Enheduanna
February 15, 2019 10:55 AM   Subscribe

Hidden women of history: Enheduanna, princess, priestess and the world’s first known author. "The world’s first known author is widely considered to be Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BCE in ancient Mesopotamia (approximately 2285 – 2250 BCE). Enheduanna is a remarkable figure: an ancient 'triple threat', she was a princess and a priestess as well as a writer and poet." [Via] posted by homunculus (15 comments total) 59 users marked this as a favorite
 
The Conversation: Hidden women of history. "In this series, we look at under-acknowledged women through the ages."
posted by homunculus at 10:59 AM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


I recommend reading some of the hymns out loud. Even in translation, they make the hair stand up on your neck.
posted by Mogur at 11:06 AM on February 15, 2019 [3 favorites]




Enheduanna is a remarkable figure: an ancient 'triple threat', she was a princess and a priestess as well as a writer and poet."

“Woman will never be free until the last princess is strangled with the entrails of the last priestess.” — Denise Diderot :)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:17 PM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


(Awesome post. Thank you for it!)
posted by Barack Spinoza at 12:18 PM on February 15, 2019


This is ace, thanks.
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 3:26 PM on February 15, 2019


Some harrowing, beautiful, poems of hers are here, describing temples gone these past four thousand years: https://jacket2.org/commentary/enheduanna-2300-bce-seven-sumerian-temple-hymns
posted by SandCounty at 3:41 PM on February 15, 2019 [6 favorites]


Link.
posted by homunculus at 3:45 PM on February 15, 2019 [5 favorites]


Enheduanna, caused me to visit Yemen on Google Earth, after reading her question God about his cruelty, and the fire from the sky, something like that. And surely there seemed to be meteor craters along the coast. This was a decade ago before the current war. She was an amazing character.
posted by Oyéah at 6:16 PM on February 15, 2019 [2 favorites]


"The compiler of the tablets was En-hedu-ana. My king, something has been created that no one has created before."

Where can I learn more about the dedication of tablets and similar? I seem to recall another mefite mention that entreaties or prayers to the messengers would be included. I'm very interested.
posted by tychotesla at 10:09 PM on February 15, 2019 [1 favorite]


why-has-no-one-ever-heard-of-the-worlds-first-poet...

I object to their article title. “No one” is clearly an exaggeration. Because I am among a host of mefites who have known about her since that 2009 previously! And I’ve shared that story with a goodly number of friends.

Good post! Thanks for the additional info.
posted by Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer at 7:34 AM on February 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer: “No one” is clearly an exaggeration.

She's also well known in the Arabic-speaking world.
posted by Kattullus at 2:13 PM on February 16, 2019 [2 favorites]


Here's a great piece by Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid, who wrote the Twitter thread about Ishtar in the OP: How my journey with depression goes back thousands of years
posted by homunculus at 7:47 PM on February 16, 2019 [1 favorite]


And here's a fun piece by Callie Beusman (@cal_beu) about Inanna: I Think About This a Lot: A Sumerian Goddess’s Demand to Have Her Vulva Plowed
posted by homunculus at 7:50 PM on February 16, 2019 [3 favorites]


I will say this. Instead of another goddamn Dune or Alladdin remake, we need a movie about Enheduanna. Or a nice long adult-rated Netflix series- I'm easy.
posted by happyroach at 11:21 PM on February 16, 2019 [5 favorites]


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