She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia, ca. 3400–2000 B.C.

00:04:24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_4UVlubKxk

Summary

TLDRAn exhibition at the Morgan showcases the significant role women played in ancient Mesopotamia from 3400 to 2000 BC, centering on Enheduanna, the first known poet and author. The display includes Babylonian cylinder seals that reveal much about early Mesopotamian culture. The era corresponds with the rise of writing, greatly influenced by Enheduanna’s works, such as the Temple hymns and The Exaltation of Inanna, where she introduces autobiographical elements and addresses timeless issues like abuse and personal struggle. The exhibition emphasizes the importance of understanding historical female figures, offering insights into their enduring impact.

Takeaways

  • ✨ Enheduanna: First known author in history.
  • 🌍 Highlights women's roles in ancient Mesopotamia.
  • 🖋️ Writing was pivotal for culture and history.
  • 📚 Enheduanna's texts unified cultic traditions.
  • 💪 The Exaltation of Inanna is a powerful autobiography.
  • 🎯 Addresses enduring issues like abuse.
  • 🏛️ Exhibition provides insights into early society.
  • 🗝️ Writing connects past and present concerns.
  • 🔍 Focus on Enheduanna's timeless contributions.
  • 📜 Shows history through Babylonian seals.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:04:24

    This exhibition focuses on the role of women in Mesopotamia from 3400 to 2000 BC, emphasizing the contributions of the poet, priestess, and princess Enheduanna, the first known author in history. It showcases the Morgan Library's collection of Babylonian cylinder seals, which provide insights into early Mesopotamian society. The exhibition highlights the cultural advancements of Mesopotamia, such as the invention of writing, and the unification of Akkadian and Sumerian worlds into an empire. Enheduanna's work, including Temple Hymns, aimed to unify cultural traditions, while her autobiographical writing addresses timeless human experiences, such as dealing with adversity and expressing creativity. Her contributions to literature and culture are explored, emphasizing their continued relevance and the importance of learning from history.

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • Who was Enheduanna?

    Enheduanna was a priestess, poet, and the first known author in history from ancient Mesopotamia.

  • What does the exhibition focus on?

    The exhibition focuses on the role of women in Mesopotamia, particularly highlighting Enheduanna.

  • What is significant about the Babylonian cylinder seals?

    The Babylonian cylinder seals provide insights into the life, history, and culture of early Mesopotamian society.

  • Why is writing important in Enheduanna's time?

    Writing was important for recording the flow of goods, culture exchange, and establishing historical records.

  • What is the Exaltation of Inanna?

    The Exaltation of Inanna is a powerful work by Enheduanna, where she writes autobiographically about her struggles.

  • What topics did Enheduanna cover in her writings?

    Enheduanna wrote about insecurities, abuse, and the creative process, relating it to childbirth.

  • Why is this exhibition significant today?

    It helps us understand ancient women's contributions and addresses enduring concerns like abuse and creativity.

  • Where does the exhibition transport us to?

    The exhibition transports us to the southern flood plains of modern-day Iraq.

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    foreign
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    [Music]
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    ER and women of Mesopotamia from 3 400
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    to 2000 BC is basically the story of
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    women in the third millennium BC that's
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    over 5 000 years ago this exhibition
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    seeks to highlight the essential role of
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    women in Mesopotamia and in the focus of
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    the exhibition is the poet Priestess and
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    Princess Angelina who is the first known
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    author in history among the Morgan's
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    most esteemed collections are a large
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    group of what were called Babylonian
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    cylinder seals these precious engraved
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    tiny objects that would be rolled out
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    and produced as images and writing for
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    various high-level officials Morgan has
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    hundreds of them and we show them in a
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    way that no other Museum does they tell
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    you a great deal about the life history
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    culture of early Mesopotamian society
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    and around this we wanted to create an
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    exhibition devoted to The High Priestess
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    of this culture
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    the first poet in hedwana for the most
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    part the world this exhibition
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    transports us to is in the southern
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    flood Plains of modern-day Iraq ancient
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    Mesopotamia in the late 4th millennium
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    BC all these cities emerged and this is
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    just at the time of the invention of
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    writing and when you have writing you
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    have a chance to keep track of the flow
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    of goods to have an exchange of culture
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    and there's a tremendous boom in
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    interconnections and traveling and
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    importing of objects around
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    2300 or so an Acadian King from middle
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    of Mesopotamia and the world of akkad
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    unifies both the Acadian world and the
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    Sumerian world in the South into one
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    Empire the first historic Empire in
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    world history and he appoints his
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    daughter and head to Wayne to become the
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    Priestess of the Moon God in the city of
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    UR and she fulfills that role by the
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    time you get to in hedwana these writing
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    system are well established and one of
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    the things about the exhibition that's
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    so important to me is that we are
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    reinterpreting many of these images of
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    women in literacy in a new light
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    another one is writing was extremely
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    important in her time and much of it
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    still resonates with us today first and
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    foremost with this group of Temple hymns
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    she was trying to write a text that
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    would unify all the cultic traditions of
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    this fast landscape so her mission is to
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    join people rather than separate them
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    but the exaltation of inanna it's the
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    first time you have someone writing
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    autobiographically it's powerful work
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    where she describes her travails where a
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    usurper comes and tries to throw her out
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    of her Temple and abuses her implying
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    sexual harassment she begs the moon God
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    to help but it is the goddess inanna the
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    Sumerian god of love and war that comes
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    to her Aid and saves her and she's
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    exalted at the end of the poem it was
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    considered so important that it was one
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    of the ten texts that was taught for
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    hundreds of years in the scribal schools
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    to teach people how to write it's my
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    hope that inhita becomes better known
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    and more appreciated because she is the
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    first non-anonymous author in world
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    literature and it's not just that she's
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    the first it's that she's writing about
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    concerns that are still with us today
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    she wrote about her insecurities she
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    wrote about abuse she wrote about the
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    creative process the difficulties of
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    creating a poem in equates it to giving
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    birth and if we don't learn about what
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    people have gone through in the past how
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    are we going to ever be able to fix
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    things in our current moment so she sets
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    the way I think we all like origin
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    stories and so in a way to start at the
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    beginning and to have that moment in
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    fourth and third Millennia brought to
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    life is something that everyone I think
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    can relate to
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    [Music]
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    [Music]
Tags
  • Enheduanna
  • Mesopotamia
  • Ancient Women
  • Babylonian Seals
  • Cultural History
  • Writing
  • Temple Hymns
  • Inanna
  • Autobiography
  • Abuse