Inanna
Inanna
Greek Aphrodite
The story of the Sumerian-Babylonian Inanna/Ishtar is a story of a liberated woman who had many partners and many children as her male god partners did. Inanna had a lover named Dumuzi who was killed. He was a shepherd. Dumuzi is the equivalent of the Osiris-Dionysus and the story of the affair of Dionysus and Aphrodite is recorded in mythology. He wanted to marry her daughter, Beroe, but she was given to Poseidon. Per Wikipedia here are the many lovers and children of Aphrodite (should include a son with Hephaestus per ancient Greek literature but information is missing):
Consorts and children
- Hephaestus
- Ares
- Poseidon
- Rhode (possibly)
- Hermes
- Tyche (possibly)
- Hermaphroditos
- Dionysus
- Zeus
- Tyche (possibly)
- Adonis
- Phaethon (son of Eos)
- Astynoos
- Anchises
- Aeneas
- Lyrus
- Butes
- unknown father
Inanna was said to be very fair and beautiful and seductive and only one man rejected her and that was Gilgamesh who is the equivalent of the Greek Heracles. It seems ancient Iraq worshipped her very much as compared to other parts of the world. Aphrodite was said to live in Cyprus which is an island off of the land of modern day Israel and not far from Iraq.
Dr. Sameul Noah Kramer with the co-work of Diane Wolkstein wrote a whole book deciphering the Sumerian texts associated with this goddess entitled, Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns From Sumer.
Her parents are listed as Nanna and Ningal who are children of Enlil and Ninli just as Enki is a child of Enlil and Ninlil (listed in previous myths I have shown on this blog). I believe Nanna the moon god is another name for Enki. She is listed as the goddess of love and war just like Aphrodite and is also referred to as "Queen of Heaven and Earth" in Sumerian mythology.
All though she has an affair with Dumuzi, Dumuzi has a wife named Geshtinanna who is the "Lady of Wine." I believe Geshtinanna is the equivalent of Isis-Ariadne. Also her brothers are listed as Utu the Sun God (Apollo) and Gilgamesh (Heracles) which is correct per Greek mythology as they were half-brothers to her with a common father Zeus (Enki).
Here are some passages from the ancient Sumerian tales of this goddess from the tale of The Huluppu-Tree:
As the birds begun to sign at the coming of the dawn,
The Sun God, Utu, left his royal bedchamber.
Inannna called her brother, Utu, saying:
"O Utu, in the days when the fates were decreed,
When abundance overflowed in the land,
When the Sky god took the heavens and the Air God the earth,
When Ereshkigal was given the Great Below for her domain,
The God of Wisdom, Father Enki, set sail for the underworld,
And the underworld rose up and attacked him....
At that time, a tree, a single tree, a huluppu-tree
Was planted by the banks of the Euphrates.
The South Wind pulled at its roots and ripped at its branches
Until the waters of the Euphrates carried it away.
I plucked the tree from the river;
I brought it to my holy garden.
I tended the tree, waiting for my shining throne and bed.
Then a serpent who could not be charmed
Made its nest in the roots of the tree,
The Anzu-bird set his young in the branches of the tree,
And the dark maid Lilith built her home in the trunk.
I wept,
How I wept!
(Yet they would not leave my tree.)"
Utu, the valiant warrior, Utu,
Would not help his sister, Inanna.
As the birds began to sing at the coming of the second dawn,
Inanna called to her brother Gilgamesh, saying:
"O Gilgamesh, in the days when the fates were decreed,
When abundance overflowed in Sumer,
When the Sky god had taken the heavens and the Air God
the earth,
When Ereshkigal was given the Great Below for his domain,
The God of Wisdom, Father Enki, set sail for the underworld,
And the underworld rose up and attacked him.
At that time, a tree, a single tree, a huluppu-tree
Was planted by the banks of the Euprhates.
The South Wind pulled at its roots and ripped at its branches
Until the waters of the Euphrates carried it away.
I plucked the tree from the river;
I brought it to my holy garden.
I tended the tree, waiting for my shining throne and bed.
Then a serpent who could not be charmed
Made its nest in the roots of the tree,
The Anzu-bird set his young in the branches of the tree,
And the dark maid Lilith built hr home in the trunk.
I wept.
How I wept!
(Yet they would not leave my tree.)"
Gilgamesh the valiant warrior, Gilgmesh,
The hero of Uruk, stood by Inannna.
Gilgamesh fastened his armor of fifty minas around his chest.
The fifty minas weighed as little to him as fifty feathers.
He lifted his bronze ax, the ax of the road,
Weighing seven talents and seven minas, to his shoulder.
He entered Inanna's holy garden.
Gilgamesh struck the serpent who could not be charmed.
The Anzu-bird flew with his young to the mountains;
And Lilith smashed her home and fled to the wild, uninhabited places.
Gilgamesh then loosened the roots of the huluppu-tree;
And the sons of the city, who accompanied him, cut off the branches.
From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister.
From the trunk of the tree Gilgamesh carved a bed for Inannna.
From the roots of the tree she fashioned a pukku for his brother.
From the crown of the tree Inannna fashioned a mikku for Gilgamesh,
the hero of Uruk.
(Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer pages 6-9.)
In the tale of Inanna and the God of Wisdom, Inanna visits Enki, drinks beer with him and received many "mes" or knowledge to take back with her to her city. I will delve into this tale more, in a later blog article, but for now here is the confirmation that Inanna is the daughter of Enki:
Fourteen times Isimud answered, saying:
"My king has given them to his daughter.
My king has given all the me to his daughter Inanna."
(Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer page 20)
Isimud is instructed to find the holy me and he goes to find Inanna,
Isimud spoke to Inanna:
"My queen, your father has sent me to you.
Your father's words are words of state.
They may not be disobeyed."
(Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer page 20)
What is really strange is that these mes were in something called the "Boat of Heaven" and the Boat of Heaven was taken away from Inanna at Enki's command and then recaptured by Inanna by her servent Ninshubur.
Then Enki called to his servant Isimud a second time, saying:
"My sukkal, Isiumud..."
"My king, ?Enki, I stand to serve you."
"Where is the Boat of Heaven now?"
"It is (two quays away from Eridu)."
"Go! Take the fifty uru-giants,
Let them carry off the Boat of Heaven."
(Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer page 22).
Inanna takes out the mes and presents them to the people and builds a civilization in ancient Sumer.
So just keep this "Boat of Heaven" in mind when I later talk about the Ark of the Covenant. Also remember the Mes were taken from Kingu by Uranus. Something about this Boat of Heaven and the mes smacks of high technology possibly.
In the tale of The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi, the relationship between the goddess and the shepherd king is written about quite explicitly along with his death. I will expound on the story of Dumuzi in another blog article.
It is my conclusion that the Sumerian-Babylonian goddess is Inanna/Ishtar and she is the same as the Greek Aphrodite. More importantly she was given and managed to keep the mysterious mes and the mysterious "Boat of Heaven" that was not a boat since it was able to be snatched out of a person's hands.
When the wild-haired ekum-creatures seized the Boat of Heaven.
(Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer page 21).
by Rita Jean Moran (www.thelibrarykids.com and www.hiddenhumanstory.com)
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodite
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishtar
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