DUMU.ZI.SIPA (Cuneiform π π£ πΊπ» )[fn 1] Dumuzid sipad,[2] Dumuzid the Shepherd was the primary consort of the Lady Inanna. In Sumerian mythology, Dumuzid's sister was Geshtinanna, the Lady over vegetation.[3][4]
Inanna Prefers the Farmer[]In the Sumerian poem Inanna Prefers the Farmer, Dumuzid competes against the farmer Enkimdu for Inanna's hand in marriage. |
Inanna's Descent into the Underworld[] Cylinder seal impression. Possibly depicting Dumuzi imprisoned in Kur (Sumerian underworld). He is flanked by two snakes. Some interprete this seal as Dumuzid being tortured by the Gallu. In Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, Dumuzid fails to mourn Inanna's death, and when she returns from Kur (Sumerian underworld), she allows the galla demons to drag him down to the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister Geshtinanna stays in the Underworld in his place, thus resulting in the cycle of the seasons. Lord of Agriculture[]Dumuzid was also an agricultural lord, associated with the growth of plants. Ancient Near Eastern peoples associated Dumuzid with the springtime, when the land was fertile and abundant. But during the summer months, when the land was dry and barren, it was thought that Dumuzid had "died".[5] During the month of Dumuzid, which fell in the middle of summer, people all across Sumer would mourn over his death. An enormous number of popular stories circulated throughout the Near East surrounding his death.[3][6] Sumerian King List[]In the Sumerian King List, Dumuzid is listed as an antediluvian king of the city of Bad-tibira and also an early king of the city of Uruk. Tammuz[]Dumuzid was reimagined by the Akkadians as Tammuz.[3] Notes[]References[]
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