Enheduanna and Her World: Individual Women in Ancient Western Asia

Few ancient Mesopotamian names live in the public memory, even fewer are of women. She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia, ca. 3400–2000 B.C. at the Morgan Library and Museum, New York, changed that. The exhibition, which was featured on many popular platforms and publications from the New York Times to Hyperallergic, celebrated Enheduanna, the first poet whose name we know, her individuality, agency, and the creative power of her words. At the same time, it highlighted the different roles of women reflected in Sumerian and Akkadian material and visual culture. Exhibits on ancient individuals and individual stories have the potential to change biased historical narratives. By reviewing the curatorial practices of the exhibit, this paper examines the role of She Who Wrote: Enheduanna and Women of Mesopotamia in challenging the traditional ancient western Asian canon.