In Sumerian mythology, Erishkegal is the goddess of the underworld, sister of the far more popular Inanna. She has a lot of titles; I call her the Goddess of Thankless Tasks. She does a lot of important stuff that people rarely think about ... rather like fungi.
"The Descent of Inanna" mentions two created beings, the galatur and the kurgarra. They're made at the same time in the same way, but they have different terms, so they aren't the same type of creature. They're often described as "two sexless beings" but it doesn't translate exactly into English. A lot of Pagans feel that it should actually be one neuter being and one hermaphrodite. Another popular interpretation is a transman and a transwoman, because the temple of Inanna was a refuge for people of alternative sex/gender, and Erishkegal became enormously fond of those messengers so apparently that's something the sisters have in common.
So we have a fungus, growing in dirt, which does important things mostly out of sight and without thanks, that has thousands of sexes. It seems like a match. :D
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dancing_serpent
Okay ...
Date: 2017-11-07 05:23 pm (UTC)"The Descent of Inanna" mentions two created beings, the galatur and the kurgarra. They're made at the same time in the same way, but they have different terms, so they aren't the same type of creature. They're often described as "two sexless beings" but it doesn't translate exactly into English. A lot of Pagans feel that it should actually be one neuter being and one hermaphrodite. Another popular interpretation is a transman and a transwoman, because the temple of Inanna was a refuge for people of alternative sex/gender, and Erishkegal became enormously fond of those messengers so apparently that's something the sisters have in common.
So we have a fungus, growing in dirt, which does important things mostly out of sight and without thanks, that has thousands of sexes. It seems like a match. :D