Tablet of Ishtar, Inanna, Tammuz, Dumuzi

Ishtar was the goddess of love, war, fertility, and sexuality. Ishtar was the daughter of Anu.

Ereshkigal 

 She was particularly worshipped in northern Mesopotamia, at the Assyrian cities of Nineveh, Ashur and Arbela (Erbil). Besides the lions on her gate, her symbol is an eight-pointed star. Ishtar holding her symbol, Louvre Museum One type of depiction of Ishtar/Inanna The lion was her symbol (detail of the Ishtar Gate) In the Babylonian pantheon, she "was the divine personification of the planet Venus".

Ishtar had many lovers; however, as Gilgamesh noted, "Woe to him whom Ishtar had honoured! The fickle goddess treated her passing lovers cruelly, and the unhappy wretches usually paid dearly for the favours heaped on them." Animals, enslaved by love, lost their native vigour: they fell into traps laid by men or were domesticated by them.

"Thou has loved the lion, mighty in strength," says the hero Gilgamesh to Ishtar, "and thou hast dug for him seven and seven pits! Thou hast loved the steed, proud in battle, and destined him for the halter, the goad and the whip." Even for the gods Ishtar's love was fatal. In her youth the goddess had loved Tammuz, god of the harvest, and—if one is to believe Gilgamesh — this love caused the death of Tammuz.

Her cult may have involved sacred prostitution, though this is debatable. One of the most famous myths about Ishtar describes her descent to the underworld. In this myth, Ishtar approaches the gates of the underworld and demands that the gatekeeper open them:

Ishtar

 If thou openest not the gate to let me enter, I will break the door, I will wrench the lock, I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors. I will bring up the dead to eat the living. And the dead will outnumber the living.

The gatekeeper hurried to tell Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld. Ereshkigal told the gatekeeper to let Ishtar enter, but "according to the ancient decree". The gatekeeper let Ishtar into the underworld, opening one gate at a time. At each gate, Ishtar had to shed one article of clothing. When she finally passed the seventh gate, she was naked.

In rage, Ishtar threw herself at Ereshkigal, but Ereshkigal ordered her servant Namtar to imprison Ishtar and unleash sixty diseases against her. After Ishtar descended to the underworld, all sexual activity ceased on earth. The god Papsukal reported the situation to Ea, the king of the gods.

Ea created an intersex being called Asu-shu-namir and sent it to Ereshkigal, telling it to invoke "the name of the great gods" against her and to ask for the bag containing the waters of life. Ereshkigal was enraged when she heard Asu-shu-namir's demand, but she had to give it the water of life. Asu-shu-namir sprinkled Ishtar with this water, reviving her.

Then, Ishtar passed back through the seven gates, getting one article of clothing back at each gate, and was fully clothed as she exited the last gate.

Inanna

 Here there is a break in the text of the myth, which resumes with the following lines: If she (Ishtar) will not grant thee her release, To Tammuz, the lover of her youth, Pour out pure waters, pour out fine oil; With a festival garment deck him that he may play on the flute of lapis lazuli, That the votaries may cheer his liver.

[his spirit] Belili [sister of Tammuz] had gathered the treasure, With precious stones filled her bosom. When Belili heard the lament of her brother, she dropped her treasure, She scattered the precious stones before her, "Oh, my only brother, do not let me perish! On the day when Tammuz plays for me on the flute of lapis lazuli, playing it for me with the porphyry ring. Together with him, play ye for me, ye weepers and lamenting women! That the dead may rise up and inhale the incense."

Formerly, scholars believed that the myth of Ishtar's descent took place after the death of Ishtar's lover, Tammuz: they thought Ishtar had gone to the underworld to rescue Tammuz. However, the discovery of a corresponding about Inanna, the Sumerian counterpart of Ishtar, has thrown some light on the myth of Ishtar's descent, including its somewhat enigmatic ending lines.

According to the Inanna myth, Inanna can only return from the underworld if she sends someone back in her place. Demons go with her to make sure she sends someone back.

Dumuzi/Tammuz and Inanna. 

 However, each time Inanna runs into someone, she finds him to be a friend and lets him go free.

When she finally reaches her home, she finds her husband Dumuzi  (Babylonian Tammuz) seated on his throne, not mourning her at all. In anger, Inanna has the demons take Dumuzi back to the underworld as her replacement. Dumuzi's sister Geshtinanna is grief-stricken and volunteers to spend half the year in the underworld, during which time Dumuzi can go free.

The Ishtar myth presumably had a comparable ending, Belili being the Babylonian equivalent of Geshtinanna.

Seventh & Eight Egyptian Dynasty 2181 to 2160 BCE

The Seventh and Eighth Dynasties of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasties VII and VIII) are often combined with Dynasties IX, X and XI (Thebes only) under the group title First Intermediate Period. The Dynasties VII and VIII date approximately from 2181 to 2160 BC.
NetjerKare
Nitokris
Neferkare
Neby
Shemay
Khendu
Merenhor
Nikare
Tereru
Neferkahor
Pepysonbe
Neferkamin
Ibi
Wadjkare
Khuihapy
Neferirkare

The First Intermediate Period is the name conventionally given by Egyptologists to that period in Ancient Egyptian history between the end of the Old Kingdom and the advent of the Middle Kingdom. As such, depending on when individual historians place the 'downfall' of the Old Kingdom - with the end of either the Sixth or the Eighth Dynasties - the First Intermediate Period (sometimes abbreviated as "FIP") can be considered to embrace the Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, and most of the Eleventh Dynasties.

The Old Kingdom was weakened by famine and weak leadership. One theory holds that a sudden, unanticipated, catastrophic reduction in the Nile floods over two or three decades, caused by a global climatic cooling, reduced the amount of rainfall in Egypt, Ethiopia, and East Africa, contributing to the great famine and subsequent downfall of the Old Kingdom. The last pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty was Pepi II (or possibly Nitocris). He was 6 when he ascended the throne and believed to have been 100 years old when he died, for a reign of 94 years, longer than any monarch in history.

Menkare may have been a king of the First Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt. He is entirely unattested outside of the Abydos King List. Neferkare II may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List, however J. von Beckerath believes he may have been the king with the praenomen Wadjkare[citation needed], which is attested in a graffito contemporary with First Intermediate Period.

Neferkare Neby may have been a king of the Seventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is clearly attested on the Abydos King List, and unlike other kings of this period, is attested in two other sources. His mother was apparently Queen Ankhesenpepi II, which would presumably make his father Pepi II Neferkare. Neferkare Neby appears on the false door at Ankhensenpepi II's tomb, and is also inscribed on her sarcophagous. Neferkare Neby also appears to have begun planning the construction of a pyramid at Saqqara, but never significantly entered the building stage.

Djedkare Shemai may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List. Neferkare Khendu may have been a seventh dynasty king of Ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List. Merenhor may have been a Seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List.

Neferkamin may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His throne name Sneferka is attested on the Abydos King List, however he also appears on a tablet in the British Museum with the name "Neferkamin". Neferkamin may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His throne name Sneferka is attested on the Abydos King List, however he also appears on a tablet in the British Museum with the name "Neferkamin".

Nikare may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List. Neferkare Tereru may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List. Neferkare Tereru may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List. Neferkahor may have been a seventh dynasty king of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. His name is only attested on the Abydos King List and on a cylinder seal.

Immaculate Conception, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth & Ra

The Immaculate Conception came straight of the Egyptian myth about Osiris, Isis, Horus and Seth. It stated that Aset conceived Har 'Horus" after the passing of Asaru "Osiris" through Magic by the Neter "Supreme Being" Tehuti. This was the same story around the birth of Christ.

Osiris

 Mary was visited by the Eloheem, Neter "Supreme being", Gabriel and conceived Jesus of the Holy Ghost or magic or some divine Intervention.

O my brothers and my sisters, gather around me that I may tell the tale of the Before-Time, of the Golden Age when the gods walked upon the earth with us. Know then that in those ancient days, long before even the grandfather of our Pharaoh's grandfather was born, Osiris the great-grandson of Ra sat upon the throne of the gods, ruling over the living world as Ra did over the gods. He was the first Pharaoh, and his Queen, Isis, was the first Queen. They ruled for many ages together, for the world was still young and Grandmother Death was not as harsh as she is now. His ways were just and upright, he made sure that Maat remained in balance, that the law was kept. And so Maat smiled upon the world. All peoples praised Osiris and Isis, and peace reigned over all, for this was the Golden Age.

Yet there was trouble. Proud Set, noble Set, the brother of Osiris, he who defended the Sun Boat from Apep the Destroyer, was unsettled in his heart. He coveted the throne of Osiris. He coveted Isis. He coveted the power over the living world and he desired to take it from his brother. In his dark mind he conceived of a plot to kill Osiris and take all from him. He built a box and inscribed it with wicked magic that would chain anyone who entered it from escaping. Set took the box to the great feast of the gods. He waited until Osiris had made himself drunk on much beer, then challenged Osiris to a contest of strength.

Each one in turn would enter the box, and attempt, through sheer strength, to break it open. Osiris, sure in his power yet feeble in mind because of his drink, entered the box. Set quickly poured molten lead into the box. Osiris tried to escape, but the wicked magic held him bound and he died. Set then picked up the box and hurled it into the Nile where it floated away.

Isis

 Set claimed the throne of Osiris for himself and demanded that Isis be his Queen. None of the other gods dared to stand against him, for he had killed Osiris and could easily do the same to them. Great Ra turned his head aside and mourned, he did not stand against Set. This was the dark time. Set was everything his brother was not.

He was cruel and unkind, caring not for the balance of Maat, or for us, the children of the gods. War divided Egypt, and all was lawless while Set ruled. In vain our people cried to Ra, but his heart was hardened by grief, and he would not listen. Only Isis, blessed Isis, remembered us. Only she was unafraid of Set. She searched all of the Nile for the box containing her beloved husband. Finally she found it, lodged in a tamarisk bush that had turned into a mighty tree, for the power of Osiris still was in him, though he lay dead. She tore open the box and wept over the lifeless body of Osiris. She carried the box back to Egypt and placed it in the house of the gods. She changed herself into a bird and flew about his body, singing a song of mourning. Then she perched upon him and cast a spell. The spirit of dead Osiris entered her and she did conceive and bear a son whose destiny it would be to avenge his father. She called the child Horus, and hid him on an island far away from the gaze of his uncle Set.

She then went to Thoth, wise Thoth, who knows all secrets, and implored his help. She asked him for magic that could bring Osiris back to life. Thoth, lord of knowledge, who brought himself into being by speaking his name, searched through his magic. He knew that Osiris' spirit had departed his body and was lost. To restore Osiris, Thoth had to remake him so that his spirit would recognise him and rejoin. Thoth and Isis together created the Ritual of Life, that which allows us to live forever when we die. But before Thoth could work the magic, cruel Set discovered them.

Horus

  He stole the body of Osiris and tore it into many pieces, scattering them throughout Egypt. He was sure that Osiris would never be reborn. born by lumping it on the stone. Bottom left Isis and next to it Horus.

Yet Isis would not despair. She implored the help of her sister Nephthys, kind Nephthys, to guide her and help her find the pieces of Osiris. Long did they search, bringing each piece to Thoth that he might work magic upon it. When all the pieces were together, Thoth went to Anubis, lord of the dead. Anubis sewed the pieces back together, washed the entrails of Osiris, embalmed him wrapped him in linen, and cast the Ritual of Life. When Osiris' mouth was opened, his spirit reentered him and he lived again.Yet nothing that has died, not even a god, may dwell in the land of the living. Osiris went to Duat, the abode of the dead.

Anubis yielded the throne to him and he became the lord of the dead. There he stands in judgment over the souls of the dead. He commends the just to the Blessed Land, but the wicked he condemns to be devoured by Ammit.

Oshuru's Shrine

 When Set heard that Osiris lived again he was wroth, but his anger waned, for he knew that Osiris could never return to the land of the living. Without Osiris, Set believed he would sit on the throne of the gods for all time. Yet on his island, Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, grew to manhood and strength. Set sent many serpents and demons to kill Horus, but he defeated them. When he was ready, his mother Isis gave him great magic to use against Set, and Thoth gave him a magic knife.

Horus sought out Set and challenged him for the throne. According to the late Prof. Achonolu the picture to the left is taken at a place in Eastern Nigeria, in Nssuka called Osiris/Oshuru's Shrine located in  Oshuru's Groove. In addition, the oldest boat in Africa was also found in Yobe State, Northern Nigeria, incorporating Niger and Chad in close proximity to Eastern Nigeria. The structure is made from iron-slags and are over 10,000 years old.

 The Dufuna canoe predated the Egyptian solar both by 2000 years and the people of  Eastern Nigeria were already producing iron-work on an industrial scale as far back as 2,5000 BCE, which is now officially the oldest in the world.

Set and Horus fought for many days, but in the end Horus defeated Set and castrated him. But Horus, merciful Horus, would not kill Set, for to spill the blood of his uncle would make him no better than he. Set maintained his claim to the throne, and Horus lay claim himself as the son of Osiris. The gods began to fight amongst another, those who supported Horus and those who supported Set. Banebdjetet leaped into the middle and demanded that the gods end this struggle peacefully or Maat would be imbalanced further. He told the gods to seek the council of Neith. Neith, warlike though wise in council, told them that Horus was the rightful heir to the throne. Horus cast Set into the darkness where he lives to this day.

The Gilgamesh Epics, Tablet I, Column I to III

Gilgamesh, the King The Creation of Enkidu The Civilization of Enkidu Gilgamesh Dreams of Enkidu.

Column I
Fame haunts the man who visits Hell, who lives to tell my entire tale identically. So like a sage, a trickster or saint, GILGAMESH was a hero who knew secrets and saw forbidden places, who could even speak of the time before the Flood because he lived long, learned much, and spoke his life to those who first cut into clay his bird-like words.

10. He commanded walls for Uruk and for Eanna, our holy ground, walls that you can see still; walls where weep the weary widows of dead soldiers. Go to them and touch their immovable presence with gentle fingers to find yourself. No one else ever built such walls. Climb Uruk's Tower and walk abut on a windy night. Look. Touch. Taste. Sense. What force created such mass?

20. Open up the special box that's hidden in the wall and read aloud the story of Gilgamesh's life. Learn what sorrow taught him; learn of the those he overcome by wit or force or fear as he, a town's best child, acted nobly in the way one should to lead and acted wisely too as one who sought no fame. Child of Lugal banda's wife and some great force, Gilgamesh is a fate alive, the finest babe of Ninsun, she who never

30. let a man touch her, indeed so sure and heavenly, so without sin. He knew the secret paths that reached the eagle's nest above the mountain and and knew too how just to drop a well into the chilly earth.

 He sailed the sea to where Shamash comes, explored the world, sought life, and came at last to Utnapishtim far away who did bring back to life the flooded earth. Is there anywhere a greater king
40. how can say, as Gilgamesh may "I am supreme"?

Column II
The bigger part of him was made in heaven and the smaller part somewhere on earth. She-who-must-be-obeyed fashioned his body's self. She endowed him. Gilgamesh watches the flocks of Uruk himself as if he were a loose bull, nose up in open field. No one else could come close to fighting like that. His clan is roused by howling dreams

50. And with them all he goes howling through sanctuaries. But would he ever let his child come To see him ravish others? "Is this shepherd of Uruk's flocks, our strength, our light, our reason, who hoards the girls of other men for his own purpose?" ....line break When Anu in the sky heard this,

70. he said to Aruru, great goddess of creation that she is: "You created humans; create again in the image of Gilgamesh and let this imitation be as quick in heart and as strong in arm so that these counterforces might first engage, then disengage, and finally let Uruk's children live in peace."

 Hearing that, Aruru thought of Anu. Then she wet her creative fingers, fashioned a rock, and tossed it as far as she could into the woods.

80. Thus she fathered Enkidu, a forester, and gave birth in terror and in fright without a single cry of pain, bringing forth another likeness of Ninurta, god of war. Hair covered his body and his curls resembled those of any good girl, growing swiftly like the fair hair of Nisaba-giver-of-grain. This Enkidu had neither clan nor race. He went clothed as one who shepherds well, eating the food of grass, drinking from the watery holes of herds and racing swift as wind or silent water.

90. Then Enkidu met a hunter at the watery hole on three consecutive days. And each time the face of the hunter signaled recognition of Enkidu. For the herds were uninvited at the hunter's oasis and the hunter was disturbed by this intrusion. His quiet heart rushed up in trouble.

  His eyes darkened. Fear leaped forth onto a face that looks as if it expects to doubt for a long, long time.

Column III
100. Then with trembling lips the hunter told his father this complaint: "Sir, one has come to my watery hole from afar and he is the biggest and best throughout the land. He feels power. His is a strength like that of Anu's swift star, and tirelessly does he roam across the land. He eats the food of beasts and, like the beasts, he comes at will to drink from my watery hole. In fear do I see him come to undo what I have done by wrecking traps, by bursting mounds, by letting animals slip through my

110. grasp, beasts that I would bind." Then with hateful lips, the father told the hunter his reply: "Boy, your answer lies in Uruk where there stalks a man of endless strength named Gilgamesh. He is the biggest and best throughout the land. He feels power. His is a strength like that of Anu's swift star. Start out toward Uruk's ancient palace and tell your tale to Gilgamesh. In turn he'll say to set a trap, take back with you a fine lover, some sacred temple girl,

120. who might let him see what force and charm a girl can have. Then as Enkidu comes again to the watery hole, let her strip in nearby isolation to show him all her grace. If he is drawn toward her, and leaves the herd to mate, his beasts on high will leave him then behind."

  The hunter heard his father well and went that very night to Uruk where he said this to Gilgamesh: "There is someone from afar whose force is great throughout our land.

130. His is a strength throughout the land. He feels power. His is a strength like that of Anu's swift star, and tirelessly does he roam across the land. He eats the food of beasts and, like the beasts, he comes at will to drink from my watery hole. In fear do I see him come to undo what I have done by wrecking traps, by bursting mounds, by letting animals slip through my grasp, beasts that I would bind." So Gilgamesh replied: "Go set a trap; take back with

140. you a fine lover, Shamhat, the sacred temple girl, who might let him see what charm and force a girl can have. Then as Enkidu comes again to the watery hole, let her strip in nearby isolation to show him all her grace. If he is drawn toward her, and leaves the herd to mate, his beasts on high will leave him then behind." The hunter returned, bringing with him the sacred temple girl, and swift was their journey. Three days later, at the watery hole, they set their trap for Enkidu and spoke no word for two

150. whole days waiting and waiting and waiting. Then the herd came slowly in to drink.