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E-anna, 'the lofty house, was the name of Ishtar's famous temple at Erech. The mention of this temple in one of the creation narratives and the part played by Ishtar of Erech in the Gilgamesh epic are sufficient indications of the significance of this structure.
The conception would then be similar to the view expressed in Genesis, where the dry land appears in consequence of the waters being 'gathered' into one place. The temple at Eridu is regarded as synonymous with the city, as the temples E-Kur and E-Anna are synonymous with Nippur and Erech respectively.
The text at this point becomes defective, but we can still make out that the clay as building material is created by Marduk, and that he constructs houses and rears cities. Corresponding to the opening lines, we may supply several lines as follows: Houses he erected, cities he built, Cities he built, dwellings he prepared, Nippur he built, E-Kur he erected, Erech he built, E-Anna he erected.
O supreme mistress of the E-anna, may thy heart be at rest. O supreme mistress of the land of Erech, may thy liver be pacified. O supreme mistress of the shining Erech, may thy heart be at rest. O supreme mistress of the mountain of the universe, may thy liver be pacified. O supreme mistress, queen of E-tur-kalama, may thy heart be at rest.
They have shed blood in Abzu-ega, they have set fire to the temple of Gatumdug, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom, and have destroyed her statue! They have set fire to the.... of the temple E-anna of the goddess Ninni, and they have carried away the silver and the precious stones therefrom, and have destroyed her statue!
Historical inscriptions from the earliest period to the days of Ashurbanabal and Nebuchadnezzar come to our further aid in illustrating the continued popularity of the Ishtar cult in E-anna. The Ishtar who survives in Babylonia and Assyria is practically the Ishtar of Erech, that is, Nanâ.
The bright house of the gods was not yet built on the bright place, No reed grew and no tree was formed, No brick was laid nor any brick edifice reared, No house erected, no city built, No city reared, no conglomeration formed. Nippur was not reared, E-Kur not erected. Erech was not reared, E-Anna not erected. The deep not formed, Eridu not reared.
Thus one of the statues previously found was set up in the temple of Ninkharsag, two others in E-ninnû, the temple of the god Ningirsu, three more in the temple of the goddess Bau, one in E-anna, the temple of the goddess Ninni, and another in the temple of Gatumdug. Whosoever shall proclaim the god Ningirsu as his god, even as I proclaim him, may he do no harm unto the temple of my god!
Prominent among such names are E-Sagila, 'the lofty house, the famous temple and temple area at Babylon; E-makh, 'the great house, a chapel to Nin-kharsag, situated perhaps within E-Sagila; E-gal-makh, 'the great palace, an old temple in Ur; E-anna, 'the heavenly house, that is, the house reaching up to heaven, which is the name of the temple of Ishtar or Nanâ at Erech; E-lgi-e-nir-kidur-makh, 'the tower of the great dwelling' sacred to Ninni at Kish.
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