S2E11 Goddess Series: Inanna

Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law, and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar. Her primary title is "The Queen of Heaven". (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inanna)

 

She later is connected to Aphrodite and the planet Venus.

 

Myth/Story

The most famous myth concerning Inanna is The Descent of Inanna, which recounts her travels into the Mesopotamian underworld and her death at the hands of her sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the Dead. However, Inanna's attendants enlist the help of the god Enki to restore her to life.

 

Dating back to around 2100 BCE, Inanna was prominently worshipped as a goddess in Sumerian mythology, where she represented love, beauty, fertility, and warfare.

 

Inanna is always depicted as a young woman, never as mother or faithful wife, who is fully aware of her feminine power and confronts life boldly without fear of how she will be perceived by others, especially by men. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, as Ishtar, she is seen as promiscuous, jealous, and spiteful.

 

The Enduring Goddess

Inanna is among the oldest deities whose names are recorded in ancient Sumer. She is listed among the earliest seven divine powers: Anu, Enlil, Enki, Ninhursag, Nanna, Utu, and Inanna. These seven would form the basis for many of the characteristics of the gods who followed. In the case of Inanna, as noted above, she would inspire similar deities in many other cultures.

 

A vastly different personality from that of the traditional Mother Goddess (as exemplified in Ninhursag), Inanna is a brash, independent young woman; impulsive and yet calculating, kind and at the same time careless with other's feelings or property or even their lives. (https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/) 

 

https://www.thisiskatemurphy.com/post/who-was-inanna-and-why-was-she-important

Kate Murphy

 

Symbols:

Lion: Her attribute animal as the goddess of war is the lion, on the back of which she often has one foot or fully stands. In praise of her warlike qualities, she is compared to a roaring, fearsome lion.

During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was frequently depicted as a heavily armed warrior goddess with a lion as one of her attributes. Doves were also prominent animal symbols associated with Inanna/Ishtar. Doves are shown on cultic objects associated with Inanna as early as the beginning of the third millennium BCE.

 

Colors:  The colors red and carnelian, and the cooler blue and lapis lazuli, were also used to symbolize the goddess, perhaps to highlight her female and male aspects respectively (Barret 2007: 27)

 

Symbolism

• Eight-pointed star: Represents her connection to the heavens and Venus 
• Twisted knot of reeds: Symbolizes fertility and abundance 
• Rosette: Represents life and divine authority 
• Rose: Depicted in Inanna's art, the rose is called amurdinnu (/a.murˈdin.num/), which translates to a wild rose bush with pronounced prickles 

 

More on Venus:  I highly recommend Emily Trinkaus!  She’s a gifted teacher, astrologer and a powerful representation of the Goddess.  https://embodiedaquarian.com/

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