Re-Imagining Inanna

The Gendered Reappropriation of the Ancient Goddess in Modern Goddess Worship

Authors

  • Paul Thomas

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.53

Keywords:

Ianna, contemporary goddess worship, contemporary paganism

Abstract

Re-Imagining Inanna: The Gendered Reappropriation of the Ancient Goddess in Modern Goddess Worship examines the specifically gendered reconstruction of the ancient Mesopotamian deity Inanna in modern Goddess worship. This paper argues that the reconstruction of Inanna in modern Goddess worship is an imaginative process based upon unexamined gendered assumptions of what is properly feminine for a great goddess. The result of this process is a constructed image of Inanna that is incongruent with the
personality of Inanna as imagined in ancient Mesopotamia. Moreover, this incongruence leads to an examination of the Pagan approach to history and an analysis of the sociological features present in contemporary Paganism that allows for these selective reconstructions.

Author Biography

  • Paul Thomas

    Paul Thomas is a doctoral candidate in religious studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. A specialist in the religious history of the ancient Near East, he also focuses on reconstructions of ancient history by contemporary religious communities.

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Published

2007-02-15

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Thomas, P. (2007). Re-Imagining Inanna: The Gendered Reappropriation of the Ancient Goddess in Modern Goddess Worship . Pomegranate, 6(1), 53-69. https://doi.org/10.1558/pome.v6i1.53