shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
The first recorded author is history was a woman. And what a woman she was: Enheduanna is the first known author to write in the first person and to reveal deeply personal, autobiographical details of her own life.
Enheduanna (c.2285-2250 BCE) was the daughter of Sargon the Great, who is credited with forming the world's first empire. Enheduanna was appointed by Sargon as the first High Priestess, an office other royal women would occupy for centuries after her. Enheduanna herself probably had a key role in cementing the unity of Sargon's kingdom.
Enheduanna, who lived in and ran Inanna's temple in Ur, is the author of three long poems and 42 temple hymns. Her poems (Inanna and Ebih, Lady of Largest Heart, and the Exaltation of Inanna) all are dedicated to and praise the Akkadian goddess of fecundity and life, Inanna. But Enheduanna has composed a new portrait of Inanna that included the rituals and characteristics of the Sumerian goddess of war, Ishtar. Her temple hymns are written for each of 42 temples in the southern part of the kingdom. Sargon's kingdom was composed of the Akkadian lands of northern Mesopotamia and the conquered city states of Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia. Her poems offer a new, unified world view and ritual practice for the new empire. Additionally, according to the author and Jungian analyst Betty De Shong Meador, by combining these two different goddesses Enheduanna is laying the ground work for the later emergence of monotheism.
Enheduanna's poems and hymns were considered so important that student scribes copied them as they learned to write cuneiform for almost 500 years after her death. The book includes the author's translations of Enheduanna's three major poems. The poems still have the power to send shivers down the reader's back.
This is a fascinating, very readable account of an amazing woman. I only wish the book included more of the archaeological evidence for Enheduanna's life and works, and a little less of the author's Jungian analysis. Over 20 black and white photos of seals and images (including a limestone disc, dated to 2300 BCE, with a carving of Enheduanna herself conducting a ritual offering) are included in the book. How cool is this--both a portrait and the works of the world's first identified author?! This book will interest anyone who cares about the history of writing and of women.
Enheduanna (c.2285-2250 BCE) was the daughter of Sargon the Great, who is credited with forming the world's first empire. Enheduanna was appointed by Sargon as the first High Priestess, an office other royal women would occupy for centuries after her. Enheduanna herself probably had a key role in cementing the unity of Sargon's kingdom.
Enheduanna, who lived in and ran Inanna's temple in Ur, is the author of three long poems and 42 temple hymns. Her poems (Inanna and Ebih, Lady of Largest Heart, and the Exaltation of Inanna) all are dedicated to and praise the Akkadian goddess of fecundity and life, Inanna. But Enheduanna has composed a new portrait of Inanna that included the rituals and characteristics of the Sumerian goddess of war, Ishtar. Her temple hymns are written for each of 42 temples in the southern part of the kingdom. Sargon's kingdom was composed of the Akkadian lands of northern Mesopotamia and the conquered city states of Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia. Her poems offer a new, unified world view and ritual practice for the new empire. Additionally, according to the author and Jungian analyst Betty De Shong Meador, by combining these two different goddesses Enheduanna is laying the ground work for the later emergence of monotheism.
Enheduanna's poems and hymns were considered so important that student scribes copied them as they learned to write cuneiform for almost 500 years after her death. The book includes the author's translations of Enheduanna's three major poems. The poems still have the power to send shivers down the reader's back.
This is a fascinating, very readable account of an amazing woman. I only wish the book included more of the archaeological evidence for Enheduanna's life and works, and a little less of the author's Jungian analysis. Over 20 black and white photos of seals and images (including a limestone disc, dated to 2300 BCE, with a carving of Enheduanna herself conducting a ritual offering) are included in the book. How cool is this--both a portrait and the works of the world's first identified author?! This book will interest anyone who cares about the history of writing and of women.
laurakatarooma's review against another edition
4.0
Hauskaa, että nämä runot 4000 vuoden takaa on niin samankaltaisia ku mitä runot nykyään on.
jade69398's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
5.0
amazing assonance. beautiful flow. inspiring in all it embodies. one of my favorites
nikki16956's review against another edition
4.0
I originally picked up this book simply because I was interested in reading Enheduanna’s poems, but what I found was even better! Not only did I get to read her poems, but this book contains a very heartfelt account of what it would have been like to live during the times that Enheduanna lived in. At times I wished it could have been more focused on her, since there is little mention of her as an individual before we get to her poems. But I’m assuming that’s because we don’t have enough knowledge about her, so instead the author gave a wonderful description of what life would have been like during her era and a little bit about her family history. I learned way more than I expected, there’s also a lot of geographical history to be learned from this book. I knew next to nothing about Sumer and Akkad and Mesopotamia in general before reading this, but now I have an idea of what these places were and where their people came from.
It amazes me that I am able to read the works of the first author we have on record, who lived over 4,000 years ago! During her time, she was witnessing the downfall of the feminine and the rise of the overpowering, dominating masculine. Her poem, “The Exaltation of Inanna” really touched me the most, because it tells the story of how she was exiled from her own position as high priestess by a greedy man who did not respect her. And now, as the feminine begins to take back her power once again, Enheduanna’s poems have resurfaced to show women that there were periods in history where we were worshipped for our femaleness.
“the Woman is as great as he
she will break the city from him”
It amazes me that I am able to read the works of the first author we have on record, who lived over 4,000 years ago! During her time, she was witnessing the downfall of the feminine and the rise of the overpowering, dominating masculine. Her poem, “The Exaltation of Inanna” really touched me the most, because it tells the story of how she was exiled from her own position as high priestess by a greedy man who did not respect her. And now, as the feminine begins to take back her power once again, Enheduanna’s poems have resurfaced to show women that there were periods in history where we were worshipped for our femaleness.
“the Woman is as great as he
she will break the city from him”
lagunabayfables's review against another edition
3.0
Evocative translations with some nice details peppered in but also lots of baseless speculation without evidence and sources to back things up. Would read again purely for the translations and bibliography but not really for anything else.
spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
1.0
What a disappointment this book was. Enheduanna's poetry is incredible, and the translation by Betty De Shong Meador was acceptable, but the fact that De Shong Meador is not an archaeologist was glaringly evident throughout the entirety of her critical "interpretations" of Enheduanna's poems. Particularly egregious were her many instances of obvious presentism, applying more modern concepts and beliefs onto an ancient society, even at times contradicting the actual archaeological evidence.
De Shong Meador's interpretation is that the poetry Enheduanna wrote was a rebellion of sorts against a patriarchal society. As compelling as the idea of a Sumerian/Akkadian proto-feminist princess and priestess may be, it's not academically supported: yes, the society in which Enheduanna lived was patriarchal; no, she did not write these poems as part of some rebellious secret feminine cabal. She was appointed to the position of Sumerian High Priestess by her father, the legendary King Sargon, and the poetry she wrote in this position was indeed commissioned by him. Her poetry was preserved in the official royal and religious archives, which is known because the only preserved manuscripts were copies done long after the originals were written (tellingly kept alongside other documents indicating the high esteem in which her work was regarded). Rebellious anti-establishment poetry would not have been preserved as such; Enheduanna, as the High Priestess of Inanna and daughter of the Sumerian king himself, was "the establishment."
Because a large portion of the book is occupied by De Shong Meador's interpretations of the poems, as well as her view of Enheduanna's life, what would be simply a minor issue becomes a major problem. De Shong Meador also asserts that Enheduanna's worship of the goddess Inanna was similarly rebellious (ignoring the fact that Inanna was an incredibly popular deity, and was in fact highly regarded by Enheduanna's father the king himself, who credited her influence for his rise to power). Imposing these modern ideas onto an ancient society so distantly removed in terms of culture, religion, language, art, and writing as to be incontrovertibly alien to present-day laypersons (of which De Shong Meador is one) is nothing short of dangerous.
De Shong Meador's interpretation is that the poetry Enheduanna wrote was a rebellion of sorts against a patriarchal society. As compelling as the idea of a Sumerian/Akkadian proto-feminist princess and priestess may be, it's not academically supported: yes, the society in which Enheduanna lived was patriarchal; no, she did not write these poems as part of some rebellious secret feminine cabal. She was appointed to the position of Sumerian High Priestess by her father, the legendary King Sargon, and the poetry she wrote in this position was indeed commissioned by him. Her poetry was preserved in the official royal and religious archives, which is known because the only preserved manuscripts were copies done long after the originals were written (tellingly kept alongside other documents indicating the high esteem in which her work was regarded). Rebellious anti-establishment poetry would not have been preserved as such; Enheduanna, as the High Priestess of Inanna and daughter of the Sumerian king himself, was "the establishment."
Because a large portion of the book is occupied by De Shong Meador's interpretations of the poems, as well as her view of Enheduanna's life, what would be simply a minor issue becomes a major problem. De Shong Meador also asserts that Enheduanna's worship of the goddess Inanna was similarly rebellious (ignoring the fact that Inanna was an incredibly popular deity, and was in fact highly regarded by Enheduanna's father the king himself, who credited her influence for his rise to power). Imposing these modern ideas onto an ancient society so distantly removed in terms of culture, religion, language, art, and writing as to be incontrovertibly alien to present-day laypersons (of which De Shong Meador is one) is nothing short of dangerous.
ladyofnorthfarm's review
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
it’s pretty clear the further you get into this text that De Shong Meador was trained as a Jungian analyst, as some of her extrapolations on the source material are a bit far fetched and begin to sound repetitive. however her historical research is very thorough, and her attempts to try and immerse the reader in the time and place of a priestess from the 23rd century bc are highly successful. her prose translations are unique, and in many places timelessly stunning. a personal favorite of mine was: fighting is her play / she never tires of it / she goes out running / strapping on her sandals. i do think that it is helpful to have been exposed to more classical forms of ancient poem, epic, etc translation however before reading this text, or even reading it in tandem with a more traditional translation of the same, such as The Exaltation of Inanna by J. J. A. van Dijk and William W. Hallo, which De Shong Meador does cite throughout. overall a worthwhile and intriguing read!
tri_lo_bite's review against another edition
This was my second stop on my quest to read all the religious texts in the world, and where better to go than the beginning?
Enheduanna is the first author whose name we know. This book contains her three long poems, exaltations to the goddess Inanna.
The poems were gorgeous. It’s clear that the translator, Betty De Shong Meador is a poet. But what she is not is an archaeologist or historian.
I’m a little confused about how this book was written to be honest. Meador says she cannot read cuneiform, and had a colleague help her with her translations. But she also says that she didn’t have her poems looked over after the fact, which doesn’t quite make sense to me.
I’d really like to read a biography about Enheduanna written by a historian. She sounds fascinating, and if Meador’s translations are accurate, she has wonderful poetry. I just don’t quite trust the analysis Meador provided. I’d love to, it’s lovely and well written, but it’s also looked at through a very strong feminist lens-don’t get me wrong, that can be great, but when Meador isn’t a historian it kind of worries me- and used almost as a critique of Christianity and Judaism, two much much later religions. Sure, you can of course trace things back through history, but I’d like a second opinion on some of the theories.
I’m not saying it wasn’t lovely. It was. The poetry was wonderful, and I did learn a lot through both the poems and the analysis. I found myself grinning at Inanna’s blood thirstiness, and at her love.
And I got so so so excited at evidence for trans folk way back in the poems written by the first named author! I mean, how cool is that! And not only are their trans folk, but they’re sacred. How beautiful.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to give this book a star rating. For Enheduanna herself? 5 stars. Meador? Not sure.
TW: death, blood, gore, castration, killing of people and animals, not graphic mentions of sex
Enheduanna is the first author whose name we know. This book contains her three long poems, exaltations to the goddess Inanna.
The poems were gorgeous. It’s clear that the translator, Betty De Shong Meador is a poet. But what she is not is an archaeologist or historian.
I’m a little confused about how this book was written to be honest. Meador says she cannot read cuneiform, and had a colleague help her with her translations. But she also says that she didn’t have her poems looked over after the fact, which doesn’t quite make sense to me.
I’d really like to read a biography about Enheduanna written by a historian. She sounds fascinating, and if Meador’s translations are accurate, she has wonderful poetry. I just don’t quite trust the analysis Meador provided. I’d love to, it’s lovely and well written, but it’s also looked at through a very strong feminist lens-don’t get me wrong, that can be great, but when Meador isn’t a historian it kind of worries me- and used almost as a critique of Christianity and Judaism, two much much later religions. Sure, you can of course trace things back through history, but I’d like a second opinion on some of the theories.
I’m not saying it wasn’t lovely. It was. The poetry was wonderful, and I did learn a lot through both the poems and the analysis. I found myself grinning at Inanna’s blood thirstiness, and at her love.
And I got so so so excited at evidence for trans folk way back in the poems written by the first named author! I mean, how cool is that! And not only are their trans folk, but they’re sacred. How beautiful.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to give this book a star rating. For Enheduanna herself? 5 stars. Meador? Not sure.
TW: death, blood, gore, castration, killing of people and animals, not graphic mentions of sex
romanoirs's review against another edition
4.0
I wish most of Enheduanna's writing hadnt been lost her work is beautiful and
surprisingly modern for its time. Its rather difficult but worth it.
surprisingly modern for its time. Its rather difficult but worth it.