Table Of ContentOrbis Biblicus et Orientalis 259
Julia M. Asher-Greve
Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Goddesses in Context
On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships
and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual
and Visual Sources
Academic Press Fribourg
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Göttingen
Cover illustration
Reconstructed drawing of the seal of Lugal-engardu, son of Enlil-amah. Original drawing by Richard
L. Zettler (Review of Briggs Buchanan, Early Seals in the Yale Babyloniˇan Collection, Journal of Near
Eastern Studies 46 (1987): 60, fig. 1). Modified by Kimberley Leaman, December, 2010.
Publication subsidized by the Swiss Academy
of Humanities and Social Sciences
Internet general catalogue:
Academic Press Fribourg: www.paulusedition.ch
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen: www.v-r.de
Camera-ready text prepared by Marcia Bodenmann, University of Zurich
© 2013 by Academic Press Fribourg, Fribourg Switzerland
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Göttingen
ISBN: 978-3-7278-1738-0 (Academic Press Fribourg)
ISBN: 978-3-525-54382-5 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht)
ISSN: 1015-1850 (Orb. biblicus orient.)
Table of Contents
In Loving Memory ........................................................................................... IX
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... XI
Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
Julia M. Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Map of Mesopotamia .................................................................................. 10
Chronological Table ................................................................................... 12
I. GENDER THEORY AND ISSUES ........................................................... 15
Julia M. Asher-Greve
A. On Sexual Differences and Gender Categories ..................................... 15
B. Changing Gender, Function, Domain, Rank/Status of Deities .............. 17
C. The Discourse on the Marginalization of Goddesses ............................ 22
II. PLETHORA OF FEMALE DEITIES ........................................................ 29
Joan Goodnick Westenholz
A. The Processes: Syncretism, Fusion, Fission, and Mutation ................. 29
B. The First Stage: Profusion .................................................................... 39
1. Goddesses and Their Cities in the Late Uruk Period
(ca. 3300-2900) ................................................................................ 39
2. Praising the Goddesses in the Early Dynastic Period
(ca. 2900-2350) ................................................................................ 44
3. The Melting Pot of Goddesses in the Old Akkadian Period
(ca. 2350-2150) ................................................................................ 60
4. Retrospective Notions and New Trends: Goddesses in the
Neo-Sumerian Period (ca. 2150-2000) ............................................. 64
C. The Second Stage: Recession ............................................................... 72
1. Goddesses in Transformation in the Old Babylonian
Period (ca. 2000-1595) ..................................................................... 72
VI TABLE OF CONTENTS
2. Continuity and Change: Goddesses in the Middle
Babylonian Period (ca. 1595-1000) ................................................. 94
D. The Third Stage: Homogeneity and Simplifi cation .............................. 104
1. Confl ation: Goddesses in the Neo-Babylonian Period
(740-539) ......................................................................................... 104
2. Goddesses in Perpetuity in the Late Babylonian Period
(539-141) ......................................................................................... 121
E. General Trends ...................................................................................... 132
III. FACETS OF CHANGE ............................................................................. 137
Julia M. Asher-Greve
A. The Case of Ninḫursaĝa ....................................................................... 137
B. Mythological Messages ........................................................................ 141
1. Enki and Ninmaḫ or When a Goddess Fails as ‘Mother’ ................. 141
2. Two Tales of Becoming Enlil’s Spouse ............................................ 145
IV. IMAGES ..................................................................................................... 149
Julia M. Asher-Greve
A. Image and Religion ............................................................................... 149
1. The Image Issue ............................................................................... 149
2. Images as Religious Medium ........................................................... 153
B. Visualizing Deities ................................................................................ 157
C. Survey Through Time, Space and Place ............................................... 163
1. Inventing Images of Goddesses in the Early Dynastic
Period ............................................................................................... 163
2. Akkadian Innovative Images ............................................................ 171
3. Goddesses in the Majority: Neo-Sumerian Period ........................... 187
3.1. High-Ranked Goddesses on Public Monuments ...................... 189
3.2. Protective Goddesses ................................................................ 191
3.3. Principal Goddesses .................................................................. 199
3.3.1. Seal Images of Principal Goddess .................................. 199
3.3.2. Seal Images of Principal Goddess Associated with
Birds ................................................................................ 209
3.4. Neo-Sumerian ‘Conservatism’ .................................................. 219
4. Statues .............................................................................................. 221
4.1. The Temple of Ningal at Ur and the Goddess on Anserini ....... 227
TABLE OF CONTENTS VII
4.2. Goddesses in Neighborhood Shrines at Ur ............................... 231
4.3. Goddesses in Palaces and Private Houses ................................. 235
5. Roles and Functions of Terracotta Images of Goddesses ................. 238
6. In the Minority: Goddesses on Old Babylonian Seals ..................... 249
6.1. Images of the Sippar Pantheon .................................................. 255
6.2. Goddess and King Embracing ................................................... 270
6.3. Affi nities to Goddesses .............................................................. 272
7. Power of Presence: Images of Goddesses after the
“Dark Age” ....................................................................................... 275
V. EPILOGUE ................................................................................................ 287
Julia M. Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Abbreviations ................................................................................................... 297
Bibliography .................................................................................................... 301
Indices .............................................................................................................. 357
Index of Subjects ........................................................................................ 357
Index of Divine Names .............................................................................. 370
Index of Temples, Sanctuaries, Shrines ...................................................... 373
Index of Topographical Names .................................................................. 374
Index of Royal and Personal Names .......................................................... 375
Index of Sumerian and Akkadian Words Discussed .................................. 378
Figures .............................................................................................................. 381
In loving memory ל״ז
Joan Goodnick Westenholz died on 18 February 2013 shortly before this
book went into print. During the preparation for publication Joan was diag-
nosed with a terminal illness and spent the last months of her life working
on corrections and indices. By the time her strength ebbed and she could no
longer work, the only item to complete was a revision of the subject index.
Joan often mentioned how much this work means to her and we put all our
efforts into fi nishing it, hoping she could hold the printed book in her hands.
When it became obvious that this would be unlikely, Christoph Uehlinger
completed the cover design and sent it to her together with the fi nal PDF
version.
The subject index is based on the work Joan had already begun. We
restructured and revised it as quickly and thoroughly as possible, trying as
best as possible to maintain the entries she established. We are aware that this
subject index does not achieve the meticulous standards Joan set for herself
in all her work.
Ann Kessler Guinan made invaluable contributions to the revision of the
subject index and textual corrections. We are very grateful for help and infor-
mation provided by Jerold S. Cooper, Gebhardt J. Selz, and Piotr Steinkeller
and to Geerd Haayer for his general support and advice. We are indebted to
Richard L. Zettler for his immediate permission to reproduce his drawing on
the book cover.
Two titles listed in the bibliography as “Westenholz forthcoming” demon-
strate that Joan still pursued other projects beyond the present book. Both the
lexical study on ‘man’ and her book on Nanaya will probably never appear
in print, but we decided to leave these references as she had listed them. May
they be considered as a reminder of her scholarship as much as an invitation
to younger scholars to tackle those topics that Joan will no more comment
upon.
Joan’s death has been a devastating loss. She was as an outstanding,
inspiring, innovative, and generously supportive colleague and she was our
very dear friend.
Julia M. Asher-Greve and Ann Kessler Guinan
February 2013
Acknowledgements
We would fi rst like to express our thanks to Susanne Bickel for inviting us
to participate in the conference on “Goddesses – Göttinnen – Déesses” held
under the auspices of the SGOA (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Orien-
talische Altertumswissenschaft) on March 8, 2008. The two lectures that we
presented on that occasion served as the basis for this book. We are most
grateful to Othmar Keel for his invitation to publish our lectures in the OBO
series. Unknowingly, he provided us with the opportunity to realize an idea
we have discussed for many years that we would like to write a book together.
We would also like to acknowledge our indebtedness to Harvard University’s
Women’s Studies in Religion Program that has shaped our thinking and ideas
about gender in ancient Mesopotamia at a time when Assyriology barely
began to recognize the importance of research on women and gender. Our
different scholarly backgrounds and training proved to be complementary
and widened our scopes as we discussed our individual ideas that sometimes
led to revisions of interpretations. The chapters published here have profi ted
from mutual readings and comments that began when we were working on
the lectures. We hope that the readers may benefi t as much as we have by
this cooperation.
For bibliographic references, unpublished manuscripts, pdf copies or
CDs of articles or books, as well as for other valuable information we want to
express our gratitude to: Pascal Attinger, Kim Benzel (Metropolitan Museum
of Art, New York), Manuel Ceccarelli, Mark E. Cohen, Mark J. Geller, Bri-
gitte Groneberg, Ann K. Guinan, Henrietta Harisch (professor for Latin at
Basel University), Hanna Jenni, Raphael A. Michel, Eleanor Robson, Mar-
cos Such-Gutiérrez, Claudia E. Suter, Deborah Sweeney, Aage Westenholz,
Frauke Weiershäuser, Ran Zadok, Ilona Zsolnay. A further debt of gratitude
is owed to Nicholas Postgate who sent the PhD dissertation of his student
Simon J. Sherwin.
Very special thanks go to Ann K. Guinan for reading and commenting
on an early version, to Julia Assante, Gebhard J. Selz and Piotr Steinkeller
who sent not only published and unpublished articles but spent much time
discussing ideas and issues and to Rosel Pientka-Hinz for lively discussions,
XII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
offprints, and especially her original drawings of Sippar impressions and her
kind permission to reproduce them here.
For photographs and/or reproduction permissions we want to acknowl-
edge the help and assistance of: Jonathan Taylor of The British Museum
(London), Catherine Giraudon of the Musée du Louvre (Paris), Gil Stein and
Thomas R. James of the Oriental Institute Museum of Chicago University,
Maureen Goldsmith of the Penn Museum of the University of Pennsylvania
(Philadelphia), Joachim Marzahn and Olaf Teßmer of the Vorderasiatisches
Museum of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Pierpont Morgan Library
(New York), the Bible Lands Museum Jerusalem, Manfred Krebernik of the
Hilprecht Sammlung Vorderasiatischer Altertümer of the Friedrich-Schiller
University of Jena, Eric Gubel of the Royal Museum of Art and History
(Brussels), Claudia E. Suter, and to Ulrike Zurkinden for her drawings of
seal impressions.
We would also like to express our deep appreciation to the Institute for
the Study of the Ancient World of New York University for their fi nan-
cial support and generosity that made possible Joan’s two trips to Basel to
complete the work on this volume.
Finally, our acknowledgements would not be complete without mention-
ing the indispensable input of all those who worked with us to prepare this
volume, especially Arthur Lawrence Asher as well as Christoph Uehlinger,
co-editor of Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, and Marcia Bodenmann to whom
we are most beholden.
Julia M. Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz
Basel and New York, Summer 2011
