The analysis of the world ancient always presents itself as an arduous task. The temporal distance and the lack of information depending on which aspects make the study a complex task. the field of religion and your field is no exception.
As Westenholz establishes, when approaching religions in antiquity we must distance ourselves from the prejudices and filters of our time in order to capture the essence of the ancient concept.
In the same way, it is not only a question of going back as far as possible from our context, but also of being aware of the transformations that the analyzed period undergoes. Only in this way will we be able to come closer to understanding the ancient world.
In this article we intend to establish what kind of presence the goddesses had in the mythology and rituals in the III and II millennium BC. c.
In the religion of the Ancient Near East, there are various ways to track information about female divinities: proper or place names, list of deities, inscriptions, votive offerings, mythological literature, hymns, prayers and even exorcisms.
Traditionally, historiography has divided the third Mesopotamian millennium into three periods: the Early Dynastic (2900-2350 BC), the Old Akkadian (2350-2150 BC), and the Neo-Sumerian (2100-2000).
III Millennium.
The Sumerians (2900-2350 BC)
The Sumerians organized the theogony of the Mesopotamian world. They were responsible for the recognition and discovery of a great multitude of gods that will be transmitted to later stages. Although we must specify that this mythological heritage is transmitted in terms of names and not necessarily in terms of meaning, as we will develop in the article.
The Sumerian divinities were linked to the cities as protectors, acting as main divinities in those cities regardless of whether they were female or male divinities.
In this regard, it is important to establish non-existence of one feminine ending in Sumerian, so when we find references to divinities in the texts they can be changing. In this way, what in some cities is conceived as a masculine divinity in others is associated with the feminine.
The Sumerian theogony, like that of later civilizations (both inside and outside Mesopotamia), was exposed to transformations.
In the first version (Nipur), the main feature is the reciprocity between the divine element male (Heaven-An) and the feminine (Earth-Ki).
In the second of the versions (Eridu), the unique divine element is Nammu, a goddess who acts as a personification of subterranean waters, the first element of creation from which Ki and An would appear.
What is truly relevant in the Sumerian theogony is the consideration of the female role. The Sumerians conceive of female divinities as creators, “mothers of life.” This classification can be considered as a limited element insofar as the feminine divinity is restricted to the role of “mother”.
However, and in contrast, we would like to clarify that this symbolism has some positive connotations by placing female divinities in the role of creators of all life. The case of Nammu is essential to understand that the Sumerians gave goddesses a primordial role in theogony and mythology.
Following these presuppositions, the feminine divinities will occupy positions of relevance within the Sumerian mythology but with the main meaning of “mothers” or “life-creating goddesses”. Goddesses like Ninhursaga, Nintu, Dingir-mah or Ninmah. A series of goddesses who bring immortals to life.
In any case, despite the fact that Sumerian mythology links the goddesses to the facet of “creators of life”, is not its only distinguishing feature. Sumerian mythology also grants a fundamental role in deciding the fate of their children.
As Frymer-Kensky points out, the attributions of the Sumerian goddesses have their reflection and impact on society, claiming to be paradigmatic examples of behavior.
A clear example would be the goddess Amageshtinanna, a perfect example of a sister’s devotion (in this case to Dumuzi). But there are more exemplary stories on various topics such as: the wife (Uttu), the free woman (Inanna), the daughter, the mother (Ninmah), the stepmother and even the queen (Ninlil). In short, a series of stories that act as a “Mirrors of princes” for society.
The Sumerian ritual must be framed within the temple of each locality. For the Sumerian stage we do not have exact data on the number of cities linked to protective female divinities (patron saints). This number would indicate the directly proportional relationship to the number of “home” temples of a goddess as the main divinity.
Other practices of a ritual nature are found in homes. Deities such as Ezina/Ashnan dealing with grain cultivation, Lahar and Duttur protective goddesses of sheep, Ninurta goddess of agriculture. We also find goddesses in other aspects such as Ninkasi, goddess of beer, and Geshtinanna, goddess of wine. They generally have connotations of fertility, prosperity or good omen.
In short, and not to continue with a practically unlimited list, this series of divinities was associated with more common or domestic practices. Some divinities who were worshiped at home depending on the needs of the family.
Other rites associated with female deities is the public lament. The mourning for the deceased was a public activity of a religious nature that had to be dramatized in the Sumerian world. Some rituals they performed women of the family of the deceased in worship with the divinity.
Before continuing with the Akkadian period, we would like to clarify that although the Sumerians are the “creators of mythology”, or at least those who collect the traditions in writing, they are indebted to a past heritage.
Zainab Bahrani already proposes that since Neolithic times (6500 BC) we find “mother goddesses” in the Near East represented in clay figures. Some figures that are associated with reproductive potential, the element of fertility and creation, with large hips and breasts but reducing features such as the head, arms or legs to the minimum detail.
Akkadian period (2350-2150 BC).
It is a less imaginative period in terms of mythological creation compared to the preceding period. The Akkadians progressively assumed the Sumerian divinities.
The Akkadian period is characterized by the inclusion of the paredros. Unlike the Sumerian, the akkadian if you own one feminine ending. Consequently, well-marked delimitations of the feminine and the masculine appear in the divinities. One of the clear examples would be found in the divinity Ashtar (masculine of Ishtar).
One of the most interesting records of the Akkadian period is that of the hymns. The Akkadian hymns intended for the divinities reveal that the 39 percent of cities had a female patron deity. These data imply that the percentage of main female divinities in the cities was not at all irrelevant.
In this way it can be established that during the entire Akkadian period there were 39 percent of temples whose main ritual was destined for goddesses. Among all the female “patron” divinities of the city, the most relevant will be Inanna (sum.)/Ishtar (aca.) “The one who delivers the kingdom of Summer”. The Akkadian period also bequeathed to the Neo-Babylonian stage the goddess Gatumdug “Founding Mother of Lagash”.
In the same way, the domestic rituals will be assumed from the Sumerians as well as the ritualistic traditions, whose best example is the dramatization of public crying.
As we have already established, the assumption of Sumerian mythology by the Akkadians was progressive, especially intense in the second half of the period (2254-2154 BC) where the Syrian influence was also noticeable.
Along these lines, the Akkadians succeeded in expanding (in some respects) Sumerian mythology and rituals. divinities like Ishtar who in the Sumerian stage only had protective or creative attributions, they acquire a greater depth through attributions of a warlike nature.
II millennium
The second millennium marked a change in the mythology of the ancient Near East. Semitic migrations, coming especially from Lebanon and Israel, transformed Mesopotamia. The coexistence of diverse cultures caused a syncretism in the political, social and religious situation.
Mythology underwent a drastic change. The paper of the feminine divinities was gradually decreasing. The Mesopotamian goddesses, who had been so important in the mythology and rituals of the third millennium, lost their primary role in relation to the protection of cities, their role in the state and their relevance in the cosmos.
Consequently, the Sumerian and Akkadian conceptions of the relevant role of the feminine divinity were lost in the background.
The degradation It was such that even the feminine divinities they were designated generically as Ishtar, due to the notable role of this goddess in earlier periods. A measure that is still a dispossession of religious, cultural and social attributions.
The conception of the world changed. A new theogony was articulated that adjusted to the current parameters that governed the Middle East. This theogony followed the conceptions of bisexuality in human reproduction. The primordial waters were conceived as Apsu (man) and Tiamat (woman), as well as the earth, divided into Urash (man) and Ninurash (woman).
These new assumptions indicate that the feminine divinities of the III millennium continued to be used in the II millennium but with very important variations.
Proof of this will be the Assyrian kingdom, which will present Ishtar as a mere “keeper of secrets”, far removed from the great powers of the previous millennium. In this same line of interpretation we must consider the goddess Ningirim, ancient lady of the important city of Uruk in the third millennium BC. C., becoming a smaller figure.
The rituals and mythological meanings of a warlike nature that the feminine divinities had in previous periods were abandoned. Cults such as public crying began to be exercised by a kind of specialized officials called gala.
The occupation of the gala could only be exercised by a man, limiting the crying of women to the strictly private sphere. Interestingly, this kind of officials tried to imitate the crying and voice of the women they had replaced.
Conclusions
Throughout the work we have been developing the role of the feminine divinity in Mesopotamian mythology and rites. However, as we indicated in the introduction, we are facing a process where the concepts and attributions are very irregular, varying enormously between periods.
The third millennium BC. C. was consolidated as a period where the goddesses had a very important presence…