WRITER

Enheduanna

2300 BC - 2300 BC

Photo of Enheduanna

Icon of person Enheduanna

Enheduanna (Sumerian: 𒂗𒃶𒌌𒀭𒈾 Enḫéduanna, also transliterated as Enheduana, En-he2-du7-an-na, or variants) was the entu (high) priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad (r. c. 2334 – c. 2279 BCE). She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of the religious group at Ur to cement ties between the Akkadian religion of her father and the native Sumerian religion. Enheduanna has been celebrated as the earliest known named author in world history, as a number of works in Sumerian literature, such as the Exaltation of Inanna feature her as the first-person narrator, and other works, such as the Sumerian Temple Hymns may identify her as their author. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Enheduanna has received more than 872,837 page views. Her biography is available in 58 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 50 in 2019). Enheduanna is the 375th most popular writer (up from 462nd in 2019), the 36th most popular biography from Iraq (up from 41st in 2019) and the 5th most popular Iraqi Writer.

Enheduanna is most famous for being the first known female author in the world. She was a high priestess and the daughter of Sargon, the founder of the Akkadian Empire.

Memorability Metrics

  • 870k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 68.76

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 58

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 8.44

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.64

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

The exaltation of Inanna
1968
Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart
Literary Criticism
The earliest known author of written literature was a woman named Enheduanna, who lived in ancient Mesopotamia around 2300 BCE. High Priestess to the moon god Nanna, Enheduanna came to venerate the goddess Inanna above all gods in the Sumerian pantheon. The hymns she wrote to Inanna constitute the earliest written portrayal of an ancient goddess. In their celebration of Enheduanna's relationship with Inanna, they also represent the first existing account of an individual's consciousness of her inner life. This book provides the complete texts of Enheduanna's hymns to Inanna, skillfully and beautifully rendered by Betty De Shong Meador, who also discusses how the poems reflect Enheduanna's own spiritual and psychological liberation from being an obedient daughter in the shadow of her ruler father. Meador frames the poems with background information on the religious and cultural systems of ancient Mesopotamia and the known facts of Enheduanna's life. With this information, she explores the role of Inanna as the archetypal feminine, the first goddess who encompasses both the celestial and the earthly and shows forth the full scope of women's potential. Betty De Shong Meador is a Jungian analyst in private practice, who also teaches at the California Institute of Integral Studies and at New College, both in San Francisco, and at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara.
2000
Princess, priestess, poet
Literary Collections
Living in 2300 BCE, Sumerian high priestess Enheduanna became the first author of historical record by signing her name to a collection of hymns written for forty-two temples throughout the southern half of ancient Mesopotamia, the civilization now known as Sumer. Each of her hymns confirmed to the worshipers in each city the patron deity's unique character and significance. The collected hymns became part of the literary canon of the remarkable Sumerian culture and were copied by scribes in the temples for hundreds of years after Enheduanna's death. Betty De Shong Meador offers here the first collection of original translations of all forty-two hymns along with a lengthy examination of the relevant deity and city, as well as an analysis of the verses themselves. She introduces the volume with discussions of Sumerian history and mythology, as well as with what is known about Enheduanna, thought to be the first high priestess to the moon god Nanna, and daughter of Sargon, founder of one of the first empires in human history.
2009

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Enheduanna ranks 375 out of 7,302. Before her are Ennius, Octavio Paz, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Tulsidas, Lucy Maud Montgomery, and Grazia Deledda. After her are Theocritus, Arthur de Gobineau, Julio Cortázar, Georges Bataille, Sergei Yesenin, and Jean Genet.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 2300 BC, Enheduanna ranks 2. Before her is Sargon of Akkad. After her are Merenre Nemtyemsaf II, Neferkare Neby, Dudu of Akkad, Autobiography of Harkhuf, Puzur-Inshushinak, Erridupizir, Pamba, Ankhesenpepi IV, and Iput II. Among people deceased in 2300 BC, Enheduanna ranks 1. After her are Rimush, Ur-Zababa, Erridupizir, and Pamba.

Others Born in 2300 BC

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Others Deceased in 2300 BC

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  • Photo of Enheduanna

    Enheduanna

    WRITER

    2300 BC - 2300 BC

    HPI: 68.76

    Rank: 1

  • Photo of Rimush

    Rimush

    POLITICIAN

    HPI: 57.72

    Rank: 2

  • Photo of Ur-Zababa

    Ur-Zababa

    POLITICIAN

    2350 BC - 2300 BC

    HPI: 53.14

    Rank: 3

  • Photo of Erridupizir

    Erridupizir

    POLITICIAN

    2300 BC - 2300 BC

    HPI: 52.48

    Rank: 4

  • Photo of Pamba

    Pamba

    POLITICIAN

    2300 BC - 2300 BC

    HPI: 50.20

    Rank: 5

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In Iraq

Among people born in Iraq, Enheduanna ranks 36 out of 384. Before her are Belshazzar (-600), Al-Ash'ari (873), Gudea (-2200), Möngke Khan (1209), Al-Mu'tasim (796), and Ahmad ibn Fadlan (900). After her are Eber (-2038), Antiochus I Soter (-324), Ur-Nammu (-2200), Al-Musta'sim (1213), Suleyman Shah (1178), and Faisal II of Iraq (1935).

Others born in Iraq

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Among WRITERS In Iraq

Among writers born in Iraq, Enheduanna ranks 5. Before her are Ahmad ibn Hanbal (780), Al-Masudi (896), Fuzûlî (1494), and Ahmad ibn Fadlan (900). After her are Berossus (-400), Ibn al-Jawzi (1116), Al-Mutanabbi (915), Ibn Sirin (653), Ibn Khallikan (1211), Ibn al-Nadim (1000), and Al-Khalil ibn Ahmad al-Farahidi (718).

Iraqi born Writers

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