On rituals related to Tammuz in his time, he adds that the in and Babylonia still lamented the loss of Tammuz every July, but that the origin of the worship had been lost | The sole exception to this rule is a single Assyrian inscription in which a man requests Tammuz that, when he descends to the Underworld, he should take with him a troublesome ghost who has been haunting him |
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When the story resumes, Inanna is being told that Dumuzid has been murdered | Finally, Dumuzid prays to Utu for help |
; Simpson, William Kelly 1971 , The Ancient Near East: A History, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
9As Dumuzid sipad "Dumuzid the Shepherd" , Dumuzid was believed to be the provider of , which was a rare, seasonal commodity in ancient Sumer due to the fact that it could not easily be stored without | |
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Gilgamesh may be referring to an alternative account of Dumuzid's death, different from the ones recorded in extant texts | Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister Geshtinanna stays in the Underworld in his place, thus resulting in the cycle of the seasons |