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216 the nature of his offense. All together they enable us to arrive at a plausible reconstruction of the events. Evicted from Babylon and Mesopotamia, Marduk returned to Egypt. He promptly established himself in Heliopolis, enhancing its role as his "cult center" by assembling his celestial memora- bilia in a special shrine, to which Egyptians made pilgrimages for a long time thereafter. But seeking to reestablish his hegemony over Egypt, Marduk found that things had changed since he left Egypt to attempt his coup d'etat in Mesopotamia. Though Thoth, we gather, did not put up a struggle for supremacy, and Nergal and Gibil were far from the center of power, a new rival had emerged in the interim: Dumu- zi. That younger son of Enki, his domain bordering Upper Egypt, was emerging as a pretender to the throne of Egypt. And behind his ambitions was none other than his bride like. The tale of Dumuzi and Inanna—he a son of Enki. she a grand- daughter of Enlil—reads like an ancient tale of Romeo and Juliet. Like Shakespeare's drama, it, too, ended in tragedy, death, and re- venge. The first presence of Inanna/Ishtar in Egypt is mentioned in the Edfu text dealing with the First Pyramid War. Called there Ashto- reth (her Canaanite name), she is said to have appeared on the bat- tlefield among the advancing forces of Horus. The reason for this inexplicable presence in Egypt might have been to visit her bridegroom Dumuzi. through whose district the fighting force was passing. That Inanna had gone to visit Dumuzi ("The Herder") in his faraway rural district, we know from a Sumerian text. It tells us how Dumuzi stood awaiting her arrival and echoes his reassuring words to a bride baffled by a future in a foreign land: The young lad stood waiting; Dumuzi pushed open the door. Like a moonbeam she came forth to him... The Herder put his arm around the maiden; "LT have not carried you off into slavery," [he said]; "Your table will be a splendid table. the splendid table where I myself eat..." THE WARS OF GODS AND MEN Inanna/Ishtar—another cause for Marduk's suspicions and dis- He looked at her, rejoiced in her. ate ea te Le ween aed ened he Took her in his arms and kissed her.