The temples of the goddess have been home to the sacred prostitute for more millennium than history records. The story of the legendary King Gilgamesh dates back to 7000BCE[1] and explains how the sacred prostitute tamed the hairy beast who was sent to rob the King, turning him into a civilized companion through the act of sex.  The Greek historian Herodotus writes in the 3rd century BCE of the Babylonian custom that compels every woman of the land once in her life to sit in the temple of the goddess of love and have intercourse with a stranger who must provide a payment for the temple. The practice is recorded to have taken place in Egypt, Lebanon, Greece and Rome and the commonly known vestal virgin was not a virgin at all, but rather she devoted her life to becoming a “bride” in the sacred marriage rituals in the temples of Hestia or Vesta.[2]  A virgin was considered to be a woman who never married, not one who never had sex.  Rather than belonging to a man, she had ownership of her own body.

When we investigate worship of the venerated Goddess Inanna, from circa 4,000BCE we find totally different attitudes towards sexuality and its potency used in a ritual context. Inanna was the Sumerian Goddess of the moon, known as Queen of Heaven and her reign encompassed lands known as Sumeria, Assyria and Babylon.  In later times she was known as Ishtar to the Babylonians and was one of the three great goddesses of the Bronze Age.

The ’sacred marriage’ as performed in the New Year celebrations of Inanna and Dumuzi was known as hieros gamos.  This sacred joining of the king with the high priestess of the temple became the ritual that ensured the fertility of the land and the power of the king to rule for the coming year.  Starbird[3] notes how for millennia the ’sacred marriage’ was the ancient ritual performed by numerous cultures across the Mediterranean region where the priestess of the temple came to embody the very essence of the goddess in sexual union with those who came to pay for the privilege.

There are numerous Sumerian texts that dwell on Inanna’s love-life. They are collectively known as the Bridal Songs and some feature Inanna preparing for her wedding.  Some speak of the King as her lover and others speak of Inanna as a professional lover. Below Leick[4] quotes one set of texts, in which Inanna rejoices in her vulva.  She expresses her longing to be in the presence of her beloved:

For  me, open my vulva – for me! For me, the maiden, who is its ploughman? My vulva, a wet place, for me - For me the lady, who will provide the bull? Oh, lady, the king will plough it for you, plough my vulva, man of my heart.

 These are quite explicit texts referring to the sex act itself and below is one of the most quoted texts of the bridal songs, where Inanna calls out to her lover the shepherd King Dumuzi:[5]

My vulva, the horn,

The Boat of Heaven,

Is full of eagerness like the young moon.

My untilled land lies fallow.

As for me, Inanna,

Who will plow my vulva?

Who will plow my high field?

Who will plow my wet ground?

As for me, the young woman,

Who will plow my vulva?

Who will station the ox there?

Who will plow my vulva?

These songs attest to the openness of sexuality expressed in the literature of the goddess of the time and paint a picture of how sexuality was viewed.  The vulva is variously described in stages of sexual excitement.  The narrow curve of the new moon will be opened “like a boat with its mooring ropes”.  Inanna’s vulva is often called the “holy lap” and is used as an adjective that is applied to numerous other deities, temples, places and artefacts and is usually translated as “pure” or “holy”. The genitals are also associated with power and used apotropaically (intended to ward off evil or bad luck) in magic rituals.  Inanna was said to have used her vulva and the power associated with it, to further the prestige and divine status of her city.  This attests to the countless figurines and terracotta models of female nudes and vulva-shaped votive offerings have been found all over the ancient near East representing the holy power of sexuality.[6]

To understand the sacredness of the sexual act, it must be seen in the context of a society which lived in close accord with nature.  Qualls-Corbet[7] explains “Desire and sexual response experienced as a regenerative power were recognized as a gift or a blessing from the divine.  Man’s and woman’s sexual nature and their religious attitude were inseparable.”  The sex act was offered up to the goddess of love and fertility who in return bestowed her blessings of fertility and growth upon her petitioners.  It is not difficult then to understand that the practice of sacred prostitution became a religious act of worship where sexuality and spirituality became one and the same.

The Sumerian and Babylonian temple records indicate that the Qadishtu who served in the temples of Inanna/Ishtar were often from wealthy families. They owned properties and land and engaged in extensive business activities.  Matrilineal kinship customs also indicate that children born to Qadishtu would inherit title, names and property from their mothers with daughters having access to attain the status of Qadishtu themselves.[8] Merlin Stone further explains that although the title of Qadishtu translates literally as “sacred woman” or “the undefiled”, academic translations have nearly always used the term “prostitute” to describe these women and the term “temple prostitution” to depict the sacred acts of worship that occurred.

In later patriarchal times, these holy women become the whores of Babylon depicted in the Old Testament who were reviled for their shameful practices.

If you are interested to learn more about sacred sexuality and the sacred prostitute both in the ancient and modern context my Masters Thesis entitled:  Hieros Gamos: Sacred sexuality Ancient and Modern (How sacred sexuality is manifesting in a current western milieu and what is the emerging role of the modern day sacred prostitute) is available for purchase – cost $25 (including p&p)

Kerri Ryan

© 2009

 [1] Starbird, M. (2005) Mary Magdaline – Bride in Exile