ABSTRACT
The sexuality of the youthful gods is wholly preoccupied with phallic displays and impregnation as proof of virility. We have seen Enki ever ‘extending’ himself in the marshes, lying in wait to spy on young women. Their lovemaking is spontaneous and usually takes place in the open air, among the reeds. The female partners are barely nubile, sexually inexperienced and often unwilling, but prove suitable receptacles for the ‘fertilizing semen’. With the exception of the fragment from Abu Ṣalabikh, the gods do not speak of love or their emotions. They merely voice their desire to kiss and copulate as a prelude to the act and they do not verbalize their enjoyment. The texts instead emphasize that male orgasm is an act of creation. It is ideally situated within the context of marriage (Enlil and Ninlil). All the gods of the pantheon have their spouses. While Mesopotamian literature grants a certain licence to the adolescent gods, there is no philandering or adultery, as in Greek mythology. There is also no equivalent to the Hindu phallic deities, neither an ‘erotic ascetic’ such as Ṣiva, nor a promiscuous Kṛṣṇa. Male sexuality was not a popular subject in Sumerian texts. If an official ideological position could be gauged from the available material, the importance of the male’s role in procreation contributed to his superior status. The ‘lusty bull’ is a favourite epithet to describe masculine strength. However, the texts that praise the great gods, or indeed kings, build up a much more complex and elaborate rationale for their preeminence and privilege, as we saw in Enki and the World Order. But while the notion of male fertility was important, it would be an over-simplification to base the patriarchal organization of Sumerian society on this concept.
