Inanna From the Myths of Ancient Sumer

by Echlin, Kim; Wolfsgruber, Linda

• ISBN13: 9780888994967
• ISBN10: 0888994966
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-08-19
• Publisher: Groundwood Books

Summary

Long Before the Bible and the Koran, before the myths of the Greeks and Romans were set down, the people of Sumer recorded the stories of their gods and kings on cuneiform tablets. The world's oldest epic poem is the Epic of Gilgamesh, the tale of a hero who was part god, part man. But just in the past century a thrilling discovery was made -- the four-thousand-year-old stories of his powerful sister, the goddess Inanna. Inanna is a goddess who embodies the quest for growth. Her stories tell how she develops from childish inexperience and youthful exuberance into maturity and gains the powers to create, to destroy and to name. She is a goddess of spunk and wisdom who outwits and defies the powerful, falls in love with the shepherd Dumuzi and, like Gilgamesh, dares to seek immortality. The people of Sumer associated Inanna with the planet Venus -- radiant, changeable and mysterious. They worshipped her with awe and adoration. With the guidance of Sumerian scholars, Kim Echlin has produced a moving, sensitive and knowledgeable translation of the Inanna myths. They describe an ancient goddess who was at once a great warrior, lover, nurturer, seeker of knowledge and giver of power -- a figure worthy of admiration by people of any age. Accompanied by the exquisite illustrations of internationally renowned artist Linda Wolfsgruber, this book will be irresistible to readers interested in ancient civilizations, but it will also be acclaimed as a stunningly beautiful work of art and poetry. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Kim Echlin has worked on the Inanna stories for many years. She is fascinated by how these myths use a female goddess to describe the deeply human quest for meaning. She is the author of two novels -- Elephant Winter, which won the Torgi Talking Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the 1997 Chapters / Books in Canada First Novel Award Kim lives in Toronto with her husband and two daughters Linda Wolfsgruber, an extraordinarily talented illustrator, trained in Italy. Her works have been exhibited throughout Europe as well as in Japan, New York and San Diego. She has won many prizes, including Austria's 1995 prize for children's book illustration. Linda lives in Vienna

Table of Contents

About this Translation	p. 9
The Beginning	p. 13
Inanna	p. 14
The Huluppu Tree	p. 16
The Drinking Match	p. 19
Songs of Love	p. 27
Love's First Song	p. 28
Lie in the Moonlight	p. 30
Courting Outside the Door	p. 32
Changeable Heart	p. 35
Sacred Marriage	p. 41
Inanna Sings Her Love	p. 46
Love's Last Song	p. 48
The Underworld	p. 50
Inanna's Lament for Dumuzi	p. 65
Destroyer	p. 66
A New Song	p. 68
A Praise Song	p. 70
Creator	p. 71
Glossary	p. 72
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