Английская Википедия:Geshtinanna

Geshtinanna was a Mesopotamian goddess best known due to her role in myths about the death of Dumuzi, her brother. It is not certain what functions she fulfilled in the Mesopotamian pantheon, though her association with the scribal arts and dream interpretation is well attested. She could serve as a scribe in the underworld, where according to the myth Inanna's Descent she had to reside for a half of each year in place of her brother.

Evidence for the worship of Geshtinanna is mostly available from Early Dynastic state of Lagash, where she had her own cult center, Sagub. She was also present in the pantheons of other cities, for example in Uruk and Tell al-Rimah. She ceased to be venerated after the Old Babylonian period, though even later on she was still mentioned in god lists and in literary texts, some of which were still copied during the period of Seleucid rule over Mesopotamia.

Name

The oldest writing of Geshtinanna's name was Amageshtin or Amageshtinanna, as attested in documents from Lagash from the Early Dynastic period.Шаблон:Sfn There is no agreement over whether Amageshtin was a shortened form of Amageshtinanna or if the suffix -anna was added to a pre-existing name, but Manfred Krebernik argues the latter is more likely, as Amageshtin is attested as an ordinary personal name in the Early Dynastic period.Шаблон:Sfn In later sources, the form "Geshtinanna" was the most commonly used one.Шаблон:Sfn It might have developed due to the prefix ama (Sumerian: "mother") being considered an epithet.Шаблон:Sfn In Emesal, a dialect of Sumerian, the name was rendered as Mutinanna.Шаблон:Sfn The conventional translation of the standard form of the name is "grapevine of heaven," though it is possible that the word geštin also had the metaphorical meaning "sweet" or "lovely."Шаблон:Sfn

A further variant of the name was Ningeshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn The cuneiform sign NIN can be translated as "lady," "queen" or "mistress" when used in the names of female deities, and it could sometimes be added as a prefix to names of established goddesses, in addition to Geshtinanna for example Aruru or Aya.Шаблон:Sfn This form of Geshtinanna's is attested for example in the Canonical Temple ListШаблон:Sfn and in the name of a skin disease, hand of Ningeshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn A shorter form also including the sign NIN, Ningeshtin ("lady of the vine") is known from inscriptions on seals from the Kassite period.Шаблон:Sfn

It has additionally been pointed out that Ninedina, a direct Sumerian equivalent of the Akkadian name Belet-Seri, which designated a goddess who corresponded to Geshtinanna, can be found in the early Fara god list already, but it is unknown if this goddess was one and the same as Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn

Andrew R. George argues that in Bad-tibira, the cult center of Dumuzi, Geshtinanna was known under the name Ninsheshegarra.Шаблон:Sfn He points out the existence of a reference to such a goddess being worshiped in the temple Esheshegarra ("house established by the brother") in this city.Шаблон:Sfn

Character

Geshtinanna's functions remain unclear.Шаблон:Sfn It is known that she was the dubsar-mah aralike, "chief scribe of the underworld."Шаблон:Sfn This role is described in detail in one of the Udug-hul incantations.Шаблон:Sfn She was believed to be responsible for keeping track of the dead, and for permitting them to enter the underworld.Шаблон:Sfn However, it is possible her association with the underworld was only a secondary development.Шаблон:Sfn Her association with scribal arts and surveying is also attested in other contexts, where she is a heavenly, rather than underworld, deity.Шаблон:Sfn The myth Dumuzi's Dream describes her as the "scribe proficient in tablets" and "singer expert in songs" and highlights her wisdom.Шаблон:Sfn Similar associations are present in various poems from the reign of Shulgi.Шаблон:Sfn

She was also associated with dream interpretation,Шаблон:Sfn though this function could generally be assigned to female deities.Шаблон:Sfn Tonia Sharlach additionally argues that she was connected with vegetation,Шаблон:Sfn but it is not known if her name has any relation to her role.Шаблон:Sfn

Her iconography is unknown,Шаблон:Sfn but it is possible that the depictions of a goddess accompanied by a mushussu known from Lagash can be identified as her, with the mythical beast serving as a representation of Ningishzida, her husband in the local tradition.Шаблон:Sfn The mushussu was portrayed looking at the goddess in such works of art.Шаблон:Sfn

Worship

The worship of Geshtinanna is attested for the first time in the Early Dynastic period.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn However, she was a goddess of minor importance overall.Шаблон:Sfn An early center of her cult was Sagub, a settlement located near Lagash.Шаблон:Sfn At least two references to gudu priests connected to her cult in the state of Lagash are known.Шаблон:Sfn Under the name Amageshtin, she appears in an inscription of Urukagina.Шаблон:Sfn She had a temple in Girsu, built by Ur-Baba.Шаблон:Sfn It is possible that another temple dedicated to her, the Esagug, was located in Sagub.Шаблон:Sfn It was rebuilt by Enannatum I, and subsequently desecrated during a raid of Lugalzaggesi.Шаблон:Sfn He reportedly plundered the precious metals and lapis lazuli the statue of Geshtinanna was decorated with, and then threw it into a well.Шаблон:Sfn A later ruler of Lagash, Gudea, dedicated multiple statues to Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn While he invoked many members of the Mesopotamian pantheon in his inscriptions, three of them - Geshtinanna, Nanshe and Ningirsu - were singled out as those who "turned their zi gaze" to him, a term apparently normally referring to the way they looked at other deities.Шаблон:Sfn

Geshtinanna was also worshiped around Uruk as one of the deities associated with Inanna and Dumuzi.Шаблон:Sfn However, her connection with this city was not as pronounced as that between her and the territory of Lagash.Шаблон:Sfn It is possible that the temple Esheshegarra in Bad-tibira was dedicated to her.Шаблон:Sfn It was built by Ur-gigir of Uruk, son of Ur-nigin.Шаблон:Sfn A temple dedicated jointly to her and Dumuzi, the Eniglulu, "house of teeming flocks," is also attested, but its location is unknown.Шаблон:Sfn The Sumerian term niglulu often appears in compositions about Dumuzi and refers to his herds.Шаблон:Sfn

Later sources show that Geshtinanna continued to be worshiped through the Ur III period, as attested in documents from Girsu, Puzrish-Dagan and Umma.Шаблон:Sfn Those from the last of these cities identify the center of her local cult as KI.AN_ki, a nearby town which was associated with Shara.Шаблон:Sfn The Puzrish-Dagan texts indicate she was worshiped in one of the royal palaces, though not necessarily in a fixed location, with Ur, Uruk and Nippur all being possibilities.Шаблон:Sfn One of the royal celebrations dedicated to her might have been related to the funerary cult and involved a visit of the goddess in the palace.Шаблон:Sfn A single document mentions offerings made to her alongside those to Ninisina, Dagan and Ishara.Шаблон:Sfn A references to Geshtinanna being celebrated in the temple of Ninsun in Kuara is also known.Шаблон:Sfn An unusual phenomenon attested in this period was the apparent identification of Shulgi's mother SI.A-tum (reading uncertainШаблон:Sfn) as a manifestation of Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn No other queen from the Third Dynasty of Ur was deified in any way, nor was Ur-Nammu,Шаблон:Sfn its founder and Shulgi's father.Шаблон:Sfn

In the Old Babylonian period, Geshtinanna was worshiped in Isin, Nippur, UrukШаблон:Sfn and Tell al-Rimah (Qattara).Шаблон:Sfn References to her are known from personal letters from this period, though they are uncommon.Шаблон:Sfn The frequency of her appearances in them is lower than that of popular deities, such as Ishtar, Annunitum, Aya, Ninsianna or Gula, and comparable to Ninmug's, Ninkarrak's or Ninegal's.Шаблон:Sfn

Only a few theophoric names invoking Geshtinanna are known.Шаблон:Sfn Examples include Gu-Geshtinannaka, Geme-Geshtinanna, Lu-Geshtinanna and Ur-Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn Only a single attestation of one of them, specifically Ur-Geshtinanna, occurs in documents from Early Dynastic Lagash.Шаблон:Sfn

Active worship of Geshtinanna ceased after the Old Babylonian period, but she continued to appear in god lists and especially in literary texts about DumuziШаблон:Sfn as late as in the Seleucid period.Шаблон:Sfn

Associations with other deities

Geshtinanna's brother was Dumuzi.Шаблон:Sfn It has been argued that she was imagined as older than him, since she could be referred to with epithets such as ama ("mother") and umma ("old woman" or "wise woman").Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn Their mother was Duttur.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Sfn An alternate tradition, attested in a hymn of Shulgi, refers to Anu and his wife Urash as Geshtinanna's parents.Шаблон:Sfn Belili was regarded as a sister of GeshtinannaШаблон:Sfn and Dumuzi.Шаблон:Sfn It has been suggested that she could be viewed as an equivalent of Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn However, Manfred Krebernik discusses Belili and Gesthinanna as two independent goddesses each of whom could be described as Dumuzi's sister.Шаблон:Sfn They also both appear in the myth Dumuzi's Dream, each in a separate role.Шаблон:Sfn

Due to Dumuzi's marriage to Inanna, Geshtinanna was the sister-in-law of this goddess.Шаблон:Sfn She is directly referred to as her "beloved sister-in-law" in the composition labeled as Inanna D in modern literature, though she is only listed after the members of her immediate family (Ningal, Suen, Utu, Dumuzi) and Ninshubur, addressed as the "beloved vizier."Шаблон:Sfn

A network of syncretic relations existed between Geshtinanna, Azimua, Belet-Seri and, by extension, with Ashratum (also known under the Sumerian name Gubarra).Шаблон:Sfn From the reign of Gudea of Lagash to the Ur III period, it was common for Geshtinanna to be identified with Azimua, who the wife of Ningishzida.Шаблон:Sfn In a tradition originating in Lagash, Geshtinanna came to be viewed as Ningishzida's spouse herself.Шаблон:Sfn However, in Old Babylonian god list she is kept apart from Ningishzida.Шаблон:Sfn From the same period onward,Шаблон:Sfn Belet-Seri started to be recognized as the Akkadian counterpart of Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn However, Belet-Seri also functioned as an epithet of Ashratum.Шаблон:Sfn In a handful of cases Geshtinanna is therefore listed as the wife of Amurru instead of her.Шаблон:Sfn Julia M. Asher-Greve cites two examples of cylinder seals from Old Babylonian Sippar where Geshtinanna is paired with ^dMAR.TU (Amurru).Шаблон:Sfn

In the myth Dumuzi's Dream, Geshtinanna is assisted by the goddess Geshtindudu, described as her "adviser and girlfriend."Шаблон:Sfn The relationship between Geshtinanna and Geshtindudu is regarded as unique due to being based on friendship.Шаблон:Sfn It has been suggested that some works of art showing a pair of goddesses stands side by side might represent Geshtinanna and Geshtindudu.Шаблон:Sfn

In the Weidner god list, Geshtinanna is placed near the circle of deities associated with Ishkur, after his wife Shala, their son Misharu, Ishara and the deity ^dMAŠ-da-ad.Шаблон:Sfn Daniel Schwemer based on a later text assumes ^dMAŠ-da-ad was a form of the weather god himself worshiped in the city of Pada,Шаблон:Sfn but Manfred Krebernik argues it should be read as Pardat, "the dreadful," the name of a sparsely attested goddess also known from the god list An = Anum.Шаблон:Sfn He proposes that she, Ishara and Geshtinanna were placed one after another because of their shared association with the underworld.Шаблон:Sfn The association between Geshtinanna and Ishkur is not attested in any later god lists, but they are invoked together in some blessing formulas in letters from Tell al-Rimah.Шаблон:Sfn There is however no indication that they were regarded as a couple, and it is likely Geshtinanna appears in these texts due to being the personal deity of one of the writers.Шаблон:Sfn

Mythology

Файл:Mythe du dieu dumuzi.jpg

An Old Babylonian tablet inscribed with a lamentation over the death of Dumuzi, currently in the collection of Louvre Museum

Geshtinanna commonly appears in compositions about the death of Dumuzi, where she is one of the three most frequently recurring mourning goddesses, next to Inanna and Duttur.Шаблон:Sfn Occasionally she also appears in texts about the death of other similar gods, for example Damu, normally mourned by his mother Ninisina and sister Gunura instead.Шаблон:Sfn

Dumuzi's Dream

In Dumuzi's Dream, Geshtinanna interprets the eponymous dream and informs Dumuzi that it foretells his death.Шаблон:Sfn She refers to the assailants as bandits, indicating that in this composition belonged to the tradition in which Dumuzi's death was caused by an attack of evil men,Шаблон:Sfn rather than any events pertaining to Inanna.Шаблон:Sfn However, Geshtinanna also identifies the attackers as galla.Шаблон:Sfn It is possible she uses the term in its historical, rather than mythical, sense, which is supported by the description of the assailants as inhabitants of specific Mesopotamian cities, though it is also possible that a secondary source used by the compiler belonged to a tradition involving demons of the underworld.Шаблон:Sfn The historical galla were most likely officials of the judiciary, possibly analogous to policemen or deputies, but in literary texts they can be described not only as agents of law, as bandits and finally as demons.Шаблон:Sfn While Dumuzi is in hiding, Geshtinanna and her adviser Geshtindudu wait for the galla to arrive to warn him.Шаблон:Sfn Later the galla try to bribe her to offer them information about Dumuzi's whereabouts, but she refuses.Шаблон:Sfn They leave her alone and instead approach Dumuzi's unnamed friend instead.Шаблон:Sfn While with the help of Utu and Belili Dumuzi manages to escape them for a time, they eventually catch him when he returns to Geshtinanna's sheepfold.Шаблон:Sfn

Dumuzi and Geshtinanna

Another myth involving Geshtinanna is Dumuzi and Geshtinanna, though Dina Katz remarks that despite its conventional title this text focuses chiefly on the galla and the roles of Geshtinanna, Dumuzi, and Inanna are passive.Шаблон:Sfn Dumuzi hides in Geshtinanna's dwelling after being offered as a substitute to the galla by Inanna, who in this case was apparently approached by the demons in Uruk and handed her husband over out of fear.Шаблон:Sfn The galla torture Geshtinanna, but she refuses to disclose her brother's location.Шаблон:Sfn Katz points out that some elements of this myth overlap with Inanna's Descent, but the similarity is limited, because the "journey to the netherworld is twisted and presented as a conspiracy of the galla to dispatch [Inanna] there against her will."Шаблон:Sfn Furthermore, the account of Geshtinanna's torture finds no parallel in any other text.Шаблон:Sfn

Other myths

In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, Geshtinanna is not addressed by name,Шаблон:Sfn but it is assumed that she eventually replaces Dumuzi for half of each year in the underworld, where he was himself placed as a replacement for Inanna. Шаблон:Sfn

Geshtinanna also appears in the fragmentary myth Dumuzi and his sisters,Шаблон:Sfn which has been compared to various compositions focused on Ningishzida.Шаблон:Sfn It involves two sisters, one younger and one older, mourning Dumuzi, who was seized by demons.Шаблон:Sfn Geshtinanna, the younger sister,Шаблон:Sfn mentions her attempts at confronting one of the captors and pours a funerary libation for her brother, though she eventually concludes this is in vain because he will not be able to receive it.Шаблон:Sfn

According to Wilfred G. Lambert, it is possible that a goddess named Ningestinna known from the late myth Theogony of Dunnu corresponds to Geshtinanna.Шаблон:Sfn The name of the deity she is paired with is not preserved, and due to the unusual nature of this text it is possible that he was not one of the gods usually associated with her.Шаблон:Sfn

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Bibliography

Шаблон:Refbegin

Шаблон:Refend

External links

Compositions about Geshtinanna and Dumuzi in the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

Шаблон:Sumerian mythology

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