The first love poem in the history of ancient Iraq
The first love poem in the history of ancient Iraq was in the Sumerian era, describing the story of the long meeting between the god Tammuz and the goddess Ishtar, and Ishtar’s delay in returning until she became frightened and did not know what excuse she would give to her mother, Ninkal, the great lady... Then Tammuz told her to say to her mother:
The legend begins by talking about Tammuz, the shepherd, asking for Ishtar’s hand from her brother (Utu), the sun god, but Ishtar’s heart was inclining toward a peasant named “Anki Amdo.” While the brother admired Tammuz, he tried to convince Ishtar of the preacher who met his rival, and while he was preparing to meet the enemies, the goodness of the farmer prevailed in the meeting, and after that the two opponents became friends.
The two lovers reside in their home (the House of Life), which has a share in his name. Here the secret of life is revealed through the meeting of fertility and growth (Ishtar) with the Beloved (Demuzi), the god of crops and pasture flocks (food). The story of Ishtar and Tammuz flows in its plot to reach a pivotal point in its flow and the descent of the gods into the underworld. While the reason that made her make this decision remains a mystery that has not been revealed, the story says that the reason for this was Ishtar’s ambitious desire to descend into the world of death, which is ruled by her sister (Areshkigal), to rid the dead of their world out of mercy for them.
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