The Good Year Ritual

On the tenth day of the Akitu ceremony, the Sumerian New Year during spring’s equinox, the King of Sumeria traveled to the Temple of Eanna and called himself Dumuzid. There he entered into a sacred ceremony with the high priestess of the goddess Ianna, the two re-enacting the ancient tryst and marriage of Ianna and her consort, the Shepherd, honoring the goddess of fertility and legitimizing the king's right to rule. Each night of the festival there is a different consort. This time, the king is young and virile and the high priestess is lush and beautiful. They find themselves intensely attracted to each other as they prepare for the ritual. The ceremony is, of course, the most important thing. They must do what they can to ensure a rich and productive year, but the delight in each other that the king and the priestess find is even more fertile than anyone could imagine possible.