Reading Guides: Inanna

	Reading Guides: Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth (the four stories in the Diane Wolkstein text)
HOME	KSU - English 2110 / 39 & 40 - Mr. Hagin - Revised: 28 January 2005	WLRC

The Huluppu Tree (Wolkstein, 3-9)

Important Gods and Goddesses

An (also Anu in Babylonian) — “sky”; the uppermost heaven; head of the older generation of gods
Enki (called Ea in Babylonian) — god of fresh water, spells, and civilization; son of Anu and Nammu
Enlil (Ellil in Babylonian) — means “Great Mountain,” “wild bull,” and “raging storm”; father of Inanna
Erishkigal — “Queen of the Great Earth”; also Queen of the Underworld; sister of Inanna (Ishtar)
Gilgamesh — “Old Man Becomes a Young Man”; king of Uruk, and brother to Inanna
Inanna (also called Ishtar in Babylonian) — goddess of love and war; daughter of Enki (elsewhere, Anu)
Lilith — legendary first bride of Adam; left him to maintain her equality; represents insatiable sexuality
Utu (also called Shamash) — the sun god; son of Nanna, and twin brother of Inanna

1. Why does Inanna pluck the Huluppu Tree from the Euphrates River?

2. Why does a serpent and bird occupy the tree? What do they symbolize?

3. Why does the sun god Utu refuse to assist Inanna?

4. Why does Gilgamesh kill/chase away the creatures that are living in the tree?

Inanna and the God of Wisdom (Wolkstein, 11-27)

Important Gods and Goddesses

Enki (called Ea in Babylonian) — god of fresh water, spells, and civilization; son of Anu and Nammu
Inanna (also called Ishtar in Babylonian) — goddess of love and war; daughter of Enki (elsewhere, Anu)
Isimud (also called Ismû in Akkadian) — meaning "with two faces"; a vizier (advisor) to Enki
Ninshubur — advisor to Anu and Inanna (female deity in Sumerian; male in Akkadian)

1. What powers or qualities of Inanna are represented by the opening lines?

2. What are the first three gifts (Holy me) that Enki bestows to Inanna, and why are they important?

3. Why does Enki act surprised after he sobers up?

4. Why does Enki ask Isimud to retrieve the Boat of Heaven from Inanna? Why does he fail six times?

5. What does Inanna say will occur once the Boat of Heaven enters through the gates of Uruk? What does this mean?

6. What does Inanna do with the Holy me that she has received from Enki?

7. Why does Enki finally offer his blessings on the fate of his lost me? What has occurred symbolically?

The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi (Wolkstein, 29-49)

Important Gods and Goddesses

Dumuzi (also called Tammuz) — “faithful son” of Enki; Sumerian god and shepherd; lover of Inanna
Enki — (called Ea in Babylonian); god of fresh water, spells, and civilization; son of Anu and Nammu
Inanna (also called Ishtar in Babylonian) — goddess of love and war; daughter of Enki (elsewhere, Anu)
Utu — (also called Shamash); the sun god; son of Nanna, and twin brother of Inanna

1. In the opening scene, what does Utu (the sun god) make for his little sister Inanna?

2. Why does Inanna protest against her marriage to Dumuzi, the shepherd?

3. What is Dumuzi’s argument that he (a shepherd) is better than the farmer?

4. How does the shepherd vs. farmer debate compare with the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis, chapter 4)?

5. What does Ningal say that convinces her daughter to accept Dumuzi?

6. Why does Inanna question Dumuzi’s ability to act as “plow”?

7. Why does Inanna make several references to vegetation that describe the acts love making between Dumuzi and Inanna?

8. What “fate” does Inanna decree to Dumuzi? What will his reign in Uruk bring?

9. Why does Dumuzi wish to be set free?

The Descent of Inanna (Wolkstein, 51-89)

Important Gods and Goddesses:

Anunna (Anunnaki or Anukki) — the group of the older Sumerian fertility gods, led by Anu
Belili – “she who always weeps”; an elderly version of Geshtinanna, serves as a family matriarch
Dumuzi (also called Tammuz) — “faithful son” of Enki; Sumerian god and shepherd; lover of Inanna
Enlil (Ellil in Sumerian) — means “Great Mountain,” “wild bull,” and “raging storm”; father of Inanna
Enki (called Ea in Babylonian) — god of fresh water, spells, and civilization; son of Anu and Nammu
Ereshkigal — “queen of the great earth”; “mistress of the earth”; sister of Ishtar
Geshtinanna — “lady of wine”; little sister of Dumuzi; a wise interpreter of dreams
Inanna (also called Ishtar in Babylonian) — goddess of love and war; daughter of Enki (elsewhere, Anu)
Nanna — the moon god; father of Inanna
Ninshubur — advisor to Anu and Inanna (female deity in Sumerian; male in Akkadian)
Utu — (also called Shamash); the sun god; son of Nanna, and twin brother of Inanna

PART 1: FROM THE GREAT ABOVE TO THE GREAT BELOW (51-73)
1. How does Inanna dress for the Underworld?

2. What command does Inanna give to her servant Ninshubur?

3. What explanation does Inanna offer to Neti, the gatekeeper, for her visit to the Underworld?

4. What happens to Inanna as she passes through the seven gates of the Underworld?

5. What does her sister Ereshkigal do to Inanna after passing through the gates?

6. Although Enlil and Nanna cannot help Ninshubur, what does Enki do to rescue Inanna?

7. How do the kurgarra and the galatur revive the corpse of Inanna?

8. Under what condition will the Anunna allow Inanna to leave the Underworld?

9. Why does Inanna refuse to allow the galla demons to drag Ninshubur, Shara, and Lulal to the Underworld? Why does she allow her husband Dumuzi to be imprisoned there?

10. How does Utu help Dumuzi after he cries out for help?

PART 2: THE DREAM OF DUMUZI (74-84)
11. How does Geshtinanna interpret Dumuzi’s dream?

12. Dumuzi hides from the galla demons by hiding in the ditches of Arali. Why does Geshtinanna refuse to reveal Dumuzi’s location, but Dumuzi’s friend complies?

13. How does Utu, the sun god, help Dumuzi escape the galla demons?

PART 3: THE RETURN (85-89)
14. Why deal does Geshtinanna make with the “hands of the eternal” that allows Dumuzi partial escape from the Underworld? What might this symbolize?