Pinikir in Mesopotamia?
May 1, 2021 7:48:10 GMT -5
Post by ninshubur on May 1, 2021 7:48:10 GMT -5
There are multiple papers dealing with the peculiar case of the reception of Elamite goddess Pinikir (Pinigir, Pininkir etc...) in Hurro-Hittite culture, especially in association with the obscure "Goddess of the Night" (dingir.ge6) from Kizzuwatna,for example:
Babyloniaca Hethitica: The “babilili-Ritual” from Boğazköy (CTH 718) by Gary Beckman
The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from Hattusa (CTH 644) by Gary Beckman
Mesopotamian Forerunners to the 'Babilili Ritual' from Boğazköy by Gary Beckman
Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court by Kamyar Abdi
While Beckman mentions in passing that Pinikir was equated in a copy of An-Anum from Emar with Ninsianna, an aspect of Inanna/Ishtar or at least a very closely related goddess (third article above, page 37), the only book I could find discussing the latter in any detail (Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by Julia M. Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz) doesn't mention Pinikir at all. Additionally, while Beckman goes as far as propose a Sumerian etymology for her name (2nd article), and points out the unique character of her ritual text (written in Akkadian), he devotes very little space to discussing her role outside the Hurro-Hittite sphere.
I'm therefore a bit lost - while I don't question Beckman's statements (I'm actually asking entirely because his papers made me interested in this obscure figure), I'd like to know if there are there any sources which deal not only with the start of her journey (Susa and Awan) or with its final destination (Syria and eastern Anatolia) but with her reception in Mesopotamia proper? I'm guessing a hypothetical move had to happen while Susa was an Akkadian vassal but I can't find anything.
Additional problem with researching the topic is that many sources which do mention Pinikir are old and focus on W. Hinz's claim that she was a mother goddess (is there any real evidence for this other than the vintage view that any prominent goddess had to be a "mother goddess"?) while it's pretty clear that her transmission was related to astral roles - and as a matter of fact neither of the authors whose papers I linked above even brings up that claim of Hinz's. I already checked the Reallexikon entry and it's not very helpful either, sadly. The author, Piotr Taracha, focuses on the Hurro-Hittite side of things, though he also mentions the mother goddess claim.
Babyloniaca Hethitica: The “babilili-Ritual” from Boğazköy (CTH 718) by Gary Beckman
The Goddess Pirinkir and Her Ritual from Hattusa (CTH 644) by Gary Beckman
Mesopotamian Forerunners to the 'Babilili Ritual' from Boğazköy by Gary Beckman
Elamo-Hittitica I: An Elamite Goddess in Hittite Court by Kamyar Abdi
While Beckman mentions in passing that Pinikir was equated in a copy of An-Anum from Emar with Ninsianna, an aspect of Inanna/Ishtar or at least a very closely related goddess (third article above, page 37), the only book I could find discussing the latter in any detail (Goddesses in Context: On Divine Powers, Roles, Relationships and Gender in Mesopotamian Textual and Visual Sources by Julia M. Asher-Greve and Joan Goodnick Westenholz) doesn't mention Pinikir at all. Additionally, while Beckman goes as far as propose a Sumerian etymology for her name (2nd article), and points out the unique character of her ritual text (written in Akkadian), he devotes very little space to discussing her role outside the Hurro-Hittite sphere.
I'm therefore a bit lost - while I don't question Beckman's statements (I'm actually asking entirely because his papers made me interested in this obscure figure), I'd like to know if there are there any sources which deal not only with the start of her journey (Susa and Awan) or with its final destination (Syria and eastern Anatolia) but with her reception in Mesopotamia proper? I'm guessing a hypothetical move had to happen while Susa was an Akkadian vassal but I can't find anything.
Additional problem with researching the topic is that many sources which do mention Pinikir are old and focus on W. Hinz's claim that she was a mother goddess (is there any real evidence for this other than the vintage view that any prominent goddess had to be a "mother goddess"?) while it's pretty clear that her transmission was related to astral roles - and as a matter of fact neither of the authors whose papers I linked above even brings up that claim of Hinz's. I already checked the Reallexikon entry and it's not very helpful either, sadly. The author, Piotr Taracha, focuses on the Hurro-Hittite side of things, though he also mentions the mother goddess claim.