Enheduanna lived in Mesopotamia around 2300 BCE. Her hymns and writings are regarded as the first existing account of an individual human's inner life. She was also the first person to sign her name to a piece of writing.
Daughter of King Sargon the Great, Enheduanna served as the high priestess of the temple of Nana, the Akkadian moon god in Ur. She wrote poems, psalms and prayers with themes showing Inanna as a warrior goddess who defeats a mountain without help from the other Gods. Another hymn celebrates Inanna's role in ruling civilization and caring for home and children. The third features a plea for help to regain her position as priestess against a male contender.
A plea for help to the goddess Inanna.
Funeral offerings were brought, as if I had never lived there.
I approached the light, but the light scorched me.
I approached the shade, but I was covered with a storm.
My honeyed mouth became scummed.
Tell An about Lugal-Ane and my fate!
May An undo it for me!
As soon as you tell An about it, An will release me.
Her book, "Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart," is available from University of Texas Press.
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