As with many stories in the Bible, the story of Jesus Christ is very similar to that of Inanna and Dumuzi. Both Inanna and Jesus traveled to great cities where they underwent the same kind of torture and were killed. They were also resurrected after three days.
The Story of Inanna and Dumuzi
Inanna, a Sumerian goddess, is recognized as one of the main deities in the Sumerian religion. One day, Inanna travels to the underworld, a place that is controlled by her sister Ereshkigal. Before leaving on her journey, Inanna tells her assistant how she can help in case Inanna gets into trouble.
On her way to the underworld, Inanna goes through seven gates. Her clothes are removed, and she is forced to bow low before she is judged and killed. They then hang her on display.
Inanna’s death results in the earth becoming unproductive. Plants begin to wither, and animals stop mating. If this continues, the earth will eventually come to an end, so someone needs to do something. Three days after Inanna’s disappearance, her assistant consults the other gods for help. Enki, one of the gods, creates two creatures to take the water and the tree of life to the underworld. They are told to use them to bring Inanna back to life.
After her resurrection, Inanna returns to the upper realm. The underworld is also known as “The great earth,” “The great city,” or “The land of no return.” If, by chance, someone escapes the underworld, someone else is supposed to replace them. Inanna does not wish to send anyone that was saddened by her disappearance.
However, she finds out that her husband, Dumuzi, was not concerned by her disappearance and that he has actually dethroned her. Inanna, therefore, decides to switch him out as her replacement. Dumuzi resists, and Utu, his brother-in-law and the sun god, helps him escape.
Eventually, they agree on a compromise: Dumuzi will spend six months of the year in the underworld, and his sister will stand in for him for the remaining six months, so the earth can regain its glory, and life and fertility can exist again.
The Story of Jesus
In the Bible, God sends Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of human beings. On the night of the last supper, while Jesus shares a meal with his disciples, he tells them that one of them is going to betray him. He also says that Peter, one of his disciples, will deny him.
According to the Bible, the Sanhedrin arrests Jesus and tries him. Jesus is then sentenced by Pontius Pilate to be crucified. Before the crucifixion, Jesus is forced to carry his cross. At some point on the way, Simon of Cyrene helps him carry it. The soldiers remove his clothes and forcefully give him gall mixed with myrrh to drink after he complains of thirst.
After Jesus is badly beaten, he is hung on a cross between two thieves. Jesus is supposed to die within nine hours, and at 3:00 pm, he passes on. At that time, the soldiers put a sign on top of his cross to show that Jesus was the king of the Jews.
They then divide his clothes among themselves and make seamless garments. One of the soldiers, who is later identified as Longinus, pierces one of Jesus’s sides to ensure that he is dead, and water and blood gush from the wound.
Jesus made seven statements and seven supernatural events happened while he was on the cross. All of these occurrences are recorded in the Bible.
After three days, Jesus was resurrected.
Similarities
In both stories, the protagonists traveled to a big city. Jesus was crucified in a place called Golgotha, and Inanna went to the underworld.
Both Jesus and Inanna were stripped naked, mistreated, tortured, and then killed by soldiers. After all of that, they were hung and left to die.
They were both then resurrected after the third day. In Inanna’s case, two gods were sent to rescue her. Jesus was also resurrected after three days.
In both stories, the protagonists were betrayed by people who are very close to them. In the Bible, Jesus was betrayed by Judas, who was one of his disciples. In the Sumerian religion, Inanna was betrayed by her husband.
In both religions, a martyr must suffer on behalf of humanity. In the Bible, God gives his only son for the sake of absolving of humanity’s sins. In the Sumerian religion, Inanna gives up her husband after learning that he was not concerned about her disappearance.
Both stories also feature someone who was willing to help. In the Bible, Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus carry his cross. Similarly, in the Sumerian religion, Dumuzi’s sister helps him by sharing half his sentence.
Both stories have happy endings. In the Bible, Jesus later returns to heaven with God, his father. Inanna returns to her work, and the earth regains its beauty.
Neither protagonist had committed any sin. Jesus is sacrificed, and Inanna was visiting her sister.
Summary
In both stories, innocent people are betrayed and punished after traveling to great cities. Although they are tortured by soldiers, both Jesus and Inanna (as well as Dumuzi) experience some kindness: Jesus from Simon of Cyrene and Inanna from her assistant. Both are also resurrected after three days, and both serve the greater humanity with their sacrifices; in the Sumerian religion, it is Dumuzi and his sister who sacrifice six months out of the year so the earth can flourish.
