Tammuz (Dumuzid): Ishtar's Main Lover | Middle East And North Africa

TAMMUZ, ISHTAR’S LOVER

Marriage of Dumuzid andInana

Tammuz (Dumuzid) is a sun god perhaps best known as the main lover of Ishtar (Inana). Originally known as Dumuzid the Shepherd, he was a fertility god closely was associated with crops and the worship of Ishtar. In the lean months of summer, when Tammuz resided in the Underworld, people fasted until Tammuz rose from dead and made the world green again.The myth explaining why he resides in the Underworld is similar to the Greek story of Demeter and Persephone. In Old Testament times, some people, including Jews, worshiped Tammuz. In the Bible the prophet Ezekiel was disgusted by women in Jerusalem who were “weeping for Tammuz.”

Morris Jastrow said: “Tammuz, an ancient personification of the sun of the springtime, is named as the first of Ishtar’s lovers; he becomes her consort and is then slain by the goddess, and consigned to the nether world, the abode of the dead. The promise made by Ishtar to Gilgamesh to present him with a chariot of lapis-lazuli, and to shelter him in a palace of plenty, unmistakably points to the triumph of the sun when vegetation is at its height. Tammuz and Ishtar, like Gilgamesh and Ishtar, thus represent the combination of the two principles which bring about life; and upon their separation follow decay and death. [Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911 ]

“Ishtar and Tammuz are closely related figures; both symbolise vegetation—one as the personification of the sun, the other as the personification of mother earth. The combination of Tammuz and Ishtar, as husband and wife, is merely the usual artificial attempt to combine two figures that represent the same idea—induced in this instance by the analogy of the male and female principles. There are, in fact, indications that Tammuz was, at certain places, or at an early period, regarded as a goddess and not as a god.

Tammuz among the Sumerians appears to have been the “spirit” of the rivulets and waters of spring, and his name signified literally “the son of life” or “of the spirit.” But among the Semites he became the young and beautiful shepherd, the beloved of Ishtar, slain by the boar's tusk of winter, or, as others held, of the parching heats of the summer. He symbolized the fresh vegetation of the spring and the Sun-god who called it forth. [Source: “Babylonians And Assyrians: Life And Customs”, Rev. A. H. Sayce, Professor of Assyriology at Oxford, 1900]

Dumuzi Myths

Aaron Skaist wrote in the Encyclopaedia Judaica: (1) "Dumuzi's Dream" relates how Dumuzi had an ominous dream, and sent for his sister Geshtinanna, who interpreted it as foreboding his death. Attempting to hide from the deputies who came to carry him off, Dumuzi was betrayed by a colleague and caught. His subsequent appeal to Utu, his escape, etc., runs parallel to the story in "Inanna's Descent." [Source: Aaron Skaist, Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2005, Encyclopedia.com]

A more cheerful myth is 2) "Dumuzi's Wedding," which begins by relating how Inanna sends messages to her bridal attendants, including the bridegroom, Dumuzi, inviting them to bring their gifts. They do so, and the story goes through all the stages of a Sumerian wedding: the bridegroom arriving with his gifts, the bride having her bath and dressing in all her finery before opening the door to him, which is the symbolic act concluding the marriage, Dumuzi leading his bride to his own home, stopping on the way to visit his own tutelary god, and his reassuring of his nervous young bride that she will not be asked to work hard or do any tiring tasks in her new house.

Hymn from Inanna to Tammuz

Hymn from Inanna to Tammuz goes:
Inanna sang:
"He has sprouted; he has burgeoned;
He is lettuce planted by the water.
He is the one my womb loves best.
[Source: Babylonia Index, piney.com]

“My well-stocked garden of the plain,
My barley growing high in its furrow,
My apple tree which bears fruit up to its crown,
He is lettuce planted by the water.

“My honey-man, my honey-man sweetens me always.
My lord, the honey-man of the gods,
He is the one my womb loves best.
His hand is honey, his foot is honey,
He sweetens me always.

“My eager impetuous caresser of the navel,
My caresser of the soft thighs,
He is the one my womb loves best,
He is lettuce planted by the water."
Inanna - Queen of Heaven and Earth, Wolkstein and Kramer

Hymn of Love from Inanna to Tammuz

Hymn of Love from Inanna to Tammuz goes:
Bridegroom, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet,
Lion, dear to my heart,
Goodly is your beauty, honeysweet.
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,
Bridegroom, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber,
You have captivated me, let me stand tremblingly before you,
Lion, I would be taken by you to the bedchamber.

Bridegroom, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey,
In the bechamber, honey-filled,
Let me enjoy your goodly beauty,
Lion, let me caress you,
My precious caress is more savory than honey.
Bridegroom, you have taken your pleasure of me,
Tell my mother, she will give you delicacies,
My father, he will give you gifts.
Your spirit, I know where to cheer your spirit,

Bridegroom, sleep in our house until dawn,
Your heart, I know where to gladden your heart,
Lion, sleep in our house until dawn.
You, because you love me,
Give me pray of your caresses,
My lord god, my lord protector,
My (Dumuzi), who gladdens Enlil's heart,
Give me pray of your caresses.
Your place goodly as honey, pray lay (your) hand on it,
Bring (your) hand over it like a gishban-garment,
Cup (your) hand over it like a gishban-sikin-garment.
(From the Era of the reign of Shu-sin)
[Source: “The Sumerians,” by Samuel Noah Kramer, Babylonia Index, piney.com]

Tammuz’s Annual Visit to the Netherworld

Dumuzid Tortured in the Underworld

Once each year, in the sultry heats of June, the women wept and tore their hair in memory of his untimely death, and Ishtar, it was said, had descended into Hades in the vain hope of bringing him back to life. One version of famous myth “Ishtar’s Descent Into the Underworld” has Ishtar going there to rescue Tammuz, wining his release from the abode of death along with her. Aralu — or Irkallu, the Underworld — was sometimes called “the house of Tammuz,” as Tammuz as the solar god of spring and vegetation was obliged to spend half of the year there. The is also a myth about Tammuz’s journey to the nether world.

Morris Jastrow said: ““The story of Tammuz’s annual journey to the nether world is paralleled by Ishtar’s descent into the realm of Nergal and Ereshkigal. The two stories embody the same myth of the change of seasons, and it is natural, therefore, that with the later predominance of the Ishtar cult, Ishtar should gradually have displaced Tammuz in the official ritual of the temples. In place of the lament for Tammuz we have the myth of Ishtar’s enforced journey to Aralti,—as the nether world was commonly termed,—and of her ultimate escape, which was recited in the temples at the festival marking the waning of the summer season; the lament for the goddess was tempered, however, by the certain hope of her return. Popular customs survive theoretical and official reconstructions of beliefs and practices through the speculations and the intellectual influence of priests. The testimony of Ezekiel is a significant witness to the persistence in the Semitic world, as late as the sixth century B.C., of the custom of bewailing the disappearance of Tammuz. [Source: Morris Jastrow, Lectures more than ten years after publishing his book “Aspects of Religious Belief and Practice in Babylonia and Assyria” 1911 ]

“No less significant is the spread of the Tammuz myth under various forms far beyond the confines of the Semitic world. Is it, perhaps, also significant that the Hebrew prophet describes the women of Jerusalem as practising this rite? In all religious bodies, as has already been suggested, women represent the conservative element, among whom religious customs continue in practice after they have been abandoned by men. The women—outside of their functions as priestesses—took no part, so far as we know, in the official cult of Babylonia and Assyria, as they took no such part among the ancient Hebrews. It may turn out, therefore, to be the case that in Babylonia, as in Palestine, the non-official or extra-official cult of Tammuz was maintained outside of the temples through the influence of the female population—as a popular rite, surviving from very ancient days, and having had at one time a significance equal to that which was afterwards assumed by the cult of Ishtar.

“In another regard the mourning for Tammuz is invested with a special interest. Under the form Ad6n, —a title of Tammuz signifying “lord,”—the myth passed to the Phoenicians, and thence to the Greeks, who, adapting it to their own mythology (which may also have preserved a similar myth of the change of seasons), replace Ishtar by Aphrodite. The story of Adonis and Aphrodite in any case is to be traced directly to the Sumerian-Babylonian Tammuz-Ishtar myth. The weeping for the lost sun-god is the complement to the rejoicing at the return of the sun-god in the spring—the new year’s festival—when nature awakens to new life. The weeping and the rejoicing appear to have been continued up to late days. In one form or another we find among Greeks and Romans the commemoration in the spring of the death of a god, followed by a rejoicing at his return. In view of this, the theory has been advanced that in its last analysis, the story of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Christ embodies a late echo of the Tammuz-Adonis myth. The “son of God” is slain to reappear as the “risen Lord,” just as in the Phrygian story of Attis and Cybele, and in the Egyptian tale of Osiris and Isis, we have another form of the same myth symbolising the change of seasons.”

Dumuzid, Inana and the Demons of the Underworld

Dumuzid and Geshtin-ana reads: “A small demon opened his mouth and said to the big demon, "Come on, let's go to the lap of holy Inana ". The demons entered Unug and seized holy Inana . "Come on, Inana , go on that journey which is yours alone — descend to the underworld. Go to the place which you have coveted — descend to the netherworld. Go to the dwelling of Ereckigal — descend to the underworld. Don't put on your holy ma garment, the pala dress of ladyship — descend to the underworld. Remove the holy headdress, that splendid ornament, from your head — descend to the underworld. Don't enhance your apperance with a wig — descend to the underworld. Don't adorn your feet with ...... — descend to the underworld. When you descend, ......." [Source: J.A. Black, G. Cunningham, E. Robson, and G. Zlyomi 1998, 1999, 2000, Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, Oxford University, piney.com]

“They released at holy Inana , they ...... her. Inana handed over Dumuzid to them in exchange for herself. "As for the lad, we will put his feet in foot stocks. As for the lad, we will put his hands in hand stocks: we will put his neck in neck stocks." Copper pins, nails and pokers were raised to his face. They sharpened their large copper axes. As for the lad, they stood him up, they sat him down. "Let us remove his ...... garment, let us make him stand ......." As for the lad, they bound his arms, they did evil ....... They covered his face with his own garment.

“The lad raises his hands heavenward to Utu : "O Utu , I am your friend, I am a youth. Do you recognize me? Your sister, whom I married, descended to the underworld. Because she descended to the underworld, it was me that she was to hand over to the underworld as a substitute. O Utu , you are a just judge, don't disappoint me! Change my hands, alter my appearance, so that I may escape the clutches of my demons! Don't let them seize me! Like a sajkal snake that slithers across the meadows and mountains, let me escape alive to the dwelling of my sister Jectin-ana ."

“Utu accepted his tears. He changed his hands, he altered his appearance. Then like a sajkal snake that slithers across the meadows and mountains, like a soaring falcon that can swoop down on a live bird, Dumuzid escaped alive to the dwelling of his sister Jectin-ana . Jectin-ana looked at her brother. She scratched at her cheek: she scratched at her nose. She looked at her sides: she ...... her garment. She recited a lament of misfortune for the unfortunate lad: "O my brother! O my brother, lad who has not fulfilled those days! O my brother, shepherd Ama-ucumgal-ana , lad who has not fulfilled those days and years! O my brother, lad who has no wife, who has no children! O my brother, lad who has no friend, who has no companion! O my brother, the lad who is not a comfort to his mother!"

“The demons go hither and thither searching for Dumuzid . The small demons say to the big demons: "Demons have no mother; they have no father or mother, sister or brother, wife or children. When ...... were established on heaven and earth, you demons were there, at a man's side like a reed enclosure. Demons are never kind, they do not know good from evil. Who has ever seen a man, without a family, all alone, escape with his life? We shall go neither to the dwelling of his friend nor to the dwelling of his in-laws. Rather, for the shepherd let us go to the dwelling of Jectin-ana ." The demons clap their hands and begin to seek him out.

“Jectin-ana had barely finished that lament when the demons arrived at her dwelling. "Show us where your brother is," they said to her. But she spoke not a word to them. They afflicted her loins with a skin disease, but she spoke not a word to them. They scratched her face with ......, but she spoke not a word to them. They ...... the skin of her buttocks, but she spoke not a word to them. They poured tar in her lap, but she spoke not a word to them. So they could not find Dumuzid at the house of Jectin-ana .

“The small demons said to the big demons: "Come on, let's go to the holy sheepfold!" There at the holy sheepfold they caught Dumuzid . They went hither and thither until they caught him. They searched for him until he was seen. The axe was wielded against the lad who had no family. They sharpened their daggers, they smashed his hut. His sister wandered about the city like a bird because of her brother: "My brother, let me take the great misfortune, come, let me ......."”

Dumuzi is Presented to Inanna

“Dumuzi is Presented to Inanna” (“Tammuz is Presented to Ishtar”) goes:
Ninshubur: "May the lord, the choice of your heart,
may the king, your beloved bridegroom, pass long days in your sweet thing, the pure loins!
Grant him a pleasant reign to come!
Grant him a royal throne, firm in its foundations;
grant him a sceptre righting (wrongs in) the land, all shepherds' crooks;
grant him the good crown, the turban that makes a head distinguished.
[Source: piney.com]

From sunrise to sunset
from south to north
from the Upper Sea to the Lower Sea,
from (where grows) the huluppu-tree, from (where grows) the cedar-tree,
and in Sumer and Akkad, grant him all shepherds' crooks,
and may he perform the shepherdship over their dark-headed people.

May he like a farmer till the fields,
may he like a good shepherd make the folds teem,
may there be vines under him, may there be barley under him,
may there be carp-floods in the river under him,
may there be mottled barley in the fields under him,
may fishes and birds sound off in the marshes under him.

May old and new reeds grow in the canebrake under him,
may shrubs grow in the high desert under him,
may deer multiply in the forests under him,
may (well) watered gardens bear honey and wine under him,
may lettuce and cress grow in the vegetable plots under him,
may there be long life in the palace under him.

May the high flood rise in the Tigris and Euphrates under him,
may grass grow on their banks, may vegetables fill the commons,
may the holy lady (of the grains), Nidaba, gather grainpiles there!
O milady, queen of heaven and earth, queen of

Dumuzid's Dream, the Story of His Death

1-4 His heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside. The lad's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside. Dumuzid's heart was full of tears as he went out into the countryside. He carried with him his (1 ms. adds: shepherd's) stick on his shoulder, sobbing all the time:

5-14 "Grieve, grieve, o countryside, grieve! O countryside, grieve! O marshes, cry out! O ...... crabs of the river, grieve! O frogs of the river, cry out! My mother will call to me, my mother, my Durtur, will call to me, my mother will call to me for five things, my mother will call to me for ten things: if she does not know the day when I am dead, you, o countryside, can inform my mother who bore me. Like my little sister may you weep for me." [Source: piney.com]

15-18 In ancient times he lay down, in ancient times he lay down, in ancient times the shepherd lay down. When in ancient times the shepherd lay down, he lay down to dream. He woke up — it was a dream! He shivered — it was sleep! He rubbed his eyes, he was terrified.

19-25 "Bring, bring, bring my sister! Bring my Jectin-ana, bring my sister! Bring my scribe proficient in tablets, bring my sister! Bring my singer expert in songs, bring my singer! Bring my perspicacious girl, bring my sister! Bring my wise woman, who knows the meanings of dreams, bring my sister! I will relate the dream to her."

26-39 "A dream, my sister! A dream! In my dream, rushes were rising up for me, rushes kept growing for me, a single reed was shaking its head at me; twin reeds — one was being separated from me. Tall trees in the forest were rising up together over me. Water was poured over my holy coals (1 ms. has instead: brazier) for me, the cover of my holy churn was being removed, my holy drinking cup was torn down from the peg where it hung, my shepherd's stick disappeared from me. An owl took a lamb from the sheep house, a falcon caught a sparrow on the reed fence, my male goats were dragging their dark beards in the dust for me, my rams were scratching the earth with their thick legs for me. The churns were lying on their side, no milk was poured, the drinking cups were lying on their side, Dumuzid was dead, the sheepfold was haunted."

41-55 Jectin-ana answered Dumuzid: "My brother, your dream is not favourable, don't tell me any more of it! Dumuzid, your dream is not favourable, don't tell me any more of it! The rushes rising up for you, which kept growing for you, are bandits rising against you from their ambush. The single reed shaking its head at you is your mother who bore you, shaking her head for you. The twin reeds of which one was being separated from you is you and I — one will be separated from you. The tall trees in the forest rising up together over you are the evil men catching you within the walls. That water was poured over your holy coals means the sheepfold will become a house of silence. That the cover of your holy churn was being removed for you means the evil man will bring it inside in his hands. "

Erotic Mythology Involving of Ishtar and Tammmuz

Part of The Courtship of Inanna and Dumuzi (Ishtar and Tammuz) goes: "Brother, after you've brought my bridal sheet to me,
Who will go to bed with me?
Utu, who will go to bed with me?
"Sister, your bridegroom will go to bed with you.
He who was born from a fertile womb,
He who was conceived on the scared marriage throne,
Dumuzi, the shepherd! He will go to bed with you."

Inanna spoke:
"No, brother
The farmer! He is the man of my heart!
He gathers the grain into great heaps.
He brings the grain regularly into my storehouses."
Utu spoke:
"Sister, marry the shepherd.
Why are you unwilling?
His cream is good; his milk is good.

Whatever he touches shines brightly.
Inanna, marry Dumuzi.
You who adorn yourself with the agate necklace of fertility,
Why are you unwilling?
Dumuzi will share his rich cream with you.
You who are meant to be the kings protector,
Why are you unwilling?"
Inanna spoke:
"The shepherd? I will not marry the shepherd!
His clothes are course; his wool is rough.
I will marry the farmer.
The farmer grows flax for my clothes,
The farmer grows barley for my table."

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia sourcebooks.fordham.edu , National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, especially Merle Severy, National Geographic, May 1991 and Marion Steinmann, Smithsonian, December 1988, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Discover magazine, Times of London, Natural History magazine, Archaeology magazine, The New Yorker, BBC, Encyclopædia Britannica, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Time, Newsweek, Wikipedia, Reuters, Associated Press, The Guardian, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “History of Warfare” by John Keegan (Vintage Books); “History of Art” by H.W. Janson Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.), Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated June 2024