The Descent of Inanna
Inanna and Dumuzi
Key
Words and Concepts
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Fertility |
the ability to produce crops, seed, or offspring |
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Calendar |
a system for organizing the year |
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Myth |
a story with traditional meanings or symbols |
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Version |
A different form or adaptation |
When a story has many versions some wonder which was first and where it really came from. When a story has many versions it may also have many original sources and inspirations. It may be a story that connects to many different events in many different times going way back before people learned to read and write.
Name _________________________ Date_____________________
The Descent of Inanna
The myth of Inanna and her lover Dumuzi is _________________stories. It’s a story of love and the _________________of a promising youth. It’s a story of the _________________of the calendar, the dead time when plants won’t grow followed by the _________________return of new green growth. It’s a story that has _________________to many different lands and taken many different forms.
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death
yearly many traveled seasons |
In _________________it’s the story of Osiris, whose body was cut to pieces and spread across the land. But Isis, his sister and lover, lovingly bound him together so he could father her child. In a _________________version of this story Adonis was gored to death by a boar, but his lover’s _________________melted the hearts of the Gods who allowed him to return to life for a part of each year. There are many other versions. The _________________stories of Dumuzi and Inanna are the oldest that we know of, and _________________the first ever to be written down.
Sumerian Egypt probably laments Greek |
In the _________________stories, Inanna was the dangerous goddess of sexual love and war. Her sister, the Queen of the Underworld, was naturally enraged and afraid when the _________________Inanna decided to visit her. Inanna was treated like any other dead soul. _________________through each dark gate, she was stripped of one more decoration until she was completely naked and humbled. Then her _________________greeted her with the “eye of death” and a blow. Inanna’s rotting _________________was hung from a hook.
Passing Sumerian corpse fierce sister |
Inanna had _________________for the worst. After three days her servant sought help. Enki, the god of wisdom, sent two beautiful beings to _________________the Death Queen’s heart. This brought Inanna back to life, but the strict rules of the Underworld demanded that she name a _______________. Horrible demons followed her into the light. They clung to her as she visited her many cities and _________________. These were places ruled by her sons, and each time she met one; the demons demanded his soul in her place. But all her sons had been in deep _________________for her, and Inanna would not send them to hell.
temples soften mourning prepared replacement |
Finally, she came to her lover’s throne room, but Dumuzi was not in mourning. He was _________________and wearing his grandest clothes. _________________gave him the “eye of death.” The demons seized and _________________him. They _________________him with axes and dragged him to hell.
gashed Inanna tortured feasting |
Later, Inanna _________________. Each year she allowed him to trade places with a sister for a few months. But every year, for thousands of years, on the streets of the greatest _________________of the ancient world (_________________, Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome) women _________________for the beautiful lover of the Great Goddess. Sometimes they called him Dumuzi, sometimes Tammuz, and sometimes _________________.
Babylon cities Adonis relented wept |
It’s always hard to accept when a _________________youth meets a sudden, unexpected death. During the killing frosts, it’s sometimes hard to _________________the coming spring. Both farmers and hunter-gatherers depended on _________________for their very lives. Living in _________________times, it’s difficult for us to understand their _________________about the renewal of the seasons. We don’t remember Dumuzi and long for his return. Or, do we?
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anxiety promising imagine plants modern |
The Descent of Inanna
Inanna and Dumuzi
Across
1 An Egyptian fertility god, and god of the Underworld
6 To pierce or stab with a horn or a tusk
9 Modern capital of Israel, a traditional center of Judaism also sacred to Christians and Muslims
11 Deep understanding based on reflection and experience
12 Ancient Sumerian God of vegetation and renewal (Also identified with the Phoenician Tammuz and the Geek Adonis)
14 agriculturalists
15 The action of moving downward or falling. A slope going downhill
19 A noun or participle form of the verb "to write." Notice it has only ONE "t".)
20 Lamentations, emotional expressions of grief or loss
24 Evil beings from hell
25 The process of making new again
27 Not safe, hazardous
28 Dangerous Sumerian Great Goddess of war and sexual love. Also known as Astarte (Phoenician) and Ishtar (Assyrian). Later identified with the Egyptian Isis and the Greek Aphrodite
29 A different form, retelling, or revision. An adaptation
31 cried
32 A traditional story involving significance and mystery
33 A system for dividing the year
34 The land of the pharaohs and the Nile, the oldest known civilization in Africa
Down
2 An Egyptian goddess of fertility
3 The oldest known written language. The first known civilization in southern Mesopotamia that later became part of Babylonia
4 More recent, having to do with planned, systematic ways of living and working
5 Past tense of cling
7 To grab or take hold of by force
8 Place of worship, or the dwelling place of a god
10 A change made to something to make it more useful
13 Ancient major city of southern Mesopotamia associated with Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar
16 A dead body
17 Modern capital of Greece, and an ancient city associated with the earliest forms of systematic democracy
18 Ferociously aggressive
21 Extremely old, archaic
22 Killed by a boar, he was loved by the Greek Goddess of Love and the Greek Goddess of the Underworld. Any beautiful young man.
23 To decide to be less harsh or strict, to soften
26 A past form of the verb "to write" (Notice it has two "t"s.)
30 Modern Capital of Italy and an ancient city associated with an empire and Western Christianity
Word Bank for Crossword Puzzle
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Nouns |
Verbs |
Adjectives |
Adverbs |
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Relent |
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Fierce |
Fiercely |
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Adaptation |
Adapt |
Adaptable |
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Adonis |
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Ancient |
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Ancient |
Anciently |
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Athens |
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Athenian |
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Babylon |
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Babylonian |
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Calendar |
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Clinging |
Cling, Clung |
Clinging |
Clingingly |
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Corpse |
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Corpse-like |
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Danger |
Endanger |
Dangerous |
Dangerously |
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Demons |
Demonize |
Demonic |
Demonically |
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Descent |
Descend |
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Dumuzi |
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Egypt |
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Egyptian |
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Farmers, farm |
farm |
Farm |
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Gore |
Gore |
Gory |
Gorily |
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Inanna |
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Isis |
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Jerusalem |
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Laments |
Lament |
Lamentable |
Lamentably |
Modern |
Modernize |
Modern |
Modernly |
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Myth |
Mythologize |
Mythical |
Mythically |
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Osiris |
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Renewal |
Renew |
Renewed |
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Rome |
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Roman |
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Seizure |
Seize |
Seized |
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Sumerian |
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Sumerian |
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Temple |
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version |
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Weeping |
Weep, wept |
Weeping |
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Wisdom |
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Wise |
wisely |
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Writing, Writer |
Write |
Written |
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Adaptation |
A change made to something to make it more useful |
|
Adonis |
Killed by a boar, he was loved by the Greek Goddess of Love and the Greek Goddess of the Underworld. Any beautiful young man. |
|
Ancient |
Extremely old, archaic |
|
Athens |
Modern capital of Greece, and an ancient city associated with the earliest forms of systematic democracy |
|
Babylon |
Ancient major city of southern Mesopotamia associated with Hammurabi and Nechubadnezzar |
|
Calendar |
A system for dividing the year |
|
Clung |
Past tense of cling |
|
Corpse |
A dead body |
|
Dangerous |
Not safe, hazardous |
|
Demons |
Evil beings from hell |
|
Descent |
The action of moving downward or falling. A slope going downhill |
|
Dumuzi |
Ancient Sumerian God of vegetation and renewal (Also identified with the Phoenician Tammuz and the Geek Adonis) |
|
Egypt |
The land of the pharaohs and the Nile, the oldest known civilization in Africa |
|
Farmers |
agriculturalists |
|
Fierce |
Ferociously aggressive |
|
Gore |
To pierce or stab with a horn or a tusk |
|
Inanna |
Dangerous Sumerian Great Goddess of war and sexual love. Also known as Astarte (Phoenician) and Ishtar (Assyrian). Later identified with the Egyptian Isis and the Greek Aphrodite |
|
Isis |
An Egyptian goddess of fertility |
|
Jerusalem |
Modern capital of Israel, a traditional center of Judaism also sacred to Christians and Muslims |
|
Laments |
Lamentations, emotional expressions of grief or loss |
|
Modern |
More recent, having to do with planned, systematic ways of living and working |
|
Myth |
A traditional story involving significance and mystery |
|
Osiris |
An Egyptian fertility god, and god of the Underworld |
|
Relent |
To decide to be less harsh or strict, to soften |
|
Renewal |
The process of making new again |
|
Rome |
Modern Capital of Italy and an ancient city associated with an empire and Western Christianity |
|
Seize |
To grab or take hold of by force |
|
Sumerian |
The oldest known written language. The first known civilization in southern Mesopotamia that later became part of Babylonia |
|
Temple |
Place of worship, or the dwelling place of a god |
|
version |
A different form, retelling, or revision. An adaptation |
|
Wept |
cried |
|
Wisdom |
Deep understanding based on reflection and experience |
|
Writing |
A noun or participle form of the verb “to write.” Notice it has only ONE “t”.) |
|
Written |
A past form of the verb “to write” (Notice it has two “t”s.) |