Today's Topics: 

Day of the Woman

Today's class was dubbed "The Day of the Woman" because we examined the beauty and power of womanhood through the Inanna readings. 

In these next few readings, we will see a very clear distinction made between nature and society.  Recall that nature typically has a feminine slant in mythology, while society wears the mantle of masculinity.  This occurred from the early development of civilizations.  The earliest peoples lived in tightly knit families.  As the population grew, these families formed clans, and them communities, and then villages.  Before the age of the major population centers, people had to provide for their own needs themselves.  Later on, societies will assist people by pooling together individuals to perform certain duties in the community so that the labor could be distributed better.

Early cultures were very dependent on the land for food, and so they became farmers, establishing one plot of land as their home.  This was an improvement from the previous generations who were hunters and gatherers, combing the land and sea for sustinance. 

These four Inanna stories are sequenced to reveal a more personal facet of growth: the growth of an individual from a child into adulthood. The Inanna stories show the growth of a girl to a woman, and then to a full goddess.  These stories were written earlier in the culture's history, when farming and the feminine were praised.  Since Inanna (the Goddess of both Love and War) was ultimately a fertility goddess, these four stories explain her growth and development from a fearful, ignorant girl, to an experienced, wise, and potent woman.  However, she will battle against her society repeatedly, just as we will see Gilgamesh battle against Nature later in the semester.

I displayed many images of stone etchings and statuettes of women made by early cultures. I made references to these pictures throughout the day in class: Inanna Pictures.
 

The Huluppu Tree

The collection of stories in the Inanna text are arranged from Inanna's childhood through her adult years as a powerful goddess of love and war.  Although these four stories were not written to be placed into this sequence, Diane Wolkstein, the editor of the Inanna text, found that this arrangement allows us to see the growth and development of Inanna from a little girl to a powerful goddess.  Therefore, the first story, "The Huluppu Tree," will show Inanna in her youngest form, a pre-pubescent girl.  On page 5, Inanna finds a little tree floating in the Euphrates River.  She rescues it and plants it in her holy garden (of Eden).  She yearns for the day when this tree will become mature and she will be able to use the wood to make her throne and her marriage bed.

Inanna, as a girl, had many fears.  Page 5 tells us that she feared "the word of the Sky God, An" as well as the "word of the Air God, Enlil."  In other translations, we might find the word "word" to more accurately indicate her "fate."  In other words, Inanna feared her fate that her parents had always told her about -- that one day she would become a woman and rule over the land.  Although she is eager to sit on a throne and bark out orders, she is afraid of the changes that will take place in her body as she enters womanhood for the first time.

I often ask the men and women in class to reflect on their pre-teen years.  I ask the guys if they had ever feared puberty.  Most give me a blank stare.  Why would a guy fear puberty, which implies greater height, strength, and power?  Most boys are indifferent to puberty, and young men reluctantly accept the fact that our voices and bodies change in awkward ways.  Women, on the other hand, go through a different transformation than do the men.  A girl who becomes a woman during the advent of her first menstruation suddenly bears a great burden.  She can now become pregnant and assume the responsibilities of a woman, caretaker, etc.  Several women have commented in class over the years about how they heard the "horror stories" from their older sisters and friends who complained about aches and pains associated with the cycles.  In other words, girls have many more fears of womanhood than boys have about manhood.  This is important.

On page 6, we see that the tree is growing up, but not fast enough for Inanna.  Over the course of time, the tree has also collected a group of unwanted visitors -- the serpent at the roots, the lion-headed Anzu bird at the top (whose wings can stir great whirlwinds), and a strange, sexually charged woman, Lilith, lodged in the trunk of the tree.  All three of these symbols represent Inanna's fears of womanhood.  I strongly urge you to consult pages 141-142 of your Inanna text.  You will find a critical essay by Diane Wolkstein that explains these symbols quite well, and all of the critical essays contained in the back of the text serve as "Cliff's Notes" to the myths.

In brief, the serpent represents life, particularly the changes that we go through in life, such as from an asexual being to a sexual one.  The bird represents the dominance of the outside forces that weigh down on women and prevent them from exploring the true pleasures of life.  Lilith is the fabled first bride of Adam, who refused to mate with him because she demanded equality, which he refused to give her.  Lilith dwells in the woods and screams wildly, suggesting the untethered sexuality bursting forth from her body.  There is a lovely picture of her on page 6.

To rectify this problem, she asks Utu, the sun god, for help, but he refuses.  Why?  Well, how can Dad help his daughter when she has her first menstrual cycle?  Dad will defer to Mom or another trusted female to assist his daughter with her feminine issues.  Inanna must find another to "make it better."  She finds her cousin Gilgamesh, a mighty warrior, who swings a 450-pound axe.  He hews down the huluppu tree, carves out a bed and a throne for her, as well as a crown and scepter for him.  Page 9 depicts a carving of Inanna and Gilgamesh enjoying a little lunch together, sitting around the remnants of the huluppu tree.

Why does Inanna, a mighty woman, need a man to help her out?  Well, she really doesn't, but this scene establishes a couple of things.  First, Gilgamesh will become the great hero of Uruk, and we will read about his exploits during the next few sessions.  Chasing away these demons (intermediaries standing between Inanna and her goals) is his first heroic act, so he begins to make a name for himself here.  Also, when we were younger and afraid of monsters living under our beds, the guidance and assistance of an older sibling can help to make it all better (unless you have sadistic siblings!).  Remember that Inanna is just beginning to understand that she has power, so perhaps she doesn't even know that she doesn't need Gilgamesh.
 

Inanna and the God of Wisdom

The opening scene is very direct and graphic, but it is also a beautiful depiction of Inanna arriving in her full splendor of womanhood.  She leans against an apple tree, because an apple is one of those sexual symbols that we saw from the Enki and Ninhursag story.  (For your information, the apple tree was a common symbol in Mesopotamia, but not in Israel.  When we recall the Genesis creation story, we often refer to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil as the "apple tree," which provides the "apple" that Eve gives to Adam.  Keep in mind that the "apple" is not mentioned in Genesis, only the "fruit."  The references to the apple come from Mesopotamia, not Jerusalem.)  Inanna leans against the apple tree, exposing her sexual organs into the open air.  She is revelling in her new state of womanhood -- she has arrived!  Watch out!

Here are a few pictures that I displayed that show Inanna as a ripe, fertile woman, ready to procreate and nurture her children:
http://www.inanna.de/inanna567.jpg
http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/middle_east/mesopotamian/inanna.jpg

This story is a simple one.  First, recall that Inanna had previously asked Enki for her powers in the story Enki and ther World Order. At the time, Inanna was too young to receive her powers, but now she has rrived into womanhood. Inanna has a celebratory meal with Enki, the god of the sweet waters, where they drink lots and lots of beer.  While in a state of intoxication, Enki, the god of wisdom and keeper of the holy me (pronounced "may"), hands over his powers to Inanna, one by one.  First he gives her high priesthood (page 14), then Truth and the holy priestess of heaven (judgment) (page 15).  Pages 16-18 list the dozens of other powers that Inanna gained from her grandpa, including some bizarre powers, such as deceit, treachery, the kissing of the phallus, slanderous speech, etc.  Many students were shocked to see "the art of prostitution" as one of her many gifts.

Why prostitution?  Well, remember that Inanna is represented in the night sky as Venus.  The planet Venus is best viewed very early in the morning (called the "morning star") or very late in the evening (the "evening star").  As the morning star, Inanna/Ishtar/Venus represents fertility and rebirth (and often war).  Venus is the brightest light in the sky, save the sun and moon.  In the evening, however, she would appear in the western sky, often placed inside of particular constellations, including the constellations that depict men.  When these stars dipped under the horizon, Venus was said to be taking a new lover to bed.  After disappearing from view (into the Underworld), nobody knew what actions Venus and her consort might be up to.  This is where we gain the reference to Venus in the evening sky as "the lady of the evening."  This makes sense when we see that one of many names for a prostitute is a "lady of the evening."  Here are some pictures of Inanna as both the morning and evening stars:

Inanna as the Morning Star (Goddess of War): http://www.inanna.de/morning.jpg
Inanna as the Evening Star (Goddess of Love): http://www.inanna.de/evening.jpg

On page 19, after Enki wakes up, he looks around for all of his me, but cannot find them.  His advisor informs Enki that he had donated all of his powers to his daughter the night before, and he must be too drunk to remember.  Enki sends six types of demons/monsters after Inanna to retrieve the powers.  They are depicted on pages 21 and 23 -- the enkum-creatures and the lahama monsters, amongst others.  After several failed attempts, Enki allows Inanna to keep those powers, especially after he learns that she has used some of them to establish temples and houses of worship in the holy city of Uruk.  Inanna places the holy me in her "Boat of Heaven."  In our next unit on Egypt, we will see the boat of heaven described as a vessel that transports the sun and the sun god's retinue.  In the Mesopotamian culture, however, Inanna's "boat" is really her vagina.  She is collecting the godly powers and applying them to her feminine nature, thus creating the all-powerful woman.  The creatures that Enki sends to retrieve the me cannot penetrate the boat, because Inanna will not allow them inside, perhaps demonstrating that she is learning to take back control over her body.

When Inanna arrives back in Uruk, the celebrations begin.  Inanna helps to "restore" Uruk back into the hands of woman, and the powerful Inanna teaches the women of Uruk all about their powers.  Women are the keepers of sexual power, and it is up to them to determine how and when they use it.  Since women were considered to be more closely connected with nature (and men with society), we can see how men and women view their sexuality differently.  Social critics of our generation often suggest that today's women do not use their sexual powers to their potential, since our culture/society values different attributes about love, sex, and marriage than did the Mesopotamians.  Notice further that Inanna arrives in Uruk with the power of reproduction -- a welcome blessing to a land decimated by famile, disease, and natural catastrophes.
 

The Coutrtship of Inanna and Dumuzi

In The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi, we see Inanna prepared to take a husband, Dumuzi, which will complete her ascent into womanhood.  Although Inanna is not an Earth Mother goddess, she still represents fertility and has earthly ties.  She is descended from the moon god and moon goddess, so she is fully vested in her feminine qualities (mutability, connection to nature, etc.).  Because of this, she is consistently associated with the earth and its cycles, especially pertaining to agriculture.

On page 30, Utu, the sun god and brother, tells Inanna that the harvest is here, and that he will be bringing her the grains and fruits of the fields.  Utu will bring Inanna some flax, an ancient grain that resembles wheat, so that it can be transformed into something valuable to human beings, crushed into flour or threaded into linen sheets.  Inanna asks her brother who will do all of this work, and Utu says that he will do it all.  By harvesting the grain and creating a sheet of cloth, Utu establishes an interesting metaphor that pertains to both farmers and new brides.  The linen cloth was used to clean the newly harvested grains.  Two people would gather the wheat in the middle, grab hold of the corners, and thrust the grain into the air, allowing the wind to carry away the husks and the chaff (the inedible parts).  Once the parts have been separated, then the workers can transform it into whatever thay need.  This cloth is also represents the bed sheet on a marriage bed.  It was dyed white and kept clean, as is a virgin.  The newlyweds would consummate their marriage together on the fine linen sheets, which would have been examined by the parents afterward to deternine if the couple actually participated in their marriage duties (blood on the sheets caused by the breaking of the hymen), and also to make sure that the woman was a virgin.  (And you thought your parents were nosy!)

So we see the linen cloth as a dual symbol, pertaining both to the agricultural realm as well as marriage.  Therefore, when Inanna asks at the bottom of page 31 "Who will go to bed with me?" she is asking Utu who her husband will be.  His response is simple -- marry the shepherd Dumuzi.  However, Inanna does not wish to marry Dumuzi, since he is a shepherd, not a farmer.  She complains about her dislike for the feel of wool, and she wonders how she can appreciate a man who does not work the earth (the body of the mother, that is), as does a farmer.  Poor Dumuzi is standing right there, listening to Inanna reject him before ever speaking a word.  Disrespected!

A powerful symbol is at play here.  Inanna, being so closely tied to the fertility cycles, understands agrarian ideals much more than shepherding.  She is looking for someone much like herself, perhaps because she sees this as a more natural fit.  Don't we seek out people who share similar values and interests?  Dumuzi finally speaks and says that he can offer Inanna more and better things than can the farmer.

The duality working here is simple -- Inanna is at a crossraods of the duality between nature and society.  The farmer represents the ties to nature, but the shepherd reveals the attitudes of the society (this is your typical "nature vs. nurture" argument).  The shepherd is more powerful than the farmer because he has more control.  A farmer must hope that the gods provide the rain and the appropriate growing conditions.  The shepherd gets to fight off the hungry wolves, herd the sheep and goats into pens and enclosed areas (called sheepfolds), and be more free from one plot of land.  Obviously, shepherding is not more or less important than farming, but the responsibilities of these occupations reveals their connections to either nature (farming) or society (shepherding).  By rejecting Dumuzi, Inanna is really rejecting submission into society, much like she rejected the concept of growth into adulthood in The Huluppu Tree.

However, Dumizi convinces Inanna that they are a good match.  He make an appeal on page 34 to sit and discuss their differences, and they compare the power and influence of their families.  What they discover is that they are both different, but that they need the qualities of the other to make each one complete.  Sure, nature will work against society, and society against nature, but together thay can achieve a balance and harmony that allow both to flourish.  After their argument, they fall deeply in love (or lust?).  On page 35, Ningal, Inanna's mother, convinces Inanna to take Dumuzi's hand in marriage, because he will play the roles of father and mother to her, offering both protection and nurturing.  Inanna listens to her mother's wisdom, perhaps because they share the experience of womanhood together, and Inanna can trust her mother's advice more easily than the words from Utu.  However, Inanna will put Dumuzi to the test.

On their wedding day, Inanna dresses in her finest raiment before asking Dumuzi an important question, "Who will plow my wet ground?"  Notice that Inanna refers to her body as the Earth, and her lover will be the one who tills the soil, opening it up to receive the seed of life, then covered, nurtured, and harvested.  Inanna uses these agricultural terms because they represent her essence.  When Dumuzi answers ("I will plow ...") on page 37, the land begins to sprout and flourish with new life everywhere.  Perhaps the season of Spring has arrived and the world is maturing.  Perhaps Inanna is really asking whether Dumuzi will take care of her.  After all, a farmer must tend to the field every day hands-on.  The shepherd leaves the house, enters the distant pasture, does his job, and then returns home each night.  Maybe Inanna is seeking a constant companion rather than someone who is perpetually leaving the homestead and disappears over the hills.

Notice also how the metaphor of the plow is working here.  The plow is an invention of society, and it is used to assist people with their labors in the fields (nature).  The union of these two characters symbolizes the harmony created between Nature and Society, whereby both sides become stronger due to the assistance and greatness of the other.  Before the plow, people tilled the land by hand, using garden tools, such as the hoe.

On page 40, Inanna explains that she has walked into the forest, kneeling by an apple tree (another growth and fertility archetype), and "poured out plants from my womb."  Here, Inanna is presenting herself as a fertile, life-bearing goddess.  The season of Spring has arrived in full bloom, with conception and birth occurring everywhere.  Again, please view these actions metaphorically, not literally.  On page 42, we see another reference to the linen sheet on their wedding bed, representing a culmination of the harvest (by processing the grains into cloth) and the union of man and woman.  They hold each other and share the pleasures of their marriage with wild abandon -- they make love fifty times!

On pages 44-45, Inanna explains to her new husband his "fate."  At the top of 45, look closely at the first four lines.  Amongst other things, Inanna places herself into four different roles in their marriage.  First, she says that she will be Dumuzi's "leader" in battle.  But then, she mentions that she will be his "armor-bearer," "advocate," and "inspiration."  The role of leader (male force) seems to be in opposition to her next three roles of servitude (feminine forces).  How can she be both leader and follower simultaneously?  Remember that Inanna was the representation of the planet Venus, which appears both  in the morning and evening (as the "morning star" and "evening star").  As the morning star, Inanna (or Ishtar, Venus, etc.) displays boldness and passion, which are two fierce qualities associated with war.  In the evening, she slips peacefully over the horizon, going to bed with the other stars and constellations in the sky.  In this form, she was associated with love as "the lady of the evening."  Therefore, Inanna is both a leader and a follower.  She will provide Dumuzi with his reason for fighting (playing the role of protector) and lovemaking.  Essentially, these two characters are carving out their roles in their marriage, just as we all do (who will wash the dishes, take out the garbage, etc.?).  The story ends with the land in full bloom.

Dumuzi, however, asks to be "set free" in the last stanza of the poem.  Why?  Dumuzi claims to be headed to the palace, perhaps to lead the people, as kings do. However, Dumuzi is also a shepherd, which means that he must leave the house and travel to his sheepfold after "plowing the field."  He'll be back later, and will make love to Inanna once again, but now the realities of life kick in, and the honeymoon appears to be over.  Perhaps Inanna's initial fears had some merit after all.  She'll get Dumuzi in the next story!

One final note here: Joseph Campbell discusses how men and women were cultured differently in mythological times.  Since Nature ushers a girl into maturity by starting her feminine cycles, you should recognize that the change from girl to woman happens to the girl.  She does not ask for it, and she cannot control its advent.  Boys, on the other hand, have no one single moment when they suddenly become men.  Sure, this does occur at times, such as when a father unexpectedly dies and the oldest son assumes more leadership in the family, but generally speaking, a boy becomes a man only when his society forces him into this new world of responsibilities.

Campbell discusses several initiation rites used by tribal peoples (see pages 101-104, amongst others).  Often, the boys are ripped away from their mothers' arms, taken away into the forest, and mutilated by the adult male tribe members.  A boy may have to endure circumcision, bodily mutilations, such as tattooing, burning, or piercing of the flesh.  When the boy returns from his ordeal, he looks different, feels differently, and therefore must act differently by assuming a new role in the tribe, such as going on the hunt, taking a wife, etc.  Today, boys are circumcised a few hours or days after their births, so we guys never get to consciously experience the ritual into adulthood, also called "twice born" by Campbell (the origin of the Christian phrase "born again").  All people, men and women alike, must endure a second birth, often most evident as the passage from childhood to adulthood.  As you continue to read The Power of Myth, you will recognize that people become reborn over and over again, such as becoming parents, changing careers, enduring life's obstacles, etc.
 

The Descent of Inanna

In The Descent of Inanna, we see Inanna as a fully grown goddess.  She has had many adventures and experiences between the previous story (The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi) and this one.  You should know that Dumuzi was her first lover ... but not her last.  She has fallen in love hundreds of times by now, and has been with many, many men (gods).  She gathers a reputation as a wild lover, but also a man-eater of sorts, chewing them up and spitting them out when someone new comes along.  When we get to the story of Gilgamesh, we will see Gilgamesh reject Ishtar's (Inanna's) advances, due to her reputation.  In fact, Gilgamesh recalls what Ishtar had done to Dumuzi as one of his reasons for rejection (Dumuzi will be called "Tammuz" in many translations, and this name appears in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel in the Bible, referencing his crying and wailing).

Inanna plans to enter the Underworld to visit her older sister, Ereshkigal, who is mourning the loss of her husband, Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven.  However, anyone who enters the Underworld will never be allowed to leave.  Instead, the Underworld is a dark, dusty,  and lonely place where nothing ever happens.  Imagine entering the scariest old haunted house imaginable.  Inside it is dark and has fallen into disrepair.  The floorboards give way, spider webs hang from the bannisters, and no lights in the house are working.  Now imagine that you decide to explore the musty basement of this ancient house.  As you step down the stairs, you smell the dank mildews and chase away the rats.  Entering the bowels of this basement, you realize that you are standing in a lifeless, dark, and scary environment, where your cries for help go unheard.  You sense that others are around you, but you do not interact with them.  In a sense, the Underworld represents a lifeless, lonely existence.  You are not being punished, but you have no worth, value, or purpose either.  You are "just there."

The Mesopotamians believed that three realms existed: heaven, earth, and underworld.  The heavens were the distant stars in the sky.  You can reach as high as you can, but you will never be able to touch them.  You can build Towers of Babel, climb the highest mountains, or jump as high as possible, but you will never reach the sky.  This distant, unreachable place is referred to as "the heavens."  The earth should speak for itself, a place that is influenced by events occurring both on earth and in the sky.  It is the realm of duality, human life, and a middle state, where the demons (intermediaries) roam freely from one realm to the other.  This story will show you how these intermediaries operate.

On page 53, Inanna instructs her trusted servant Ninshubur about what to do if Inanna does not return.  She tells her friend to ask the gods for help if she becomes trapped in the land of no return.  Therefore, Inanna clearly knows that she has a difficult journey ahead.  By page 55, she has descended the stairs and approaches the door to the netherworld.  She knocks, and the door is answered by Neti, the main gatekeeper of the seven gates into the Underworld.  He asks her what she wants, and she tells him that she is Ereshkigal's sister and that she comes to attend the funeral of her brother-in-law.  He tells her to wait so that he can ask the Queen of the Underworld, Ereshkigal, what to do.

But wait.  There is something else going on here.  On page 55, Inanna says that she is "[o]n my way to the East."  However, the East always represents life and rebirth -- the West represents death and dying.  Why would she be traveling through the Underworld to get to the East?  Joseph Campbell explains that all of us are "twice born," and that we have to "die" before we can assume a new "life."  For example, when you meet your significant other, your single life "dies" so that you can be reborn into a new person, one who is not alone any more, but rather part of a whole -- your relationship.  Likewise, when you become a parent, part of your old life is replaced with a new one, filled with new responsibilities and challenges that changes the way that you live your life.  If Inanna is traveling to the East, then she is metaphorically seeking a rebirth, which can only occur through a death, hence her visit to the realm of the dead.

Knowledge plus experience equals wisdom.  Inanna seeks the experience of death in order to better understand life.  Only when a person comes to terms with his or her mortality does life take on its proper meanings.  I recall being a small child and thinking to myself that I wanted to live to 100, just because it seemed like the thing to do.  Now that I have a better understanding of life and death, I do not wish to live to 100, which now appears a more frightening thought.  If you always keep the dualities in mind, you will see the reasons behind the actions.  Inanna wishes to understand death, which can only occur once it is experienced.  Once she knows death, then she can become better at life.  After all, our lives are defined by our births and deaths more than anything else.

Furthermore, let me give you some insights into Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, a character that we will see in Gilgamesh as the representation of drought.  Gugalanna has died, but he represents drought. Therefore, what has died?  Drought!  (See the Gilgamesh story.)  The way to kill a drought is to apply water, which replaces it (or chases it away).  Perhaps this story really represents the changes that occur from the season of winter into spring.  Inanna knows that the cycles of life whirl around and around, and that there is always a new life after each death.  She is going to pay tribute to the end of winter and the beginning of new life in the East.  She is going to become born again.  First, however, she needs to experience death.  Hence, the Underworld.  Inanna ia already the "Queen of Heaven and Earth," as your book's subtitle indicates, but does she control the Underworld?  No.  Perhaps she is curious about it so that she can also assume power over the third of the three realms?  

On page 56, Inanna gathers together seven Holy me, her powers and wisdom that she will need to do battle with the forces of the Underworld.  These take the form of royal robes and assorted jewelry.  At the bottom of the page, though, Ereshkigal (Queen of the Underworld) tells Neti (the gatekeeper) to allow Inanna in only one gate at a time, removing one of the seven me as she passes through each gate.  Pages 57-59 show Inanna's passage until she finally arrives in the Underworld completely naked.  Immediately (page 60), Ereshkigal attaches the "eye of death" onto Inanna and hangs her corpse on the wall.  Inanna is dead.

Ninshubur, Inanna's assistant, begins to ask the gods for their help.  First she asks Enlil (also called Ellil), who refuses to help.  Next, she visits Nanna, Inanna's father, but he too says no.  Why won't these father figures offer any succor to Inanna?  Perhaps because they have no power over the Underworld, as each god and goddess controls limited aspects.  Furthermore, Inanna is an adult woman now, and she needs to fight her own battles, especially since nobody forced her into the Underworld!  Much like in the earlier Inanna stories, Inanna must face her own life changes, as nobody else can experience these things for her.

Enki is the only god who makes a commitment to help Inanna, and he does so on page 64 by creating two androgynous creatures, a kurgarra and a galatur.  He gives them the food and water of life, and he sends them into the Underworld.  Because they are neither male or female, they will be allowed in and out of the Underworld at will, and they will not be subjected to the same rules that mortals and gods must follow.  But why is their lack of sexual identity a benefit (or a condition that circumvents death)?  Perhaps this has a lot to do once again with dualities.

As men or women, we live in a world of opposition.  The only way we can rise above these dualities is to transcend these dualities.  One way that we shed our dual natures is through death.  In death, we are not male and female (gender only matters on earth).  We finally share the exact same experiences together, if you will.  Therefore, sexuality is an inherent part of a dualistic being, just like we are living in one side of the duality of life/death.

If we were to avoid the traps and conditions of this dualistic state, then we would not be living in the forms that we are in right now.  That would be impossible, given our world that we live in.  Keep in mind that we don't die because we are men or women, but that, in death, we become unified in our experience.  An agendered creature (a creature with no gender), therefore, is already a unified idea, much like the way that many cultures conceive of their gods (as a transcendent entity that is not locked into the world that we know, but a different one where there are no distinctions between the dualities).  The term "androgynous" is made from the combination of "andro" (implying the male, such as in the hormone "androgen") and "gyno" (referring to the female, as in "gynecologist").  These creatures, therefore, are neither male nor female (or they could be BOTH).  Either way, they have nothing to offer in the Underworld, nothing to exchange, and nothing to lose.  They are already unified, so death does not change their natures.   They are the classic intermediaries (demons), according to the definition.
 
Ereshkigal (the Queen of the Underworld, and Inanna's sister) questions these kurgarra and galatur creatures and attempts to offer them gifts, but they refuse the offerings (pages 66-67).  The only gift they ask for is the body of Inanna, whom they revive with Enki's magic potions.  Ereshkigal allows Inanna to leave the Underworld, due to these highly unusual conditions, but places one strict demand on her exit -- if she leaves, she will be accompanied by the galla creatures (little demon dudes) who will search the Earth for someone to take Inanna's place in the Underworld.  After all, the Underworld must be balanced, so the soul of Inanna must be replaced.

Why does Ereshkigal affix the "eye of death" upon her sister Inanna?  Is she evil?  Corrupt?  No.

View Ereshkigal as a mirror image of Inanna herself.  Whereas Inanna represents fertility, Ereshkigal promotes the opposite force.  Both are aspects of Nature and natural cycles.  Inanna, however, is the friendlier (and more flirtatious) side of Nature, while Ereshkigal offers the dark side.  In other words, these two women are really different halves of the same concept -- one that operates by day, and the other that tends to the night.  They are more than sisters -- they are both components of Nature's dualities.  

As Inanna and her demon companions re-emerge on the land, the galla creatures begin to point out prospects for Inanna's replacement.  First, they find Ninshubur, Inanna's assistant, but Inanna complains that Ninshubur cannot be taken, since she is so valuable to Inanna.  Next, on page 70, the galla stumble across two of Inanna's sons, Shara and Lulal.  But Inanna complains again, stating that her sons are brave warriors and needed on the Earth.  That is when, on page 71, the galla find a man sleeping beneath an apple tree -- Dumuzi.  Inanna then exclaims: "Take him!  Take Dumuzi away!"  Fighting, kicking, and screaming, Dumuzi is dragged away toward the Underworld, wondering why he has met this fate.  He will attempt to hide, and succeeds temporarily, until he is finally sentenced to the Underworld in the next two sections of this story. 

In the section entitled “The Dream of Dumuzi,” we see Dumuzi asking his sister Geshtinanna to interpret his dreams, which she does on pages 76-77.  In short, she tells her brother that his dream portends his own death, followed by hers.  After this interpretation is made, Dumuzi runs away.  Notice that Geshtinanna does not tell Dumuzi that he will die.  Rather, she uses nature metaphors to describe Dumuzi’s passing: “terror of tall trees,” “fall to earth,” “given to the winds.”  Remember that these nature-based stories tell about natural events and cycles.  Geshtinanna discusses the “sheepfold” to Dumuzi, which can be translated into “Mother Earth.”  This allows us to better understand some descriptions, such as  Dumuzi’s fire being “put out on your holy hearth,” allowing the “sheepfold” (earth) to “become a house of desolation.”  Why does Geshtinanna use nature references rather than speaking directly about his death?  Maybe Dumuzi is not going to “die.”  Perhaps his “death” is really another “birth.”   We all must make a sacrifice before we can gain something.  Dumuzi will gain an important role in the cycles of the earth by the end of the story.   Remember that Inanna was traveling to the “East,” representing life.

On pages 78-79, Dumuzi goes into hiding, asking his sister and friend to keep his hiding place a secret.  When the galla approach Geshtinanna, she refuses their gifts. The “water-gift” and the “grain-gift” are both representations of life (the same stuff that the androgynous creatures fed to Inanna to revive her in the Underworld).  Why does Geshtinanna refuse the gifts of life?  Perhaps because they come from down below, or perhaps because of her loyalty to her brother.

The galla proceed to torture Geshtinanna (they rape her) before moving onto the friend who, on page 80, immediately accepts the gifts and reveals Dumuzi’s hiding places.  What kind of friend is this?  Why would a friend turn against you?  Maybe he feared the torture that the galla applied to Geshtinanna.   Or perhaps he was just selfish.  Additionally, maybe the friend knows something that we are not aware of.  Either way, Dumuzi’s sister is more loyal, in part, because she is a member of his family.

The friend here actually does the right thing.  Although we want to assist our friends in their times of need, sometimes we need to let go and allow them to mess up in order to learn a valuable lesson themselves.  We learn best by doing, so perhaps the friend can’t stop Dumuzi’s progress into his next set of experiences.  Parents face this dilemma all the time in their attempt to achieve a balance between allowing their children to learn from experience while wanting to shelter them from harm.

The galla catch up with Dumuzi, of course, because this is his fate.  In a panic, Dumuzi calls up to the sun god, Utu, to transform his arms and legs into those of a snake, and later as those of a gazelle.  Utu complies, and gives Dumuzi one last chance for escape.  Why does the sun god have mercy on Dumuzi as he is dragged away to death?  The sun represents life and its energy.  The sun naturally wants to preserve life and keep it active.  The moon reflects the changes of death, in dual opposition to the qualities of the sun (male vs. female).  Dumuzi is eventually seized by the galla, who take him to his new home.

In the final section entitled “The Return,” we see everyone in tears over Dumuzi’s fate.  His family is crying, including his mother Sirtur and sister Geshtinanna.  A strange fly appears who seems to know where Dumuzi is, but it asks for compensation before saying where.  Inanna grants the fly the abilities to enter the taverns (which explains why flies are attracted to restaurants!) and listen to people’s conversations (the traditional “fly on  the wall”).  Bear in mind that any flying creatures were considered to be gods or spirits of some fashion, since they can fly heavenward, unlike people.  (In fact, in Genesis 9, after Noah alighted from the ark and made a sacrifice to Yahweh, the "gods" descended 'like flies" to the sacrifice; the flies here too represent gods, a carry-over tradition from Mesopotamian literature). The fly tells Inanna to look at the “edges of the steppe,” or on the horizon, to find Dumuzi -- which they do!

Why the horizon?  Think about what the horizon is – the intersection of heaven and earth.  Dumuzi is about to leave the earth and pass into the next world.  The horizon represents a boundary between these two realms.  However, the horizon is also a trick that is played on the eyes.  There really isn’t a “horizon,” since it is a matter of perspective.  In the third unit on Egypt, we will see the horizon play an even more important role in the stories.

On page 89, a deal is struck.  Geshtinanna offers to make a sacrifice of herself so that Dumuzi can be released from the Underworld for one half a year.  In Mesopotamia, the growing seasons of different crops lasted about 6 months each -- in the spring and summer, grains were grown; but in the fall and winter, grapes were cultivated.  The grains were harvested to produce beer, and the grapes were collected to make wine.  Dumuzi, although he is a shepherd in the earlier stories, later assumed control over the grains, perhaps because of his marriage to the goddess of fertility.  Likewise, Geshtinanna is the “lady of the vine,” assisting in its production.

The Mesopotamians needed to explain why certain “forces” allowed different plants to grow at opposite times, so they used their understanding of dualities to tell their stories.  They also shape their view of the world in the contexts of their surroundings.  Because the end of one growing season corresponds with the beginning of the other, the Mesopotamians constantly associated death with life and life with death.  Citizens of the United States typically experience four distinct seasons.  In the autumn, the crops wither and die, and then lay fallow for months before new life springs into action.  The Mesopotamians lived in a very arid and warm climate year-round, although they recognized three distinct seasons. 

This story is really a metaphor of the changing seasons, where Dumuzi and Geshtinanna (the winter and summer) return to earth, exchanging places twice a year.  Undoubtedly, this also explains the rotation of the cosmos, and ties the planting and harvest seasons into these six-month periods of transition.  The siblings tag-team their duties on earth and the Underworld, just as the plants do, but then wither away in their “off”  seasons.  The seasons belong to the same family, and the year becomes broken into a fertile season (when Inanna and Dumuzi are together) and a fallow one.

Sending Dumuzi to the Underworld also gives him a divine purpose.  Instead of sitting around in a state of retirement or leisure, he now can be deified by assuming a greater cosmic purpose. The male characters don’t really understand what they’re getting into when they marry a powerful goddess!  In the end, Dumuzi becomes glorified, especially since he sacrifices his “self” for the greater harmony of the world.  He has now become an important god, worthy of worship.  He began as a stubborn shepherd who had no knowledge of agriculture, and he ends up becoming a fertility god through his association with Inanna and his experiences in the underworld.  His name means “faithful son,” and he parallels many other sacrificial sons throughout world literature.

Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld

This story is a shorter and later version of the Wolkstein version. Throughout Mesopotamia, dozens of different versions of this story exist, all revealing subtle changes in setting, motivation, action, etc. Often, these stories were adapted to the local traditions that would highlight certain characters while ignoring others, based on the desires and needs in that time and place.

Since we covered the Sumerian version carefully last time, we only examined a few key differences between the editions. One is Inanna's/Ishtar's motivation for taking the journey. In this Babylonian version, Ishtar never indicates her reason for descending. Rather, the text simply says that she set her mind to it.

Likewise, she is treated differently by Ereshkigal when she enters. Instead of "fixing the eye of death" upon Inanna, Ishtar unleashes 60 diseases that kill Ishtar. We will see many gods in the next unit unleash disease on the human populations, often because they are making too much noise. Notice that instead of directly killing Inanna, Ereshkigal simply lets diseases do the job, perhaps relinquishing responsibility due to the indirect nature of the assault. Remember that mythological gods ride on both sides of the duality -- sometimes they're good, while other times they're bad. Just like Nature.

Perhaps the most odd difference between these two versions is the creation by Enki/Ea that is allowed to enter and exit the Underworld with Inanna. Whereas in the Sumerian version Enki creates two androgynous creatures (the kurgarra and galatur), in the Babylonian version Ea creates "Good-looks the playboy," who is either a castrated boy (eunuch) or some kind of androgynous, hermaphroditic character. Both are intermediaries, since they are allowed to enter and exit the Underworld, but their appearances are clearly different. In Sumeria, the kurgarra and galatur are akin to a type of serpent, which represents life. Here, in the Ishtar version, we employ a boy (in and of itself a sexually immature individual) who further becomes impotent due to his condition (either he was born with improper sex organs, as is the case with 1 in every 1000 births anyway, or they have been removed as part of a court ritual in the kingdom). Either way, we learn that a gender defines a person on one side of the duality or the other. Androgynous creatures can bridge that gap because they have nothing to offer, sacrifice, or take to or from the Underworld.

Lastly, we don't see the aftermath of Ishtar's resurrection, nor do we see the galla creatures, Dumuzi's descent, or the episodes with Geshtinanna, the friend, or the fly.

Inanna and Ebih

After Inanna acquires the holy me and becomes married, she will then assert her powers in order to acquire even more power. The cover of Diane Wolkstein's text calls Inanna the "Queen of Heaven and Earth." In the previous Inanna stories, we can see her become a powerful fertility goddess (hence, a powerful Earth goddess). Now, in this story and the next, we see Inanna grab heavenly power as well. Later, we'll see her attempt to control the Underworld.

Ebih is another name for an unknown location in the Zagros Mountains, the range of mountains visible due East if we stand in Sumer. I had shown you pictures of Utu, the sun god, rising out of the mountain, which represents the sun rising above the eastern mountain ranges in Iran. Over time, the mountain (kur) would become associated with the Underworld, and here's why ....

Hundreds of Mesopotamian documents (both myths and histories) refer to the repeated and frequent attacks by the various peoples populating the Iranian mountains. The latest war between Iran and Iraq (1980-1989) is only the latest incarnation of the battles waged between the nomadic shepherds from the mountains and the agrarian Mesopotamians. Because the Mesopotamians were able to store food and live comfortably through droughts, they fared much better than the mountain herdsmen did, causing these starving and desperate people to routinely attack the Sumerians and Babylonians for food and riches. Very few accounts exist that describe the Sumerian farmers as the aggressors, although we will see a few hero tales in the second unit to this effect. Therefore, the mountain often became associated with evil, due to the animosity against these invaders from the high country.

In Mesopotamian literature, we see references to two types of "mountains": the "Great Mountain" and "The Great Mound." Unfortunately, the distinctions and applications of these concepts are disputed amongst the experts, mainly because these ideals are applied inconsistently throughout the literature of this region. Sometimes, the "mountain" pertains to the high ground between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (called "Mesopotamia," the "Land Between the Rivers"), and sometimes it references the eastern mountains. In many ways, however, these two locations are connected ... underground.

The Mesopotamians buried their dead in the earth, wrapped in a funeral shroud. Therefore, the Underworld was initially a literal place, as the corpses were literally under the ground's surface. Access to the underworld was easy, and many references to these passages are found throughout the readings. The Underworld, although located beneath the earth, was supposed to float upon the Apsu, the underground pools of water that were associated with Enki. Therefore, entrance to the Underworld could be gained by floating in the Apsu, made accessible through certain temples (such as E-ana), mountain tunnels, and cracks in the earth (as we will see in Gilgamesh in several weeks). The Apsu was supposed to extend to all "four corners" of the Sumerian world, and therefore also allowed underground access to the kur, the Great Mountain, often depicted as a monster, a dragon, a god, or living rock.

In this myth, Inanna slays the mountain after it showed her "no respect." Figuratively, the people of the mountain are being targeted here, and we will hear more unflattering descriptions of them in future titles. On page 91, An warns Inanna about the dangers inherent in an attack of the kur, but she ignores these warnings. On the left column, An describes the terror of the mountain, but deviates in one paragraph to describe the flourishing and luxuriant foliage and beauty of the place. Why would a location be so beautiful and so terrifying at the same time? This is explained by specifying the references: what Nature gave the mountain is beautiful (after all Ninkura, the goddess of mountain pastures and daughter of Enki represents the vegetation), but what society gave the mountain was evil.

Interestingly enough, on the right column of page 91 we see how Inanna subdued the mountain: through drought, the same tool that she will use against Gilgamesh in the epic that we'll read later. Inanna, a fertility goddess, also has the powers (holy me) to destroy fertility. Killing the land assures that no one can hide from her wrath. We see Inanna asserting even further control and influence over Nature, especially its fertility. She is reinforcing her position as "Queen of Earth."

Inanna and An

In this myth, we see Inanna a little bit miffed. She is angry with her great-grandfather An because he did not give Dumuzi the gift that she wanted him to offer: his temple above the Apsu, called E-ana (the House of An/Heaven). This temple is located in the city of Nippur, and I showed a picture of this in Week 3. We have seen the courtship and marriage of Inanna and Dumuzi, and now we see the bridezilla awaken after she has assessed all of her wedding gifts. She claims that the temple is hers (and it is, historically), so she decides to take it back, perhaps in protest. Her method of overtaking the temple is a natural one: she conjures the "south wind" to rise in a storm against the temple.

The southern wind in Sumeria was considered to be the evil wind, and for obvious reasons. The storms were strongest when they rose from the south, much like this country has recently witnessed with Katrina. In Europe, the north wind was the unforgiving one (the Greeks called it Boreas) because it brought the Arctic chill during the winter, Europe's harshest season. In Sumeria, the north wind brought refreshing breezes, so it was welcome during the heat of summer. The south wind, however, brought heavy storms from the warm Persian Gulf waters, causing destruction. The most problematic aspects of these floods, however, may have been the inundation of salt water pushed upstream. Salt water is not potable water fit for human consumption, so this problem created by the southern wind directly impacted their livelihoods. Therefore, Inanna has chosen a formidable weapon.

After taking over the temple, the gateway to the Apsu, the Anunnaki (or Anunna) were essentially flooded out of their home. An escapes to the sky, which is where he belongs, and this will start a migration of the gods away from the earth. All myths tell the story of the separation of heaven from earth, and this is likely the foundation of mythology, since a duality is generated between the two realms: mankind is mortal, but the gods are immortal, thus they are kept separate. Eventually, Enlil will attain greater standing as the head of the pantheon, replacing An.

After losing his temple, An retaliates by creating night, evoking the similar scene that we read in the initial collection of creation stories. By introducing night into the sky, An creates the cycles and the boundaries within Inanna must operate. Because Inanna is the planet Venus, the morning star and evening star, she can only exert her influence at the confluence of night and day, restricting her abilities to overtake the heavens during both phases. In real life, this myth may have been written to explain an increased need for fertility in the region, perhaps after a stretch of intensely hot weather.

The Debate Between Hoe and Plough

In Sumerian culture, agriculture allowed them to establish a stable home, develop the land, and pass it down to their children. Their wealth gained from this new way of living allowed them an abundance of free time to develop art, writing, and culture. However, the surrounding cultures were mostly nomadic, meaning that they struggled each day for their food. Mainly shepherding cultures, these nomads often would encroach upon Sumer whenever the land failed to provide them with healthy pastures to graze their sheep and goats. Eventually, this competition for resources led to thousands of years of war in the region.

The hoe essentially argues that it is the more versatile tool, used throughout the year to perform a variety of tasks, from canal building to brick making, temple building and repair work, as well as gardening. The plough arrogantly aligns himself with the kings and the upper classes, as only the very rich could afford to purchase a plough after they had been invented. It is the plough that addresses this class distinction, by the way, as it criticizes the plough for being used at the "poor man's hand." The hoe, however, claims that this tool is universal and therefore better. After arguing that the plough is a high-maintenance tool, always breaking, hoe is declared the winner. This decision is arbitrary, of course, as the plough certainly revolutionized the region. However, the decision to place the hoe on top demonstrates the Sumerians' appreciation for a tool that can be used by everyone to do almost anything.

The Debate Between Sheep and Grain

This poem likewise pits a male figure versus a female one. Much like the hoe (a feminine idea) trumps plough (masculine), grain (called a "beautiful girl," "sister," and "Enlil's daughter") is deemed by Enki to be better than sheep (who once again associates himself with kingship, a male trait). Again, this simply reflects the values of the Sumerians who had developed agriculture to amass their wealth, not shepherding.

The first humans are alluded to, and they are naked, acting like animals. Although the gods gave humans both grain and sheep, the humans were originally ignorant of how to use them. That's why they eat like animals rather than baking bread like humans, and they are naked, having no clue how to shear the wool to make clothing.

Sheep is associated with royalty, especially since the wealthy could afford the best clothes. The grain, however, nourishes everybody, and therefore, like the hoe, is something that every Sumerian can be thankful for. The grain calls the sheep a tresspasser in the gardens, reflecting the real-world conflict between these occupations. The grain argues that the administrative tasks of counting sheep all day seem too much work for such a little reward, as the farmer relies on Mother Nature to create the magic to make the crops grow.

At the end, both parties acknowledge that they are doomed to be eaten, so they share the same fate. Each criticizes the other for their manners of death: the grain is pounded into flour, while the sheep are slaughtered in the streets. Enki, however, claims that they should be "sisters," not brothers, although he clearly sides with the grain.

The Song of the Hoe

This praise poem to the hoe is a great example of the clever wordplay employed by these ancient writers. The Sumerian word for hoe is "al," and this letter combination appears in hundreds of Sumerian words. Although all of these words containing this syllable do not represent the same ideas, we can gather them together and determine that most of these words pertain to industry -- the great work ethic of this culture's citizens. Perhaps the most intriguing of the words is "altar," which means both "mighty" and "work," reflecting the idea that the work performed at the altar is mighty. It's amazing that English still uses this word 6,000 years later. Just know that the readings contain lots of creative word play, such as pins and equivocations (one word simultaneously meaning two things).

A Drinking Song

This praise poem praises barley and beer, and for good reason. The Sumerians embraced life, and they enjoyed themselves due to their freedoms and wealth, much like how America is the biggest "fun" culture today. Rather than praising the act of drinking to excess, the Sumerians used beer and wine for celebratory purposes. They grey the barley and grapes, and patiently cultivated them into celebratory fluids. In the last stanza of the poem, you can see many references to joy and happiness. Don't ignore the importance of this. We take our good times for granted because we are very wealthy. We never worry about where our nextmeal is coming from, and we can access nearly everything we need within easy reach. This allows us to celebrate our lives, just as the Sumerians were one of the first cultures to find cultural joy in abundance. This poem is perhaps the very first literary mention of human joy.

Announcements:

You will receive a reading guide for the first test, which we will take in two weeks (February 3rd). Next week's class (and quiz) will be the last before Test 1 on the Age of Taurus.

Due Next Time:

The following readings are due (to be read before entering class on Monday). The documents highlighted in dark red are required readings. Please print them, annotate them, and bring them to class.

The remaining titles are supplemental, and are not required to print or read. I will not quiz or test you on them, but reviewing them will give you a deeper and more complete understanding of the concepts introduced in the main required titles.

 

Mesopotamian Character Glossary

Ancient Underworlds (102)

Hebrew Conception of the Cosmos (103)

Nergal and Ereshkigal (Dalley, 163-177); READING GUIDE (104-105)

Enlil and Ninlil (106-110)

Ningishzida's Journey to the Nether World (111-113)

A Hymn to the E-kur (114-115)

A Hymn to Nungal (116-120)

Etana (Dalley, 189-202); READING GUIDE (121-123)

Adapa (Dalley, 182-188); READING GUIDE (124-126)

Quiz 3