“Lady of battle, his beloved spouse” : the relationship between the body of Inana/Ištar and her spheres of war and love from the Jemdet Nasr to the old Babylonian period
Date
2020
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG)
Abstract
Inana/Ištar is the Mesopotamian goddess of war and sexual love. These spheres are both fundamentally physical and corporeal, with the body playing an intrinsic role in both. This paper looks at how the body of Inana/Ištar manifests and is manifested by her two main spheres of influence from the Jemdet Nasr until the Old Babylonian Period. This is done by examining textual evidence, specifically royal inscriptions and mythological and religious compositions, and the visual repertoire. Similarities and differences in how these two types of sources expressed the role of the goddess’s body in relation to both spheres will be identified and analysed.
Description
CITATION: Van Dijk-Coombes, R. M. 2020. “Lady of battle, his beloved spouse”: The relationship between the body of Inana/Ištar and her spheres of war and love from the Jemdet Nasr to the old Babylonian period. Die Welt Des Orients, 50(1):146–176.
The original publication is available at https://www.jstor.org/journal/weltorients
The original publication is available at https://www.jstor.org/journal/weltorients
Keywords
Mesopotamian Goddess of War and Sexual love, Inanna (Sumerian diety), Gods, Sumerian, Mythology, Sumerian, Creation, Mythology, Jamdat Nasr Site (Iraq), Anthropomorphism, Old Babylonial period, Isin-Larsa period, Women -- History -- To 500
Citation
Van Dijk-Coombes, R. M. 2020. “Lady of battle, his beloved spouse”: The relationship between the body of Inana/Ištar and her spheres of war and love from the Jemdet Nasr to the old Babylonian period. Die Welt Des Orients, 50(1):146–176.