Lamarre 20

The Inanna Dumuzi Myth Cycle:

Structural, Comparative and Symbolic Approaches
No, thou canst hear:
Thou art immortal, and this tongue is known
Only to those who die" (Shelley, Prometheus Unbound.
149-151)
It has been generally remarked that the myths of Inanna and Dumuzi bear a resemblance
to myths associated with Mediterranean cults such as that of Osiris, Attis, Adonis,
Dionysos and Persephone, notably by Frazer in his major study, The Golden Bough.
Walter Burkert, while discounting Frazers simplistic overarching thesis of essential identity
of all cults, makes a convincing case for the historical derivation of the Attis/Cybele and
Adonis/Aphrodite cults from the Inanna/Dumuzi cult. Furthermore, Penglas has shown
extensive correspondences between the Inanna/Dumuzi myth and the Homeric Hymn to
Demeter. Moreover, Frazer, Langdon (24) and Gaster (Baal is risen 113) posit the
existence of an Inanna and Dumuzi mystery cult. In order to get a better understanding of
the Innana/Dumuzi mythos, it would seem feasible to look as what elements it has in
common with these Mystery Religion myths and rituals as well as other myths involving the
general theme of a fertility-related disappearing god and a Nature-Mother Goddess.
I will first start by outlining the major aspects of the Inanna-Dumuzi myth cycle as found in
the major songs, hymns, myths, and stories. Secondly, I shall derive a list of key themes
from these materials and compare them with mythical motifs found primarily in
Mediterranean Mystery-based cult myths and rituals. Thirdly, I will look at look at the
possible symbolic signif icance of the myths using various structural and comparative
examples. The basic question that I will try to address is: can a comparative study of myth
and ritual help us determine if the Dumuzi myth cycle formed the basis of a Mystery
Religion?
A - Brief Overview of the Inanna Dumuzi Myth Cycle
The various texts of the Dumuzi cycle can be roughly placed in three groups:
1- Courtship/Sacred Marriage; 2-Inannas Descent to the Underworld/Dumuzis Death; and
3- Ritual Lamentations/Search for Dumuzi/Dumuzis return.
1. The Courtship / Sacred Marriage. There are over fifty extant Mesopotamian sources
dealing with the romance of Inanna and Dumuzi (Lapinkivi 29-60) of various types ranging
from the light romantic to the ritually sacred. I will summarize the Wolkstein & Kramer
compilation (30-49).
The courtship begins with a prosaic setting of pastoral courting rituals and progressively
builds into an elaborate marriage ceremony where marriage rituals are linked to the
religious concept of the Sacred Marriage, which involves themes of fertility renewal, Divine
Kingship, and religious experience (Lapinkivi 242-52). Utu, the sun god introduces Dumuzi
to his younger sister, Inanna. Dumuzi the shepherd, must compete with farmers for
Inannas affections. Elements of fertility, growth and productivity are prevalent. A ritual of
preparation and adornment precedes the union proper, which is framed in images of
natural abundance such as milk, honey and apple trees and a ritual bridle bed motif is
introduced. Inannas role as supporter of kingship is elaborately described as she bestows
the attributes of kingship as a result of the marriage.
The king embraces his beloved bride,
Dumuzi embraces Inanna
Inanna, seated on the royal throne, shines like daylight.
The king, like the sun, shines radiantly at her side.
He arranges abundance, lushness, and plenty before her.
He assembles the people of Sumer. (Wolkstein & Kramer 109)
2. Inannas Descent to the Underworld / Dumuzis Death. I will summarize Wolkstein &
Kramers compilation, composed mainly of From the Great Above to the Great Below,
Dumuzis Dream, andDumuzi and Geshtinanna Sumerian texts (52-84).The story

beginswith Inanna as holy priestess abandoning her seven temples, gathering the
seven Me, and donning her divine attributes consisting of a crown, hairstyle, necklace,
robe, eye shadow, breastplate, and bracelet wand and setting out for the underworld to
visit her sister Ereshkigal because her husband, Gugulanna, the Bull of Heaven has died.
Her faithful female servant Ninshubur is a prominent character. She must leave one her
attributes at each one of the seven gates of the underworld that she must pass through
before arriving to the underworld naked. She is judged by the Annuna and Ereshkigal,
who, after fastening the eye of death and uttering the word of wrath and the cry of guilt
against her, then strikes her. She is turned into a corpse and hung on the wall. After three
days, seeing as Inanna had not returned, Ninshubur begins ritual lamentations. She
implores Enlil, Nanna, and Enki for help in finding her.
Enki sends a Kurgarra, an androgynous creature to secure her release with the food of life
and the water of life. The Kurgarra meets Ereshkigal in the throes of pain, which are
compared to birth pangs. She offers a water gift and a grain gift. They refuse the gifts and
claim Inannas corpse and revive her with the food and water of life. Ereshkigal informs
Inanna that she cannot ascend from the underworld without finding someone to take her
place and is therefore accompanied by galla demons to the upper world in order for them
to seize a replacement. Inanna refuses to let Ninshubur or her son, Lullu to serve as her
replacement, and so chooses Dumuzi, who is shown sitting on his throne, at which point
the story breaks off.
Fortunately, the story, Dumuzis Dream, picks up more or less where the previous one left
off. It tells of Dumuzis flight and eventual capture by seven galla demons. It begins with
Dumuzi recounting a dream to his sister Geshtinanna who interprets the dream as
signifying that the galla demons will pursue him. He hides among four places: the grass,
the small plants, the large plants and the ditches of Arali. In his flight he manages to
escape twice by calling to Utu who transforms him into a snake and later, into a gazelle.
Dumuzi is betrayed by a friend, who reveals his hiding places when the Galla demons offer
the gifts of water and grain to him. The demons eventually find Dumuzi in an old womans
house and submit him to similar ordeals that Inanna underwent in her descent to the
underworld, echoing the sevenfold patterns. In some versions, Dumuzi drowns or is killed
by robbers instead (Jacobsen 48).
3. Lamentations / Return of Dumuzi
Due to the incomplete state of the various sources, the end of the Dumuzi story is derived
mainly from the signif icant body of Dumuzi Ritual lamentation liturgical texts, which feature
the God Damu, who was identif ied with Dumuzi. I base my summary on the compilations
of Wolkstein and Kramer (85-89) and Jacobsen (63-73). Inanna, Geshtinanna, and Surtur,
Dumuzis mother engage in lamentation cries over Dumuzis disappearance and Inanna
and Geshtinanna embark on a search for him. References are made indicating that
Dumuzis presence is necessary for general fertility while his absence causes sterility:
The wailing for (fear) that he may not come,
The wailing is verily for the vines;
The plot with vines may not give birth to it.
That wailing is verily for the barley;
The furrow may not give birth to it. (Jacobsen 68)
A fly tells them where he is. It is resolved that Dumuzi is to go to the underworld for only
half of the year, because his sister has offered to replace him for the other half. She is
there sometimes portrayed as a scribe to Ereshkigal (Black & Green 88). Dumuzis ascent
to the upper world is ritually portrayed thus:
When Tammuz rises, the lapis lazuli pipe and the carnelian ring will rise with him, the male
and the female mourners will rise with him. May the dead rise and smell the incense!
(Akkadian text, Ishtars Descent into the Netherworld, Penglas 28)
B. Comparison with Mystery-Religion myths
According to Angus, a Mystery-Religion was:
a religion of symbolism which, through myth and allegory, iconic representations,
blazing lights and dense darkness, liturgies and sacramental acts, and
suggestion quickened the intuitions of the heart, and provoked in the initiate a
mystical experience conducing to palingenesia (regeneration), the object of
every initiation. (Angus 45)
Most of the mystery religions contained important elements of fertility and agricultural
themes. For example, in the Eleusinian Mysteries, the greatest of the Greek mysteries, the

related myth as recounted in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter involves Demeter, an earth
goddess and her daughter Persephone, who are both related to grain cultivation. When
Persephone is captured and taken to the underworld by Hades, Demeter, in her grief
causes the natural world to become sterile. She eventually locates her daughter in Hades,
but because Persephone has eaten a Pomegranate, she has to remain as Hades
husband in the underworld, although she is allowed to return to the upper world for two
thirds of the year.
There were the Lesser Mysteries, celebrated around springtime and the Greater
Mysteries, which were celebrated in Autumn. The rituals involved carrying chests from
Eleusis to Athens, bathing in the sea, sacrif icing a pig to Demeter and Persephone, a
procession from Athens to Eleusis while carrying the chest, with singing and dancing, parts
of it occurring at night by torchlight. The initiation ceremonies involved fasting, drinking an
unidentif ied beverage, performing various rites with certain symbolic objects, and possibly
a sacred marriage resulting in childbirth (Meyer 17-21). A type of mystical vision was
experienced, the Epopteia.
According to the neoplatonist philosopher Sallustius, "Every initiation aims at uniting us
with the World and with the Deity" (qtd. in Angus 70). According to Eliade, the Eleusinian
initiation "descends directly from an agricultural ritual centered around the death and
resurrection of a divinity controlling the fertility of the fields" (Rites and Symbols of
Initiation 111) and states that
The fact that such elements of archaic religious practice recur in the most
central position in the Greek and the Greco-Oriental mysteries proves
that not only their extraordinary vitality but also their importance for the
religious life of humanity (112).
Historically, Daniels posits that the origin of the Eleusinian Mysteries date to around 2000
BC and may have been influenced by the cults of Tammuz and Osiris (103-104). Keller
posits a possible confluence of influences from Thrace, Egypt, and Crete (28).
A kind of spiritual birth or a symbolic of rebirth was an important aspect of the mysteries.
The notion of a symbolic death and obtaining happiness after death was also an important
aspect. As examples, Apuleuis, recounting his initiation into the mysteries of Isis in his
novel The Golden Ass, underwent a voluntary death and approached the realm of
Death in order thereby to obtain his spiritual birthday in the service of a goddess whose
followers were as it were reborn (Angus 96-97); an inscription found at Eleusis
states: "Beautiful indeed is the Mystery given us by the blessed gods: death is for mortals
no longer an evil but a blessing" (Angus 140).
Similarly, the various forms of initiation in primitive societies, which mark the passage from
puberty to adult society, the entrance into secret societies, and shamanism involve a
symbolic enactment of birth and death. Therefore symbols involving gestation, childbirth as
well as torture, death and funeral rites are prevalent (Rites and Symbols of Initiation 32).
Returning to the womb, equated with the Great Mother, symbolised for example by burial
in the earth or being swallowed by a creature is a common motif (51).
I shall attempt a comparison of the Dumuzi Mythos based on structural paradigms derived
from common thematic elements found primarily in Mediterranean Mystery-based Cult
myths and rituals as well as other Near Eastern fertility-themed myths. I have chosen
seven themes and will discuss them in comparison to similar elements in other myths and
rituals from various sources. Moreover certain common ritual aspects of the Mystery
Religions will be compared to aspects of the Dumuzi Mythos, such as vows of secrecy,
confessions, baptism and lustral purif ications, sacrif ices, ascetic preparations, pilgrimages
of a penitential nature, self-mortif ications and mutilations, robing, crowning, and enthroning
(Angus 77-91).
For a more focused comparison, see Chart 1, were the seven themes were compared with
four different myth cycles (Isis and Osiris, Cybele and Attis, Demeter and Persephone,
Mary and Christ). Though not a mystery religion, the Roman Catholic religion was chosen
due to noted similarities with the Dumuzi mythos and because of the signif icant influences
from Mystery Religions.
1- Consort with Fertility Goddess. Inanna, Queen of Heaven, is a major fertility goddess
in the Sumerian pantheon, whereas Dumuzi is a semi-divine, possibly a divinised king.
Here I notice a theme of a subservient role of a divine youth to a major goddess
figure. Penglas terms this theme the goddess and consort strand, relating it to other
Mesopotamian myths such as Enlil and Ninlil (38-40).

7-Divine
Couple &
Sacred
Marriage

Inanna &
Dumuzi

6-Revival
of Dead /
Ascent
from
Underwor
ld

Ascends
from
underwor
ld for half
of year

5Mourning
lamentati
ons &
searchin
g

Ninshubu
r laments
for
Inanna,
Geshtina
nna &
Inanna
search
for
Dumuzi
Dumuzi
related to
cause
and loss
of fertility
&
seasons
and
agricultur
al
calendar

4Symbioti
c fertility
&
Seasonal
cycles

3- Death
&Journey
to the
underwor
ld
2Royalty &
Shepherd
ing

1Consort

Isis &
Osiris
Concepti
on of
Horus

Revived
for
Concepti
on of
Horus
Festival
of return

Cybele &
Attis

Hilaria
Festival
celebrate
s rebirth

Isis &
Nepthys
lament
& search
for Osiris

Cybele
searches
for Attis Lover
laments
Female
ritual
lamentati
ons

Osiris
dies and
reappear
s with
vegetatio
n
Seasonal
Festivals

Dearth
and
plague at
Attis
death
Spring
festival

Innana
Descend
s Dumuzi
dragged
to
underwor
ld
Dumuzi
Shepher
d & King

Osiris killed by
Seth
becomes
King of
underwor
ld
Osiris
-King

Dies of
selfinflicted
wounds

Inanna

Isis

Attis
Shepher
d of the
shining
stars,
goatherd,
wears a
crown
Cybele

Perseph
one &
Hades King &
Queen of
underwor
ld
Ascends
from
underwor
ld for two
thirds of
year
alternate
version
Demeter
laments.
She &
Hecate
search
for
Perseph
one

Mary &
Christ
enthrone
d in
Heaven
as
Queen &
King
Resurrec
tion
Easter
celebrati
on
Ascensio
n
Mourning
of Mary,
Mater
Dolorosa
, Pieta
scene

Demeter
causes
sterility
and
brings
back
fertility
Little
mysterie
s in
Spring
Greater
mysterie
s in Fall
Perseph
one
kidnappe
d by
Hades

Liturgical
calendar
Easter,
Christma
s, etc
Holy
Grail
story

Hades King

Christ
Shepher
d & King

Demeter

Mary

Christ
goes to
Hell to
rescues
souls

with
Fertility
Goddess
Myth

Inanna &
Dumuzi

Isis &
Osiris

Cybele
& Attis

Demeter
&
Perseph
one

Mary
& Christ

The situation is similar in the Phrygian myth of Cybele and Attis, the Syrian / Greek myth of
Aphrodite and Adonis, and with Demeter and Persephone. In the Egyptian myth of Isis and
Osiris, Osiris is not subservient to Isis, nor is he a youth; but Isis is responsible for
restoring him to life, which many of the goddesses do. The divine youth figure appears
later in the Egyptian myth with the figure of Horus.
Moreover, in the Dumuzi Mythos, the roles in relationships are very changeable. Inanna
plays the role of sister, mother, wife and even antagonist to Dumuzi. This multi-faceted
relational aspect is also present with Isis and Osiris. Since the Council of Ephesus in 431
A.D., Mary, the mother of Christ, progressively began to adopt titles such as Mother of God
(Theotokos), Queen of the Earth, Queen of Heaven, Mother of Christians, Lady of ladies,
Bride of Christ, Mediatrix of all Graces, Vessel of the Incarnation, Mother of the Church
(Barnay 6-7).The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is generally believed to be a direct
derivation of the Inanna and Dumuzi cult (Burkert 105-08).
2- Royalty and Shepherding. Dumuzis roles of shepherd and king are both very
pronounced. Inanna has very strong links to kingship. Many Sacred Marriage texts outline
rituals that involve Inanna or Ishtar and a king, and the king is sometimes identif ied with
Dumuzi. She was known to give prophetic utterances to support kings. Moreover, Kings
were raised as children in temples of Ishtar (Parpola XXXIX).
Divine kingship in ancient societies is considered to be a
religio-political concepts that views a ruler as an incarnation,
manifestation, mediator, or agent of the sacred.he is usually
responsible for influencing the weather and the lands fertility to ensure
the harvest necessary for survival the ruler protects the community
from enemies and generally feeds and cares for his people. (Britannica
Concise Encyclopedia)
Osiris is a king. In other similar myths, the importance of kingship is not as pronounced,
but the link to Royalty is still important. Attis is a shepherd and both he and Adonis are
sons of kings (Frazer 13). Persephone becomes Queen of the underworld. In a more
primitive Orphic version of her kidnapping, she descends to the underworld with a
swineherd (Kerenyi 171). As a shepherd, Dumuzi is associated with milk (Burkert 108).
Milk is a symbol of rebirth in the Attis mysteries (Frazer 352), and Orphism (92). When
Inanna rises from the underworld, she encounters Dumuzi seated on a throne. Being
seated on a throne was a prevalent initiation ritual calledthronosis (Angus 91).
3- Death and Journey to the underworld. Inanna / Ishtars descent is a distinguished
example of this theme. Her descent through the seven gates of the underworld has been
compared to the Persian Mysteries of Mithras, where, according to Celsus, there is a
ladder with seven gates (Angus 89) which are related to the seven planetary spheres in
ancient cosmology (Parpola XXXII). Ritual dressing and undressing is seen with Inanna
and Dumuzi. It is an element with various other mysteries related to the notion of rebirth
(90-91). The Tammuz rituals make possible use of statue processions (Mettinger 204)
(Lapinkivi 244). This element is present in the Osiris, Attis (Frazer 351), and other
mysteries.
Dumuzi is either carried to the underworld or is drowned and dies, in a way similar to the
death of Osiris, but the accounts are very fragmentary. Tammuzs enemies take the form of
a boar. Osiris and Adonis are killed by a boar (Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods 293), as
well as Attis (Burkert 108). There was a pig sacrif ice in the mysteries of Eleusis.
Furthermore, Dumuzi is gashed with an axe; Attis and Adonis bleed to death
(Frankfort. Kingship and the Gods 287). I see a resemblance between the galla demons
pursuit of Dumuzi and the Furies pursuit of Orestes in Greek tragedy. The assumed
death, lamentations for, and reappearance of Orestes have been compared to the
Dionysian Mysteries (Murray 356). The scene also has a counterpart in the Attis myth.

The theme of the journey to the underworld is a prevalent one in ancient myths. According
to Eliade, "From one point of view, we may say that all these myths and sagas have an
initiatory structure; to descend into Hell alive, confront its monsters and demons, is to
undergo an initiatory ordeal" (Eliade 62). In a magical text of late antiquity, referring to the
Adonis myth, Persephone is explicitly equated with Ereshkigal (Burkert 110).
4- Symbiotic fertility and seasonal cycles. Dumuzis role as king in the Sacred Marriage
is related to his symbiotic relationship with the fertility of nature. Dumuzi is linked to the
Bull, denoting fertility. Osiris and Dyonisios are equated to a bull (Frazer 390). There is a
bull sacrif ice in cults of Attis and Mithra (Meyer 7).
Moreover, it is thought that the alteration of Dumuzi and Geshtinanna in the underworld is
based upon the alternation of the barley and wine-growing seasons (Jacobsen 62) or else
a more general alteration between winter and summer seasons (Gaster, Themis 324).
Dumuzi is connected with grain cereal. Grain is an important element in the mysteries of
Demeter, Osiris, and Mithras (Meyer 6). The medieval mourners of Tammuz abstained
from bread and floor, as did the followers of Attis (Frazer 350). Geshtinana is connected
with the grapevine. This element is important in the mysteries of Dionysios. Osiris is
related to the grapevine and winemaking (Frazer 380). Wine is used in the Mithraic
mysteries (Angus 123).
Inannas descent results in a lack of fertility in the upperworld (Penglas 30). The
Dumuzi/Damu lamentations indicate that his disappearance causes general sterility and
his presence is important for general fertility. This is a prevalent theme in fertility and
agricultural myths and rituals. For example, it can be found in the Hittite myth and ritual
cycle of Telepinu and the Cannanite myth of Baal (Gaster,Themis 301). In the medieval
Holy Grail cycle, Perceval must find the Grail in order to cure the Fisher King, which will
restore fertility to the land.
5- Ritual Lamentations and searching. The ritual forms of lamentations with wailing are
accompanied by a search for Dumuzi involving Dumuzis wife, mother and sister. The
prevalent role of women in ritual mourning is something found in many ancient cultures
and is attested in the Bible, in Ezekiel 8:7-16 which mentions the weeping for Tammuz and
this tradition survived into medieval times at Harran (Gaster, Themis 276-77).
The presence of the three women could reflect the motif of the triad of the maiden, nymph
and crone present in agricultural rituals, which Graves associates with Persephone,
Demeter, and Hecate (92). Inanna and Geshtinanna actively search for Dumuzi. This
combined presence of two searching goddesses can also be found with Isis and Nephtys
as well as Demeter and Hecate in the Egyptian and Greek myths, respectively. Utu, the
sun god plays an important role. Helios, the sun god plays an important role in the myth of
Demeter. The Sun God plays an important part in Osiris myth.
6- Ascent from Underworld / Revival of Dead. In the myth, both Inanna and
Dumuzis . condition of leaving the underworld is finding a replacement. The replacement
theme (the idea that one cannot leave the underworld without finding a replacement) in
this myth is a distinctive feature that does not seem to be prevalent in Mystery Religions
although the periodic rotation between the underworld and the earth in the myths of
Adonis/Aphrodite and Demeter/Persephone could be traced back to the Sumerian myth. In
the Persephone myth, she spends a third of the year in the underworld with Hades and the
rest of the year in the upper world with Demeter. Adonis is said to spend one third of the
year in the underworld with Persephone and the remaining part above with Aphrodite
(Frazer 11-12).
Water lustrations restore Inanna to life. This element can be found in the mysteries of Attis
and Osiris (Gaster, Baal is risen 119)Baptism or lustral purif ications can be found in the
mysteries of Isis, Mithras, and Eleusis (Angus 81). There is a three day period between
Inannas descent and her death (although not between her death and resurrection).
Dumuzis taklimtu burial rite at the end of the month of Tammuz also lasts three days
(Mettinger 194). This three day period is prevalent in the rituals of the revival of Adonis
and Osiris, according to Plutarch (Mettinger 215). In the Old Testament story, Jonah lies in
the belly of the whale for three days (Mettinger 214). TheThesmophoria was a three day
festival involving Demeter mourning her daughter. (Keller 37) Christ resurrected on the
third day. In India, the initiatory Upanayama ritual is based on the notion of gestation and
rebirth and lasts three days (Eliade, Apsects du Mythe 101).
There are some indications of a ritual the celebration of Dumuzis return (Mettinger
213), which is a prevalent ritual aspect of many Mystery Religions. Tammuz rituals

took place in a cave and ended with the rising son. There were night time rituals in
the mysteries of Attis and Eleusis (Gaster Themis275-276). Tammuz and Ishtar are
represented as fir trees (Hooke 22). Tree Liturgies are prominent in the mysteries of
Attis (Cedar tree) (Lapinkivi 247), Isis, Adonis and Persephone (Gaster Themis313)
and Dionysus (Burkert 135). Moreover, the ritual symbolization of the returning god
as a tree is a theme with such divinities as Telepinu, Artemis, Hera, Demeter,
Persephone, Apollo, and Dionysus (Burkert 136).
7-Divine Couple and Sacred Marriage. Marriage rituals are prominent in the Dumuzi
Mythos and intimately connected with the notions of divine kingship and symbiotic fertility.
There is some evidence of Dumuzis annual ascent which possibly included a Sacred
Marriage ritual celebrated at the New Year (Lapinkivi 245).The Sacred Marriage ritual,
or hieros gamos, was believed to be a symbolic repetition of a divine archetypal marriage
of Heaven and Earth as male and female deities. It guaranteed the fertility of the land and
the regeneration of the world (Eliade, Aspects du Mythe 37). Its connection with agrarian
fertility rites is vividly illustrated, for example, in the Greek myth where Demeter and Jason
unite on a freshly seeded field in Spring (38).
A sacred marriage ritual between Adonis and Aphrodite was performed at Alexandria
(Frazer 224-25). Certain traces can be found in the Orphic, Attis, and Eleusis Mysteries
(Angus 115). In theAntestheria festival at Athens, the wife of the King-Archon participated
in a ritual marriage with Dionysus (Angus 113), and the Orphics observed the hieros
gamos between Zeus and Hera as well as Dionysus and Ariadne (Angus 115). The corpus
of love poetry in the Dumuzi Mythos is a distinctive facet of that cycle. Many mystical
traditions use love poetry as an allegorical of a mystical account of the union of the soul to
God, for example, in the Biblical Songs of Songs.Lapinkivi has noticed parallels with
the Songs of Songs and Sumerian love poetry (91-98).
I think this preliminary analysis has shown that one rarely finds explicit precise thematic
correspondences between more than two myths at the same time. Nonetheless, in a very
general way, there are signif icant number of basic theme that can be applied to all five
myths being studied, from Dumuzi to Christ. In all cases, you have a story where a
youthful divine figure, who is associated with royalty, consorts with a major fertility goddess
figure and descends to the underworld. An implicit love relationship is a key factor in either
their descent or their ascent. There is lamentation and searching for the divine figure and
their reappearance is symbiotically linked to the overall natural fertility of nature and /or
well-being of mankind.
C- Symbolic interpretations
a- Gnostic Symbolism. Similarities between Ishtars descent and Sophias fall in Gnostic
religions has been noted. In The Exegesis of the Soul (Robinson (191-207), the virginal,
androgynous Sophia falls from her fathers house in heaven to earth. She falls into the
hands of robbers and is lead into prostitution. She realizes her fall from grace and is
purif ied through baptism. After a sacred marriage with Christ she ascends to Heaven. The
story is given a symbolic interpretation, identifying Sophia with the soul:
Now it is fitting that the soul regenerates herself and becomes again as she
formerly was. The soul then moves as she received the divine nature of her
own accord. And she received the divine nature from the father for her
rejuvenation, so that she might be restored to the place where originally she
had been. This is the resurrection that is from the dead. (Robinson 196).
b- Platonic Symbolism. The Middle Platonist philosopher Plutarch offers a symbolic
interpretation of the myth of Isis and Osiris. Osiris, the king of Egypt, is killed and
dismembered by his brother Seth. His body is reassembled by his wife Isis and her sister
Nephtys. Isis revives his body and gives birth to Horus, who goes on to avenge his fathers
death by defeating Seth. He equates Osiris with soul, reason and intelligence; he is the
ruler and lord over all that is good (371-121). Seth corresponds to the irrational,
materialistic forces of nature. Isis represents the vivifying, receptive female principle in
nature (372-129). Horus represents the organizing and vital principles of the perceptible
world (373 131).
The Neoplatonist philosopher Julian gives a symbolic interpretation of the myth of Cybele
and Attis. Cybele, the fertility goddess, takes a fancy for the attractive young shepherd
Attis. Upon discovering his affair with a cave nymph, she strikes him with madness and he
emasculates himself, bleeding to death from his wounds. Grieved by his death, Cybele
revives him.

In his interpretation, defining myth as a paradox that invites one to search for the truth (10118), Cybele represents the vivifying source of the intellectual gods, the mistress of life
and cause of all generation (5 -111). Attis symbolizes the creative demi-god (8 -115 ). His
affair with the cave nymph represents the fall into to matter. His castration represents the
turning away from uncontrolled material generation; and his revival by the goddess
represents his return to the divine world (8- 119-120)
Both give similar symbolic explanations, which are similar to the Gnostic interpretation. At
an individual level the myths could represent the fall of the soul into matter, incarnation,
and the return to their heavenly origin through salvation by freeing oneself from material
condition. On a more cosmic level, they could represent the manifestation of divine
principles through primal matter and re-absorption into their source.
c- Structuralist approach. According to French Stucturalist anthropologist Claude LviStrauss, "the purpose of myth is to provide a logical model capable of overcoming a
contradiction" (qtd in Alster 14). The structuralist school adopts a functional
approach.Myths have common themes, but evolve in a fluid dynamic way. He recognized
that mythical thought is based on a coincidence of opposites whose purpose is to resolve
paradoxes. An essential theme being metamorphosis of opposites (Da Silva 84-89) in the
respect that various characters appear as dual manifestations of the same character, the
myths dealing with the integration of their opposite characteristics. Inanna, in her many
facets. has been recognized as embodying a series of paradoxical coincidence of
opposites:
Inanna-Ishtar was a paradox; that is, she embodied within herself polarities
and contraries, and thereby she transcended them. She was, to put it
somewhat differently, a deity who incorporated fundamental and irreducible
paradoxes. She represented both order and disorder, structure and
antistructure. In her psychological traits and behavior she confounded and
confused normative categories and boundaries and thereby defined and
protected the norms and underlying structure of Mesopotamian civilization.
(Harris 263)
At one level, theres the male / female opposition of Inanna and Dumuzi. I notice certain
narrative correspondences between them. Inanna has a faithful servant who mourns for
her, Ninshubur; Dumuzi has a faithful supportive sister who mourns for him. Aspects of
Inannas descent to the underworld are reflected in Dumuzis. Inanna has a nemesis in
Ereshkigal; Dumuzi has a nemesis in his betraying friend. Ereshkigals husband is a bull;
Inannas husband is identif ied with a bull.
Probably the most striking example of opposites is the relation of Inanna and Ereshkigal. It
has been remarked that Ereshkigal represents Inannas dark side: a single characters
complex nature is presented through two opposite characters (Wolkstein & Karmer 158).
Geshtinanna could be considered to represent the feminine equivalent of Dumuzi, a
complementary female polar opposite. This coincidence of opposites becomes more
pronounced with the interchanging of Dumuzi and Geshtinanna in Ereshkigals realm
indicating that Dumuzi and his feminine side must integrate the positive and negative
aspects of his female counterpart.
d- Psychological Interpretation. Freudian psychology also studies ancient mythology in
terms of dynamic tensions that lead to resolution through cathartic integration. In a study of
the notion of androgyny and castration in the myths of Attis, Osiris, and Adonis, Casadio
posits of important role of the Freudian notion that:
The fear of death should be regarded as analogous to the fear of
castration and that the situation to which the ego is reacting is one of
being abandoned by the protecting super-ego so that it has no longer
any safeguard against all of the dangers that surround it. (Freud quoted
in Casasdio 267-68).
Walter Burkert, in relating the myths of Dumuzi, Attis, and Adonis to the goddess cult at
atal Hyk in terms of hunting ritual, makes similar observations:
This is to recognize, however, a set of antinomies and reversals,
experienced and emphasized in ritual, which ultimately stems from the
primordial hunters situation, involving killing and guilt, bloodshed and
sexuality, success and failure, superiority and inferiority, death and life.
Even the ritual castration is to be seen in this context (Burkert 120).
The chart below gives some succinct conclusions regarding the various possibilities of

symbolic interpretation of the Dumuzi Mythos:

Type
Nature
Transition between
pastoral economy to
1- Socio-Political,
agricultural mode of life,
Historical
matriarchal & patriarchal
culture
2- Physical, Natural
processes
3- Ritual, Demonological

4- Psychological

5-Astronomical
6- Mystical

7- Metaphysical,
Cosmological Theological

Oppositional themes
Rural- urban
Matriarchal patriarchal

Summer-Winter
Spring- Autumn
Growth - Decay
Birth- Death
Ritual to guarantee
Heaven-Underworld
fertility & renewal
Fertility-Sterility
Adult Child
Mother complex,
Joy- Sorrow
Castration complex,
reverse Oedipal complex Guilt - Redemption
Spirit of the date, grain,
wine, seasonal rhythms

Spring & Autumn

equinox
Cancer & Virgo
Descent of soul into
matter
Ascent of soul to heaven
Generation of material
world from Intelligible
principles
materialisation of
spiritual principles
Spiritualization of
material

Virgo Cancer
Sun - Moon
Heaven- Underworld
Spiritual Material

Spiritual World
Material World

Chart 2
Conclusion. Despite the fragmentary nature of the materials under review, I think the
evidence seems to indicate that the Dumuzi Mythos contains signif icant structural and
thematic similarities with Mystery Religion myths and rituals on the one hand, and on the
other hand, signif icant symbolic elements that are common to initiation rituals. Therefore I
conclude that despite the lack of direct evidence, the Dumuzi Mythos most likely formed
the basis of a Mystery cult.
The very important variations on the common themes noticed in this study are, from a
structuralist and comparative perspective, could be seen as the result of creative and
dynamic adaptations of mythical thought in response to the different specif ic socio-cultural
evolutionary challenges that the myths reflect.
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