Sexuality in the Near East

In her article, Winter asks the whether or not the Mesopotamian values seen in the Stela of Naram-Sin include sexuality. Based on the works that we have read in class and the stele that we have seen, I would agree that sexuality is a very large part. In each of the stories, the best men are generally taller, stronger, better looking, and fuller of vitality than the average man. The Epic of Gilgamesh holds the most obvious examples in my opinion. For example, when the harlot brought in Enkidu, not only did she use her kuzbu, but it was also made clear that Enkidu slept with her for seven nights and six days straight through, a task no mortal man could dream of. Gilgamesh is also known to bed every woman before she can sleep with her husband. These ancient works also have a somewhat similar stigma regarding sex as Gilgamesh’s sleeping around was a source of distress for his subjects and Hammurabi outlined numerous laws regarding the extent to which people could extend their sexual congress.

What differs from this kind of sexuality and the way we see sexual context in modern days is the lack of romance. These sexual motifs do not seem to relate to romance in any obvious way. There are many mentions of people getting married and having numerous children, but the end goal is not love but rather to bear as many offspring as possible. The Bible, I believe, is the lone exception such as with Samuel’s father who loved his infertile wife over his others.