23: City-states in Late Uruk Mesopotamia, 3400-3100 BCE (Hymns to Inanna)

Guest: Kirra

First, we sing the praises of Inanna, patron goddess of the city of Unug, whose home temple complex was the epicenter of the Uruk-period world system. Which god compares with her?

Then continuing our tour of the Late Uruk period (3400-3100 BCE), we examine the city-state from the top down, from the so-called "priest-king" (alias EN, alias NAMESHDA?), to the bureaucrats who ran temple complexes like the E-anna, to the artisans in these temples' employ (increasingly subject to the forces of commoditization), to the slaves and manual laborers who actually built the cities and grew their food.

Finally, we read some of the milder hymns celebrating the marriage of Inanna and her boytoy Dumuzi. He is well-watered lettuce!

Questions? Feedback? Email us at drumbeatforeverafter@gmail.com.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @drumbeatforever

Works cited