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Title: Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High by Betty De Shong Meador ISBN: 0-292-75242-3 Publisher: Univ of Texas Press Pub. Date: February, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: GREAT POEMS!!!
Comment: As someone intensely interested in Inanna, as well as the ancient Sumerian gods and religeon, this book was exactly what I needed to better understand some of the most important concepts.
Three complete poems of Enheduanna are represented here, and just the first one, "Inanna and Mount Ebih," is well worth the price of this book alone. There are many other small poems, little titbits of the ancient Sumerian hymns, which are equally enlightening. The translations, as well as the original texts are beautifully done, reading easily as poetry. If you like goddesses and you like poetry, this is a good thing to check out!
I already own "Inanna: Queen of Heaven and of Earth," by Wolkstein, so I am well familiar to Inanna as a goddess of love and warmth. The texts contained in this book are the exact opposite; many show the violent side of Inanna. But this is exactly what is important, because Inanna is a goddess of duality, that symbolizes at many time's man's ancient connection with the spirit and his natural instincts. In ancient Mesopotamia, gods were often feared for their great powers, and harshness upon those that wronged them. Its great to have a new point of view, especially one that is as powerful as this. For the serious student, I'd reccomend getting both books, that way you can have a really clear picture of the glory of Inanna.
The author spends a lot of time giving information about the ancient Sumerian customs, which I find to be very useful. For example, the Sumerian marriage rite, which I had never known much about.
Now, I do have one complaint about this book. The author tends to include WAY too many references to the Bible, as well as a really strong feminist view point. While this is in fact interesting at times, its taken to the extreme in several places, such as at the end of "Inanna and Mount Ebih." I would say that for those of you that dig gender studies, you'll find it enlightening, but I would have preferred to see more information on the ancient Sumerian way of life. Oh well.
Highly reccommended.
Rating: 2
Summary: Interesting but misguided views
Comment: If all you are looking for is a somewhat sensationalized view of the "First woman poet in history", then this book would serve the purpose. However, the author is essentially a Jungian scholar attempting to study the psyche of a high-priestess born almost 5000 years ago - based on out-dated (40 years+) opinions of other Assyriologists and Mesopotamian specialists. Her translations of those literary compositions attributed to Enheduana are also based on readings of Sumerian signs from outdated collations, and are full of her own liberal interpretation and subjective speculation. While it is widely accepted that Enheduana was indeed a prominent en-priestess of the moon god Nanna, as well as being daughter of the powerful and legendary king Sargon of Akkad, the literacy and independence of women in that period is not well-attested. The author failed to point out that the hymns and poems shown literary (Sumerian) styles from later periods (predominately Ur III and Isin-Larsa), nor did she include the latest evidence on the historical background of the Sargonic empire (hence the possible challenges to Enheduana's office) and recent researches on Mesopotamia women (which would shed more light on Enheduana's life). It is a bold first-attempt as an interdisciplinary study, but unreliable as an introduction into Mesopotamian religion or history.
Rating: 4
Summary: Good translating, forget most of the commentary
Comment: This up-to-date rendition of Sumerian religious poetry and hymns can be reviewed in two areas. The first: that of the theories around the poems/hymns; the second: the actual translations. Five stars the latter, two stars the former.
The first part is given over to discussion of the Sumerian culture and the mythology of Inanna. The first chapter dupes as an intro and is autobiographical, which is nice, as it's good to see why an author has chosen to write any book. Chapter Two could be summed up by the statement that Inanna is "all encompassing", but the author chooses to spend a dozen pages saying it. To be honest you can safely ignore Chapter Two. Chapter Three is far better, giving a succinct history of pre-Sumerian cultures during the Ubaid period. Chapter Four is also very good as Meador gives a history of the archaeology of the Sumerian period. It continues through Chaprter 5 with an interpretation of Enheduanna's life. Several interpretative anomalies and assumptive theories leap out in chapters 5 to 7. For example, the single disk that was found stating: "Enheduanna..., daughter of Sargon" is interpreted as literal, even though, as the author acknowledges, this presents a dichotomy (as other Sumerian scholars also acknowledge) of incestuous rituals described in Chap6, pg 61. Given all these scholars and the author agree it presents a problem it might be prudent to theorize that the term 'daughter' is ritualistic and not literal. But, by taking the literal interpretation, it has allowed the author to present a full princessly/priestessly life of Eduhanna with no primary source to back it up.
Chapter 7 begins to discuss the 42 hymns and 3 poems. Hymn 8 speaks of the 'seven seas' which throws up all kinds of questions, given the relatively modern usage of the term. What seven seas were the Sumerians referring to? The author starts to provide assumptive criticism of the hymns and the statement that: "In these works she created a role for Inanna never before explicitly stated" is not teneble. That's akin to saying that Homer was solely responsible for creating the roles of Achilles, Hector and Agamemmnon in the Iliad just because his is the earliest record. Something so patently untrue any Hellenistic scholar would deride the statement. It is further erroneously backed up by the statement: "Enheduanna draws a complex picture of Inanna that had probably never been articulated before." 'Probably'? Alarm bells began to go off on reading that, if the author isn't convinced of her own thesis. Another example is the hymn section on pg77 where the word 'captive' is transliterated to mean she was exiled and there is subsequent psychoanalysis of her state of mind in this 'exile'. Perhaps the word 'captive' is symbolic. It is, after all, a liturgical hymn.
What is also frustrating, and Meador's amateur historian status perhaps explains it, is that (in this section) hardly any of it seems to be her own original thought. It's a constant procession of secondary author quoting, almost as though the author feels she needs professorial agreement for her points to be valid. Which is clearly not true, given the latter sections of the book. The book is good enough without a regurgitatory summation of other secondary sources.
The second part is given over the the poems and is so much better. Brief intros, the translation (my only desire would be for a parallel cuneiform alongside the english, as translatory license is obviously given; unless the author knew when and where Enheduanna was using slang which I doubt) then the commentary on the text. Not a sniff of secondary sources just free-flowing precise scholarship. Indeed the differences between what I term part I and part II are vast.
The first 'poem', between An, Innana and Ebih, has Meador drawing parallels to Eden.There was a very interesting comment on there being a pre-Edenic myh with Adam having a wife before Eve, named Lillith which was new. The second, lauds Inanna's powers, the reverence and rituals due her, with commentary on the personas of Innana. The third, exalts Inanna after a claimed actual event.
To conclude, a tale of two parts. In the first the author tends to switch between literal and figurative interpretation to fit her theories and you end up asking more questions than receiving answers. In the second , the translations of the poems are extremely well done and the sense of devotion to Inanna shines through. The author leans towards a spiritual translation rather than an factual one, and therefore you need to read it with an awareness of 'bias' to the imparted message, but as a current up-to-date version of religious Sumerian poetry this is excellent.
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Title: Inanna by Diane Wolkstein ISBN: 0060908548 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 03 September, 1983 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Sumerian Mythology: A Study of Spiritual and Literary Achievement in the Third Millennium B.C. by Samuel Noah Kramer ISBN: 0812210476 Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Inanna: From the Myths of Ancient Sumer by Enheduanna, Linda Wolfsgruber, Kim Echlin ISBN: 0888994966 Publisher: Groundwood Books Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Blood, Bread, and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World by Judy Grahn ISBN: 0807075051 Publisher: Beacon Press Pub. Date: November, 1994 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Uncursing the Dark: Treasures from the Underworld by Betty De Shong Meador, Betty De Shong Meadow, Meador Betty De Shong ISBN: 0933029659 Publisher: Chiron Pubns Pub. Date: October, 1993 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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