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Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess

Meador, Betty De Shong

Grahn,Judy

Religion & Spirituality

University of Texas Press

Living in 2300 BCE, Sumerian high priestess Enheduanna became the first author of historical record by signing her name to a collection of hymns written for forty-two temples throughout the southern half of ancient Mesopotamia, the civilization now known as Sumer.Each of her hymns confirmed to the worshipers in each city the patron deity's unique character and significance. The collected hymns became part of the literary canon of the remarkable Sumerian culture and were copied by scribes in the temples for hundreds of years after Enheduanna's death.Betty De Shong Meador offers here the first collection of original translations of all forty-two hymns along with a lengthy examination of the relevant deity and city, as well as an analysis of the verses themselves. She introduces the volume with discussions of Sumerian history and mythology, as well as with what is known about Enheduanna, thought to be the first high priestess to the moon god Nanna, and daughter of Sargon, founder of one of the first empires in human history.

Princess, Priestess, Poet: The Sumerian Temple Hymns of Enheduanna

Living in 2300 BCE, Sumerian high priestess Enheduanna became the first author of historical record by signing her name to a collection of hymns written for forty-two temples throughout the southern half of ancient Mesopotamia, the civilization now known as Sumer.
Each of her hymns confirmed to the worshipers in each city the patron deity's unique character and significance. The collected hymns became part of the literary canon of the remarkable Sumerian culture and were copied by scribes in the temples for hundreds of years after Enheduanna's death.
Betty De Shong Meador offers here the first collection of original translations of all forty-two hymns along with a lengthy examination of the relevant deity and city, as well as an analysis of the verses themselves. She introduces the volume with discussions of Sumerian history and mythology, as well as with what is known about Enheduanna, thought to be the first high priestess to the moon god Nanna, and daughter of Sargon, founder of one of the first empires in human history.

Princess, Priestess, Poet: The Sumerian Temple Hymns of Enheduanna (Classics and the Ancient World)

The earliest known author of written literature was a woman named Enheduanna, who lived in ancient Mesopotamia around 2300 BCE. High Priestess to the moon god Nanna, Enheduanna came to venerate the goddess Inanna above all gods in the Sumerian pantheon. The hymns she wrote to Inanna constitute the earliest written portrayal of an ancient goddess. In their celebration of Enheduanna's relationship with Inanna, they also represent the first existing account of an individual's consciousness of her inner life.
This book provides the complete texts of Enheduanna's hymns to Inanna, skillfully and beautifully rendered by Betty De Shong Meador, who also discusses how the poems reflect Enheduanna's own spiritual and psychological liberation from being an obedient daughter in the shadow of her ruler father. Meador frames the poems with background information on the religious and cultural systems of ancient Mesopotamia and the known facts of Enheduanna's life. With this information, she explores the role of Inanna as the archetypal feminine, the first goddess who encompasses both the celestial and the earthly and shows forth the full scope of women's potential.

Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna

Beginning with the myth of Inanna’s descent to the Underworld, rendered in breathtaking poetry, Betty de Shong Meador sets forth on a journey of the feminine in five stages―poetry, essay, and prose tying together her study of feminine initiation across time and culture. Her description of a Blessingway Sing reveals the balance of feminine and masculine achieved in the Navajo culture. A critique of Doris Lessing’s novels captures the felt sense of descent and discovery. Research on a Greek women’s ritual―the Thesmophoria―and a survey of recent archeological findings from the ancient goddess cultures add history and substance to the ideas of the feminine. A clinical study of the relationship between female therapist and female client demonstrates one contemporary mode for such exploration. Thus we learn that there are many routes for exploring the lost initiations of women into the progress of their souls and the ways of the Goddess.

Uncursing the Dark: Treasures from the Underworld

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Psychology & Counseling

Chiron Publications

Rendered in breathtaking poetry, Betty De Shong Meador begins her exploration with the myth of Inanna’s descent to the underworld. She presents this dark, psychological journey of feminine enlightenment as a positive and necessary gift of one’s full individuality and creative nature. 
Her description of a Blessingway Sing reveals the balance of feminine and masculine achieved in the Navajo culture. A critique of Doris Lessing's novels captures the felt sense of descent and discovery. Research on a Greek women's ritual-the Thesmophoria- and a survey of recent archeological findings from the ancient goddess cultures add history and substance to the ideas of the feminine. A clinical study of the relationship between female therapist and female client demonstrate one contemporary mode for such exploration. 
Thus we learn that there are many routes for exploring the lost initiations of women into the progress of their souls and the ways of the Goddess. 
While women adapted to a patriarchal culture over the past three thousand years or more, the essential female element has been repressed. Consequently, women have experienced themselves as less than whole. Meador delves deep into the unconscious, into the underworld, to a time and place when women knew and experienced the fullness of their female bodies in all their bloodiness and sexuality. One almost feels that men should not be allowed to read this book, for it leaves the feminine psyche raw and vulnerable, but intensely real. -June Singer, author of Boundaries of the Soul and A Gnostic Book of Hours 
A beautifully written book that goes deep into the dark side of the feminine journey to find roots for feminine wholeness, apart from the patriarchy. I especially liked the combination of the poetic, the mythological, personal and psychological elements. -Linda Schierse Leonard, author of The Wounded Woman and Meeting the Mad Woman: An Inner Challenge for Feminine Spirit

Uncursing the Dark: Treasure from the Underworld

Medical Books

Psychology

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Books by Meador, Betty De Shong

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Meador, Betty De Shong. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess

Princess, Priestess, Poet: The Sumerian Temple Hymns of Enheduanna

Princess, Priestess, Poet: The Sumerian Temple Hymns of Enheduanna (Classics and the Ancient World)

Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess Enheduanna

Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart : Poems of the Sumerian High Priestess

Uncursing the Dark: Treasures from the Underworld

Uncursing the Dark: Treasure from the Underworld