Enheduana of Sumer

Enheduana of Sumer

The first lady of the throne room
has accepted Enheduanda's song
Inanna loves her again
The day was good for Enheduana, for she was dressed in jewels
She was dressed in womanly beauty ,
Like the moons first rays over the horizon
how luxuriously she was dressed!
When Nanna, Innana's father made his entrance
the palace blessed Innana's mother Ningal
From the doorsill of heaven came the word "Welcome"
-Enheduana, 23,000 B.C.
2334 B.C., a great ruler named Sargon dominated the land of Mesopotamia. He had two twin sons named Rimush and Manishtusu and a daughter named Enheduana. Because Enheduana was the daughter of a great king, she was given the privilege to read. She was soon discovered for her talent with words, and her father rewarded her with the position as high priestess to the important moon god, Nanna. Enheduana left her hometown of Akkad to move to the sacred city, Ur. The sumerians believed in many gods and godesses, and that it was Enheduana's job to please all of them so that the people of Sumer would have healthy crops and lives. This meant she had to offer and lead prayers and rituals to the gods, make offering in there honor, sacrificing animals, and burning incense to please them. Enheduana became very good at channeling her religious feeling into her writing. She began to feel more connected to the moon goddess, Inanna (As shown in picture), and began to write many poems about her. Under the influence of Enduana, Inanna became the supreme being in Sumer. Enheduana wrote all of her poems on clay tablets, so over 50 tablets with her poems inscribed have been uncovered. Her writings tell archaeologist about herself, politics, and Sumerian religion. Enheduana kept her position as high priestess until her nephew came into power and forced her out to make room for his own daughter. Enheduana was the first non- anonymous women, if not person, ever to publish scripts and poems. She is an exploratory example of powerful women and even in ancient times when women weren't highly respected, that girls can do anything.

Questions:
1) During the time Enheduana was writing, books were clay tablets written by using a stylus to engrave the words in while the clay was still wet
2) Enheduana lived in the city of Akkad with her two twin brothers and her father, King Sargon.
3) Enhedana was high priestess of the moon god Nanna. She had to lead prayers and rituals, sacrifice animals, and keep the gods happy. She held down this position until her Nephew kicked her out to make room for his own daughter.
4) Enheduanas poems were widely known and so popular that many copies of the same poem were written.
5) Enheduana wrote about religion, herself, and sometimes politics. This lets us know what was going through leaders heads in the times when Sumer thrived