THE EPIC OF INANNA FULL

While deities and supernatural creatures have a prominent role in literature, Mesopotamian myth is not only concerned with theistic matters, but also with what it means to be human. Religious ideas are expressed in a wide array of Mesopotamian literary works, and while some features, such as the polytheistic view of the divine hierarchy, remain generally constant, different texts and ' genres ' show changes in focus and in the perception of the divine and the human. In both oral and written transmission, storytelling is a powerful medium for exploring ancient theology. Through the use of plot, characterization, literary themes and techniques, and also structure, Mesopotamian myths and epics transmit religious ideas and beliefs, as well as informing on cultural identity and meaning. Finally, how do these interactions differ from the way in which Gilgamesh interacts with male gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh? These various interactions will be compared and analysed to reveal not only similarities and differences in the way Gilgamesh communicates with the goddesses in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but also crucial differences in the manner in which male and female deities reveal themselves and communicate with Gilgamesh.Ĭoncepts of religion and humanity form an integral component of Mesopotamian narrative literature, and these ideas are evidenced in the frequent exploration of themes involving mortality and immortality, power and authority, and creation and destruction. How do these goddesses reveal or present themselves to Gilgamesh? How do the goddesses communicate with Gilgamesh, and how does he interact with them? The manner in which these interactions take place in the Standard Version of the Epic will be compared to the same episodes in the earlier Old Babylonian Version of the Epic and the Sumerian narratives in order to identify changes across time. This article will investigate Gilgamesh's interactions and relations with these goddesses.

Third Road Theater brings to life - and death - Inanna’s Descent and inevitable Ascent back to her Queendom, through storytelling, music, song, Bunraku and shadow puppetry, digital animation and original artwork.In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh interacts with three goddesses: Ninsun, his mother and a goddess renowned for her wisdom, Ishtar, the goddess of love and sexuality, and Siduri, a minor goddess of wisdom. Here Inanna encounters her ultimate moment of truth and transformation. Her sister, Ereshkigal, is calling her down through the labyrinth of the seven gates, to the deep womb of the Underworld, where she is Queen. Inanna, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, answers a call to the land from which none return. Inanna’s epic journey to the Underworld is immediately relevant to the modern heart, though it was written down over 4000 years ago. This ancient myth is about the human journey into darkness and the return to light. I highly recommend his book, with Diane Wolkenstein, as a good place to begin further research into Inanna.

THE EPIC OF INANNA FULL

Many historians, mythologists, poets, artists and psychologists have studied and written about Inanna since the 1970s when Samuel Noah Kramer published the full text of the original cuneiform. It was painstakingly unearthed, pieced together and translated by international scholars over the last century and a half.Īncient Sumer, the Fertile Crescent, widely considered the ‘cradle of civilization’, has always been an extremely desirable piece of Earth, war after war being fought for control of it to this day.

Inanna’s Descent is among a number of myths written down in cuneiform script on clay tablets in Ancient Sumer around 4500 years ago.

The epic of inanna