Enheduanna (ca. 2300 B.C.E.)
Enheduanna was the high priestess (en) of the moon god Nanna and his consort, Ningal, at the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Ur, and later also of the god of heaven, An, at Uruk. Ur and Uruk were leading city-states of ancient Sumer, in what is now the modem state of Iraq. It is not possible to date exactly Enheduanna’s birth and death, but it is likely that she lived and wrote around 2300 B.C.E. The surviving texts of her works date, however, from a period some five hundred years later. She was apparently the first of a long succession of royal high priestesses and priests of Ur whose names have been documented from contemporary inscriptions and seals. She is thought to have been appointed by her father, Sargon of Akkad, and to have held her office as high priestess for more than two decades, into the reign of Naram-Sin, her nephew. Sometime during this period she lived through a time of crisis, recounted in the selection below, in which she was driven into exile but later restored to her position.
Enheduanna’s writings are the earliest significant body of literary-political works by a named author, male orfemale, that have survived to the present. Princess and priestess, her name was recorded as author-compiler of a major collection of Sumerian temple hymns and as author of poetic works including the “Myth of Inanna and Ebih” and “The Exaltation of Inanna.” The latter, “Nin-me-sar-ra” (Lady of all the me’s), is the selection presented below. The importance of this work is attested in part by the fact that it has survived over four millennia in nearly fifty tablets or fragments, an unusually large number for such ancient works. Enheduanna’s works were models for scribes, poets, and priests for centuries after her death.
As noted in the Introduction to this volume, it is necessary to seek the political theory of ancient times in a variety of genres, such as epic poetry and temple hymns, in which religious or spiritual ideas are intermingled with political concepts. The selection below exemplifies this in the form of an epic poem, in which we find explicit and implicit rendering of concepts of political authority and legitimacy, justice, retribution, just war and rebellion, and right order in society.
Ancient religious texts, scriptures, and epics mention women as rulers and lawgivers, judges, seers, prophets, priestesses, poets, and philosophers. The images of women and men, human and divine, in these texts defy later stereotypes of dichotomous femininity and masculinity. In ancient Israel, the Old Testament tells us, Deborah was a judge, that is, a woman of wisdom, a law-giver, and a leader of the people (“and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment”—Judges 4: 4-5). The judges were also military leaders, and the story of Deborah (about twelfth century B.C.E.) makes clear that she directed Barak to raise an army to fight against the Canaanites of Hazor, laid out the strategy of the campaign, went herself with Barak to lead the battle, and like Enheduanna a thousand years earlier, wrote a hymn exulting in the victory (The Song of Deborah, Judges 5).
Enheduanna’s works have been portrayed as promoting a royal political theology directed primarily to serve her father, Sargon, in establishing the hegemony of Akkad, through elevating the cult of the goddess Ishtar over those of the other city-states of ancient Sumer. Sargon is reputedly the first to have established a form of imperial primacy of one city-state over others. The “Exaltation of Inanna” does clearly reflect an intense political struggle, which some scholars identify with a rebellion against Sargon in the later years of his reign, or perhaps a still later rebellion against Naram-Sin. The poem concludes with an assertion of the supremacy of Inanna, hence of Ishtar, later identified with Inanna.
We may question, however, whether the struggle in which Enheduanna was engaged was for the primacy of her father’s political rule or for her own dignity as a woman, for her prerogatives as high priestess, and for the authority of the great goddess as against male priests seeking to establish the preeminence of their male gods. Perhaps the struggles were intertwined, but the portrayal of Enheduanna’s theology as merely an instrument of the designs of her male relatives is open to doubt on the evidence of the text.
We learn from the poem that Enheduanna was insulted and sexually importuned by Lugalanne, a king or priest of Uruk, whom she accuses of having altered the traditional rites which were properly her own function as high priestess. Enheduanna calls upon the moon god Nanna for help, but he “takes no heed” of her appeal and, in fact, “has driven me out of the sanctuary.... He made me walk in the bramble of the mountain. He stripped me of the crown appropriate for the high priesthood.” Enheduanna thus turns to Inanna for aid.
Inanna is described as possessor and guardian of “the me’s,” a concept not easily translated. The term is used variously to refer to cosmic powers or divine attributes which regulate the universe as well as human life. They may be held by or transferred to a particular deity. In this poem, Inanna is said to be endowed with the me’s by An, but elsewhere she is said to have receivedPage 4 → them from Enki, god of wisdom and the waters. An, god of heaven, is often referred to as the supreme deity of ancient Sumer. However, Inanna is described here and elsewhere as “Lady supreme over An” (line 59), or as his equal, and other gods, such as Enlil (Ans son), are also referred to as “supreme.” The pantheon of Sumerian gods and goddesses shows a pattern of shifting relationships between and among each other that may reflect both shifting patterns of relationships among the city-states and shifting patterns of gender relations, as well as an ancient form of egalitarianism that could accommodate competing claims of deities appearing under varying names and guises. Thus “Suen” and “Ashim-babbar” in this poem are other names or manifestations of Nanna.
The poem celebrates Inanna’s defeat of Nanna, or the defeat of Lugalanne at the hands of Enheduanna and Sargon or Naram-Sin, and the elevation of Inanna over Nanna (significantly, her father!). The “magnificat” of the poem explicitly counterposes Inanna’s magnificent and terrible powers (“be it known!”) against the conscious assertion “That one has not recited (this) of Nanna,” repeated both at the beginning and end of the liturgy (lines 122 and 133). Yet it should be remembered that the defeat of Nanna represented not extirpation of worship of the moon god or destruction of his temple but restoration of Enheduanna to her rightful place (“I am the brilliant high priestess of Nanna,” lines 67 and 120) and of right order in society.
The version of “Nin-me-sar-ra” presented below is from The Exaltation of Inanna, translated and edited by William W. Hallo and J. J. A. Van Dijk (1968). Note that the section headings and parenthetical insertions within the text of the poem are attributions by the translators.
BAC
Sources and Suggested Readings
- Hallo, William W., and J. J. A. Van Dijk. The Exaltation of Inanna. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968.
- Kramer, Samuel Noah. From the Poetry of Sumer. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979.
- Lerner, Gerda. The Creation of Patriarchy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986.
- Lewis, Brian. The Sargon Legend. Cambridge, Mass.: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1980.
- Pritchard, James B., ed. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. 3rd ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969.
- Sjöberg, Ake W., and E. Bergmann. The Collection of the Sumerian Temple Hymns. Texts from Cuneiform Sources, vol. 3. Locust Valley, N.Y: J. J. Augustin, 1969.
- Stone, Merlin. When God Was a Woman. New York: Harvest, 1978.
- Wolkstein, Diane, and Samuel Noah Kramer. Inanna. New York: Harper and Row, 1983.
Nin-me-sar-ra [Lady of All the Me’s]
A. Exordium
(i) Inanna and the me's
Lady of all the me’s, resplendent light, 1
Righteous woman clothed in radiance, beloved of
Heaven and Earth,
Hierodule of An (you) of all the great ornaments,
Enamored of the appropriate tiara, suitable for the
high priesthood
Whose hand has attained (all) the "seven” me's,
Oh my lady, you are the guardian of all the great
me's!
You have picked up the me's, you have hung the
me's on your hand,
You have gathered up the me's, you have clasped the
me's to your breast.
(ii) Inanna and An
Like a dragon you have deposited venom on the land
When you roar at the earth like Thunder, no
vegetation can stand up to you. 10
A flood descending from its mountain,
Oh foremost one, you are the Inanna of heaven and
earth!
Raining the fanned fire down upon the nation,
Endowed with me’s by An, lady mounted on a beast,
Who makes decisions at the holy command of An.
(You) of all the great rites, who can fathom what is
yours?
(iii) Inanna and Enlil
Devastatrix of the lands, you are lent wings by the
storm.
Beloved of Enlil, you fly about in the nation.
You are at the service of the decrees of An.
Oh my lady, at the sound of you the lands bow
down. 20
Page 5 →When mankind comes before you
In fear and trembling at (your) tempestuous
radiance,
They receive from you their just deserts.
Proffering a song of lamentation, they weep before
you,
They walk toward you along the path of the house of
all the great sighs.
(iv) Inanna and Iskur
In the van of battle everything is struck down by you.
Oh my lady, (propelled) on your own wings, you
peck away (at the land).
In the guise of a charging storm you charge.
With a roaring storm you roar.
With Thunder [Iskur] you continually thunder. 30
With all the evil winds you snort.
Your feet are filled with restlessness.
To (the accompaniment of) the harp of sighs you
give vent to a dirge.
(v) Inanna and the Anunna
Oh my lady, the Anunna, the great gods,
Fluttering like bats fly off from before you to the
clefts,
They who dare not walk(?) in your terrible glance,
Who dare not proceed before your terrible
countenance.
Who can temper your raging heart?
Your malevolent heart is beyond tempering.
Lady (who) soothes the reins, lady (who) gladdens
the heart, 40
Whose rage is not tempered, oh eldest daughter of
Suen [Nanna]!
Lady supreme over the land, who has (ever) denied
(you) homage?
(vi) Inanna and [Mt.] Ebih(?)
In the mountain where homage is withheld from
you vegetation is accursed.
Its grand entrance you have reduced to ashes.
Blood rises in its rivers for you, its people have
nought to drink.
It leads its army captive before you of its own accord.
It disbands its regiments before you of its own accord.
It makes its able-bodied young men parade before
you of their own accord.
A tempest has filled the dancing of its city.
It drives its young adults before you as captives. 50
(vii) Inanna and Uruk
Over the city which has not declared “The land is
yours,”
Which has not declared “It is your father's,
your begettor's”
You have spoken your holy command, have verily
turned it back from your path
Have verily removed your foot from out of its byre.
Its woman no longer speaks of love with her
husband.
At night they no longer have intercourse.
She no longer reveals to him her inmost treasures.
Impetuous wild cow, great daughter of Suen,
Lady supreme over An who has (ever) denied (you)
homage?
(viii) Invocation of Inanna
You of the appropriate me's, great queen of
queens, 60
Issued from the holy womb, supreme over the
mother who bore you,
Omniscient sage, lady of all the lands,
Sustenance of the multitudes, I have verily recited
your sacred song!
True goddess, fit for the me’s, it is exalting to
acclaim you.
Merciful one, brilliantly righteous woman, I have
verily recited your mes for you!
B. The Argument
(ix) The Banishment from Ur
Verily I had entered my holy giparu at your behest,
I, the high priestess, I, Enheduanna!
I carried the ritual basket, I intoned the acclaim.
(But now) I am placed in the lepers' ward I, even I,
can no longer live with you!
They approach the light of day, the light is obscured
about me, 70
The shadows approach the light of day, it is covered
with a (sand)storm.
Page 6 →My mellifluous mouth is cast into confusion.
My choicest features are turned to dust.
(x) The Appeal to Nanna-Suen
What is he to me, oh Suen, this Lugalanne!
Say thus to An: “May An release me!”
Say but to An “Now!” and An will release me.
This woman will carry off the manhood of
Lugalanne.
Mountain (and?) flood lie at her feet.
That woman is as exalted (as he)—she will make the
city divorce him.
Surely she will assuage her heartfelt rage for me. 80
Let me, Enheduanna, recite a prayer to her.
Let me give free vent to my tears like sweet drink for
the holy Inanna!
Let me say “Hail!” to her!
(xi) The Indictment of Lugalanne(?)
I cannot appease Ashimbabbar.
(Lugalanne) has altered the lustrations of holy An
and all his (other rites).
He has stripped An of (his temple) Eanna.
He has not stood in awe of An-lugal
That sanctuary whose attractions are irresistible,
whose beauty is endless,
That sanctuary he has verily brought to destruction.
Having entered before you as a partner, he has even
approached his sister-in-law. 90
Oh my divine impetuous wild cow, drive out this
man, capture this man!
(xii) The Curse of Uruk
In the place of sustenance what am I, even I?
(Uruk) is a malevolent rebel against your Nanna—
may An make it surrender!
This city—may it be sundered by An!
May it be cursed by Enlil!
May its plaintive child not be placated by his
mother!
Oh lady, the (harp of) mourning is placed on the
ground.
One had verily beached your ship of mourning on a
hostile shore.
At (the sound of) my sacred song they are ready to
die.
(xiii) The Indictment of Nanna
As for me, my Nanna takes no heed of me. 100
He has verily given me over to destruction in
murderous straits.
Ashimbabbar has not pronounced my judgment.
Had he pronounced it: what is it to me? Had he not
pronounced it: what is it to me?
(Me) who once sat triumphant he has driven out of
the sanctuary.
Like a swallow he made me fly from the window, my
life is consumed.
He made me walk in the bramble of the mountain.
He stripped me of the crown appropriate for the
high priesthood.
He gave me dagger and sword—“it becomes you,” he
said to me.
(xiv) The Appeal to Inanna
Most precious lady, beloved of An,
Your holy heart is lofty, may it be assuaged on my
behalf! 110
Beloved bride of Ushumgalanna,
You are the senior queen of the heavenly foundations
and zenith.
The Anunna have submitted to you.
From birth on you were the “junior” queen.
How supreme you are over the great gods,
the Anunna!
The Anunna kiss the ground with their lips (in
obeisance) to you.
(But) my own sentence is not concluded, a hostile
judgment appears before my eyes as my judgment.
(My) hands are no longer folded on the ritual couch,
I may no longer reveal the pronouncements of
Ningal to man.
(Yet) I am the brilliant high priestess of Nanna, 120
Oh my queen beloved of An, may your heart take
pity on me!
(xv) The Exaltation of Inanna
That one has not recited as a “Known! Be it known!”
of Nanna, that one has recited as a “Tis Thine!”:
“That you are lofty as Heaven (An)—be it known!
That you are broad as the earth—be it known!
Page 7 →That you devastate the rebellious land—be it known!
That you roar at the land—be it known ! 125a
That you smite the heads—be it known!
That you devour cadavers like a dog—be it known!
That your glance is terrible—be it known!
That you lift your terrible glance—be it known!
That your glance is flashing—be it known! 130
That you are ill-disposed toward the ... —be it
known!
That you attain victory—be it known!”
That one has not recited (this) of Nanna, that one
has recited it as a “Tis Thine”—
(That,) oh my lady, has made you great, you alone
are exalted!
Oh my lady beloved of An, I have verily recounted
your fury!
C. Peroration
(xvi) The Composition of the Hymn
One has heaped up the coals (in the censer)
prepared the lustration
The nuptial chamber awaits you, let your heart be
appeased!
With “It is enough for me, it is too much for me!” I
have given birth, oh exalted lady, (to this song)
for you.
That which I recited to you at (mid)night
May the singer repeat it to you at noon! 140
(Only) on account of your captive spouse, on
account of your captive child,
Your rage is increased, your heart unassuaged.
(xvii) The Restoration of Enheduanna
The first lady, the reliance of the throne room,
Has accepted her offerings
Inanna’s heart has been restored.
The day was favorable for her, she was clothed
sumptuously, she was garbed in womanly beauty.
Like the light of the rising moon, how she was
sumptuously attired!
When Nanna appeared in proper view,
They (all) blessed her (Inanna’s) mother Ningal.
The (heavenly) doorsill called “Hail!” 150
(xviii) Doxology
For that her (Enheduanna’s) speaking to the
Hierodule was exalted,
Praise be (to) the devastatrix of the lands, endowed
with me’s from An,
(To) my lady wrapped in beauty, (to) Inanna!