Temple of Eanna

Temple of Eanna Dedicated to the Queen of Heaven and Earth, Holy Inanna ✴️
𒀭 𒈹 𒍠 𒊩

This is just based on personal observation—I cannot, and do not, speak for all devotees. For new devotees, my intention ...
26/05/2026

This is just based on personal observation—I cannot, and do not, speak for all devotees.

For new devotees, my intention is that you are familiar with the different camps involved in Mesopotamian religion, and do not feel the need to label yourself as one or the other!

This is also not an exhaustive list of what people may call themselves, and not all people who identify with a certain label will share the same practices.

Additionally, some people may disagree with other practitioners and their beliefs, but what is important is that we respect others where respect is due.

If you identify with any of these labels, what does your practice look like? I'd love to hear more 🙌🏽

Queen Shammuramat was an Assyrian queen who lived during the Neo-Assyrian Period 👸🏾 Some of you may know her as Semirami...
21/05/2026

Queen Shammuramat was an Assyrian queen who lived during the Neo-Assyrian Period 👸🏾

Some of you may know her as Semiramis, the Greek name for the mythical figure who was based on Shammuramat's character.

The mythical Semiramis is said to have married the Assyrian King Ninos/Ninus, who is believed to have founded the city of Nineveh in this same legend.

Both of their names are still widely used in the modern Assyrian/Chaldean/Aramean communities today! ☀️

Apologies for the inactivity lately. I'll be sticking to this mini-post format until I finish up this semester, so please bear with me 🙏🏽

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🪽

Meet the Kassites ⛰️In between the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian Empires, there was a time called the Middle Babylon...
05/05/2026

Meet the Kassites ⛰️

In between the Old Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian Empires, there was a time called the Middle Babylonian Period.

For most of this time, the Kassites—a people who may have had origins in the Zagros Mountains—ruled the region of southern Mesopotamia.

Meanwhile, in northern Mesopotamia, what we call the Old Assyrian Period was running concurrently.

However, the era of the Kassites is generally not referred to as an "Empire" like the Old and Neo-Babylonian Empires, as their focus was primarily on solidifying their current territory rather than imperial expansion.

They are not as famous as their Sumerian and Akkadian neighbours, but worked hard to preserve Mesopotamian literature by copying and saving these older works that may have otherwise been lost to time.

📝 Like Sumerian, the Kassite language is also considered a language isolate. This means that it does not have any languages (that we know of) that are related to it.

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🏹

Queen Puabi of Ur was buried in what we now call the Royal Cemetery of Ur in modern-day Iraq 🇮🇶 The Royal Cemetery was t...
26/04/2026

Queen Puabi of Ur was buried in what we now call the Royal Cemetery of Ur in modern-day Iraq 🇮🇶

The Royal Cemetery was the location of only about 16 "royal" tombs and thousands of burials of ordinary citizens of Ur, and was in use for approximately 600 years.

Some of the ordinary people in the cemetery had likely been servants of these royals, who were sacrificed to serve their masters in the afterlife—they were arranged in what archaeologists call "death pits".

Out of the 16 royal tombs, Queen Puabi's is of importance because it was one of only two graves that had been untouched by looters and grave robbers.

The ruins of Ur are about 20km away from the nearest inhabited city, which is called Nasiriyah.

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🪽

Did you know about Aphrodite's roots? 🔎While Hellenic tradition has Her emerging from the sea as a fully formed Goddess,...
21/04/2026

Did you know about Aphrodite's roots? 🔎

While Hellenic tradition has Her emerging from the sea as a fully formed Goddess, the truth behind Her historical birth is a bit more complex 🌊

Aphrodite is the result of millennia of cultural exchange, and She is part of a line of Ancient Near Eastern Goddesses of Love and War.

Under the Greeks and Romans, Her character evolved to become the Aphrodite/Venus that we know and love today 🩷

Χαῖρε Ἀφροδίτη! Hail Aphrodite 🐚

Based on the evidence available to us right now, Inanna-Ishtar has the most epithets of all the ancient Mesopotamian God...
15/04/2026

Based on the evidence available to us right now, Inanna-Ishtar has the most epithets of all the ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses ✴️

Throughout time, how She was perceived by civilisations and communities transformed—changes which are reflected in Her numerous epithets.

In regards to deities, an epithet is a title or descriptive phrase used to highlight a specific function or local manifestation of Their power. It can be used in place of a deity's name, or be attached to it (eg. Annunitum vs Ishtar-Annunitum).

For example, Ḫud and Sig reflect Inanna's astral aspect as the planet Venus; Agušaya and Annunitum specifically invoke Ishtar's warlike aspect; Ninkurkurra speaks of Inanna's sovereignty and dominion over the lands.

Whether you call Her Inanna or Ishtar, these epithets can be used interchangeably, though I recommend using Sumerian epithets if referring to Inanna, and Akkadian, Assyrian, or Babylonian epithets when referring to Ishtar 🪽

However, this is just my personal preference and it is NOT a set rule :)

What's your favourite epithet?

Let me know in the comments 💬

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🏹

Meet Ishtar of Arbela 🔮One of Ashurbanipal's patron deities, Ishtar of Arbela was associated with prophecy, dream interp...
10/04/2026

Meet Ishtar of Arbela 🔮

One of Ashurbanipal's patron deities, Ishtar of Arbela was associated with prophecy, dream interpretation, and divination.

With Ishtar of Nineveh, these two Ishtars formed a pair and were frequently invoked together in hymns and prayers.

Ishtar of Arbela is noted to have had oracular priestesses who delivered prophecies at Her temple, similarly to the Sybil at the Oracle of Delphi in Greece ✨

For our resident witches and diviners out there, Ishtar of Arbela is definitely a Goddess you can call upon for help!

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🏹

Meet the Old Babylonians 🌀When Babylon was first built and settled (sometime between 2300-2200 BCE), it was little more ...
31/03/2026

Meet the Old Babylonians 🌀

When Babylon was first built and settled (sometime between 2300-2200 BCE), it was little more than a town compared to the grand Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia.

When the Akkadian Empire and subsequent Neo-Sumerian Empire fell, it would not be until the Old Babylonian Empire that southern Mesopotamia would be somewhat reunited.

A few notes:

📍 The timeline of who was in power in Mesopotamia is not as simple as Sumerians > Akkadians > Neo-Sumerians > Assyrians and Babylonians (but it is a helpful way to understand the gist of who came when).

👑 After the fall of the Neo-Sumerian Empire, the Isin-Larsa period (named after the two most powerful cities) saw the return of city-states. It was believed that many of the rulers/governors of this period were also of Amorite heritage.

📌 The Old Babylonian Empire was founded by the Amorites, who migrated to Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BCE. However, the Neo-Babylonian one was led by the Chaldeans, another Semitic-speaking tribe who settled in Mesopotamia much later (c. 1000 to 800 BCE).

🛑 HOWEVER, this was an addition to the already existing inhabitants of Mesopotamia, NOT a replacement. The various peoples of Mesopotamia- Sumerians, Assyrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Amorites, Chaldeans, etc- coexisted, intermingled, and underwent numerous cultural and linguistic exchanges.

Just because labels changed, it does not mean these cultural groups "died out". Their descendants just went on to be called by different names.

Due to slide limits, this post is also an oversimplification, so please don't just take my word for it!

If there are any errors or corrections needed, please let me know 🙏🏽

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🏹

Worshipping Nanna, Sumerian God of the Moon 🌙 Nanna is the Sumerian God of the Moon, and father to Utu and Inanna. In Ak...
20/03/2026

Worshipping Nanna, Sumerian God of the Moon 🌙

Nanna is the Sumerian God of the Moon, and father to Utu and Inanna. In Akkadian, he was known as Su'en, which later evolved into Sin (or Sîn).

My favourite tidbit from researching for this post was discovering that Hedu-ana (more accurately, Ḫedu-ana) is actually one of Nanna's epithets, not just a random descriptor chosen for the name of Enheduana (Enḫeduana).

Basically,
• En = High Priest/ess
• ḫeduana = Ornament of Heaven

So while Enḫeduana means "High Priest/ess (of the) Ornament of Heaven," since "ḫeduana" is a substitute for Nanna, it's a more poetic way of saying "High Priest/ess of Nanna".

The ḫ (H with a breve below) is pronounced like the throaty kh sound in Arabic (خ), so Enḫeduana sounds more like "Enkheduana" than just Enheduana.

As Mesopotamia was home to many cultures, the information provided in this post may be accurate for some traditions, but inaccurate for others.

Due to the syncretism of Sumerian Nanna and Semitic Su'en/Sîn over the millennia, it is difficult to separate the two. Thus, information that is relevant to Nanna may also be applied to Su'en/Sîn, and vice versa.

I have tried my best to distinguish between Sumerian and Akkadian traditions, but since I'm not an Assyriologist, I can't promise that everything here has been noted correctly.

The list of epithets is especially difficult, as I'm not proficient in Sumerian, Akkadian, ancient Assyrian, or ancient Babylonian, and there was a lot of overlap between periods 😅
＜--- Note: This is a scheduled post. I will not be able to respond to any comments or DMs until I return. There is also a chance that IG may mess up the slides in the process, so if necessary, I will repost the slides when I am back. ---＞

𒀭𒋀𒆠𒍠𒊩! Nanna be praised! 🌕

I will definitely be back, as I could never totally abandon the Temple of Eanna. Unfortunately, my irl responsibilities ...
15/03/2026

I will definitely be back, as I could never totally abandon the Temple of Eanna.

Unfortunately, my irl responsibilities take precedence over my work here.

See you in a few weeks!

Introducing Sumerian calendars! And my own take, which will be sent out under a new project called "Letters from the Ean...
26/02/2026

Introducing Sumerian calendars! And my own take, which will be sent out under a new project called "Letters from the Eanna" ✴️

In addition to a brief overview of how Sumerian calendars functioned and were created, some information is provided about my own personal reconstructed calendar.

The first pre-edition newsletter for "Letters of the Eanna" will be sent out on February 28. If you don't manage to subscribe before then, no problem! You can access it, and all future publications, on my Substack profile at any time.

I might also make an additional newsletter for the upcoming Spring Equinox on March 20, but no promises 😅

You can find my Substack in the link in my bio 🔗

𒀭𒈹𒍠𒊩! Inanna be praised! 🏹

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