Inanna: Goddess of Love and War

Author: * Diantha Livius - 7 Posts on this thread out of 1,849 Posts sitewide.
Date: Apr 16, 2003 - 21:05

Throughout antiquity, there have been countless gods and goddesses. More specifically, there have been many love goddesses who have dually been war goddesses. One of the earliest of these paragons, was the Sumerian goddess Inanna.

Let’s talk about love

Many myths in Sumer revolve around this overly ambitious, forceful and even imperious goddess (Ishtar in Babylon and Akkadia) and her husband (the shepherd god Damuzi/Tammuz). There are two very different accounts about the wooing of Inanna by her intended husband. In one account, she hates Damuzi on sight and wishes to marry Enkimdu (the farmer of the supreme god, Enlil). So, with the help of her brother (the sun god Utu), Damuzi argues with Inanna, and convinces her to marry the shepherd over the farmer. In this version, the argument becomes heated and there are threats of violence, until she does accept Damuzi. In the other account, Damuzi finds immediate acceptance as Nana's lover and husband. She seems most eager to welcome him into her bed and have him become her husband.

There are some very tender moments during Inanna and Damuzi’s marriage. They seemed to share a great passion for one another. Here is an exept out of Diane Wolkenstein and Samuel Noah Kramer’s book, “INANNA: Queen of Heaven and Earth”, pages 42 and 43:

Inanna spread the bridal sheet across the bed.
She called to the king:
"The bed is ready!"
She called to her bridegroom:
"The bed is waiting!"
He put his hand in her hand.
He put his hand to her heart.
Sweet is the sleep of hand to hand.
Sweeter is the sleep of heart to heart.

But, it all turns sour when Inanna descends into the Abzu, the underworld.

The Vengeful Goddess

Inanna is not only known for her great love, nor for her sexual appetites. At times, this goddess was feared for her temper. She was a warrior goddess who was willing to fight for what she believed - no matter how misguided these fights were.

In another tender moment between Damuzi and his Inanna, the goddess announces:

In battle I am your leader,
In combat I am your armor-bearer,
In the assembly I am your advocate
On the campaign I am your inspiration.

But, this was not to remain so, for in the tale of Inanna’s descent to the underworld, Damuzi ends up dead in the end for angering the goddess. The story begins with Inanna deciding to go to the underworld, the domain of her sister Ereshkigal. There is no love between these sisters and they are bitter rivals. But, Inanna decides to go there alone, in order to become the mistress of “the land of no return”, and mayhap to raise the dead once she is its mistress. Things go sour, and Inanna dies, her corpse is hung on a stake for all to see. Having left instructions for her servant, the god of wisdom, Enki is finally called upon to help the hapless goddess. He fashions a way to trick Ereshkigal into giving Inanna life once again. But, there is a catch. She may leave the underworld, but she must find someone to take her place. So she, along with the galla demons, exit the underworld to find an unfortunate victim to take her place. Many places are passed up, but when she comes home, she finds her dearly beloved celebrating and having a good time being a bachelor (she had been dead for only 3 days). He “put on a noble robe, sat on a high throne,” which really means he was actually celebrating Inanna’s misfortune.

Well, who could blame a girl for being upset? She tells the galla that she has found her replacement and points to dear-old Damuzi. They eagerly take him, after three attempts to save him. And, in the end Damuzi dies and is taken to the underworld in place of Inanna.

As stated previously, after the dual goddess Inanna, others seem to have sprung up after her. But, in my humble opinion she is the first and best...and the biggest brat. LOL