋にいるところを見つかり、地下の世界へと連れ去られた。その後、彼と姉が半年ずつ交代で冥界に下ることになった[26][27]。

王権を授与する神としてのイナンナ

イナンナ神は外敵を排撃する神としてイメージされており、統一国家形成期には王権を授与する神としてとらえられている。なお、それに先だつ領域国家の時代、および後続する統一国家確立期においては王権を授与する神はエンリル（シュメール語: 𒀭𒂗𒇸）であり、そこには交代がみられる[28]。

ウルクの大杯

高さ1m強、石灰岩で造られた大杯。ドイツ隊によって発見され、イラク博物館に展示されていた[29]。最上段には都市の支配者が最高神イナンナに献納品を携え訪れている図像が描かれ、最下段にはチグリスとユーフラテスが、その上に主要作物、羊のペア、さらに逆方向を向く裸の男たちが描かれている[30]。図像はイナンナとドゥムジの「聖婚」を示し、当時の人々が豊穣を願う性的合一の儀式を国家祭儀にまで高めていた様子を教えている[31]。

参考文献

  • Wikipedia：イナンナ（最終閲覧日：22-12-08）
    • 前田徹『メソポタミアの王・神・世界観－シュメール人の王権観－』山川出版社、2003年10月。ISBN 4-634-64900-4
    • 矢島文夫『メソポタミアの神話』筑摩書房、1982年、7月。
    • 岡田明子・小林登志子『シュメル神話の世界 -粘土板に刻まれた最古のロマン』〈中公新書 1977〉2008年12月。ISBN 978-4-12-101977-6

関連項目

私的注釈

  1. ↑ これは中国神話で述べるところの「不老不死の薬」のことと考える。
  2. ↑ イナンナには木を切り倒し、利用する職能神としての一面があるように思う。このような性質はヒッタイトの女神マリヤにもあったと考える。

参照

  1. ↑ Wolkstein, Kramer, 1983, pages92, 193
  2. ↑ A. Archi, The Gods of Ebla [in:] J. Eidem, C.H. van Zoest (eds.), Annual Report NINO and NIT 2010, 2011, p. 3
  3. ↑ テンプレート:Cite book
  4. ↑ Gilgamesh, p. 86
  5. ↑ Enheduanna pre 2250 BCE A hymn to Inana (Inana C).{{{date}}} - via {{{via}}}.
  6. ↑ テンプレート:Cite book
  7. ↑ CDLI Tablet P346140.{{{date}}} - via {{{via}}}.
  8. ↑ Gilgamesh, p. 87
  9. ↑ Gilgamesh, p. 88
  10. ↑ Foster, Benjamin R. (20053), Before the Muses. An Anthology of Akkadian Literature, Bethesda, pp. 96-106. SEAL: VS 10, 214 (Agušaya A) SEAL: RA 15, 159ff. (Agušaya B)
  11. ↑ テンプレート:Cite book
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 アンソニー・グリーン監修『メソポタミアの神々と空想動物』p.24、山川出版社、2012/07
  13. ↑ アンソニー・グリーン監修『メソポタミアの神々と空想動物』p.25、山川出版社、2012/07
  14. ↑ 「イナンナ女神の歌」1-4
  15. ↑ 「イナンナ女神の歌」5-8
  16. ↑ 「イナンナ女神の歌」9-12
  17. ↑ [Hulupp]-アッカド語で「生命の木」のこと。
  18. ↑ 矢島、51 - 52頁。
  19. ↑ 岡田・小林、163頁。
  20. ↑ 来訪の理由を問われ、エレシュキガルの夫グアガルアンナの葬儀に出席することを口実にしたともされる（岡田・小林、163頁）。
  21. ↑ 矢島。52 - 56頁
  22. ↑ 岡田・小林、164。
  23. ↑ 異聞では七年七ヶ月七日とも七年ともいわれる（岡田・小林、167頁）。
  24. ↑ 矢島、56 - 58頁
  25. ↑ 岡田・小林、164 - 165頁、但し、こちらではエレシュキガルの病を癒すこと、その礼としてイナンナの死体を求めることについての記載は無い。
  26. ↑ 矢島、58 - 62頁。
  27. ↑ 岡田・小林、165 -166頁。
  28. ↑ 前田（2003）p.21
  29. ↑ 前川和也『図説メソポタミア文明』p.6
  30. ↑ 前川和也『図説メソポタミア文明』p.8
  31. ↑ 前川和也『図説メソポタミア文明』p.9
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