ABSTRACT
We have seen that most Mesopotamian erotic literature constructs an ideal of free choice and monogamous bonding. In the Sumerian Bridal Songs the young bride chooses her groom, or at least approves of her family’s choice by admitting that he is indeed ‘the man of her heart’. Yet we know from legal contracts that marriages were arranged at an early age and that parental control was absolute. One could argue that Inanna is no ordinary bride and that we simply lack the ‘real’ folklore that may have given voice to thwarted affection.
