Women in ancient art

1.“Shall she be called a woman”:Ancient Near Eastern souces of imagery

By:Betty Schlossman, Hildreth J. York

In “ Woman’s art journal”,vol.2,no.2, 1981-1982, pg.37-41

“Many of our cultures attitudes towards women have their origins in the biblical and pre-
biblical times and may be examineted in the light of or Judeo-Christian tradition.Acestea, la
randul lor isi au radacinile in modul de a vedea viata al oamenilor din Orinetul antic.”

2.Ancient Near Eastern Terracottas

with a catalogue of the collection in the
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
by
P.R.S. Moorey

The numerous miniature images of clay that have survived from the ancient Near East are
witness to
perhaps the most important unknown in modern knowledge of the daily lives of people in
many parts of
the region, from the earliest village communities soon after 10,000 B.C. through to the time of
the
Achaemenid Persian Empire in the fifth to fourth centuries B.C. These terracottas relate
primarily to the
beliefs and rituals of ordinary people, in many cases particularly to women in domestic rather
than nondomestic
settings. This is their unique significance. All other comparable surviving material and written
evidence relates almost exclusively to the magico-religious ideologies and practices of local,
predominantly
male, urban élites.(prefața)

The term terracotta is used conventionally here to embrace not only images of clay,
generally no more than
twenty centimetres high that have been kiln-baked, like pottery, but also similar images that
were only
lightly baked or simply sun-dried and thus were more vulnerable to damage and destruction.
Such images
are easily “taken in hand”. They include, most often, representations of human beings, or
deities and
demons in human form, and animals, which again may or may not have had a supernatural
identity.(prefața)

In historic periods, at least, terracottas were generally associated with family life
within households rather

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than with corporate rituals or cults in official shrines and sanctuaries. Their imagery, in
contrast to that
of élite equipment in precious or semi-precious materials, was generally conservative and its
primary themes
often remarkably enduring. The Ashmolean Collection is representative enough to provide
within a single
set of covers a survey of the types of terracottas, particularly in Mesopotamia, where they
were notably
various, and to offer a focus for a general, if concise, assessment of them, period by period,
with the
relevant bibliographic references.(prefațã)

Broadly speaking, two primary interpretative frameworks are used here. Each provides
its own special
perspectives with its own particular advantages and disadvantages; but taken together they are
more
powerful analytically than exclusive concentration on one or the other would be. They are
anthropological and ethnological analogy and comparative evidence from written sources for
ancient magic and religion. (general introduction p.6)

Ancient Magic and Religion

In western tradition magic has usually been treated as something to be condemned or
explained away as
an alien phenomenon. Thus the word is used recurrently to describe what does not seem
reasonable to
a Christian or a Positivist. Increasingly, however, anthropologists regard any distinction
between magic
and religion as difficult to sustain in studies of living groups of people. Here it is taken for
granted that
it is no more likely to be helpful in research into the ideologies of ancient peoples (cf. Voigt
1983, 186,
n.1). Indeed, when relevant written evidence is available, as in Babylonia and Assyria, this is
very apparent.
The peoples of the ancient Near East were not ill-at-ease (as we so often are) with a single
system for
deities, devils and human beings, embracing both cultural insiders and cultural outsiders. In
these ancient
communities magic was regarded as amoral, not immoral. Indeed, it was central to the lives of
all people,
regardless of occupation and rank, neither clandestine nor marginal. As the magic of ordinary
people,
unlike that of kings and courts, was rarely if ever written down (cf. Reiner 1995, VIII), it and
its relevance
to terracottas is more than usually elusive, even in historic periods.
Where Mesopotamian texts bear witness, white magical means were routine on the one hand
to restore
health, prosperity and general well-being and, on the other, to avoid or avert disaster and evil
in a world
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
-7-

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where people saw themselves as threatened in their daily lives by innumerable supernatural
demons of all
kinds as well as by human sorcerers. Deliberately harmful or black magic, probably generated
in ways very
little different from those used in beneficial or white magic, was amongst the numerous evils
against which
protection had to be sought. Even such hostile magic was generally not forbidden in any
legalistic sense.
In short, magic was universally used to alter reality or failing that to keep it at bay.(p.6-7)

Apart from the general distorting effect of modern western attitudes to magic, it needs
to be emphasized
that our understanding is no less biased by the ancient written sources. They derive
predominantly from
urban, state-controlled religious establishments with their formalized doctrines, imagery and
rituals.
Terracottas were certainly current within them but, significantly, they were also to be found in
private
houses and in rural contexts, where local or minor deities are likely to have been honoured,
indeed perhaps
preferred to the official pantheon. In rural communities, as among the saints of Christianity,
both in public
shrines and at household altars, deities are likely to have varied much more from place to
place than urban
deities did. Moreover, ethnographical studies indicate that women rather than men sustain
household
religion, whether in town or country, at times using images and practices far removed from
those of statedirected
cults (cf. Kramrisch 1983). A domestic altar or shrine has various potential roles: it may
shelter
the spirits of ancestors; protect the house and household from evil spirits; and promote both
the fertility
and prosperity of the family, its animals and its crops.(p7)

“1) cult figures, or

representations of supernatural beings used primarily as symbols or objects of worship
(prayer, musical
performances, offerings, sacrifice); 2) vehicles of magic [not distinguished from religion] or
figurines
which are manipulated and in many cases disposed of as a key element (simulation) in rituals
intended to
produce, prevent or reverse a specific situation or state (for example, to insure fertility or
healthy children,
to cause harm to other persons, or to protect one’s own health or property, to prevent natural
disasters,
to cure illness); 3) didactic or teaching figures, for example, figures used to teach values,
sexual facts

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and sexual mores during initiation ceremonies; 4) toys, or figures used for entertainment; and
5)
representations of deceased persons (as well as of people or animals associated with the
deceased) used
as mortuary furniture” (Voigt 1983, 186).pg 8

Although there is likely to have been a relationship between form and function,
specific function is rarely
likely to be evident from the form of the terracotta alone. Functional groupings may well have
crosscut
groupings based on morphological or technological characteristics. In any assessment of the
role of
terracottas in the daily lives of those who made and used them for a variety of purposes, their
symbolic
content and the specific functions they served have to be distinguished. Even if it may be
possible to
identify who or what is represented, whether it be natural or supernatural, that does not in
itself resolve
the question of what activity the terracotta was involved in.(pg.9)

Akkadian to Old Babylonian Periods in Babylonia (c.2350–1650 B.C.)

72. Headless female figurine; hand-modelled; baked; cream slip on a pink core; columnar
with damaged hollow base (free-standing); conical breasts in applied clay; right arm held
down her side; left arm bent at the elbow with the hand cupping the left breast.
AN1927.3282 (X.457: Monument Z) H: 7.1cm. W: 4.5cm.
Moorey 1978, Fiche 2: C11, C09 (figure).
This is the type of female terracotta taken to be characteristic of the Akkadian Period
(Barrelet 1968, 70, fig. 38 (Nippur), nos 93–6 (Tello); Frankfort et al. 1940, fig. 108 (Tell
Asmar); McCown et al. 1967, pl. 122: 1–3; Spycket 1992, 25–35, pl. 14–17). The position
of the arms and the free-standing form is particularly distinctive. It is not clear whether the
women of this
type are naked or not. The absence of any indication of the navel or genitals, previously
indicated, may
imply that she is wearing a long garment.(p.2)

3.Enlil and Ninlil: The Marriage of Sud Author(s): Miguel Civil Source: Journal of the
American Oriental Society, Vol. 103, No. 1, Studies in Literature from the Ancient Near East,
by Members of the American Oriental Society, Dedicated to Samuel Noah Kramer (Jan. -
Mar., 1983), pp. 43-66

13 He looked around and found the woman of his choice, S2 14 Approached her and
overflowing with joy en-gaged her in conversation: Q 15 "I want to outfit you with the cape
of ladyship; after standing in the street, you will be [ ... S2 16 How I believe in your beauty,
(even if) you are not a honorable person." S2 17 In her youthful inexperience Sud answered
Enlil: 18 "(If) I want to stand proudly within our gate, S2 who dare give me a bad reputation?
19 What are your inte[ntions]? Why do you come S2 here? S2 20 Young man, the
conversation(?) is finished, out of my presence! Q 21 [Others . . .] have already tried to
deceive my mother and made her angry." 22 Enlil spoke to Sud a second time, S2 23 Once

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more conversing with her and standing close to her: 24 "Come, I want to speak to you, I will
have a talk with you, please be my wife. 25 Kiss me, my darling of the beautiful eyes, the
matter rests in your hands." 26 The words had scarcely left his mouth that she went into the
house in front of him.

31 'I am an unmarried man, I send you a message concerning my wishes. 32 I want to take
your daughter as wife, give me your consent. 33 I want to send you presents in my name,
accept my bridal gifts. 34 I am Enlil, the offspring of Ansar, I am the noblest, the Lord of
heaven and earth. 35 Let the name of your young daughter become Ninlil, let it be spread
throughout all foreign countries. 36 I will present her the Gagissua as her storehouse, 37 I will
give her a present of the Kiur as her favorite private quarters. 38 Let her live with me in the
Ekur, the august royal dwelling. Let her (also) decree fates. 39 Let her apportion the duties
among the Anunnas, the great gods. 40 And, as for you, I will place in your hands the life of
the black-headed people.' 41 When you get there, the luscious woman of my choice will stay
close to her mother. 42 Do not go to her empty-handed, take her a treasure with your left
hand. 43 Waste no time. Bring me back her answer speedily." 44 When Nuska, the Head of
the Council, had re-ceived Enlil's instructions, 45 He wasted no time [...], he arrived at Eres.
46 Entered the Ezagin, Nanibgal's residence, 47 [.. .], prostrated himself before her on her
throne. 48 Enlil's [emissary] stood [before her], she asked him (about the message). 49-59
[too broken for translation] 60 He repeated to her. Nanibgal spoke flatteringly to the
emissary:1 61 "Advisor, fit for his king, ever observant, 62 Who, like you, could give counsel
daily to the Great Mountain? 63 What could I contest in the king's message which (his) slave
has received64 If there is truth in what you have told me-and may there be no falsehood- 65
Who could reject the one who bestows such exceedingly great favors? 66 [The message] from
your House gladdens our hearts and livers. Let us consider that amends have been made. 67
By bringing the bridal gifts and his personal presents the insult is wiped away

139 "May you be Enlil's favorite wife, may he treat you well. 140 May he embrace you, the
most beautiful of all, may he tell you: 'Beloved, open wide!' 141 Never forget charms and
pleasure, make them last a long time. 142 You two make love on the 'hill,' have children
afterwards. 143 Entering the House and living there, may abun-dance precede you, may joy
follow you. 144 Let the population line your way, let the people ... spontaneously. 145 May
the fate I have decreed for you come to pass, go with head held high into the August House."
146 Aruru grasped her hand and took her away into the August Shrine, 147 She made her
enter the Ekur of lapis lazuli, poured the best perfume over her face. 148 In the sleeping
quarters, in the flowered bed pleasing like a cedar forest, 149 Enlil made love to his wife and
took great plea-sure in it. 150 He [sat] on the throne of his Enlilship, and stood up to bless her
(his wife). 151 The Lord whose word is pure(?) decrees the fate of the Lady, the woman of his
choice: 152 He gives her the name Nintu, the Lady-Who- Gives-Birth and the Lady-of-the-
Open-Legs. pg 58-60

Oxford database.

4.Enlil and Ninlil

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13-21
At that time the maiden was advised by her own mother, Ninlil was advised by Nun-bar-
ce-gunu: "The river is holy, woman! The river is holy -- don't bathe in it! Ninlil, don't walk
along the bank of the Id-nunbir-tum! His eye is bright, the lord's eye is bright, he will look at
you! The Great Mountain, Father Enlil -- his eye is bright, he will look at you! The shepherd
who decides all destinies -- his eye is bright, he will look at you! Straight away he will want
to have intercourse, he will want to kiss! He will be happy to pour lusty semen into the womb,
and then he will leave you to it!"
22-34
She advised her from the heart, she gave wisdom to her. The river is holy; the woman
bathed in the holy river. As Ninlil walked along the bank of the Id-nunbir-tum, his eye was
bright, the lord's eye was bright, he looked at her. The Great Mountain, Father Enlil -- his eye
was bright, he looked at her. The shepherd who decides all destinies -- his eye was bright, he
looked at her. The king said to her, "I want to have sex with you!", but he could not make her
let him. Enlil said to her, "I want to kiss you!", but he could not make her let him. "My vagina
is small, it does not know pregnancy. My lips are young, they do not know kissing. If my
mother learns of it, she will slap my hand! If my father learns of it, he will lay hands on me!
But right now, no one will stop me from telling this to my girl friend!"

He had intercourse with her there, he kissed her there. At this one intercourse, at this one
kissing he poured the seed of Nergal-Meslamta-eda into her womb.

5.Inanna

Inanna (Ishtar) enjoyed great popularity and had a major role in

Sumerian mythology, theology, and ritual. She was associated with
the fertility of the crops and animals and with life in general.
She had a dominant role in the royal marriage ceremony in which
kings were ritually united with Inanna in order to engender the
fertility of the kingdom. The poem, parts of which are quoted
below, "The Exaltation of Inanna" indicates how she was described
as all powerful and reigning in heaven.
Related to her identification with growth, abundance, and
fertility, was her association with sex. Her presence is involved
in the attraction between the sexes, and in her absence, sexual
desire dies. Many songs and hymns describe Inanna herself as eager
for sex and as sexually active

A narrative of the fertility god, Dumuzi, and Inanna, the

queen of heaven and earth, became in Babylonian accounts the story
of Tammuz and Ishtar. Various versions of the myth agree that
Dumuzi and Inanna, after a passionate courtship, consummated
marriage. Through their marriage the vital forces of nature
increased. Inanna, desiring to visit her sister, Ereshkigal, the
ruler of the underworld, descended into the underworld of Hades. In
her descent she had to pass through seven guarded gates. At each
gate she had to remove a piece of clothing. She arrived completely
naked before the royal powers, bowing to submit to their judgment.
Held hostage and subjected to indignities, Inanna was not released

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Women in ancient art

and resurrected until Enki sent gifts. During her absence

underground, all vegetation on earth died.

Bull springs not upon cow, ass impregnates not jenny.

In the street, a man impregnates not a maiden.
Man lies down in his [own] chamber
Maiden lies down on her side.

Inanna was permitted to return to earth for a few months each

year, provided she could find another hostage to take her place.
A central concern of Mesopotamian culture was the vigor and
fertility of life, especially that of the fields and flocks. The
vegetative cycle reflectd a pattern in which growth and fertility
were not constant, a pattern in which they sometimes seemed to
vanish. Sexual desire did not seem constant among the animals.
Against such a background we must view the sacred marriage ritual.
It seems to have been meant to promote, arouse, and perpetuate
vitality, fertility, and sexuality by uniting a king (or ruler)
with Inanna, who personified or controlled these powers.
The people cleanse the rushes with sweet-smelling cedar oil,
They arrange the rushes for the bed.
They spread a bridal sheet over the bed.
A bridal sheet to rejoice the heart,
A bridal sheet to sweeten the loins,
A bridal sheet for Inanna and Dumuzi.

The purpose of the rite is to arouse and ensure the future

fertility and productivity of the realm by uniting two figures that
symbolize the powers of sexual vigor and fertility.
The encounter between king and goddess was sexual and the
ancient texts describe their embrace. The Iddin-Dagan Hymn
expresses this clearly:

The king approaches the pure lap with lifted head,

with lifted head he approaches the lap of Inanna.
Amausnumgalanna lies down beside her,
he caresses her pure lap.
When the lady has stretched out on the bed, in the pure lap,

when holy Inanna has stretched out on the bed, in the pure lap,
she makes love to him on her bed,
she says to Iddin-Dagan, "You are surely my beloved."3

The sexual conjoining brought fertility to the land and

demonstrated the metaphysical connection between human sexuality
and the survival and regeneration of the world.

Bridegroom, dear to my heart,

Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,
Lion, dear to my heart,

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Women in ancient art

Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.

You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,

Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.

Bridegroom, let me caress you,

My precious caress is more savory than honey,
In the bedchamber, honey filled,
Let us enjoy your goodly beauty,
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.

Bridegroom, you have taken your pleasure of me,

Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies,
My father, he will give you gifts.

Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit,

Bridegroom, sleep in our hourse until dawn,
Your heart, I know where to gladden your heart,
Lion, sleep in our house until dawn.

You, because you love me,

Give me pray of your caresses,
My lord god, my lord protector,
My Shu-Sin who gladdens Enlil's heart,
Give me pray of your caresses.

Your place goodly as honey, pray lay [your] hand on it,

Bring [your] hand over it like a gishban-garment,
Cup [your] hand over it like a gisbhan-sikin-garment,
It is a balbale-song of Inanna.4

Other sacred marriage texts echo these sentiments. In Plow my

Vulva, the very imagery of Inanna as a well-watered field is an
agricultural metaphor, as is the image of Inanna's breast in "Your
breast is your field":

O Lady, your breast is your field,

Inanna, your breast is your field.
Your wide, wide field which pours out plants
Your wide, wide field which pours out grain
Water flowing from on high for the lord, bread from on high
...I will drink it from you.5

A goddess-mother is also shown as close to her daughter, to whom

she renders advice and who is accountable to her. Thus it was the
mother's responsibility to safeguard the pubescent girl and deliver
her safely to marriage. In a Dumuzi-Inanna courtship song, when

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Dumuzi urges Inanna to frolic with him in the moonlight, Inanna

replies, "What lies should I tell my mother?" Despite her love for
Dumuzi, Inanna does not violate social convention. She refuses to
learn the stories Dumuzi calls "the women-lies." She does not
intend to reject Dumuzi, for when he declares himself ready to come
to the gate of her mother to ask for her in marriage, Inanna is
overjoyed. She preserves her virginity until her wedding. Inanna
is known in Sumerian literature as goddess of sexual
attractivenesss and desire. Nevertheless, when she appears in her
aspect of the young sexually desirable girl, she is a sexual
innocent:

I am one who knows not that which is

womanly -- copulating,
I am one who knows not that which is
womanly -- kissing,
I am one who knows not copulating,
I am one who knows not kissing. 7

When we consider Inanna's function in the provision of fertility

and abundance, it might appear unusual that she looks to Dumuzi for
food. Inanna prepares for her wedding by washing herself, anointing
herself with oil, putting on eyeliner, dressing her hair, and
putting on jewelry. Dumuzi, for his part, promises to bring the
food she desires. The sense of husband as provider of food is found
in the lament for the dead Dumuzi in which Inanna mourns the loss
of her provider, "the one who gave me food will no longer give me
food; the one who gave me water will no longer give me water."

Yet Inanna is not domesticated. She does not weave, cook, or

perform "wifely" duties. In her lack of encumbrances, she lives the
life of young men. Like them she is called "manly.." Like them she
loves warfare and seeks lovers. She is a woman in a man's life.
Thus, unlike other women, she is placed at the boundary of
differences between man and woman. She transcends gender
polarities, and is said to turn men into women and women into men.
The cult of Inanna represents this role of boundary-keeper of the
gender line. At her festivals men dress as women and women as men,
and cultic dancers wear costumes that are male on the right and
female on the left. In this cultic gender mix and in its hymnic
acknowledgement, Ishtar serves not only to transcend gender, but
ultimately to protect it. As in all ritualized rebellion, the
societally approved and regulated breaking of a norm actually
serves to reinforce it.
In two major mythic texts, those of Enlil and Ninlil and the
Myth of Enki and Ninhursag, the mother cautions her daughter in
proper sexual behavior. In the Myth of Enlil and Ninlil,
Nunbarshegunu, Ninlil's mother, advises her to go bathe in the pure
canal. She is to do this in order that Enlil see her, kiss her, and
impregnate her.

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The presence of both gods and goddesses in the Sumerian

pantheon provided a divine counterpart for earthly communities and
implied that the cosmos was ruled by male and female powers, each
of whom had a specific function. Each skill and craft had its
patron deity. Goddesses were in charge of the three activities the
Mesopotamians considered civilizing: the wearing of cloth, the

eating of grain, and the drinking of beer.

http://www.albany.edu/faculty/lr618/we3.html

Gender Roles in the Epic of Gilgamesh

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role. While women were not the
most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of humans, they still had tremendous
influence. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women
did not play a necessarily minor role. With all the women that play a role in the Epic of
Gilgamesh, gender is a topic worthy of discussion.

The obvious role of men in the Epic of Gilgamesh is that of the position of power. Anu, a
male, is the most powerful God. Furthermore, not only is Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, but he
is also two-thirds divine, which gives him unparalleled power, at least in the human world.
This is evident in the way he rules. "By day and by night his tyranny grows harsher... lets no
daughter go free to her mother... lets no girl go free to her bridegroom." (George, I, 69-75)

Mother

Women, on the other hand, play many more roles than men in this classic. Take Ninsun, the
mother of Gilgamesh, for example. She plays the role of the loving, caring mother and also
that of the wise counselor that provides guidance. From the very beginning of the book,
Gilgamesh seeks guidance from his mother. When he has two dreams about an axe and a
meteor, full of concern, he seeks the advice of his mother. At this point, she plays the role of
the guiding, comforting mother by analyzing his dreams and relating the two objects to
something good, Enkidu, that will soon come into Gilgamesh's life. "My son, the axe you saw
is a friend...and I, Ninsun, I shall make him your equal. A mighty comrade will come to you,
and be his friend's saviour..." (George, I, 288-291).

After Enkidu and Gilgamesh become the best of friends, they decide to go to the cedar forest
and take on Humbaba. Again, Ninsun takes on her motherly role by praying to Shamash, the
sun God, to protect Gilgamesh and Enkidu, whom she has also taken in as a son. "O Shamash,
rise against Humbaba the mighty gale winds...let rise thirteen winds and Humbaba's face
darken, let the weapons of Gilgamesh then read Humbaba!" (George, III, 88-93). Clearly,
gender plays a significant role in terms of Ninsun being a wise woman in a motherly position.

The tavern keeper

Ninsun is not the only woman that takes on the role of a wise woman who provides guidance.
After passing through the twin mountains of Mashu, Gilgamesh encounters Shiduri, the tavern
keeper. Lost in his wanderings, he is forced to seek advice from her on how to reach Uta-
napishti. It is ironic because after his blatant abuse of power and mistreatment of women, as

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mentioned above, it is a woman that he seeks advice from in one of his weakest moments. She
tells him how to reach Uta-napishti and the dangers that lay in between and tells him to find
Ur-shanabi so that he may continue his journey.

The girl

In addition to providing guidance, women also play powerful roles. Take Shamhat for
example. She uses the power of sex and curiosity to lure Enkidu away from his wild
environment. After having sex for seven days and seven nights, Enkidu was no longer able to
return to live amongst the animals and was forced to learn the ways of civilized life, which
Shamhat taught him. It is easy to see that at this point in the epic, Shamhat clearly possessed
the upper hand over Enkidu. He succumbed to her every word, learned the ways of morality
and man, and was even convinced to go stand up to the mighty king of Uruk, which
ultimately led to the friendship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh.

Ishtar also takes on the role of a powerful woman. The goddess of love used her sexual power
over men. Not only did she use it to get the man she wanted, but she used this power to
dominate and hurt the men that loved her. Knowing that her love would eventually lead to his
loss of independence and power and his ultimate downfall, Gilgamesh rejects her marriage
proposal. He points out her previous relationships. "You loved the speckled allallu-bird, but
struck him down and broke his wing...you loved the horse, so famed in battle, but you made
his destiny whip, spur and lash." (George, VI, 47-54). Rejected and angered, Ishtar exercises
her divine power and has her father send the Bull of Heaven against Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
While the two conquer this opposition, this display of power ultimately has the most
significant effect on Gilgamesh's life. The Gods decide that Enkidu, Gilgamesh's best friend
and brother, must die for this act. Clearly, Ishtar's role in the Epic of Gilgamesh was a very
powerful one in which she manipulated both men and gods to get what she wanted, in one
way or another.

It can easily be seen that while men were considered to be the most powerful and wisest
humans and gods, women had the power to significantly influence these men. From Uta-
napishti's wife who convinced Uta-napishti to tell Gilgamesh about the plant that would make
him young again to the examples mentioned above, several women were put in roles that had
important effects on the men they encountered. Of course, this is not much different from the
society we live in today. While many may believe that women have still not reached the point
of true equality, it is hard to say that they are inferior and the significance of their roles in
society is undeniable.

http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2006/4/18/18361/2872

The 'Queen of the Night' Relief

Old Babylonian, 1800-1750 BC

From southern Iraq

A major acquisition for the British Museum's 250th anniversary

This large plaque is made of baked straw-tempered clay, modelled in high relief. The figure of
the curvaceous naked woman was originally painted red. She wears the horned headdress
characteristic of a Mesopotamian deity and holds a rod and ring of justice, symbols of her

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divinity. Her long multi-coloured wings hang downwards, indicating that she is a goddess of
the Underworld. Her legs end in the talons of a bird of prey, similar to those of the two owls
that flank her. The background was originally painted black, suggesting that she was
associated with the night. She stands on the backs of two lions, and a scale pattern indicates
mountains.

The figure could be an aspect of the goddess Ishtar, Mesopotamian goddess of sexual love
and war, or Ishtar's sister and rival, the goddess Ereshkigal who ruled over the Underworld, or
the demoness Lilitu, known in the Bible as Lilith. The plaque probably stood in a shrine.

The same goddess appears on small, crude, mould-made plaques from Babylonia from about
1850 to 1750 BC. Thermoluminescence tests confirm that the 'Queen of the Night' relief was
made between 1765 and 45 BC.

Early Dynastic IIIA, ca. 2600–2500 b.c.

Mesopotamia, Nippur, Inanna temple, Level VIIB
Limestone, shell, and lapis lazuli

H. 9 3/4 in. (24.9 cm)

Rogers Fund, 1962 (62.70.2)

This statue of a standing woman with her hands clasped in front of her chest was found in the
plasterings of a mud-brick bench located in one of the cellars of the Nippur temple of Inanna,
the Sumerian goddess of abundance. Her garment is draped over her left shoulder and falls in
folds indicated by two incised lines along the border of the otherwise smooth fabric. The feet
are carved in high relief against the back support and the toes and ankles are clearly indicated.
The wavy hair is held in place by two plain bands, and curly locks hang down on either side
of the face. Inlay of shell and lapis lazuli survives in her left eye. The best-preserved statues at
Nippur are those that were buried within the temple furniture, like this example. Such
deliberate burials suggest that temple offerings and equipment remained sacred even when no
longer in use.

Nrgal and Ereshkigal

The myth of Nergal and Ereshkigal (polysemous like other myths) reflects, expresses
and embodies views about human sexuality and the relationship between men and women.
The goddess and god, I believe, are emblematic, possessing what the ancients considered to
be feminine and masculine human traits and characteristics.

T. Frymer-Kensky, who interprets the myth as part of the general trend "towards total
marginalization and privatization of goddesses" after Sumerian times. Ereshkigal is demoted
to the position of spouse of Nergal, who then becomes the ruler of the Underworld.

. Borrowing from S. Crane, I would define gender as "the exterior, social interpretation
of sexual practices, specific to a particular society. Sexuality, broadly understood as the
generation, expression, and organization of desire, is the ongoing behavior that informs
gendered identities". Moreover, from the perspective of gender differences, masculinity is a
composite of traits that contrast with feminine ones
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Women in ancient art

. B. Alster , who has done much seminal research on Mesopotamian literature, is

relevant: "The common tendency in ancient literature is not to describe ordinary people
directly, but only indirectly in the guise of deities.

And if the myth does not reflect how gender relations were actually structured in
Mesopotamia, it reveals how gender relations ought to have been structured, according to the
androcentric perspective of Mesopotamian literature.

Nergal says little in this passage, in contrast to Ereshkigal, whose loquaciousness as a female
trait is perhaps implied. Though Nergal´s violence is emphasized, he does stop to listen to her.
His potential for consideration is carefully noted in his relaxing his grip on her, kissing her
and wiping away her tears. His brief words at the end, though incomplete, imply that he
would long before have complied with her wishes, if only he had known what they were.

To sum up, if one can assume that we have in the story a picture of how relations between
men and women ought to have been, the following picture emerges. A significant binary
opposition existed between the two: active male as against passive female. The man, if
necessary, could use aggressiveness to subdue the woman, but the aggression should have
been restrained and even mitigated once the goal of domination was achieved. Concern and
tenderness were components in a good relationship between the sexes. Nergal´s readiness to
listen to what Ereshkigal has to day may well mirror the regard men often had for women´s
understanding and prudence.

Far more detailed and informative are the details of the later version, which is replete
with subtleties and psychological insights. B. R. Foster proposes that the "expansion and
revision of the story developed its motif of sexuality, and in fact makes this the cause of
Nergal´s triumph rather than his derring-do.

, "The two embraced each other and went passionately to bed". The wording of these
two lines is significant: the use of each other implies a mutual and egalitarian sexual
relationship between the two gods.

Instead, read: " Or else I (Ereshkigal) will not decree death at all. I will not pass
judgement for the great gods". Much has been written about Ereshkigal´s impurity here,
which raised many questions that may now be resolved with the new reading. The goddess´ s
instructions to Namtar consist of two parts - an appeal for pity and two threats.
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Women in ancient art

www.gatewaystobabylone.com

Inanna in the underworld

14-19
She took the seven divine powers. She collected the divine powers and grasped them in
her hand. With the good divine powers, she went on her way. She put a turban, headgear for
the open country, on her head. She took a wig for her forehead. She hung small lapis-lazuli
beads around her neck.
20-25
She placed twin egg-shaped beads on her breast. She covered her body with a pala dress,
the garment of ladyship. She placed mascara which is called "Let a man come, let him come"
on her eyes. She pulled the pectoral which is called "Come, man, come" over her breast. She
placed a golden ring on her hand. She held the lapis-lazuli measuring rod and measuring line
in her hand.

http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.1.2.2&charenc=j#

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