Praise to Ishtar

Praise to Ishtar

She is clothed with pleasure and love,

She is laden with vitality, charm,

      and voluptuousness.

Ishtar is clothed with pleasure and love.

She is laden with vitality, charm,  

       and voluptuousness.

In lips she is sweet; life is in her mouth.

At her appearance rejoicing becomes full.

She is glorious; veils are thrown over her head.

Her figure is beautiful; her eyes are brilliant.

The goddess - with her there is counsel.

The fate of everything she holds in her hand.

At her glance there is created joy,

Power, magnificence, the protecting deity and     

     guardian spirit.

She dwells in, she pays heed to compassion and 

     Friendliness.

Besides, agreeableness she truly possesses.

Be it slave, unattached girl, or mother, she 

      preserves  ( her).

One calls her; among women one names her name.

Who - to her greatness who can be equal?

Strong, exalted, splendid are her decrees.

Ishtar - to her greatness who can be equal?

Strong, exalted, splendid are her decrees.

She is sought after among the gods;

     extraordinary is her station.

Respected is her word; it is supreme over them.

Ishtar among the gods, extraordinary is her station.

Respected is her word; it is supreme over them.

                                               - From an Akkadian hymn to Ishtar, translated by Ferris J. Stephens

                                                         James B. Pritchard ed. The Ancient Near East

      

INANNA: Journey to the Dark Center

INANNA --- Journey to the Dark Center

I am the daughter of the Ancient Mother

I am the child 

Of the Mother of the World

I am your daughter

O Ancient Mother

    I am your child

O Mother of the World

O Inanna ! O Inanna !

O Inanna !

It is you who teaches us

To die, be reborn, and rise !

Her story , Lore

Queen of Heaven and Earth

---by Mary Scarlett Moon and Callista Deep River

The Joy of Sumer : The Sacred Marriage Rite

The people of Sumer assemble in the palace,

The house which guides the land.

The king builds a throne for the queen of the palace.

He sits beside her on the throne.

In order to care for the life of all the lands,

The exact first day of the month is closely examines,

And on the day of the disappearance of the Moon,

On the day of the sleeping of the Moon,

The Me are perfectly carried out so that the New Year's Day, the day of rites,

May be properly determined, 

And a sleeping place be set up for Inanna.

The people cleanse the rushed with sweet-smelling cedar oil,

They arrange the rushed for the bed.

They spread a bridal sheet over the bed.

A bridal sheet to rejoice the heart,

A bridal sheet for Inanna and Dumuzi.

The queen bathes her holy loins,

Inanna bathes for the holy loins for Dumuzi,

She washes herself with soap.

She sprinkles sweet-smelling cedar oil on the ground.

The king goes with lifted head to the holy lions,

Dumuzi goes with lifted head to the holy lions of Inanna.

He lies down beside her on the bed.

Tenderly he caresses her, murmuring words of love:

" O my holy jewel ! O my wondrous Inanna !

After the enters her holy vulva, casing Inanna to rejoice,

Inanna holds him to her and murmurs:

" O Dumuzi, you are truly my love."

The king bids the people enter the great hall.

The people bring food offering and bowls.

They burn juniper resin, perform laving rites,

And pile up sweet, smelling incense.

The king embraces Inanna.

Inanna, seated on the royal throne, shines like daylight.

The king, like the Sun, shines radiantly by her side.

He arrange abundance, lushness, and plenty before her.

He assembles the people of Sumer.

The musicians play for the queen.

They play the loud instrument which drowns out the southern storm,

They play the sweet algar-instrument, the ornament of the palace,

They play the stringed instrument which brings joy to all people,

The play songs for Inanna to rejoice the heart.

The people's spend the day in plenty.

The king stands before the assembly in great joy.

He hail Inanna with the praises of the gods and the assembly:

" Holy Priestess ! Created with the heavens and earth,

Inanna, First Daughter of the Moon, Lady of the Evening !

I sing your praises."

My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.

The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.

The Lady who Ascends into the Heavens,

Inanna is radiant.

Mighty, majestic,radiant,and ever youthful.

O Inanna , Praise !

SEVEN HYMNS TO INANNA - THE LADY OF THE MORNING

The Lady of the Morning

Honored Counselor, Ornament of Heaven, Joy of An!

When sweet sleep has ended in the bedchamber,

You appear like bright daylight.

When all the lands and the people of Sumer assemble,

Those sleeping on the roofs and those sleeping by the walls,

When they sing your praises, bringing their concerns to you,

You study their words.

You render cruel judgment against the evildoer;

You destroy the wicked.

You look with kindly eyes on the straightforward;

You give that one your blessing.

My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.

The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.

Inanna, the Lady of the Morning, is radiant.

I sing your praises, holy Inanna.

The Lady of the Morning is radiant on the horizon.

SEVEN HYMNS TO INANNA | THE LADY WHO ASCENDS INTO THE HEAVENS

The Lady Who Ascends Into the Heavens

My Lady, the Amazement of the Land, the Lone Star,
The Brave One who appears first in the heavens-
All the lands fear her.


In the pure places of the steppe,
On the high roofs of the dwellings,
One the platforms of the city,
They make offerings to her:
Piles of incense like sweet-smelling cedar,
Fine sheep, fat sheep, long-haired sheep,
Butter, cheese, dates, fruits of all kinds.


They purify the earth for My Lady.
They celebrate her is song.
They fill in the table of the land with the first fruits.
They pour dark beer for her.
They pour light beer for her.
Dark beer, emmer beer,
Emmer beer for My Lady.


The sagub-vat and the lamsari-vat make a bubbling noise for her.
They prepare gug-bread in date syrup for her.
Flour, flour in honey, beer at dawn.
They pour wine and honey for her at sunrise.


The gods and the people of Sumer go to her with good and drink.
They feed Inanna in the pure clean place.


My Lady looks in sweet wonder from heaven.
The people of Sumer parade before the holy Inanna.
Inanna, the Lady Who Ascends into the Heavens, is radiant.
I sing your praises, holy Inanna.
The Lady Who Ascends into the Heavens is radiant on the horizon.


sumerian hymn quoted from Inanna - Queen of Heaven and Earth by Wolkstein and Kramer.

SEVEN HYMNS TO INANNA — THE LADY OF THE EVENING

                                        THE LADY OF THE EVENING

The Holy One stands alone in the clear sky;
On all the people of the land
The Lady looks in sweet wonder
from the midst of Heaven;

The People parade before holy Inanna
The Lady of the Evening, Innana is lofty
Innana I would praise as is fitting
The Lady of the Evening is lofty on the horizon 

At evening the radiant star,
the great light fills the sky
The Lady of the Evening comes bravely
forth from heaven

The people in all the lands lift their eyes to Her
The ox in his yoke lows for her
The sheep stir up the dust in their fold
The beasts, the many living creatures of the steppe
The four legged creatures of the high steppe
The lush gardens and orchards,
the green reeds and trees
The fish of the Deep and the birds of Heaven

Inanna makes them hurry to their sleeping places 

The living creatures and
the people kneel before her
Chosen ones prepare great quantities of food and drink for Her
The Lady refreshes Herself in the land
The people celebrate
The young man makes love with his beloved 

My lady looks on in sweet wonder
from the midst of Heaven
The people parade before holy Inanna 

The Lady of the Evening, Innana is lofty
Inanna I would praise as is fitting
The Lady of the Evening is lofty on the horizon

SEVEN SUMERIAN TEMPLE HYMNS— HYMNS TO INANNA — ENHEDUANNA

Temple Hymn 26

The Zabalam Temple of Inanna

        O house wrapped in beams of light

         Wearing shing stone jewels  wakening great awe

Sanctuary of pure Inanna

        (where) divine powers the ture me spread wide

         Zabalam

                  Shrine of the shining mountain

         Shrine that welcomes the morning light

         She makes resound with desire

The Holy Woman grounds your hallowed chamber

        With desire

        Your queen  Inanna of the sheepfold

        That singular woman

        The unique one

Who speaks hateful words to the wicked

        Who moves among the bright shining things

        Who goes against rebel lands

And at twilight makes the firmament beautiful

        All on her own

        Great daughter of Suen

        Pure Inanna

O house of Zabalam

        Has built this house on your radiant site

        And placed her seat upon your dais

           12 lines for Inanna in Zabalam

Three of the 42 Temple Hymns feature Inanna, Enheduanna’s personal deity, each highlighting one of her salient characteristics: the sensual, astral, or warrior goddess.

Inanna, some say, was the most important deity in the ancient world, her temple at Uruk dating from the fifth millennium B.C.E. until the Common Era. All of Sumer’s initial deities were astral beings; the first three were cosmic lights, the moon, the sun, and the radiant morning and evening star — Inanna. Her jeweled mountain temple at Zabalam houses the axis mundi, the opening through which the celestial rotation emerges. Inanna opens the gate each morning at this nodal point of the cosmos. She is the epitome of desire, the energizing force that animates creation and fuels the heavenly procession. Suen/Nanna is her father of the moon.

        The me (a Sumerian word) were the many aspects of the known world, both the natural world and that of civilization. Each deity was given dominion over a portion of the me. In this hymn, Inanna’s sanctuary guards her portion, her dominion.

＊    commentary and translation by Betty De Shong Medor