(re)established ownership to the goddess BaU and installed his wife Shasha as head. But
Shasha continued the practice of using temple-household resources for the royal
family’s benefit. Was she strong-willed, persuading her husband to change his mind, or
a princess to whom he owed his throne, or was the “reform” of the É-mímerely the
propaganda of an usurper?
The importance of royal wives derives from the royal couple’s role as earthly repre-
sentatives of the divine couple symbolically presiding over a city. As a city’s divine
proprietor could be god or goddess, the queen represented the highest city-goddess or
the spouse of the highest city-god. Like their husbands, queens may also have been
deified and their statues received offerings during their lifetime; Shasha had her statue
made of silver and directed offerings to it (Selz 1992 ). A silver statuette representing a
woman was recently found at Ebla (Matthiae 2009 ). The royal wives of Lagash had
substantial agency, and it may have been the same in other Sumerian city-states. Their
functions were considerable: spouse and mother, highest female representative of their
state, cultic/ritual obligations, heading a large institution with property and numerous
dependents, engaging in trade, and (diplomatic?) relations with queens of other cities.
The example of Shasha’s statue shows these women also controlled their “public image”
and symbolic representation.
Costly votive vessels inscribed with pleas for long life for oneself, one’s spouse and
children were donated by royal women, non-royal wives, daughters, and widows. One
source of wealth for women was the special royal ceremony of gift-giving to the wives
of officials. Women with legal agency could be the wives of rulers, married women,
widows, sisters, and daughters most often listed as members of a family clan selling real
estate, or named as witness. Except for a midwife named as witness, most women
apparently had no profession.
In Early Dynastic administrative texts, individual women are few compared to
those listed as groups. Apart from eresˇ-dingir-priestesses, there are two groups whose
position and function are unclear: lukur,listed individually or as group, and nin-ensí-
ka. It is suggested that they are classes of priestesses, or are related to the city’s ruler,
probably his sisters (Selz 1989 : 236 ( 3 : 7 ); Sharlach 2008 : 178 ; see also Westenholz this
volume).
Wet-nurses and midwives received higher rations than other women and often
worked for royal households with close contact to members of the ruling family. It is
written that wet-nurses “decide the destinies for their lords” (Alster 2005 : 98 line 264 ).
In the Akkadian and Ur III periods, some midwives and wet-nurses had expensive,
inscribed seals (Figure 18. 7 ). Women harp and lyre players are depicted in banquet
scenes (Figure 18. 5 ); female musicians (nar) and lamentation singers (gala) are attested
in texts. Music was considered entertainment and in the Ur III period many musicians
worked for the king.
The largest groups of low social status women are called géme,dependent female
workers; few were enslaved. The majority was occupied in textile production, milling,
or households. Many géme worked in premises of overseers who received rations for
them, but if they also lived there is uncertain. Women who “lived with someone”
usually had children (géme-dumu) and worked full time for the organizations of
queens, princes or princesses. Another low-status group is called HAR.TU-women
(precise meaning unclear) who worked in the private quarters of royal households (Selz
1993 : 209 – 211 ; on géme-dumuand HAR.TU-women, see also Prentice 2010 : 47 , 52 – 65 ).
–– Women and agency ––