Inanna, Sumerian Goddess of Sex and War

Inanna was worshiped in Sumeria at least as far back as 6,000 years ago. She was considered the queen of heaven and earth, as well as the most important female deity in the Sumerian pantheon. Inanna was associated with many aspects of life: war, love, sex, fertility, procreation, justice, and power. A lion often accompanied her in depictions as asymbol of her supremacy and courage.

Despite being associated with love and fertility, Inanna was not portrayed as mother-like; instead, she sowed seeds of chaos in the unfaithful, was swift to conflict, and had many lovers. The corpus of mythology surrounding her speaks of Inanna as someone who embraced threats and manipulation to achieve her goals, always on the move for more power. Her association with war was so great that the “Dance of Inanna” was used to describe battle itself.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

But she wasn’t necessarily a monster. There are tales of her bringing knowledge and culture to the city of Uruk. Moreover, readers may actually interpret her actions as bold and courageous, especially when she defends her own city of Uruk.
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Over time and through different cultures Inanna became identified with the goddesses Ishtar, Sauska, and Astarte. Pieces of her filtered through generations of myth, influencing the characteristics of deities such as Aphrodite, Venus, Demeter, Athena, Nike, Durga, and Persephone.

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