Upon stumbling into the abandoned huluppu-tree on the banks of the Euphrates, Inanna, a god-fearing woman, begins to transform the new world. Inanna brings fertility and life to the city and her self-proclaimed duty is to the prosperity of this tree and her holy garden. Her impact on the environment is immediate but it is long before Inanna herself recognizes her power and her role as the Queen of Heaven and Earth. Inanna’s complicated courtship with the shepherd Dumuzi marks the moment at which she acknowledges herself as the Queen and ultimately embraces her role as the guardian of Heaven and Earth. This transformation compels Inanna to expand her power to undiscovered realms and seek leadership on a divine level.
Inanna was always destined to become royalty, and although she had already assumed the role of Queen of Heaven and Earth, there were many responsibilities she felt she was to fulfill before she could accept herself as queen. After ridding Inanna’s beloved tree from the serpent, the Anzu-bird and the dark maid Lilith, Gilgamesh, hero of Uruk, “carved a throne for his holy sister” and “a bed for Inanna” (9). These gifts, built from the trunk of her esteemed huluppu-tree, allow Inanna to move into the next phase in her life; one in which she is to find a mate and consummate her marriage, fructifying the land in the process. The union of Inanna and Dumuzi is not for love, but rather symbolizes the alliance of earth and the shepherd and their relations bring fertility and an abundance of crops to the land. Inanna does not have sex with Dumuzi for pleasure or because she had a deep desperation for love and affection; sex is instead a tool she used to her advantage to strengthen her kingdom. As the two have relations, “plants [grow] high by their side. / Grains [grow] high by their side. / Gardens [flourish] luxuriantly,” and finally, Inanna appeases her role (37). Once her bridal sheet is soiled and her “sweet love is sated,” (48) Inanna concedes that she, “Queen of Heaven, was shining bright” (41). This is the first instance in which the young maiden of the earth refers to herself as queen and fully adopts her queenship. This moment of self-awareness and self-realization is pivotal.
The Sky and Air Gods “carried off” the heavens and earth, respectively, and Ereshkigal was given the underworld (3). Inanna, on the other hand, came across the huluppu-tree by accident. Through that chance encounter, however, she created a beautiful world full of life, the me, that provided an outline for society, and happiness. Inanna could not call herself queen until she felt that she had created the kingdom that she was most proud of. Once Inanna identifies what she is capable of within her own realm, she is enticed to explore uncharted territory and “[abandons] her office of holy priestess to descend to the underworld” (52). Adorned with seven me and holy armor, Inanna travels to the underworld, suffers an untimely death and is reincarnated into a Goddess; a final rebirth solidifying Inanna’s purpose and gracing her with divine powers. She is capable of completing a task not even Enki, the god of wisdom, could complete.
Inanna is altruistic. She makes sacrifices and choices that bring commodities and resources to her people. She uses sex not as an act of love but a key to productivity. She could not call herself queen until her people had all they needed. Inanna, once a maiden afraid of the gods and their words, transforms into one herself by means of her patience, womanhood and sexuality, and fearfulness. Her transition emphasizes the necessity of self-assessment; it is not until she embraces the importance of her role that her full potential is realized.