In Mesopotamia the gods and goddesses played and unique and important role not only politically but culturally, and in many ways they reflected the norms and traditions of society. The Myths of Enki and Ninmah, Enki and Ninhursag and the Enuma Elish are useful when trying to determine how the roles of gods and goddesses changed during the Iron Age. A profound shift regarding the role the goddess mother plays in creation and the status goddesses hold being a mother and their relationship with their children is found when comparing myths from the early Iron Age and the later. The reasoning behind these changes over the millennium can be explained when corresponded to women’s lives in ancient Mesopotamia. In the early myths, goddess mothers
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In the Myth of Enki and Ninmah, a mothers loyalty is exemplified when Nammu is the only one who dares wake Enki, begging him to “use his ingenuity to relieve [the Gods] from their digging” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 16). In this certain myth the relationship between a mother and child is that of mutual love and respect, shown when Enki acknowledges that the role of the mother goddesses is essential, pointing out that “the very uselessness of the creature he has made is an acknowledgement of the absolute indispensability of Ninmah in the making of fully formed creatures” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 18). Furthermore, in the Myth of Enki and Ninhursag, although Ninhursag was angry with Enki for eating her plants she still saved him when he became ill (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 18). In these myths regarding mother goddesses, it is the “relational aspect that is most important” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 19). “The mother is close to her children: she shows devotion and loyalty to them, and they show consideration and respect for her” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 19). In both of these myths the relationship between the mother and her sons is that of mutual love and respect. In the Myth Enuma Elish, the goddess mother Tiamat shows the same devotion to her children, choosing to save them when her husband seeks to destroy them (N.K. Sandars: 2). The same kind of motherly love Ninhursag and Nammu showed is …show more content…
The mother goddesses mirror the stereotypical Sumer mother, “they reflect what the Sumerians thought about women as they lived out these socially approved roles” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 24). The stories expose the expectations society had regarding women as mothers (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 25). While in the beginning of the Iron Age, mother goddesses have their own distinct role, by the time the Enuma Elish was written the role of the mother goddess was absorbed by a god (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 72). Also, the Enuma Elish became a royal ritual with the establishment of the royal imperial states in the latter half of the millennium, “thus the later kings took part in a ritual that celebrated stability rather than fertility” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 76). This myth portrays women and goddesses as unable to “hold any role other than the mother to be deposed”, contrasting with the earlier myths which illustrated the goddess mothers as being respected and influential (Frymer-Kensky 1992:
In the Myth of Enki and Ninmah, a mothers loyalty is exemplified when Nammu is the only one who dares wake Enki, begging him to “use his ingenuity to relieve [the Gods] from their digging” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 16). In this certain myth the relationship between a mother and child is that of mutual love and respect, shown when Enki acknowledges that the role of the mother goddesses is essential, pointing out that “the very uselessness of the creature he has made is an acknowledgement of the absolute indispensability of Ninmah in the making of fully formed creatures” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 18). Furthermore, in the Myth of Enki and Ninhursag, although Ninhursag was angry with Enki for eating her plants she still saved him when he became ill (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 18). In these myths regarding mother goddesses, it is the “relational aspect that is most important” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 19). “The mother is close to her children: she shows devotion and loyalty to them, and they show consideration and respect for her” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 19). In both of these myths the relationship between the mother and her sons is that of mutual love and respect. In the Myth Enuma Elish, the goddess mother Tiamat shows the same devotion to her children, choosing to save them when her husband seeks to destroy them (N.K. Sandars: 2). The same kind of motherly love Ninhursag and Nammu showed is …show more content…
The mother goddesses mirror the stereotypical Sumer mother, “they reflect what the Sumerians thought about women as they lived out these socially approved roles” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 24). The stories expose the expectations society had regarding women as mothers (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 25). While in the beginning of the Iron Age, mother goddesses have their own distinct role, by the time the Enuma Elish was written the role of the mother goddess was absorbed by a god (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 72). Also, the Enuma Elish became a royal ritual with the establishment of the royal imperial states in the latter half of the millennium, “thus the later kings took part in a ritual that celebrated stability rather than fertility” (Frymer-Kensky 1992: 76). This myth portrays women and goddesses as unable to “hold any role other than the mother to be deposed”, contrasting with the earlier myths which illustrated the goddess mothers as being respected and influential (Frymer-Kensky 1992: