Analysis: "A Hymn to Inana"

Date: c. 2250 BCE

Geographic Region: Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq)

Author: Enheduanna

Summary Overview

“A Hymn to Inana” is a poetic work by the Akkadian-Sumerian poet-priestess Enheduanna. Recorded sometime during the poet's life between approximately 2285 and 2250 BCE, the poem praises and invokes the Sumerian goddess of love and war, Inana (or Inanna). Enheduanna's religious poetry, as well as her unprecedented position as high priestess, is thought to have had a major influence on worship and politics in the Akkadian Empire. Her works are also considered the oldest known writing with an author identified by name. Though the poem, in its surviving form, is fragmented, missing more than twenty lines in one segment alone, it represents a key accomplishment in the development of literature and gives valuable insight into ancient Mesopotamian religion and life.

Defining Moment

Around 2334 BCE, the Akkadian king Sargon the Great united most of Mesopotamia, including the lands of Sumer and Akkadia, under one rule. Sargon ruled for more than fifty years, and he set about making the Akkadian Empire a political and cultural reality as much as a geographic one. He relied on not only military might, but also the delegation of power to trusted officials. Under his guidance, the empire built roads and irrigation works, expanded cities, extended trade, and instituted a postal system, making it one of the first civilizations to form an extensive and large-scale social order. Though the city of Akkad became the political and economic center of the empire, Sargon permitted the Sumerian city of Ur to retain its significance as the religious heart of the region.

To bring together Akkadian and Sumerian believers, Sargon sent one of his daughters to oversee religious affairs as the high priestess of Nanna (the moon goddess) in Ur. Once there, his daughter took the symbolic name Enheduanna, signifying her relationship to the gods. She is thought to be the first female to hold such a high position, and she set about blending the religious traditions of Akkadia and Sumeria in order to solidify her father's empire. This involved establishing common traditions with existing gods and goddesses, and Enheduanna's surviving works focus especially on Inana, the Sumerian goddess of love and war. Inana would become closely connected to the later period Akkadian goddess Ishtar and, eventually, the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

During this time, Enheduanna composed the “Hymn to Inana.” This hymn and her other works demonstrate the vital role that deities still played in Mesopotamian life. At the time, Akkadian-Sumerian civilization still relied heavily on agriculture for its survival. Mesopotamian religious beliefs were tied tightly to the elements—the land, the water, and the sky. Enheduanna's written works provide valuable insight into the roles of the deities in the life of the people. They determined the turning of the seasons, the flooding of the rivers, the coming of the rains, and the fertility of the soil. Gods and goddesses also played a role in more mundane affairs, prompting hymns and prayers that exhorted them for help in war, in marriage, with the birthing of children, and even with political disputes.

Author Biography and Document Information

Enheduanna, the daughter of the Akkadian Empire's founder Sargon the Great, lived from about 2285 to 2250 BCE. Although it is not known if she was Sargon's biological daughter or if the title was simply honorary, she was nevertheless an important member of the empire's administration. Following Sargon's conquest of Sumer and its absorption into the Akkadian Empire, Enheduanna moved from the city of Akkad to the city of Ur. There, she gave up her birth name, which is unknown, and adopted Enheduanna, a ceremonial title meant to signify her new position as the high priestess of the most important temple complex in Sumer. In translation, Enheduanna means the “high priestess of the heavens” or “the high priestess of the sky god, An.” She also served as the high priestess of the moon goddess, Nanna. She was both a political and a religious figure, and at one point, she was driven into exile by rebels before returning to power.

In addition to her active role in religious and political affairs, Enheduanna became a prolific writer. She is the first author in history to be known by name. Best known for her lengthy poetic hymns, written in cuneiform—”The Exaltation of Inana” (Ninmesarra) and “A Hymn to Inana” (Inninsagurra, which also translates as “The Great-Hearted Mistress”)—Enheduanna is also credited with contributing to or authoring a set of temple hymns as well as dozens of poems on themes ranging from religious devotion to personal hopes to war. In translation, “A Hymn to Inana” comprises 274 lines, with more than fifty lines missing overall. In places, the text also breaks off between words and omits phrases. However, it provides a clear glimpse into the religious belief of an ancient Mesopotamian woman with a great deal of power.

Document Analysis

“A Hymn to Inana” is devoted to Inana—goddess of the seemingly polarized concepts of love and war—and her influence on humans. The opening line translates as “The Great-Hearted Mistress,” an apt beginning for a hymn largely devoted to lauding the goddess's greatness. From the start, the hymn proclaims Inana's preeminence and favorably compares Inana to the Sumerian god An, the sky god generally considered supreme in the Mesopotamian pantheon. This signals the rising importance of Inana among the Mesopotamians, perhaps in part because the Sumerian Inana had merged with the Akkadian Ishtar, who already held great status among the conquering peoples. Enheduanna clearly sets up Inana to be tantamount to the sky god, if not paramount. Inana, too, means “lady of heaven” or “sky goddess,” elevating her as a possible counterpart to An.

Enheduanna further establishes Inana as rising above and apart from the other gods, steering her own course that no one dares to challenge. Enheduanna even hints that the other gods—most notably An and Enlil, who was traditionally ranked second in the pantheon—rely on her for the authority to act. An dares not take action without her; Enlil dares not render judgments on the fates without her.

In subsequent lines, Enheduanna invokes the more warlike aspect of Inana. As the goddess of love and war, she embodies power over both creation and destruction. Inana stirs chaos and confusion, speeds carnage, and incites floods. She is a storm and a whirlwind. She is radiant, but terrifying. Her wrath is terrible, and her fury compares with that of the storm god. These descriptions convey the all-powerful nature of Inana through a violent will that would likely have appealed to Akkadians who sought to impose their rule on neighboring peoples.

The praise and attributions of Inana extend for much of the hymn. Then, well into the verse, Enheduanna names herself and shifts to a tone of invocation. Here, the hymn breaks, and more than twenty lines are lost. What Enheduanna says to the goddess for her own sake is lost, but subsequent lines suggest that the priestess did something to displease the goddess and was punished. Now she must ask for forgiveness and continue to exalt Inana to prove her worthiness. This suggests that the hymn may have a personal as well as a general purpose.

Enheduanna then shifts back to praise: Inana has caused hardship and suffering, but hers is also the realm of mercy and compassion. The implication is that Enheduanna lauds the power of the destructive aspect of her goddess to seek the aid of the creative and compassionate aspect.

Bibliography and Additional Reading

Binkley, Roberta. “Enheduanna.” Center for Digital Discourse and Culture. Virginia Tech U, 1999. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

Crawford, Harriet, ed. The Sumerian World. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Jacobsen, Thorkild. The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale UP, 1976. Print.

Kramer, Samuel Noah. Sumerian Mythology. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1997. Print.

Wolkstein, Diane & Samuel Noah Kramer. Inana, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer. New York: Harper, 1983. Print.