Let’s go back to 4000 BCE. Inanna-Ishtar was worshipped in Ancient Sumer, and eventually adopted by groups across the region reaching into the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians.
She was uplifted to the top of the pantheon and called “Queen of Heaven”, even in deeply patriarchal societies. Her far-reaching domains included war, love, and sex (among others), associated with the planet Venus, she was worshipped in triplicate forms representing the full cycle of the day: Morning, Afternoon, and Night.
Inanna’s rituals included demonstrations of shifting gender and operating outside of the gender-binary altogether.
I’ve noticed throughout reading these histories, that many scholars observing the gender aspects of worship in Ancient Mesopotamia of Inanna-Ishtar, who concluded that the gender fluidity more specifically that the feminine dress of the men, was happenstance of the male adoption of the traditional feminine role of lamenter in the temple, or that all those involved in the cult of Inanna would be considered transgender or homosexual.
However, there is much evidence that gender fluidity in the cult and temples was actually itself a holy act of intentional devotion and demonstration of her divine power, rather than a simple choice made out of adherence to tradition or natural inclination!
The evidence
In the ancient “Hymn to Inana” the high priestess of the time (and the first named author ever) Enheduanna wrote about Inana’s power, including this line.
“To turn a man into a woman and a woman into a man are yours, Inana”
Earlier in the same hymn, she writes, “(Inana) caused it to be named the pilipili. She broke the spear and as if she were a man… gave her a weapon.” These lines indicate that the gender fluidity could not simply be happenstance of men in women’s roles, as it extends to women as well: which is left out of a lot of scholarship on the subject.
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Further, the Babylonian Poem of Erra writes:
“Whose masculinity Inana changed into femininity to induce awe in the people,”
— highlighting specifically that the demonstration of this fluidity is also a demonstration of power. In Iddin-Dagan’s Sacred Marriage Hymn it describes a celebration or parade to Inanna, they dressed “Their right side they adorn with women’s clothing,” then “Their left side they cover with men’s clothing”. These lines are further evidence that a performance of gender fluidity was tied directly to a celebration of Inanna, showcasing that this was not only a domain of hers, but was seen as a holy and honored aspect of her divinity.
Not either, but both.
Inanna’s nature and power itself was contradictory and vast. Notably, her domains reached through to both traditionally feminine and masculine roles: sexuality and warfare. Lines such as, “I am a woman, and I am an exuberant young man.” exemplify not just her fluidity towards male and female, but her embodiment of both and destruction of the concept of one or the other.
In her foundational mythos, she is sent a kurgarra and a galatur to assist her, who are described sexless. In the Assyrian reinterpretation of her myth, the emissaries are changed to ‘assinnu’, which has been translated to “feminine-man” . Her foundational structure seems to rely on encompassing both male and female aspects at once, leading to the type of worship that purposefully accentuates these characteristics.
The Gala
In ritual, male servants of Ishtar dressed in female clothing and performed war dances within her temples. Men working as lamenters in Inanna’s temple were called gala, and they often fully adopted female names, and utilized ‘eme-sal’ dialect, which was a type of speaking typically only utilized by female gods.
The term ‘gala’ has been translated to mean ‘penis+anus’ in Sumerian, with stark similarities to the word for ‘vulva’ (gal4-la).
According to various Akkadian and Sumerian proverbs, gala were referenced to engaging in homosexual activities. Some scholars have concluded this equated to gala being castrated men, but the evidence speaks to the contrary: Dada, the most well-documented gala, has records indicating the existence of a wife and two children.
The overarching evidence indicates that the gender-fluidity performed within the temple of Inanna was an act of devotion.
It is very probable that various gender and sexual identities existed within cult of Inanna, and while the Goddess likely did attract those naturally inclined towards gender expansiveness, it was not inherent to all involved in her cult; instead, the practice or performance of gender fluidity, was a form of worship itself. The indication of servants changing presentation specifically during ritual, is more evidence that adapting this fluidity of expression was purposeful and holy to Inanna.
The problem with modern labels in ancient contexts
It is neither wise nor ethical to attempt to apply modern definitions or understandings of sexuality and gender into ancient societies, however the attribution of different expressions in both men and women and the adaptation length of the fluidity indicates that while it was not only purposeful devotion, her worship likely also attracted individuals who were gender diverse or homosexual within our modern understandings. It is also worth noticing who does apply them, and why. The translation history of Sappho is a good example.
It’s very possible, even likely, that those who naturally were inclined towards gender-expansiveness, born intersex, or experienced homosexual attraction were considered as chosen, holier, and closer to the Goddess Inanna and were held up as a demonstration of her divinity.
Worship, not innate
The Cult of Inanna viewed gender-expansiveness itself as a holy and powerful attribute. Those who were not naturally inclined to live fully in this manner, still maintained demonstrations of gender fluidity in worship, temples, and honorifics, while maintaining a more traditional life outside of the temple or priesthood through heteronormative families and roles. Evidence of these traditional families contraindicate the assumption of castration, and various references to homosexual proclivities might be the indication of an impression of the people, not an ascribed overarching role.
In the consideration of the material evidence, it becomes clear that women were involved in the cult and also performed gender-expansiveness. The inclusion of women and their showcasing of gender-fluidity has often been left out of the conversation with more specific focus on the gala alone.
All of this gives more credence to a theory that the performance of gender-fluidity across the spectrum was a foundational part of worship to Inanna, and not something born out of coincidence or circumstance.
References
“Poem of Erra, Tablet IV” Translation, Taylor, Kynthia; The Erra Song, PhD Dissertation, Harvard 2017, p. 510 accessed April 1st, 2026, https://dash.harvard.edu/entities/publication/c9f341cb-47b7-49e8-8b19-ce535379420e.
Reisman, Daniel. “Iddin-Dagan’s Sacred Marriage Hymn.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 25, no. 4 (1973): 3. https://doi.org/10.2307/1359221.
Leick, Gwendolyn. Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature. Oxford: Taylor & Francis Group, 1994 p.76-77. Accessed April 13, 2026. ProQuest Ebook Central.
A hymn to Inana (Inana I): translation”, Oxford University, accessed April 4th, 2026, https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section4/tr4079.htm.
Kramer, Samuel Noah (1961). Sumerian Mythology: A study of spiritual and literary achievement in the third millennium B.C. (revised ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1047-7.
Peled, Ilan. “Kula’ūtam Epēšum: Gender Ambiguity and Contempt in Mesopotamia.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 135, no. 4 (2015): 751–64. https://doi.org/10.7817/jameroriesoci.135.4.751.
Roscoe, Will. “Priests of the Goddess: Gender Transgression in Ancient Religion.” History of Religions 35, no. 3 (1996): 195–230. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1062813.
Michalowski, Piotr. “Love or Death? Observations on the Role of the Gala in Ur III Ceremonial Life.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 58 (2006): 49–61. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40025223.
Ancient Greece Ancient History Ancient Mesopotamia Gods and Goddesses Historic Travel Inanna LGBTQ History Museums Queer History
