ABSTRACT
It is not always possible to locate an erotic cuneiform text in a particular social or ritual situation. The persistent obsession of Assyriologists with the Sacred Marriage meant that practically every text with a sexual content was considered to refer to the goddess’ wedding. This overemphasis of a marital context needs to be redressed. I have tried to show that the key-texts concerning the Sumerian king’s relationship with Inanna do not constitute a marriage ceremony. In fact, the marital paradigm is only partially relevant for the sexual affinities described in Mesopotamian literature. Bottéro (1992:134) introduces the term ‘amour libre’ for sexuality outside marriage (‘pratiqué librement par chacun pour son propre plaisir’), although he immediately qualifies this statement, saying that it was supplied ‘par des “spécialistes” exerçant ce que nous appellerions la prostitution’, who could be of either sex. Mesopotamian vocabulary lists provide us with a range of relevant terminology, although it is unclear what social status or specific services the various categories implied at any one time.The courtly love poems are predominantly set as seduction scenarios where the woman invites the man to make love to her. This may have been inspired by the polygynous nature of aristocratic households, where the concubines and wives vied for the attention of their ‘master’. However, one could also ask whether the erotic poetry of the UrIII period could be connected to high-class courtesans. Unfortunately, while there is ample evidence for their existence and status from imperial China, Japan or classical Greece, we know little about such women in Mesopotamia.
