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Shamhat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sources have interpreted Shamhat as a "Child of Pleasure" priestess of the Goddess Ishtar in the Epic of Gilgamesh responsible for the civilizing of Enkidu by initiating him into the sexual rites of the goddess. Sources say she possesses much kuzbu, or sexual allure.
In some translations, and possibly some ancient written versions of the epic, Shamhat is referred to as a harlot, carrying a very different connotation than that of a priestess, perhaps suggesting that Enkidu's initiation is not wholly beneficial to him. Shamhat's name is closely related to Shamash, the Sumerian/Babylonian sun god, whose name means "sun" or "one that lights" in Semitic languages. Perhaps this is a parallel that as the sun gives man life, the priestess gives Enkidu life as a human, a hero recognized, defining a life worth living in the ancient culture. However, translation errors do occur; words that appear on the surface to be alike (such as "hat" and "hate") are not remotely alike.
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