Queer History

A study into homosexuality in Mesopotamia in the first and second millennia BC

Jolanda Grijpstra
Balgweg 5
1764 KA Breezand
0630985819
jolandagrijpstra@gmail.com
Studentnummer: 2500798
Begeleider: dr. K. Kleber
Tweede lezer: dr. W.J.I. Waal
Juni 2014

Vrije Universiteit
Faculteit der Letteren
Oudheidkunde

Chapter 1: Introduction...............................................................................................................3
Research questions and methods............................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Gender and sexuality in Mesopotamia, what is the norm?.......................................5
Chapter 3: Homosexuality in the Middle Assyrian Law Codex.................................................8
Chapter 4: Gilgame and Enkidu..............................................................................................10
On the Epic of Gilgame.......................................................................................................10
Of wordplays and explicitness..............................................................................................11
Chapter 5: The cultic attendants of Itar...................................................................................15
On the standing of assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu in society..................................................16
Chapter 6: Final thoughts and conclusion.................................................................................20
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................22
Primary literature..................................................................................................................22
Secondary literature..............................................................................................................22

Chapter 1: Introduction
During my initial search for a subject to write my dissertation about, I came across the
curious statement that homosexuality was a relatively accepted phenomenon in the Ancient
Near East, especially in Babylonia. The statement both surprised and intrigued me. A relative
acceptance of homosexual acts in the Ancient world in itself is not unheard of. In both the
Greek and Roman world there are examples both in literature and art of homosexual acts, but
never before had I heard of it in a Mesopotamian context.
I would like to start off with some assumptions I have made that the reader should be
aware of. The statement that homosexuality was a relatively accepted phenomenon in the
Ancient Near East is problematic. It strives to make a generalization for a period in history
that covers almost four millennia and occupies half a continent worth of cultures. Even when
looking at the core region of Mesopotamia there is a distinct difference between the two core
regions Assyria and Babylonia. The claim that in this entire area homosexuals were accepted
is highly problematic because of the sheer size and diversity of the subject area alone.
However, there is evidence that the general attitude towards gender roles in Mesopotamia has
not changed much over the course of the first and second millennia BC, which is the time
period this work will cover. There is some circumstantial evidence that the position of women
might have deteriorated during the Akkadian period, a theory that mostly stems from the
decreased visibility of women in the written records, but no solid proof supporting this theory
has been uncovered.1 There are but few sources that deal with homosexuality and those are
spread wide both spatially and in time. These sources have not lead Assyriologists that
researched the subject to believe that the appreciation of homosexuality changed in
Mesopotamia during the second and first millennia BC. While it is always prudent to keep in
mind that it is hard to make generalizations about a cultural phenomenon that remains equally
true throughout two millennia is hard, but given the state of the evidence I am justified in
assuming that the appreciation of homosexuality did not change much during the second and
first millennia BC.
In the research I have done I have found that there is a group of scholars that indeed
subscribes to the view that homosexuality was a relatively accepted phenomenon in the
Ancient Near East. This statement is mostly found in articles where the main focus is not on
homosexuality and its standing within society. The issue is dealt with in passing and almost
invariably these writers refer back to the article by Bottro and Petschow from the
Reallexikon der Assyriologie.2 However, when one looks at the primary evidence we have
dealing with acts of homosexuality it appears that these acts are generally valued negatively.
This work will attempt to shed light on the acceptance and representation of
homosexuals in Mesopotamia in the second and first millennium BCE. This is, admittedly, a
long time span, but given the nature of the primary sources we have on the subject, a
necessary one. The primary sources we have on the subject boil down to short mentions of
homosexual acts spread over a vast area in both time and place. The two core regions in
Mesopotamia are that of Babylonia in the south and Assyria in the north. It is these two
regions I will be concerned with.

1
2

Asher-Greve 2002, 16.

Bottro, J./Petschow H. 1975.

Research questions and methods

In light of the limitations and definitions I have mentioned above, the main question I
am concerned with is the following: Is the image that is sketched in the secondary literature of
a relative acceptation of homosexuality in the Ancient Near East in the first and second
millennia BCE reflected by the primary sources we have?
In this dissertation I will look at three spheres of life in Mesopotamia in which
homosexual activity has been attested. The first chapter will be a brief overview of gender
roles and sexuality in Mesopotamia. I think it is important to define what is considered normal
in order to see how homosexuals fit into these gender structures. The following chapters will
each cover a sphere of Mesopotamian life. The first will cover the Middle Assyrian Law Texts
that briefly discusses the legal consequences of committing certain homosexual acts. This
document appears to give a negative view of homosexual acts, contrary to the popular opinion
in secondary literature that homosexuality was an accepted phenomenon. I will go back to the
primary source, the Law Texts themselves, and attempt to put these decrees into context.
The second chapter will move into the literary sphere by examining the relationship
between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the two protagonists from the Epic of Gilgamesh. There is a
heated discussion going among scholars about the exact relationship of the two main
characters.
The third chapter will turn to religious spheres, mainly that of the cult personnel of
Inanna or Ishtar. Mainly the kurgarr and assinnu, who are attested in the myth Ishtars
Descent to the Netherworld as being something between man and women, have attracted
the attention of scholars. I will discuss their role in religious and public life and how these
cultic attendants of the goddess of love and war were esteemed in society.

Chapter 2: Gender and sexuality in Mesopotamia, what is the norm?

Before we can establish what gender roles and sexual acts deviate from the social
norm, the first thing we need to establish is just what those prevailing gender roles were. I
have mentioned in my introduction that it is hard to make generalizations for a time period
that covers 2000 years of history. Keeping that in mind I will try and give a general overview
of how sex and gender was regarded in Mesopotamia.
In Mesopotamian culture a distinction appears to be made between sex and gender.
Sex was perceived as the biological, outwardly visible markers of masculinity or femininity. It
is unchanging and predetermined at birth. Gender, however, encompasses more than that; for
an individual to be regarded as belonging to either the male or female gender, they have to
adhere to a set of expectations, if you will, to be accepted by society. To clarify; being born
male or female does not mean one can function within the framework of a culture and thus
belong to a gender in the broader sense of the word. Socialization and education are important
factors in this process that teach an individual how to function in society and live up to the
expectations of society. This cultural-specific meaning of gender, that it is an ascribed status
rather than an inherent one, is reflected upon in the way children are referred to. Before
children reach the age of three are simply referred to as ltur, or small people. Here no
distinction is made between a female and a male gender. Only after children pass the age of
three (which, traditionally, is the age when children are weaned) they are referred to as boys
or girls.3
There are theories that the Mesopotamian gender system was not binary, but tertiary.
Asher-Greve is a subscriber of this theory. While belonging to either the male or female
gender is for the most part pre-determined at birth, certain defects, or so the theory goes,
could make it so that individuals were placed into a third gender. For men genital
completeness and fertility were vital to identifying as male. Individuals who fall into this third
gender either cannot be identified as a full man due to genital incompleteness (eunuchs are
widely attested in Mesopotamia), infertility, or because they systematically do not behave
according to the social norm set for males.4 The third gender was not ascribed at birth. This
class therefore, if it existed, would have mostly been made up of castrated men, or, in rare
cases, of men who were born with incomplete genitalia, so called natural eunuchs. The
same term is applied to them as to castrated animals (amar-TUD). Supposedly these men were
sons of low-class women and were castrated at a young age. These men are, at least in the
UR-III period, attested as being the lowest social class. 5 That statement made by Asher-Greve
is problematic; eunuchs have been attested in high station at Assyrian courts, being high
officials within court. These individuals must have received a lengthy education and were
high ranking individuals within the palace. To say that all eunuchs were part of the lowest
social class would be rash.
Thus genders were heterogeneous categories with subgroups and for different groups a
different set of expectations and limitations exist. Society itself is the main contributor that
these subscribed gender roles persist. Both men and women are pressured by their peers to
conform to a set of expectations that come with identifying as either male or female. 6 That
there is a difference in how these different subgroups are expected to conduct themselves may
be read into the practice of veiling women. The practice is only attested in Middle Assyrian
3

Asher-Greve 2002, 15.

Asher-Greve 2002, 21.
5
Asher-Greve 1998, 14.
6
Asher-Greve 2002, 16.
4

Law Texts which states that married women are supposed to be veiled when venturing outside
their homes, a practice that is only attested in Assyria, never in Babylonia. Prostitutes, in
contrast, were prohibited from veiling themselves.7
Like most pre-industrial societies Mesopotamian society was distinctly patriarchal.
Women ideally spent their lives away from the public eye, which was the mans domain. In
visual arts a man is often identified by weaponry, carrying weapons was a distinct male
prerogative; they also symbolize the male gender in birth rites. Where a woman ideally is
silent, it is a mans job to resolve conflicts; silence on a mans part is thus a sign of behaviour
incongruent with established gender roles for men. Asher-Greve makes an example out of
Enkidu, one of the protagonists from the epic of Gilgame. Though biologically male, he lives
in the wilderness and thus was not socialized. He was born in silence and during the
socialization with amhat, she does most of the talking. Both are indicators that he does not
portray normal masculine behaviour. 8 Other indicators that point to a patriarchal society;
men received higher rations, have more judicial rights and had less restrictions on their sexual
behaviour. Most written sources came from the hand of men and in art women are also less
often attested than males. The pantheon as well is very male dominated; while most deities
have wives and a family, these are not figures of major importance. They are sometimes asked
to intervene on behalf of a worshipper, but the major deities are mostly male.
Women are ideally seen as mistresses of the home. Their main tasks lay with rearing
and socializing their offspring and being the house-keeper. Ideally speaking she kept to a life
indoors, mostly away from public places in which she was not to linger. She was also an
accomplished textile worker. 9 Girls married young, usually between the ages of 14 and 17. In
marriage contracts again we see how distinctly patriarchal Mesopotamian society was: a
marriage contract was drawn up between the groom and a male relative of the bride. After the
marriage, the bride passes into the family of the groom.10
Men and women married foremost to receive children. Besides children being an
insurance that there will be someone to take care of a person once they have reached their
dotage, there is also a religious reason why having children is important. The Netherworld
was a particularly dreary place and unless ones offspring made regular offerings to the dead
ancestors the dead would eat nothing but mud and brackish water for all of eternity.11 Fertility
therefore was of vital importance; should a wife remain childless it might be a reason for
divorce. In some cases, often this was the case when the women is a priestess not allowed to
bear children, a man was within his rights to take on a second wife or have children with a
slave woman, who then would be adopted into the family and, as far as legal status goes,
would have the exact same rights as biological children would. For the most part, however,
marriages were monogamous.12
Family life however, is not the only sphere in which women could operate. AsherGreve distinguishes subgroups of women, the first being family women, who fit the standard
set above. Their social status depended on that of their husband or father and on whether the
woman was married or not; married women ranked higher than unmarried women. The
second class is that of female priestesses and cult personnel. Unlike some male priesthoods
these are not hereditary positions. The main reason for this is probably that many of these
priestesses were not allowed to marry and/or have children; the distinction varies from case to
7

Roth 1995, 168.

Asher-Greve 2002, 15.
9
Asher-Greve 2002, 15.
10
Stol 1995, 125.
11
Johnston 2004, 424-425.
12
Stol 1995, 129.
8

case. The third are secondary wives and concubines, the fourth consists out of slave women
and women of low occupation in general.13
In conclusion we see that women are ideally seen in the private context, away from the
public eye. There appears to be a wide respect for family women, while women who act fall
outside this category are often the subject of slander.14 There are, however, also examples of
women who take up an active part in society. Women at court might manage large estates and
there are correspondences from the Old Assyrian period in which women are actively
involved in their husbands mercantile business.15 There is some evidence that the position of
women might have deteriorated during the Akkadian period. Women were more visible in preAkkadian sources and popular priesthoods for women in pre-Akkadian times seem to fall into
obscurity.16

13

Asher-Greve 2002, 16.

Asher-Greve 2002, 18.
15
Stol 1995, 136.
16
Asher-Greve 2002, 16.
14

Chapter 3: Homosexuality in the Middle Assyrian Law Codex

About laws regulating homosexual activity we can be brief: during the first and second
millennium BC only one legal document contains two brief, and at first glance condemning,
clauses dealing with acts of homosexuality, the Middle Assyrian Law Codex. This work
originally belonged to the library of Tiglath-Pileser (1243-1207). It circulated far longer;
copies have been found in Nineveh, dating back to the eighth and seventh century BC. 17 Other
law texts do not record acts of homosexuality as being in the criminal sphere, but to interpret
this as a shift in the attitude towards homosexuality during the Middle Assyrian period are
likely to be wrong; though the cases recorded in the in these law texts were diverse, they did
not record any type of crime imaginable. Common law was widely used in law courts in
Mesopotamia even when law texts were available. It is nigh impossible to reconstruct
common law, as it was never codified. Mesopotamian law texts usually record an offence and
the corresponding punishment. The cases recorded are often highly specific; fines to be paid
may differ based on the status of either the perpetrator or the victim, in that way they
Mesopotamian law differs from modern law.
Two entries in the Middle Assyrian Law Codex deal with acts of homosexuality, 19
and 20.
19 If a man furtively spreads rumours about his comrade, saying: everyone has sex
with him, or in a quarrel in public says to him: everyone has sexy with you, I can
prove the charges, but he is unable to prove the charges and does not prove the
charges, they shall strike him 50 blows with rods; he shall perform the kings service
one full month; they shall cut off (his hair?) and he shall pay one talent of lead.
20 If a man has sex with his comrade and they prove the charges against him and
find him guilty they shall have sex with him and they shall turn him into a eunuch.
At first glance these entries appear to be condemning; being unable to prove the charge of
homosexuality results in a series of punishments, the actual act in having to part with ones
genitals. Interestingly, in 20 it appears that the punishment dealt out is only given to one of
the individuals that engaged into penetrative sex with a man of equal standing. This is likely
to be the dominant partner, but that discussion will be continued further down.
Bottro and Petschow attempted to tone down the severity of these paragraphs in the
article they wrote in 1975. They came to the conclusion that homosexuality was a relatively
accepted phenomenon in Mesopotamia and thus argued that these entries cannot be taken at
face-value. It is not a homosexual act between two consenting adults that is condemned in
these entries, rather, 19 deals with the punishment of a male prostitute, 20 with homosexual
rape.18 Lambert finds no evidence to suggest these claims. 16 in the Middle Assyriant Law
Codex undoubtedly discusses the punishment for raping a woman. In this paragraph the verb
that is used to render intercourse of a heterosexual nature (niku) is combined with the extra
word emqmma, which means by force, to indicate a rape, this term is absent in 20. Also,
Lambert finds nothing in 19 being about the accusation of a male prostituting himself. Thus,
Lambert concludes, 20 should be read literally; acts of homosexuality between two
consenting adults are being condemned in these clauses. 19
Nissinen takes the argument a step further. In the article Lambert wrote in 1992, he
discusses a peculiarity of the Akkadian language: linguistically speaking, it is impossible to
17

Nissinen 1998, 145, note 26.

Bottro/Petschow, 1975, 461.
19
Lambert 1992, 147.
18

render two people of the same standing having consensual sex. One partner is always
dominated by the other. The verb used to render intercourse in 19 and 20 is, as we have
seen, niku. In a heterosexual context, the man is always the object, the active partner
carrying out niku. The female partner is the subject and, therefore, passive. 20 Lambert,
however, does not expand on how telling this lack of a word expressing consensual sex
between two partners of the same status is for Mesopotamian culture. Nissinen comes to the
conclusion that, in the cultural context of Mesopotamia, it was not possible for two men of the
same status to have consensual sex. Sex is all about status. The Middle Assyrian Laws, much
like the verb I have discussed, only recognize an active and a passive partner. The passive
partner was usually female, but when a man lies with another man of equal status, the partner
taking on the passive part will effectively lower himself to the status usually reserved for
women. It was thus impossible, in the Mesopotamian mindset, for two consenting adults to
have sex as equals.21
Both 19 and 20 clearly state that intercourse between men of equal status is meant.
This is probably why only the dominant partner is punished in 20. He has effectively raped a
man of equal standing. By being submitted to the same act and consequently being castrated,
the accused is brought down to the same demeaned status as the man he had intercourse with.
He is castrated to ensure that he may never so rigorously assert his dominance over other men
again. The effect of the castration is that the perpetrators gender role is permanently changed.
The notion of men gaining power through being the dominant partner in homosexual
intercourse by degenerating that of the passive partner is reflected upon in the omen text
umma lu. There are four omens that deal with homosexual intercourse, but only one that
deals with two men of the same status.
If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his
peers and brothers.22
The positive outcome of this omen led Bottro to believe that there were no moral objections
to homosexual acts in general.23 I believe one must tread carefully when interpreting omens
thus; the umma lu does not reflect on morality, it simply is a recording omens and their
meaning. In a similar fashion, the Oneirocritica by Artemidorus, a Greek book of dreams
from the second century CE has a section in which dreams about penetrating ones mother
may have a positive effect on the life of the dreamer, depending on whether the mother is
dead or not.24 This does not mean that it was morally acceptable for men to have intercourse
with their mother. In the same way I do not believe that this omen should be interpreted as
condoning homosexual conduct. Rather, I think that because the subject of this omen is
effectively lowering the status of the men he has sex with, he, by default, becomes a leader
among them. The harsh punishment for accusing someone of repeatedly being the submissive
partner in homosexual intercourse in 19 should be seen in the same light. By accusing
someone of being the passive partner insinuates that they are not proper men and could be
compared to character assassination. This is a serious accusation that demeans the accused,
which is why the punishment for someone who cannot prove the charges is as harsh as it is. In
the same way it is telling that there 20 only deals out punishment to the dominant partner; it
would be redundant to castrate the passive partner, he has already lowered his own status by
submitting to penetrative intercourse.
20

Lambert 1992, 147.

Nissinen 1998, 26.
22
CT 39, 45:33.
23
Bottro/Petschow 1975, 461.
24
Artem. 1.49.
21

Chapter 4: Gilgame and Enkidu

On the Epic of Gilgame
The epic of Gilgame, one of the oldest literary pieces in the world and it has been the
subject scholarly debate ever since its rediscovery in 1853. The part of the debate that is of
relevance for this work, is a discussion that has been held for nearly a century: how should the
relationship between the two protagonists, Gilgame and Enkidu, be interpreted? I will return
to that question further down, for now I will start off with a short introduction into the epic.
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of king Gilgame of Uruk. The Standard
Version of the epic was composed by Sun-liqe-uninni between 1300 and 1000 BC and
consists out of twelve tablets. The epic was not spontaneously composed at that time; the
literary tradition surrounding the mythical king of Uruk is much older. Prior to the
composition of the complete epic, individual poems about Gilgame were composed in
Sumerian, in which his name is Bilgames, rather than Gilgame. Most of the Sumerian poems
came down to us through the activities of 18th century scribal apprentices, but they likely
belong to a corpus of poems already established in the Ur III period. 25 The oldest fragment
from a poem about Gilgame, at least, dates back to this period. It deals with the Bull of
Heaven, a story element that is also incorporated in the standard version. Five poems belong
to this Sumerian tradition, of which 3 (Bilgames and the Bull of Heaven, Bilgames and
Huwawa and the Death of Bilgames appear in the standard version as well, in one form or
another.26 The two other poems, Bilgames and Akka and Bilgames and the Netherworld, do
not appear in the Standard Version.27 Even though the Standard Epic was evidently, in part at
least, based on these Sumerian poems, the Sumerian compositions do not fit into a coherent
framework. The Sumerian poems are stand alone stories that lack a coherent plot tying all
compositions together.28
From the Old Babylonian period onward the Babylonian epic takes form. The
incorporation of story elements from the earlier tradition does show that the Sumerian poems
were known to the scribes composing the Babylonian stories, but in other points the
Babylonian tradition deviates significantly from the Sumerian tradition. The first major
deviation from the Sumerian poem I have already discussed: the Babylonian epic is one
continuing narrative, rather than independent stories ascribed to the same figure. The deluge
story that dominates most of the eleventh tablet of the Standard Version is absent from the
Sumerian tradition and is likely an adaptation Babylonian Atra-ass myth. Also the role of
Enkidu differs greatly from the Sumerian texts in the Babylonian story. Enkidu, instead of
being Gilgame servant, becomes his companion, an equal rather than a subordinate. 29 In
short, this shows that the epic of Gilgame in its standard version was not a simple retelling of
a Sumerian tradition, but a narrative that developed itself as time progressed.
It is unclear if Gilgame was a historical king or strictly a mythological hero; he does
appear in the Sumerian King List, in which he is a member of the first Dynasty of Uruk. This
document places his rule somewhere around 2600 BC. According to the King List, he ruled
for a staggering 126 years. What is clear is that the Gilgame, as portrayed in the Standard
Version of the Epic, is so far removed from the historical Gilgame, that he might as well be a
25

George 2003, 7.
Though it is Enkidu who dies in the Akkadian epic instead of Bilgames, the parallels between both
compositions are distinct enough for scholars to believe that the composers of the Akkadian epic did draw from
the Sumerian tradition. See George 2003, 19. for a more extensive discussion of the subject.
27
Bilgames and the Underworld does appear as tablet XII of the Standard Version, but many scholars choose to
dismiss it as not being part of the epic. Instead, it is a fairly literal translation of the Sumerian composition that at
some point got added to the Akkadian epic, but was never an integrated part of it.
28
George 2003, 16.
29
George 2003, 17-18.
26

10

purely mythological figure; the Standard Version dates back to 1300 BC at the earliest, at least
1300 years after Gilgame alleged reign. When one compares the Sumerian tradition with the
Standard Version, one discerns how easily details are changed to fit the new narrative,
storylines are added or dropped entirely, and the relationship between characters changes. At
some point in time, Gilgame likely became a stock character of Mesopotamian culture to
whom stories were ascribed, but these stories have little to do with the historical Gilgame.
The epic can roughly be divided into two major sections: the story of the epic
friendship between Gilgame and Enkidu, which spans tablets I through VIII, and Gilgame
search for immortality after the death of Enkidu, which covers tablets IX, X and XI. In total
the Standard Version consists out of twelve tablets, but the last tablet does not appear to be an
integrated part of the narrative (see note 24).
The first part of the epic sees Gilgame as a restless, young king who lets no man go
free to his father and lets no daughter go free to her mother. 30 Acknowledging the plight of
the citizens of Uruk, the god Anu tasks Aruru with the creation of a friend for Gilgame, one
who will be his equal and will distract Gilgame from terrorizing the citizens of Uruk. Thus
Enkidu, the wildman, is created and lives in harmony with the animals, ignorant of human
civilization. The hunters fear him, for he systematically destroys their traps. When Gilgame
hears about this, he orders the harlot amhat to civilize Enkidu. She does so by having
intercourse with him for seven days and six nights, after which the animals flee Enkidu.
Unable to continue his life in the wild, being spurned by his animal companions, amhat
returns to Uruk with Enkidu at the moment Gilgame attempts to exercise his ius primae
noctis on a bride. Enkidu intervenes, the two fight and after they discover they are a match for
each other, a friendship is formed (tablets I and II).
Together they set out to slay the giant Humbaba, who guards the cedar forest (tablets
III and IV). Awed by his manly prowess, Itar, the goddess of love and war, proposes to marry
Gilgame, but she is spurned by Gilgame, who viciously recounts the fates of all her previous
lovers. Enraged, she convinces Anu to unleash the Bull of Heaven on Uruk. When Gilgame
and Enkidu manage to defeat the beast and Enkidu hurls its hindquarters at the goddess, the
gods decree that one of the friends must die (tablets V and VI). After a sickbed of twelve days,
Enkidu dies. Refusing to believe his friend has truly passed Gilgame only gives up the body
of his friend for burial after a single maggot falls out his nose (tablet VII ). The first part of
the story ends with Gilgame delivering a lament for his fallen friend and arranging his
funeral (tablet VIII).
Of wordplays and explicitness
In the discussion about the relationship between Gilgame and Enkidu, three general
views can be discerned: One school of scholars is of the affirm belief that the relationship
between Gilgame and Enkidu in the standard version of the Epic is of a homoerotic nature,
the second considers the pair friends, a third that maintains that the epic does not present
conclusive evidence to support either viewpoint.
The distinct lack of a sexual relation between the pair is one of the most important
arguments raised by the scholars who do not support the theory that Gilgame and Enkidu are
in a homoerotic relationship. It is also the reason why many scholars plead that the theory that
the two might be lovers is within the realm of possibilities, but no conclusive evidence can be
given. It is indeed true that the physical relationship of Gilgame and Enkidu never goes any
further than embraces and kisses. Akkadian literature, Lambert argues, was not shy of explicit
30

SBV 70-75.

11

language.31 Furthermore, within the epic itself there are numerous occasions on which either
protagonist engages in heterosexual sex. The wildman Enkidu is weaned off his beastly
lifestyle through the help of amhat, with whom he has intercourse for six days and seven
nights.32 Also, the epic starts with the complaint of the citizens of Uruk to the god that
Gilgame lets no girl go free to her bride[groom.] 33 The first time Gilgame and Enkidu
meet, Enkidu prevents Gilgame from carrying out his ius primae noctis; the two engage in
battle in front of the wedding house. 34 The abundance of unmistakable references to
heterosexual intercourse versus the wordplays that are the basis for the homoerotic
interpretation of the epic makes scholars like Lambert and Foster dismiss the theory that
Gilgame and Enkidu were in a sexual relationship.
Scholars supporting the homoerotic reading of the text base themselves first and
foremost on the two dreams Gilgame has that foretell the arrival of Enkidu.
Mother, I saw a dream in the night.
There were stars in the sky for me.
Like a rock from the sky one fell down before me.
I tried to lift it up, but if was too heavy for me.
I tried to turn it over, but I couldnt budge it
Like a wife [I loved it], caressed and embraced it.
[I lifted it up], laid it at your feet.
[and you, O mother, you] treated it as equal to me.35
Mother, I saw a second dream:
An axe (hassinnu) was thrown down in the street (?) of Uruk
I lifted it up and set it down at your feet,
Like a wife [I loved it], caressed and embraced it.
[and you, O mother, you] treated it as equal to me.36
Though the couple never has intercourse in the epic, the language of these dreams appears to
signal at a homoerotic bond between the two: Gilgame will love Enkidu like a wife. The
husband and wife analogy is not restricted to the two dreams announcing the coming of
Enkidu. Rather, it is a recurring theme throughout the epic: it is also used during Gilgame
lament for Enkidu, when he covers his friends face like that of a bride. 37 That in itself need
not mean that this love must be read as one of a homoerotic nature. However, when one looks
at the original Akkadian, two verbs stand out: Gilgame sees the axe and loves (rmu) and
embraces (abbu) it like a wife. While the verb rmu need not denote a sexual love, the verb
abbu, when used to render a human activity, always denotes sexual intercourse. 38 This use
of implicit language does point in the direction of a sexual side to the love between Gilgame
and Enkidu. Lambert, however, does not agree. Besides the lack of explicit language
signalling a sexual relation, he dismisses the prophetic dreams of Gilgame as symbolic; the
clarification Ninsun presents to Gilgame should not be taken literally.39 The problem with
this interpretation is, as Cooper has noted, everything else Ninsun has predicted does come to
31

Lambert 1992, 156. note 31.

SBV 180-198.
33
SBV 1.90-91.
34
SBV 2.103-117.
35
SBV 1.246-258.
36
SBV 1.276-285.
37
SBV 8.59-62.
38
Cooper 2002, 80.
39
Lambert 1992, 156-157. Note 31.
32

12

pass in complete accordance to her prediction. Thus the dreams and their interpretation may
not be dismissed as purely symbolic.40
A second point worth discussing is the placement of Gilgame dreams in the epic. In
the standard version the dreams of Gilgame the dreams take place at the exact same time as
the copulation between Enkidu and amhat. Furthermore, when the hunters instruct amhat
on how to approach Enkidu, they use the same wording as Gilgame uses in his dream:
Enkidu will caress and embrace amhat, much like Gilgame caressed and embraced the axe
and the rock that represent Enkidu in his dreams. 41 Smith believes that both the wording and
the placing of the two scenes are not incidental and should be read as an implicit way of
informing the reader that Gilgame and Enkidu will engage in similar acts as amhat and
Enkidu.42
Regardless of how one decides to interpret the relationship between Gilgame and
Enkidu, it is clear that in the Standard Version of the epic sexuality plays a far larger part than
in the Sumerian tradition. The epic opens with the complaint of the citizens of Uruk. Though
the text is unclear on how Gilgame oppresses the men of Uruk (the text here is broken), the
oppression of the women is overtly sexual. In the Sumerian tradition, as recounted in
Bilgames and the Netherworld, the suffering of the women is indirect; the true victims of
Gilgame suppression are the men who are forced to participate in Gilgame roughhousing.
Itars rejection is a story elements presents in both the Standard Version as Bilgames and
the Bull of Heaven, but the vicious recounting of the fates of Itars previous lovers is
exclusive to the Babylonian tradition. Then there is the role of Enkidu himself, who in the
Sumerian tradition is the servant of Gilgame, rather than his friend and equal. In the Standard
Version he, as I have already mentioned, has intercourse with amhat for seven days and six
nights. Some have raised the notion that the epic of Gilgame, ultimately, is a story about
growing up. Jacobsen is among these scholars. Though early in his career he dedicated an
article about the relationship between Gilgame and Enkidu, in which he came to the
conclusion that the two are lovers, in his article from 1976 he revises his opinion. Here he
typifies Gilgame as a man who refuses to grow up. He rejects the world of marriage and
relations with women in favour of a boyhood friendship; through his relationship with Enkidu
he may delay his growing up and remain a preadolescent. The distinct lack of interest in sex
Gilgame shows after he meets Enkidu and his refusal of Itars proposal are, according to
Jacobsen, exemplary of Gilgame refusal to grow up.43 I believe Jacobsen missed the point in
interpreting Gilgame as a man who refuses to grow up. Before Enkidu stepped into his life,
he has shown himself as an adult man with adult interests in his pursuits of the women of
Uruk. However, the notion of growing up is interesting. Cooper has argued that rather than a
refusal to grow up, Gilgame relationship with Enkidu is an important step in the process of
maturation. His vicious rejection of Itar should be read as a rejection of meaningless sexual
relations, in favour of a far deeper, more spiritual bond.44
Based on the above discussion I prefer a homoerotic reading of the epic. I think the
evidence based on the verb abbu, which, according to Cooper, always means sexual
intercourse when used to render a human activity, is convincing enough to conclude that the
relationship between Enkidu and Gilgame had a sexual side. Still, the lack of a sexual
relationship between Enkidu and Gilgame in a literary tradition that does not shy away from
explicit language, remains a point that makes many scholars plead possible, but not
convinced to the notion that the pair are lovers. The question that remains is why Gilgame
and Enkidu never engage in sexual intercourse. In the light of the conclusion I have reached in
40

Cooper 2002, 80. note 50.

SBV 1.183-187.
42
Smith 2013, 31.
43
Jacobsen, 1976, 218.
44
Cooper 2002, 81.
41

13

my previous chapter, I wonder if it was even possible for Gilgame and Enkidu to have an
explicit sexual relationship and not drastically change the dynamic of their relationship.
Enkidu was created to be Gilgame equal; Gilgame cannot move the rock in his dreams and
the fight between the two that leads up to their imminent friendship remains undecided. The
point I am trying to make is simple: one does not lord over the other. Nissinen has put
emphasis on the equality of their relationship. According to his monologue from 1998,
Gilgame and Enkidu found with each other a sense of unity on a level that was unattainable
in a relationship between men and women. The worlds of men and women are so segregated
from each other that it becomes impossible to have such a deep, close bond of friendship. 45
Having penetrative sex, however, would drastically shift the power balance between the pair.
As I have discussed in the chapter on the Middle Assyrian law codex, being the receiving
party of penetrative sex lowers the receivers status in relation to that of the sexually dominant
partner. Going on Lamberts word, there is no verb in Akkadian that allows two men of equal
standing to have penetrative sex with one another without lowering the status of the
submissive partner. Thus put, it is impossible to maintain that Gilgame and Enkidu are each
others equal against this cultural backdrop if the couple were to have penetrative sex. Both
the standard version of the Epic of Gilgame and the Middle Assyrian Law codex were
composed around the same time, the Epic somewhere between 1300 and 1000; the Middle
Assyrian Law dates back to the rule of Tiglath-Pileser, who rules in the second half of the 13 th
century BC. I believe it a plausible assumption that, even taken into consideration the long
literary tradition the Epic belongs to, that both were composed with the same cultural
background in mind.

Chapter 5: The cultic attendants of Itar

Assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu are cultic attendants belonging to the cult of Itar. Out of
the three, assinnus are best documented. They appear in sources from the Sumerian period to
the neo-Assyrian period and are indicated by the signs UR.SAL, PI.LI.PI.LI. and
45

Nissinen 1998, 25.

14

SAG.UR.SAG. The assinnu were purification priests, called upon to cure the sick. The second
group of attendants that will be discussed are the Kurgarrs. They are often paired with
assinnus in texts. Their role within the cult is described as that of ritual performers: they
participated in war dances and had prominent roles at times when the order of the universe
was threatened, such as during solar-eclipses and during New Year festivals. Though in terms
of biological gender kurgarrs were male, they were listed among female musicians. Third,
the Kuluus, or GALAS in Sumerian, were chanters of lamentations, often listed with female
mourners and wailers. The Emesal dialect that is used in the Sumerian hymns is also linked to
the female sphere. Kuluus have been attested in fairly high functions in the Sumerian period,
both at court as in cities. This connection with the female gender is a common theme among
all three of these attendants, further down I will discuss the questionable gender these
devotees. All attendants were trained individuals, of kurgarrs we know that it took two years
and five months to complete their training.46
Out of these three, assinnu and kurgarr were closely linked to the goddess even in
myth. Itars/Inannas descent to the Netherworld has been coined as a hieros logos,
explaining the role of assinnu and kurgarr within the cult of Itar and society. There are two
versions of the myth, a longer, more detailed version in Sumerian, dating back to the second
millennium BC and an Akkadian version, of which two versions have been found: one in
Nineveh, the other in Assur. In this myth Itar descents to the Netherworld, much to the
dismay of the queen of the Netherworld, Erekigal. Itar gets tricked by her sister: at every
gate of the Netherworld she must take off one of her garments or pieces of jewellery, which
serve as protective charms. When she has passed all seven, she is naked and thus unprotected.
In the Sumerian version the goddess is tried by the anunnak and turned into a corpse, in the
Akkadian version 60 plagues, or diseases, descent onto the goddess. Either way the result is
the same; Itar dies and, as a consequence, fertility on earth stops. To restore Itar back to life
and make fertility return on earth, Enki (or Ea, in the Akkadian version) creates a kurgarr
and a kalaturru in the Sumerian version, assinnu in the Akkadian, from the dirt underneath his
fingernails. The assinnu (or kurgarr) descents to the Netherworld and gains the favour of
Erekigal, who grants him a request. At his request, Erekigal restores Itar to life and allows
her to leave the Netherworld. However, a replacement is needed to take Itars place. After the
goddess returns and she finds that her lover, Dumuzi, is not carrying out the correct mourning
rites, she sends him down to the Netherworld in her stead.47
Why assinnu and kurgarr are able to enter and leave the Netherworld at will, is one
of the indicators of the cultic attendants questionable sexuality. The Akkadian version does
not mention how the assinnu this was possible, but the Sumerian version does: Enkis
creations were genderless. They cannot be defined as persons and thus can pass the boundary
between the physical world and the Netherworld, as long as they refuse all food and drink
offered to them whilst residing in the Netherworld.48

On the standing of assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu in society

46

Teppo 2008, 81-85.

Borger 1979, 100-101. for the Akkadian myth, for the Sumerian version see Wolkeinstein 1983.
48
Maul 1992, 161.
47

15

In his 1992 article, Maul talks about the role of kurgarr and assinnu at the margins of
society. If these devotees of Itar became too numerous, they would pose a threat to society. A
fear that is reflected upon in this fragment of an incantation:
Warum reit du heraus - wie ein Lwe,
(warum) knickst du ab, wie ein Wolf,
(warum) bringst du den Versammlung zusammen wie ein kurgarr?
Though it is unclear what exactly is meant by die Versammlung zusammen bringen, the
context defines the hostility of society towards the kurgarr. Both lion and wolf are negative,
destructive forces, also connected with the negative aspects of the goddess Itar. There is little
doubt that, though kurgarr and assinnu played necessary roles within the context of the cult,
they were reviled by society.49
One of the reasons why kurgarr, assinnu and kuluu were so reviled is the direct
result of the abilities of the goddess. In the Erra-epic is recounted that Itar changed the men
into women to instil fear into the hearts of the people.50 Previously I have mentioned the
association of kurgarr and kuluu with female devotees of Itar. There is further proof that
these devotees did not fit into either the male or female gender proper. I have already
mentioned that the kurgarr were able to enter the Netherworld because they were genderless
and therefore could not be defined as persons, but there are more indicators that these
devotees do not fall into either gender category: the cuneiform sign for assinnu was UR.SAL,
which translates into man-woman. Kurgarr and kuluu are also referred to as sinninu, a
Babylonian term that also translates into man-woman. 51 In a letter about king Ninurtu-tukulaur (1115) he was called a kuluu, rather than a man in a way to insult the king. 52 Here we
get a glimpse the obvious contempt for these cultic devotees, which is, at least in part, caused
by their inability to fit into prescribed gender roles.
It is unclear how exactly the gender of the individuals who devoted themselves to the
life of Itar was changed. Some scholars believe it is simply a matter of cross dressing.
Instances in which the devotees participated in ritual dressed as women have been recorded.
In the Neo-Sumerian Hymn of Iddin-Dagan to Inanna, they performed wearing womens
clothing on the left and mens clothing on their right. They are also seen carrying attributes
specific to both genders, such as spindles for women and cutting weapons representing men. 53
Other scholars argue for a permanent change in gender. The theory that these devotees were
eunuchs is the second major school of thought. In general, eunuchs have a close relationship
with Itar; the goddess is often found on the personal seals of eunuchs. This cannot be read as
direct evidence that assinnu, kurgarr, and kuluu were in fact eunuchs, but the link is
striking. What speaks against this theory is that there are mentions of children begotten by
these devotees, but they may have been born before the individual was castrated. Another
explanation is that these children were adopted. There are mentions of nadtu priestesses, who
were not allowed to bear children themselves, begetting children through adoption. The same
might be possible for the assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu. Another factor that points in the
direction of these devotees being eunuchs is the following entry in the umma lu:

49

Maul 1992, 159-160.

Erra-epic, IV.55.
51
Nissinen 1998, 28.
52
Weidner 1935-1936, 3, line 21.
53
Teppo 2008, 78-79.
50

16

If a man starts trembling while for sexual potency, and like an assinnu fails to
achieve a sexual climax during intercourse, that man will experience evil in
circumstances of stress.54
The lack of sex drive that is ascribed to the assinnu in this particular omen is typical of
castrated men. 55 Also, castrated men are physically incapable of ejaculation. Also, there is
good evidence pointing in the direction that becoming a kurgarr, assinnu or kuluu was a
permanent change in gender role. This is reflected upon in the use of terms like assintum,
kurgarrtum, and kulutum. The suffix tum is used to denote a permanent status, though
this need not necessarily mean a physical change in gender. 56
The question is if these devotees of Itar committed homosexual acts or not and if this
is the main contributor to their marginal role in society. Beside the roles they took on that I
have already mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, there also is something distinctly
sexual about their role in the cult. Assinnus are often mentioned in the same context of a
group of female devotees of Itar whose role in cult was also sexually coloured, like h arimtu,
kezertu, sekretu and amh atu.57 The kuluu have been referred to as Itars sweet bed-fellow
(slilu
tbu

).58 There is some evidence that points in the direction that assinnu, kurgarr and
kuluu engaged in homosexual acts. The first comes from the Akkadian version of Itars
descent in the Netherworld, in which Erekigal curses the assinnu:
Come, Asu-namir,
I shall curse you with a great curse.

I shall decree for you a fate that shall never be forgotten.

Bread from the citys ploughs shall be your food,
The city drains shall be your only drinking place,
The shade of the city wall your only standing place,
The drunkard and the thirsty shall slap your cheek.59
Besides reflecting on the marginal position of the assinnu in society, Mauls reading of
Erekigals curse discerns a distinct sexual subtext. The drunkards and thirsty are found in
taverns. Whenever the goddess Itar is put into the context of taverns, she is associated with
prostitution. Maul believes that, like the female devotees of Itar the assinnu are often listed
with, assinnus offered their bodies at these taverns. Bread from the citys plough would be
euphemism for penis or sexual acts in general. The Sumerian verb used for ploughing has
been seen in such a sexual sense before in an Old Babylonian Dumuzi-Inanna text. 60 Readers
will also recall the omen from the umma lu, in which sex with an assinnu is listed as one of
the four omens dealing with homosexual intercourse.
The remaining question is if these alleged homosexual acts committed by the
sinninu can be read as proof that assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu were homosexuals. Both
Teppo and Nissinen do not subscribe to this view. Both claim that, while there is evidence that
the sinninu did engage in homosexual acts, this does not mean that they were of this sexual
orientation by default, nor does it mean that the men who belonged to the clientele of the
sinninu necessarily identified themselves as homosexuals either. The sexual acts they
committed should instead be viewed as a way of reaching the goddess. Sexual contact with a
person whose whole life was devoted to the goddess, so Nissinen argues, equivalent to having
54

CT 39 44.15.
Lambert 1992, 151.
56
Nissinen 1998, 30.
57
Nissinen 1998, 30.
58
Nissinen 1998, 148, note 60.
59
IDN 103-107.
60
Maul 1992, 162-163. Maul continues his argumentation on the use of to plough in note 35: Maul 1992, 168.
55

17

intercourse with the goddess herself.61 The major drawback of this theory is that it
presupposes the practice of sacred prostitution. While there is little doubt that prostitution was
a fact of life in Mesopotamian society, the existence of sacred prostitution is not as widely
accepted by scholars. An alternative theory is that resorting to prostitution was nothing more
than the means for the sinninu to scrape together their daily bread and had nothing to do
with the part these devotees played in the cult. We do not know to what extend the sinninu
were supported by the temple, but it is entirely possible that these acts of homosexuality had
nothing to do with the cult, but were a way of supporting oneself. Of the kuluu we know that
some were quite prosperous, but they are also attested as a cheap labour force for the temple. 62
This interpretation of the sexual role of the sinninu is what I think is aimed at in the
following Late Assyrian proverb:
When a sinninu entered the brothel, he raised his hands and said:
My hire goes to my anzinnu
You (woman) are wealth (meru), I am half (melu)63
It is unclear what anzinnu means; Nissinen uses the term promoter 64, but Leick prefers the
reading pimp. There appears to be a pun made here, that the sinnianu, in prostituting
himself earns less than a female prostitute for neither being a whole man or a whole female. 65
I find it hard to believe that, if we are dealing with sacred prostitution in this context, a man
prostituting himself in a manner so that his client can reach the goddess, to whatever end, he
would earn less than a women on regards of not being either a full man or a full woman. If
reaching the goddess is the goal of this prostitution, it should not matter what the gender of
the intermediary is through which the goddess is reached.
All things considered, it is clear that the position of the sinnianu was marginal; the
reference to Enki creating them from the dirt under his fingernails is a clear indicator of this,
as is the notion that they become a threat to social order when they become too numerous, as
seen in my opening quote of this chapter. The Erra-Epic indirectly gives a reason for the
marginal position of the sinnianu:
They rouse Eanna, the kurgarrs and assinnus
Whose masculinity Itar has turned into femininity to make the people reverend,
The carriers of dagger, razor, scalpel and flint blades,
Who regularly do [forbidden things] to delight the heart of Itar.66
No mention is made of what these forbidden things are, but given the treatment of
homosexuality in the Middle Assyrian Law Codex, this might be an allusion to homosexual
acts committed by the sinninu. I have no solid evidence supporting this theory; it might just
as easily be an allusion to the fear of people that the sinninu dabbled in malevolent magic. 67
Most likely it is a complex interplay of all those factors; their questionable gender, their
prostitution and their connection with magic, but the notion in itself is interesting. Teppo
argues that, because their role was institutionalized in cult, they were seen as a necessary part
of the divinely sanctioned world order and thus their behaviour, deviant to the social norm,
was accepted as necessary. In a way the blatant disregard of social convention as expressed by
61

Nissinen 1998, 33/Teppo 2008, 81.

Teppo 2008, 88.
63
Lambert 1991, 145.
64
Nissinen 198, 33.
65
Leick 1994, 160-161.
66
Erra-Epic IV.52-62.
67
Leick 1994, 168.
62

18

these devotees is a useful implement against which society can set the norms for which
behaviour is expected of individuals. Itar, the goddess the sinninu are devoted to herself, is
the prime transgressor of boundaries; she often ventures into the terrain which is normally
barred from women as the goddess of both love and war. This duality of her character is
usually explained due to Venus, the heavenly body linked to the goddess, is both a morning
and an evening star.
At the end of the day, no matter how negative the attitude of the common populace
was towards the sinninu, they were protected and institutionalized by the cult and thus a
necessary part of society. The question of whether this defiant behaviour of the sinninu was
the cause or the result of them entering into the services of Itar, is one I cannot in good faith
comment about with the current state of our evidence. We do not know how and why people
became assinnu, kurgarr or kuluu. Teppo believes the services of Itar might be an outlet
for anyone who could not fit into the prevailing, rigid, male-centric gender structure, whether
they were eunuchs, transvestites or homosexual or otherwise incapable of fitting into this
gender structure. Though it cannot be proven, it is an attractive thought. 68
The question remains is how the homosexual acts of the sinninu relate to the
obvious condemnation of these acts in the Middle Assyrian Laws, as discussed in chapter two.
One explanation possibly comes from Teppo and is one I have already defined above: in
purposely defying the social order in their position of cultic attendants of Itar, becoming the
Other of society in a way, they define the social order. For a second explanation, I would
like to refer back to my first chapter. There I argued that the gender structure of Mesopotamia
was neither binary nor stationary. Though biologically male, it has become obvious that the
sinninu do not fit into the male gender, nor do they fit into the female one. The way they are
referred to is as obvious an indicator of this as any; sinninu, UR.SAL, boths are terms used
to describe assinnu, kuluu and kurgarr and mean man-woman, or womanlike. They are
something in between, a third gender if you will. The Middle Assyrian Law Codex is very
clear in who the offenders are in 19 and 20: men of the same status engaging in penetrative
sex. The sinninu do not fall into this category, because they werent men at all, not in terms
of gender at least. Homosexual intercourse was not frowned upon because of morality, it was
because the notion of consensual sex between two adults of the same status was deemed
inconceivable; the submissive partner always loses status. I do not believe that this defiant
sexual behaviour as committed by the sinninu was accepted because in their defiance of
social conventions it set a norm to society. I believe that these two clauses, the way they are
formulated, do not apply to the sinninu; they werent proper men, and therefore could never
be counted as equal to men who did fit into the male gender proper.

Chapter 6: Final thoughts and conclusion

68

Teppo 2008, 91.

19

At the beginning of this work I formulated the following research question:

Is the image that is sketched in the secondary literature of a relative acceptation of
homosexuality in the Ancient Near East in the first and second millennia BCE accurate in
relation to the primary sources that deal with the subject?
Over the course of this work we have looked at acts of homosexuality in three spheres of life
in Mesopotamia: the legal sphere, cult, and literature. From my research I conclude that there
were indeed no moral obligations against homoerotic relationships in general. The Epic of
Gilgame boasts a major plot point that revolves around a homoerotic relationship between
two men. Though the two never explicitly engage in intercourse, the wording of the dreams of
Gilgame used to predict the coming of Enkidu and the nature of their relation is convincing
enough to convince me of the nature of their relationship. The verb used to describe that
Gilgame will embrace Enkidu, abbu, when used to denote a human activity, always signals
sexual intercourse.
The Epic of Gilgame, however, does not take place in the real world; what in theory
is possible encounters a lot more complications when put into practice. In clauses 19 and 20
of the Middle Assyrian Law Texts penetrative sex between men of equal standing is being
condemned. I feel this is not because homosexual intercourse is being condemned as morally
wrong; these two clauses are about power relations. There is a good reason why Gilgame and
Enkidu never engage in sexual intercourse: they were equals and within the framework of
Mesopotamian thoughts and beliefs it is impossible for two men of equal standing to have
penetrative sex without the power balance between the two drastically shifting in favour of
the dominant partner. Enkidu was created to be Gilgame equal, thus an explicit sexual
relationship is out of the question.
That intercourse between men did occur, in spite of what the Middle Assyrian Law
Codex prescribes, can be read in multiple allusions that have been made to this practice,
mostly in the context of the cultic attendants of Itar: assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu. These
men, however, are of questionable gender and will certainly never have been counted as equal
to men proper. Likely they werent regarded as men at all in terms of gender, so strictly
speaking clauses 19 and 20 do not apply to these cultic attendants. Based on the nature of the
gender system as formulated in chapter two, I am not fully convinced that contemporaries of
the assinnu, kurgarr and kuluu would consider their sexual exploits as acts of
homosexuality as we formulate them: love and/or sexual acts between two people of the same
gender. Speaking in terms of gender, the sinninu and their clients were not the same gender.
All things considered, I have not found any sources that describe an actual relationship
between two men as an alternative lifestyle to heterosexual marriage. The closest thing I have
found to it is the relationship of Gilgame and Enkidu, and their relationship is not, or cannot
be, explicitly sexual. Theirs is a rejection of the world of marriage in favour of a deeper,
spiritual bond between two men and it is entirely fictional. Based on the, admittedly very
scant, evidence we have, they were the exception to the rule. For all the mentions that have
been made to acts of homosexuality, based on the evidence we do possess it appears that the
Middle Assyrian Law Codex has the right of it: sexual relations between men of equal
standing did not openly occur. What men did in the privacy of their own household is hard to
trace; it is altogether quite possible that male household slaves, as the female ones, could be
used for sexual purposes, but I have found no evidence of this practice.
In conclusion and as an answer to my primary research question I must conclude no,
homosexuality was not accepted in Mesopotamia as an alternative lifestyle to that of
marriage. It was expected of men to marry and produce offspring and I have found no
allusions to proper men who defied that social norm. What happened to men who could not

20

fit into this role due to their sexual orientation is unclear; household slaves might have been
used for sexual purposes, or the services of the sinninu might have been bought; I see no
legal or moral ground that prohibits this practice and at least in the case of the sinninu they
did indeed serve as the passive partner in homosexual intercourse. The Middle Assyrian Law
Codex only prohibits intercourse between equals and household slaves and the sinninu very
clearly were not seen as equal to free men. Another possibility is that the men who could not
fit into the male gender literally turned into societys Other by devoting themselves to the
service of Itar. We have seen that the devotees of Itar did things that were prohibited to
normal people, what these things were remains unclear. Though I cannot prove it, it might
be possible that the cult of Itar was an outlet for anyone who could not or would not fit into
society at the cost of giving up ones gender.

21

Bibliography
Abbreviations
BBH: Bilgames and the Bull of Heaven.
CT: Cuneiform Texts from Babylonian Tablets in the British Museum, London.
SBV: Standard Babylonian Version of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
IDN: Itars descent in the Netherworld.
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The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Bilgames and the Netherworld
Itars/Innanas Descent to the Netherworld.
Erra Epic.
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