𒀭𒈹 Inanna's Descent to the Underworld

Inanna's Decision

Inanna, the mighty goddess of love, war, and fertility, decides to descend to the underworld to attend the funeral rites of Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven (husband of her sister Ereshkigal). She prepares herself by donning her seven divine powers as garments and jewelry.

Motivation: To witness the funeral rites, though her true motives remain mysterious

The Seven Divine Me

Before descending, Inanna adorns herself with the seven me (divine powers):

• The shugurra (crown of the steppe)
• Measuring rod and line of lapis lazuli
• Small lapis lazuli beads
• Breastplate called "Come, man, come!"
• Gold ring
• Lapis lazuli necklace
• Royal robe

Preparation: She also instructs her minister Ninshubur to seek help if she does not return

Arrival at the First Gate

Inanna arrives at the outer gate of the underworld and demands entry. The gatekeeper Neti questions her presence, then reports to Ereshkigal, who becomes furious at her sister's audacity. Ereshkigal orders Neti to bar the seven gates and treat Inanna according to the ancient laws.

Law of the Dead: "Let the seven gates be fastened. Then let each door be opened separately."

The Seven Gates of Stripping

At each gate, Inanna is forced to remove one of her divine powers:

• Gate 1: Shugurra crown removed
• Gate 2: Measuring rod and line taken
• Gate 3: Lapis lazuli beads removed
• Gate 4: Breastplate stripped away
• Gate 5: Gold ring taken
• Gate 6: Lapis lazuli necklace removed
• Gate 7: Royal robe stripped off

At each gate, she protests: "What is this?" The gatekeeper replies: "Be satisfied, Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned."

Death and Transformation

Naked and powerless, Inanna bows before her sister. The seven judges of the underworld (the Anunnaki) fix their eyes of death upon her. She is turned into a corpse and hung on a hook on the wall.

Duration: Three days and three nights

The Rescue

After three days, Ninshubur (Inanna's minister) seeks help from the gods. Enki, god of wisdom, creates two mourning creatures from the dirt under his fingernails. These beings descend to the underworld and sympathize with Ereshkigal's suffering (she is in labor), earning her favor. She grants them any wish, and they request Inanna's corpse.

Revival: They sprinkle the food and water of life upon her, and Inanna rises

The Price of Return

The demons (galla) of the underworld seize Inanna, demanding a substitute to take her place. She refuses to give up her loyal servants Ninshubur, her beautician, or her musician. When she finds her husband Dumuzi sitting on her throne instead of mourning, she condemns him as her substitute.

Consequence: Dumuzi must spend half the year in the underworld; his sister Geshtinanna takes his place for the other half

The Eternal Cycle

Inanna's descent and return establishes the cycle of seasons. When Dumuzi descends to the underworld, vegetation dies; when he returns, fertility and life return to the earth. Inanna's journey through death and rebirth becomes a template for transformation and renewal.

Result: The myth of descent becomes central to Mesopotamian spirituality

Inanna - Queen of Heaven and Earth

Inanna (Sumerian) or Ishtar (Akkadian) is the goddess of love, beauty, sex, war, justice, and political power. She is the most prominent female deity in Mesopotamian mythology, embodying the planet Venus and its dual nature as both morning and evening star.

Domains: Love, war, fertility, political power

Symbols: Eight-pointed star, lion, rosette

Ereshkigal - Queen of the Dead

Ereshkigal is Inanna's older sister and the sole ruler of the underworld realm of Kur. She represents the dark mirror of Inanna—where Inanna is life and desire, Ereshkigal is death and finality. Her grief and suffering are central to the myth.

Domain: Death, the underworld, finality

Realm: Kur (the land of no return)

Enki - God of Wisdom

Enki (Ea in Akkadian) is the god of wisdom, fresh water, magic, and creation. He alone helps Inanna, understanding the mysteries of life and death. His creative solution saves her when the other gods refuse to help.

Role: The rescuer who creates the mourning beings

Wisdom: Understands the power of empathy and mourning

Ninshubur - The Loyal Minister

Ninshubur is Inanna's faithful minister and companion. Her loyalty and persistence save Inanna's life, as she follows her mistress's instructions exactly, petitioning the gods for help when Inanna fails to return.

Role: Messenger, loyal servant, rescuer

Virtue: Unwavering faithfulness

Dumuzi - The Shepherd King

Dumuzi (Tammuz in later traditions) is Inanna's husband, a shepherd god associated with vegetation and fertility. His failure to mourn Inanna costs him dearly, making him the substitute who must die in her place.

Role: Substitute in the underworld, dying god

Fate: Alternates with his sister in the underworld, creating seasons

Neti - The Gatekeeper

Neti is the chief gatekeeper of the underworld. He serves Ereshkigal faithfully and enforces the laws of the underworld, ensuring that Inanna is stripped of her powers at each gate according to the ancient rites.

Role: Guardian, enforcer of underworld law

Function: Strips away divine power

Ego Dissolution and Transformation

The stripping away of Inanna's seven divine powers represents the dissolution of ego and worldly attachments. Each gate removes another aspect of identity—power, beauty, authority—until nothing remains but the naked self confronting death.

Theme: Spiritual transformation through surrender

Lesson: True power comes from experiencing powerlessness

Death and Rebirth Cycle

The myth mirrors the agricultural cycle of Mesopotamia—the death of vegetation in the hot summer (Dumuzi's descent) and its renewal in the growing season (his return). Death is not final but transformative, a necessary stage in the eternal cycle of renewal.

Theme: Seasonal cycles, agricultural rhythms

Meaning: Death feeds life; life requires death

The Underworld's Perfect Justice

"The ways of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned." Death is the great equalizer—even the mightiest goddess cannot escape its laws. The underworld represents absolute justice where divine privilege has no power.

Theme: Universal mortality, inescapable law

Wisdom: Death respects no hierarchy

Shadow Integration

Ereshkigal represents Inanna's shadow self—the denied, dark sister who rules over death and suffering. Inanna's descent is a journey to integrate her shadow, to know her own capacity for darkness and death, making her whole.

Theme: Psychological integration, wholeness

Jungian Reading: Meeting the rejected aspects of self

The Power of Empathy

Enki's mourning creatures succeed where power failed—they save Inanna not through force but through empathy, witnessing Ereshkigal's pain and suffering with her. Compassion achieves what strength cannot.

Theme: Empathy as transformative power

Lesson: To witness suffering is to heal it

The Substitute: Justice and Sacrifice

The law of the underworld demands a substitute—death requires payment. Dumuzi's failure to honor Inanna's ordeal marks him as the rightful substitute. The myth explores themes of accountability, betrayal, and the cost of resurrection.

Theme: Justice, sacrifice, accountability

Question: What is the price of return from death?

Initiation Mystery

The descent follows the pattern of mystery initiations: separation from the known world, ordeal and symbolic death, transformation, and return with new knowledge. Inanna returns changed, having experienced death and resurrection.

Theme: Initiatory death, sacred knowledge

Pattern: Descent, ordeal, death, resurrection, return

Cuneiform Tablets

The primary source is a collection of cuneiform tablets from ancient Sumer, dating to approximately 1900-1600 BCE. Multiple versions exist, showing the myth's evolution and transmission across Mesopotamian civilizations.

Primary Text: "The Descent of Inanna" (Sumerian)

Dating: Early 2nd millennium BCE

Script: Sumerian cuneiform

Akkadian Version

A later Akkadian version titled "Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld" preserves the myth with some variations. In this version, Ishtar (Inanna) threatens to raise the dead if not admitted, showing her more aggressive character.

Title: "The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld"

Language: Akkadian

Period: 1st millennium BCE

Archaeological Context

Tablets were discovered at various Mesopotamian sites including Nippur, Ur, and Uruk. The myth's widespread distribution indicates its central importance in Sumerian religious thought and practice.

Sites: Nippur, Ur, Uruk, Babylon

Discovery: 19th-20th century excavations

Modern Translations

Notable translations include those by Samuel Noah Kramer (1951), Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer (1983), and Stephanie Dalley's "Myths from Mesopotamia" (1989). These made the ancient text accessible to modern readers.

Key Scholars: Kramer, Wolkstein, Dalley

Impact: Revived interest in goddess mythology

Thematic Parallels

The myth shows strong parallels with other descent narratives: the Greek Persephone myth, Babylonian Tammuz traditions, and Egyptian journeys through the Duat. It represents an archetype of the descent into the underworld.

Parallels: Persephone, Orpheus, Osiris

Archetype: The descent journey

Ritual Context

Evidence suggests the myth was enacted in ritual performances, possibly during the sacred marriage ceremony (hieros gamos) and seasonal festivals. The descent may have been performed as a mystery drama.

Performance: Sacred drama, mystery rites

Context: Temple festivals, New Year celebrations

Feminist Reclamation

Since the 1970s, the myth has been central to feminist spirituality and goddess movements. Inanna's journey represents female autonomy, power, and the integration of light and dark aspects of the feminine.

Era: 1970s-present

Influence: Women's spirituality, goddess worship revival

Modern Literature and Art

Contemporary authors and artists have reimagined Inanna's descent in novels, poetry, visual art, and performance. The myth resonates as a metaphor for psychological transformation, grief work, and spiritual awakening.

Notable: Poetry (Ereshkigal poems), visual art, dance performances

Jungian Psychology

Jungian analysts view the descent as a journey of individuation—the ego (Inanna) must descend to meet the shadow (Ereshkigal) to achieve wholeness. The stripping at the gates represents releasing ego defenses.

Application: Shadow work, therapeutic process

Scholars: Sylvia Brinton Perera, Marion Woodman

Agricultural Religion

The myth explains the seasonal death and rebirth of vegetation through Dumuzi's alternating time in the underworld. It formed the basis for later dying-and-rising god myths throughout the Near East.

Influence: Tammuz cults, Adonis myths, dying god archetype

Mystery Traditions

The descent pattern influenced later mystery religions, including the Eleusinian Mysteries dedicated to Demeter and Persephone. The theme of descent, death, and return became central to initiation rites.

Legacy: Mystery schools, initiation patterns

Music and Performance

The myth has inspired operas, musical compositions, and theatrical performances. Contemporary ritual theater groups perform the descent as a participatory mystery drama for modern audiences.

Forms: Opera, modern dance, ritual theater