House of Words statue of Enheduanna wooden menu frame













The first known poet/story teller:
Enheduanna.

She is the earliest known story teller.
Enheduanna (2285-2250 BCE). Her motivation for writing was political, but her writing was also very personal:

The Akkadian/Sumerian writer Enheduanna was the world’s first author known by name. She was daughter of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great) ... who .. elevated her to high priestess of the moon god Nanna ... leaving to her the responsibility for melding the Sumerian gods with the Akkadian ones to create the stability his empire needed. 1

Her hymn Inanna and Ebih:

"Goddess of the fearsome divine powers,
clad in terror, ..covered in storm and flood,
great lady Inana, knowing well how to plan conflicts,
you destroy mighty lands ...
In heaven and on earth you roar like a lion
and devastate the people. Like a huge wild bull
you triumph over lands which are hostile.
Like a fearsome lion you pacify the insubordinate
and unsubmissive with your gall." 2

Her story
Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi:

"Inanna spoke:
...
My vulva, the horn
The Boat of Heaven,
Is full of eagerness like the young moon.
My untilled land lies fallow
As for me, Inanna,
Who will plow my vulva? 4
Who will plow my high field?
Who will plow my wet ground?
...
Who will station the ox there?" 3

1. From http://www.ancient.eu/Enheduanna/
Written by Joshua J. Mark, 3-24-14.

2. Black, J.A., Cunningham, G., Fluckiger-Hawker, E,
Robson, E., and Zólyomi, G., The Electronic Text
Corpus of Sumerian Literature (http://www-etcsl.orient.ox.ac.uk/), Oxford 1998

3. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories
and Hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein

4. Call me anytime.

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