The Goddess Inanna

  The goddess Inanna belongs to a group of seven deities originating in the ancient Sumerian civilization. As the seat of all Mesopotamian cultures (and therefore many western cultures), Sumer influenced many of the great ancient civilizations, including Egypt, Rome, and Greece. The divine pantheons of these cultures appear to originate, at least in part, with these seven ancient deities. Their names are Inanna, Utu, Ninhursag, Nanna, Enlil, Enki, and Ana.  

Inanna's Place in History

As an example of this divine evolution, Inanna inspired the goddess Ishtar (belonging to the Assyrians and Akkadians), the goddess Astarte (Phoenicia), the goddess Venus (Roman), and the goddess Aphrodite (Greek). (source) However, her actual Sumerian lineage appears a bit murky. Her mother is never mentioned by name. As for her father, in some myths he is the sky god Ana. In others, she belongs to Nanna (the moon god), or Enlil (god of the wind, air, earth, and storms). Many believe Enki, god of wisdom, magic, and fresh water, fathered her. In all stories, her sister Ereshkigal rules the Underworld, and her brother Utu rules the sun as god of justice, truth, and morality. She appears in several ancient Mesopotamian myths. We see the goddess Inanna in action in four myths: Inanna & the Huluppu-Tree, Inanna & the God of Wisdom, The Courtship of Inanna & Dumuzi, and The Descent of Inanna. Meanwhile, she takes center stage in three elaborate hymns written for her by Enheduanna. The poet wrote The Great-Hearted Mistress, The Exaltation of Inanna, and Goddess of the Fearsome Powers. All three celebrate her supremacy, her power, and her patronage of the city Uruk. (source)

The Goddess Inanna

In ancient Sumer, Inanna ruled over love and war. In addition, she represented feminine sensuality, sexuality, and virility. Though in some cases she appears as a timid young lady under the rule of the patriarchy, her true nature is one of powerful cunning, mystery, and intrigue. (source) Her ambitions run high, and she frequently acts in her own best interests with little regard for the consequences to others. (source) Her youthful vitality exudes both a masculine strength as well as feminine sexual power (source). As such, she features prominently in stories of war and politics, as well as in stories of courtship and sexuality. Her lust for dominance urges her to partner with earthly kings in conquest against warring nations. (source) Meanwhile, in matters of the heart, she shines as promiscuous, passionate, and jealous. She pursues lovers aggressively, punishing those who reject her. When violated, she metes out justice and revenge with the force of a tornado. Her behavior almost always borders on the impetuous, and she calculates, manipulates, and seduces in order to get her way. (source)

Cultural Depictions of Inanna

Inanna always appears as a young woman in her early twenties. As a goddess of femininity and fertility, she typically appears naked. Symbols such as a bundle of reeds or a gatepost further represent her influence on fertility and procreation. (source) On the other hand, she often appears with a lion to symbolize her courage and might. As a goddess of war, she wears full battle armor, armed with bow and arrows, or with other weapons at hand. Sometimes she rides a lion. To me, the most compelling image of Inanna is when she prepares to descend to the Underworld to confront her sister Ereshkigal. In the story The Descent of Inanna, she carried the seven meh she stole in a different story. The meh represent the divine decrees of humanity, including law, victory, truth, art, writing, and more. Even prostitution. However, not all the mehs were ideologies. A few of them were actual objects which Inanna wore or carried as she made her descent.

The Seven Meh

Upon her head, she wore the shugurra, the crown of the steppe. She then arranged her dark hair carefully across her forehead. Next, she draped a double strand of lapis lazuli beads around her neck, allowing them to cascade down her breasts. (source) Wrapped in the royal robe, she placed across her chest the breastplate which cried out "Come, man, come!" She wore a golden cuff about her wrist and carried a lapis measuring rod and line in her hand. Around her eyes she applied ointment called "let him come." (source) To the gatekeeper of the Underworld, she appeared "as tall as heaven, as wide as the earth, as strong as the foundations of the city wall." (source) This powerful, feminine goddess, endowed with power and intellect, demonstrates the Sumerian value for femininity. Indeed, the Sumerian pantheon includes many powerful goddesses. However, only Inanna survived in all her glory as female status diminished throughout the ages. I do hope that her survival promises the return of the exaltation of the feminine in years to come. ~Angela Magnotti Andrews