Excavations of the Eanna Temple at Uruk (Sumer).Uruk was divided into two sections: the older Anu Di

Excavations of the Eanna Temple at Uruk (Sumer).Uruk was divided into two sections: the older Anu District (dedicatedto the got Anu), and the newer Eanna District (dedicated to Inanna,the granddaughter of Anu).The Eanna district was walled off from the rest of the city.  It isunknown if this was for ceremonial purposes, or if a wall was neededfor some reason while building the district.The god Anu presided over the early city of Uruk, but Inanna’spopularity rose until she eclipsed him.  She was then given a privatedwelling in the Eanna District.  Temples were believed to be theliteral dwelling-place of deities here on earth, and Inanna is oftendepicted as a goddess who very much prefers things her own way.  Soit is possible that the walled district was intended to give her someprivacy.While Inanna continued to be a popular goddess in Mesopotamia(eventually merging into Ishtar), the goddesses of the pantheon laterdeclined in power and prestige at the same time as women’s rightsdeteriorated.  So another possibility is that the Eanna District waswalled off to restrict access to a male priestly class.Inanna had a pivotal role in the mythological history of Uruk.  Shestole the sacred meh from her father, the god Enki, whopresided over the city of Eridu.  The meh were divine decreesthat were the basis of the culture pattern of the Sumeriancivilization.  Their transfer signified a transference of power andprestige from Eridu to Uruk.Enki went to great lengths to have the meh brought back toEridu, but failed to do so.  Now Uruk would be the seat of power.  Itwas the embodiment of the new way of life – the city.  Eridu wasmore associated with rural life and the primordial sea from whichlife sprang.This myth gave the Sumerians a reason for Eridu’s decline inimportance and Uruk’s rise in power – it was the work of the gods. -- source link
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