# @gettymuseum on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CMz5S0sHyAU
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34229449-gettymuseum-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/c4b28aafb9.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-03-24T18:04:07.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Getty (@gettymuseum) — https://gondola.cc/gettymuseum

## Caption

March is #WomensHistoryMonth in the United States, and #ConnectingCollections is sharing stories about women in the ancient world. Enheduanna is a name you might not be familiar with, but she holds a very important place in literary history as the world's first author known by name. Coincidentally, that makes her one of the very first women to be identified in history.⁠⁠
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Enheduanna lived around 2285–2250 BC in ancient Mesopotamia. She was the daughter of King Sargon of Akkad, who appointed her as high priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sin) in the Sumerian city of Ur. This cuneiform tablet, on loan to Getty from the museelouvre, contains part of her most famous poem, Nin-me-šara—a hymn to the goddess Inanna (Ishtar), daughter of the moon god. Enheduanna directly addresses the goddess and offers her praise. She also describes a harrowing episode from her own life, when she was driven into exile during the reign of her half-brother Rimush. Eventually, Enheduanna was restored to her position overseeing the main temple of Nanna at Ur. In addition to a series of prayers to Inanna, she wrote 42 hymns addressed to temples across Sumer and Akkad.⁠⁠
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Many of Enheduanna’s hymns survive through later copies like this one. It was made long after her lifetime, around 1850–1700 BC, in Babylonia, and shows how important Mesopotamian texts were transmitted over long time periods through repeated copying. ⁠⁠
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A calcite disk in the collection of PennMuseum is carved with a relief scene that depicts Enheduanna (third from right) as she oversees a ceremony by three priests before an altar and a stepped structure that may represent a ziggurat. We can identify her by the inscription on the reverse side: a dedication by Enheduanna to the moon god. ⁠⁠
The cuneiform tablet is a highlight of the exhibition “Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins.” Both the Getty Center and Villa are making preparations to reopen.

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## Tags

connectingcollections, womenshistorymonth

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