Inanna Takes Command of Heaven

The siblings Inanna and Utu discussed the temple Eanna. It being so near to Uruk, Inanna lamented that it was not in her domain. She resolved to claim it and journeyed to the temple.

On the way, Inanna landed in a marsh. She became lost and unable to find her way. A passing fisherman saw her and guided her through.

Upon exiting, she walked through the desert and came upon the temple’s steps.

At the top stood her father, An. An was angry at her arrogance, but understood that she had overcome hardships.

He gave her ownership of Eanna.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

The Goddess Inanna Raids the Underworld

Inanna loved her rightful place as Queen of Heaven. However, her love of conquering overcame her, and she set her sights on her sister’s domain: Kur. Inanna thought being queen of the heavens and the underworld became her, and she made way to claim it.

Ereshkigal heard of her plot, and struck Inanna dead as she entered through her gates.

Inanna’s husband Dumuzid heard of her death and offered himself in her place. He returns to heaven for half a year, and his sister Geshtinanna takes his place.

This is why we have seasons.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

Inanna and Shukaletuda

Inanna rested underneath a poplar tree. The tree belonged to Shukaletuda, who discovered the sleeping goddess.

Unable to contain his lust, he took her as she slept.

The Goddess awoke in a rage and vowed to destroy him who had violated her. She stormed through the earth in search of her prey, unleashing plagues and turning water into blood.

In fear, Shukaletuda hid in Uruk.

Losing her target, Inanna asked Enki for help. He sent her across the sky as a rainbow to Shukaletuda.

Shukaletuda made excuses for his crime, but Inanna was unrelenting, and she cut off his head.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

Aphrodite’s Love

Aphrodite rages, for Zeus, her father, is marrying her to a god she does not love.

How can they not see that such a marriage is a betrayal of everything she is?


By: E. Cady Strech

 

 

Born of the Sea

Aphrodite watches as the woman is tied up and thrown overboard. As usual, when the ship hit a rough patch, the sole woman on board was deemed bad luck.

The woman goes under, thrashing, and Aphrodite follows.

The woman stills when she sees Aphrodite, and Aphrodite smiles before touching her shoulder. The woman’s legs start to form into a tail, and gills grow along her neck.

The woman questions her, but Aphrodite has no answer save this: she was born of the sea in a way even Poseidon was not.

Now, this woman is of the sea as well.


By: E. Cady Strech

 

 

Medusa’s Curse

Athena knows she cannot save Medusa.

Zeus, her father, King of the Gods, had swallowed Athena’s mother before Athena was born — there was no room for the presumed weakness of a goddess in Zeus’ court.

She cannot save Medusa — but she is not the goddess of wisdom for nothing. She turns Medusa into a gorgon, and the gods of Olympus are disgusted.

The goddesses, however, see that she has given Medusa a way to protect herself, and should other women come to her looking for that same protection, a way to provide it.


By: E. Cady Strech

 

 

Parvati Stops Shiva

Himavat, father of Parvati, had certain reservations about her husband, Shiva. As such, Himavat didn’t treat Shiva with much kindness, and tension within the house of Himavat grew.

As Supreme Being, Shiva wouldn’t stand for any form of disrespect. This became a great source of conflict between the couple, and an argument commenced. Shiva didn’t want to fight, and went to walk out on his wife.

Parvati, enraged, divided herself into ten terrifying goddesses and blocked his every exit. Shiva couldn’t leave, and he became terrified by his wife’s power.

Shiva stayed.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

A Fool’s Gold

“I can’t believe Shiva let me have such a beautiful wife,” Ravana thought. “It must be the result of my prayers.”

“… or magic,” chuckled Parvati, watching him from above.


By: Rishikaa Singh

 

 

Saraswati Saves the Universe

The battle between the Bhargavas and Hehayas was long, and terrible. It raged for years, and from within the fray, a great fire was born. Vadavagni it was called, and its existence threatened the entire universe.

The gods feared its wrath, and they beseeched Vishnu for help.

Vishnu went to Saraswati and asked her to turn into a river to extinguish Vadavagni. She agreed to help, but only if her husband, Brahma, asked her to.

Vishnu went to Brahma, who then asked his wife to help.

Saraswati turned into a river and merged with the ocean. There, she extinguished Vadavagni.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

Tiamat, Babylonian Goddess of the Sea

The sea merged with freshwater and created a marriage between Tiamat and Abzu.

This marriage produced divine offspring, but Abzu feared their rebellion. He confronted his children who admitted they were planning to usurp his throne. A fight ensued, and Abzu was slain.

Enraged, Tiamat morphed into a massive sea dragon, bringing forth monsters and dragons unto the world. She waged war against her children, attacking them with her devilish creations.

The storm-god, Marduk, confronted the goddess. The bloody battle raged across the cosmos, but ended with Marduk’s victory.

Marduk divided Tiamat’s body to form the heavens and the earth.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

Mazu, Chinese Goddess of Fishermen and Sailors

A fisherman’s wife gave birth to her sixth daughter. The daughter was born with her eyes open, and made no sound or cry until she was four years old. They named her Mo – “the silent one.”

The goddess Guanyin was impressed by the girl’s silence, and blessed her with powers. Mo excelled at swimming, and discovered she could manifest her spirit in far-off places. She used this to guide ships to shore.

One day, her father and brother became lost in a storm at sea.

Mo manifested on the shore, and used her powers to guide them home.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

The Banished Goddess

Once a young goddess named Shavano irritated the queen of the gods to no end with her constant mischief. The queen banished her to the side of a mountain, where she would be stuck forever as an ice angel.

One year, drought caused a famine for the humans in the valley below, and Shavano felt their tragedy. She cried until her body broke and melted, bringing water to the people.

This freed her from the mountain, but Shavano wanted to remain to watch over the valley.

She is there to this day, melting each spring to bring her people water.


By: ​Catherine Frerker

 

 

Ireland’s Boann, Goddess of the River Boyne

Dagda, husband to the goddess Boann, forbade her from approaching Connla’s Well.

Temptation overcame her, and Boann found herself drawing near. Looking into its depths, the goddess saw a salmon swimming in circles. The power of the well was tangible, and the goddess felt she must challenge it. Thrice the goddess circled the well, and with each step the ground shook.

Suddenly, the water within surged up in a violent vortex. The waters rushed down to the sea, creating the river Boyne.

In the madness, Boann was swept away to the sea. Unable to fight the current, the goddess drowned.


By: Jennifer D. Brummett

 

 

The Fairy Maiden and Connla

I had not meant to appear on Earth, but once I saw him, I could not convince myself to leave.

I stayed in a nearby forest, and when opportunity arose, I again tried to convince him to come home with me, where we could be happy and he would never grow old.


By: K.J.S.

 

 

Connla and the Fairy Maiden

As I took her hand, my world felt peace.

I do not recall the transition from my home into this new world, but the colors were all new and more vibrant than even the brightest in the old world.

As my feet felt the soft grass, my memories began to fade.


By: K.J.S.

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Tiny Tales of Spring 2021 Copyright © 2021 by Laura Gibbs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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