Enki & Inanna: Political Theories
The two deities Enki, prime god of the Sumerian city Eridu, and Inanna portrayed as the evening star and a major deity of the city Uruk were feature in a few different mythological tales. The theory behind the god Enki’s involvement with the goddess Inanna is that there is political history being half-recorded through the story. Although the actual records of the two cities’ political actions between each other are scarce, one can draw conclusions based on the content of the mythology in which the deities are featured.
In one story, “Enki And Inanna” Inanna visits Enki in Eridu, and he holds a feast to welcome her. Enki then tries to seduce the goddess with beer, but unfortunately only manages to get himself drunk, leaving Inanna’s virtue intact. Also, while he is drunk, Enki accidentally but generously gives Inanna his ‘Me’, the gifts of civilized society. When he wakes the next morning, he asks for his ‘Me’ and the servant educates Enki on what he’s been doing all night. Angered by his own foolishness, Enki sends out his Galla demons to retrieve Inanna before she reaches home. However, Inanna manages to escape to her city of Uruk. After some time cooling off, Enki realizes his own error, and accepts a peace treaty with the city of Uruk.
From another mythological tale, one observes that Enki and Inanna are now on more amicable terms. Enki is sometimes referred to as Inanna’s empowerer, which leads some to theorize that although Uruk was a strong city, Eridu was the prime ally. In the story of Inanna’s Descent, Enki goes to visit her sister, Ereshkigal, who is in mourning over the death of her husband, Gugalana who was killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Inanna tells her servant, Ninshubur –meaning Lady Evening, as a reference to Inanna being known as ‘the evening star’, to get help from Anu, Enlil, or the head of the gods, Enki. When Inanna does not return, Ninshubur is spurned by both Anu and Enlil, but when she approaches Enki, he immediately sends his Galla demons to rescue Inanna.
There’s a third story entitled Inanna and Shukaletuda, in which Shukaletuda is a gardener, caring for a palm within Enki’s garden. When he finds Inanna sleeping under a palm, he rapes her in her sleep. After she wakes, becoming infuriated, Inanna naturally pursues Shukaletuda but he flees to the city. The gardener soon after approaches Enki for protection, and as protector to whomever asks it of him, the god grants him safety in the city. Enki advises the enraged Inanna to calm down, and when she has, she again approaches Enki and explains the circumstances. After Enki has been enlightened, he agrees that justice must be carried out, and tells Inanna where the gardener can be found.
