Pastoral and Sexual Metaphor in the Ancient Love Poetry Texts


The use of words and terms such as " vineyard,orchard,field is well enough attested in love poetry from the Ancient World.
The plowing and cultivation of a field is a natural metaphor for Sexual intercourse throughout the ancient world of the fertile crescent.
This could well have something to do with the custom of ritual copulation on freshly plowed fields to ensure or to encourage fertlity.

In ancient Egypt , we find some interesting metaphor. Armarna Letters 75:15, 85:37 and 90:42 refer to an ealier version of the proverb to the effect that a woman without a husband is like an untilled field.
An Egyptian text of the Ramesside period depicts an amorous adventure of a military officer who came across a girl " who guards a vineyard"(cf Hermann, 1959) A similar expression occurs in an old Egyptian song wherin the girl refers to herself as a piece of ground in which the man dug a "canal" ( C Schott, 1950)
Kramer has noted that a favourite motif in the Song of Songs is the " going down" of lovers to Garden,Orchard and field. Vineyard is most probably used to describe the female pubic area, the neo-hebrew term "pi hakkerem, " the mouth of the vineyard as a designation of the navel, suggest that the vineyard itself is close by.
This is also the central theme of several Sumerian poems which were probably chanted in the sacred marriage rites.
The Turin Papyrus
From the Turin Papyrus, The Love songs present in " Songs of the Orchard", three little numbers in which the trees of the garden speak in relation of their mistress. The first tree praises itself in terms of the lady's charms.
" [ The pomegranite] says: Like her teeth, my seeds, like her breasts, my fruit, formost of the orchard, since in every season I am around".
A song from the obverse of the Papyrus Harris 500, Dynasty XIX, provied ample illustration of the comparison of a womans beauty with a pastoral metaphor:
" Distracting is the [foliage] of my [pasture] [the mouth]of my girl is a lotus bud, her breasts are mandrake apples, hre arms are[vines] [her eyes] are fixed like berries, her brow a snare of willow and I the wild goose".

The oldest example of praising a womans charms in Egypt occurs on a stela of King Wah-ankh-Antef ( Dyn 11) which as one might expect, sings the praises of the Goddess Het-Hert or Hathor.
Sumerian love Magic

The Sumerian, Babylonian and Ugaritic love texts are some what more graphic in their use of metaphor, they are however quite beautiful and no less sensual through this.

In a Sumerian love song dedicated to Shu-Sin, fourth ruler of the 3rd dynasty at Ur, circa 2000BCE and written in the Emesal dialect, or " woman language", probably composed by the " Luker priestess ( Akkadian Naditu) who evidently played the role of the Goddess Innanna in the sacred marriage rites uses beautiful metaphor. The Lady addresses the King as her God and speaks of herself in the third person as the " Wine Maid", praising her charms in order to arouse the passion of the God-King preparatory to their sacral sexual union:
"My God, sweet is the drink of the wine maid
Like her drink, sweet is her vulva
Like her lips, sweet is her vulva
Sweet is her mixed drink"
(SMR , 94)

Use of the word "field" to describe a woman are common enough, as in this extract from the Sumeriam sacral marriage rites attests:
" Lordly Queen, your breast is a field
Innanna, your breast is a field
Your broad field that pours out plants
Your broad field that pours out grain
(Kramer, SMR 81)
In other instances, the brides pudenda are referred to directly as she sings a song about her vulva , which she calls " the boat of heaven", " the new crescent moon",fallow land," a high field","a hillock which she wishes to have plowed:
" As for me, My vulva,
For me the piled high hillock
Me-the maid, who will plow it for me" ?
The answer comes;
" Oh , Lordly lady, the King will plow it for you
Dumuzi, the King will plow it for you"
And Joyfully she responds:
" Plow my Vulva, man of my heart"
(Kramer, Smr 39)
Finally, this little poem is so joyful that I felt it must be included, The concubine ( tappatu as rendered by Lambert) made a strong impression on the divine lover and he bursts into direct address in praise of her beauty
At the river crossing of Kar-el-Matati,
I saw my girl-friend and was completely overwhelmed.
You are white like a gecko
Your skin is dusky like a pot
You are exhuberant, you made me happy
(Lambert,1975)
Kowalski: 2001  

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