Podcast Summary: The Ancients – Inanna: Mesopotamian Sex Goddess

Host: Tristan Hughes (History Hit)
Guest: Dr. Kate Lister (Sex Historian, Host of Betwixt the Sheets)
Release Date: September 25, 2025

Overview

In this episode of The Ancients, host Tristan Hughes is joined by renowned sex historian Dr. Kate Lister for a captivating exploration of Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of sex, war, love, and power. The discussion spans Inanna's ancient origins in Sumerian mythology, her evolving roles, myths, and far-reaching legacy—from prehistoric Sumer to Greece and even hints of her presence in later religious traditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Who Was Inanna?

• Origins and Role:
  • Inanna appears in literary records around 3000 BCE, originating as an agricultural goddess of grain storage before evolving into the formidable goddess of sex and war (03:26).
  • "She starts to show up in literary records round about 3000 BC… quite a humble origin story… by the time she fully develops, she's become this hugely powerful goddess of both sex and war… quite a career shift." – Dr. Kate Lister (03:26)
• Domains:
  • Governs both sex and war, an unusual but meaningful combination, mirroring the creative and destructive powers inherent in both domains.

2. Sex and War – A Poetic Juxtaposition

• The overlap of sex and war is surprisingly common in mythologies (e.g., Norse goddess Freyja), both being physical, intense, and tied to the forces of life and death.
  • "Not to get too graphic, but penetration and bodily fluids feature quite prominently in both of these acts... One can create life and the other can kill and destroy life." – Dr. Kate Lister (04:37)

3. Sumerian Civilizational Context & Pantheon

• Sumer is the earliest civilization with written (cuneiform) records, dating back over 5000 years, centered in modern-day southern Iraq (05:44).
• Inanna as daughter of the moon god Nanna, and rival to the underworld goddess Ereshkigal—a figure notable for being both powerful and "really naughty." (06:24)

4. Major Myths and Stories

• Inanna and the Huluppu Tree:
  • Inanna's misadventures with a sacred tree infested by demons (and Lilith), with the hero Gilgamesh intervening (07:35).
  • "It's partly about terrible gardening practices…but also like, look at the violence that was unleashed by her on this tree to get what she wants." – Dr. Kate Lister (08:35)
• The Descent of Inanna:
  • Inanna visits the underworld out of curiosity, is trapped by Ereshkigal, and bargains her release by sacrificing her husband, Dumuzi, mirroring the Persephone myth and explaining seasonal change (09:02–10:19).
  • "The only motivation for this seems to be, I just wanted to know. I just wanted to know what it was like." – Dr. Kate Lister (09:04)

5. Myth Transmission & Influence

• Mesopotamian myths influenced successive cultures through conquest and cultural diffusion, creating a "melting pot" of evolving gods (10:54).
• Similarities spotted between Sumerian stories and much later mythologies, e.g., the Greek and Hebrew traditions (09:02, 36:50, 37:26).

6. Sources and Challenges of Scholarship

• Knowledge about Inanna comes mainly from difficult-to-translate cuneiform tablets, with only a handful of scholars able to read them (11:39).
  • "There's only a handful of scholars that can…translate it. And we're all sort of reliant on them producing their work." – Dr. Kate Lister (11:39)
• Fragmentary archaeological finds supplement written myths, making reconstruction a challenge.

7. Eroticism, Worship, & Sacred Prostitution?

• Surviving songs dedicated to Inanna are "incredibly raunchy." She is "very dramatic, very petulant, and…very horny most of the time" (13:24).
  • "It's dressed up in poetic language, but there's not much disguising what's actually going on here." – Dr. Kate Lister (14:16)
• Traditional scholarship posited sacred prostitution in her temples—a view Dr. Lister challenges, citing new research (14:57).
  • The term “himratu” likely means “single woman”—not prostitute.
  • "For the longest time, people thought that Inanna was worshipped through a practice called sacred prostitution…But when you actually break it down…there isn't much evidence to this other than Herodotus saying it himself." – Dr. Kate Lister (15:05–15:48)
• Discussion of gender-variant priests (Gala) who played important ritualistic roles.

8. Rituals, Festivals, and Kingship

• Evidence of temples, priesthood, and possibly festivals celebrating Inanna, but specifics are patchy (19:45, 20:58).
• Sumerian kings may have engaged in symbolic marriages with Inanna to legitimize their rule, infusing divine right and agricultural prosperity into kingship (18:12, 23:04).

9. Agriculture, Fertility, and Broader Social Roles

• Inanna began as an agricultural deity and retained an association with the land and fertility, though not strictly as a fertility goddess or nurturing mother (19:45, 23:43).
• Sexuality was not inherently stigmatized in Sumerian culture, at least at the mythological level (21:43).

10. Inanna’s Evolution: Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, and Beyond

• Inanna merges with Ishtar as cultures shift, acquiring more martial and sexual attributes, and becomes central in cities like Uruk and Babylon (32:34–36:50).
  • "Inanna and Ishtar, almost all scholars agree that this is basically the same goddess. She's had a rebrand, a slight upgrade." – Dr. Kate Lister (32:48)
• Myths persist (e.g., in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Ishtar propositioning Gilgamesh and invoking the Bull of Heaven in anger at his refusal).
• Legacy can be traced through Astarte (Semitic), Aphrodite (Greek), Venus (Roman), and even, by some arguments, the cult of Mary in Christianity due to continuity in symbols (morning star, doves) (36:50–42:10).

11. Iconography

• Associated with lions, the morning star, and later, wings and claws in the “Burney Relief” (British Museum) (30:49).
  • Some dispute over whether specific reliefs depict Inanna or figures like Lilith.

12. Modern Resonance and Reappraisal

• Inanna is experiencing a resurgence of interest, both in academia and among the public, as her powerful, transgressive persona challenges expectations of ancient female divinity (44:16).
  • "She's having something a bit of a resurgence…As you explore her more and people are more and more prepared to talk about this powerful sexual nature to this goddess, [it] can be quite challenging." – Dr. Kate Lister (44:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "She is very dramatic, she's very petulant and she appears to be very horny most of the time." – Dr. Kate Lister (13:24)
• "This is 50 Shades of Inanna." – Dr. Kate Lister (14:46)
• "If you go and look that one up, the Burney Relief, you can get a sense of what this goddess looks like. Not very sexy, it has to be said, but you start to get nude iconography developing around this time as well." – Dr. Kate Lister (31:56)
• "Ishtar will not tire. Ishtar never tires." – Dr. Kate Lister (33:38)
• "She really fancies Gilgamesh…she goes, look, I'll give you the best sex you've ever had, and I'll give you a chariot…And Gilgamesh…says, no. Not in your life…At one point, he calls her the shoe that bites the wearer's foot." – Dr. Kate Lister (34:11–36:02)
• "Perhaps the cult of Mary was influenced by Ishtar, by Inanna, by Aphrodite, by Venus…She is symbolized by the morning star and by doves." – Dr. Kate Lister (41:40)
• "But we need to be careful as well that we're not projecting back onto her and turning her into something that perhaps we need her to be." – Dr. Kate Lister (44:50)
• "One of her songs mentions a dub dub bird and they think that…she might be referring to her clitoris." – Dr. Kate Lister (45:42)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction & Inanna’s Origins – 01:34–04:32
• Sex & War, Sumerian Context – 04:32–06:24
• Major Myths: Huluppu Tree, Descent, Overlaps with Later Myths – 07:23–10:19
• Sources & Transmission – 11:31–13:14
• Erotic Songs, Worship Practices, and Sacred Prostitution Debunked – 13:24–18:12
• Kingship and Rituals – 18:12–24:16
• Inanna in War & Army’s Worship – 24:35–26:24
• Depiction & Evolution: Burney Relief to Ishtar – 30:36–32:48
• Ishtar’s Stories, Volatility, & Importance in Later Civilizations – 33:38–36:50
• Westward Spread: Astarte to Aphrodite and Venus – 36:50–42:10
• Speculative Legacy: Mary, Isis, and Beyond – 40:44–44:02
• Modern Understandings & Final Thoughts – 44:02–46:09

Final Reflections

Dr. Lister’s engaging storytelling paints Inanna as a powerful, complex, and enduring figure whose myths have rippled across thousands of years and countless cultures. The episode challenges simplistic views of ancient goddesses, debunks the myth of sacred prostitution, and highlights the importance of critical scholarship in reconstructing ancient beliefs.

For more on the salacious and revolutionary side of history, find Dr. Kate Lister on her podcast Betwixt the Sheets.

End of Summary.