Dumuzi

Shepherd god of fertility, consort of Inanna; the dying-rising god.

Domains

• shepherds flocks
• fertility vegetation

Powers

• Dying and rising to mark the cycle of the seasons

Epithets

• sipa akkadian · sipa · cultThe Shepherd; Dumuzi the pastoral fertility-god, bridegroom of InannaInanna and Dumuzi courtship songs; the Sacred Marriage texts (primary)
• Tammuz akkadian · Tammuz · cultThe dying-and-rising god (later Semitic name); mourned in midsummerDescent of Ishtar; cf. Ezekiel 8:14 (women weeping for Tammuz) (primary)

Relations

• lover: InannaShepherd-god, the dying-rising consort of Inanna, whom she consigns to the netherworld as her ransom.Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld (ETCSL 1.4.1), lines 285-410 (Inanna gives Dumuzi as her substitute to the underworld) (primary)
• sibling: GeshtinannaReciprocal of mesopotamian_geshtinanna.sibling — Goddess of the vine and dream-interpretation; sister of Dumuzi who takes half his year in the underworld.Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld (ETCSL 1.4.1), lines 410-end (Geshtinanna offers to share her brother Dumuzi's underworld term) (primary)

Sources

• existence: Inana's Descent to the Nether World (primary)