Descent of Inanna, The

   An ancient Sumerian myth and epic poem dealing with Inanna (or Ishtar), goddess of love and sexual desire, and her lover/ consort, the shepherd Dumuzi. Several versions of the story, which is sometimes called The Descent of Ishtar, were written on clay tablets during ancient Mesopotamia's long history. The original Sumerian version, however, dating from the third millennium b.c. and consisting of 410 lines, is the most detailed. Like the famous Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, which has many similarities, The Descent of Inanna demonstrates how even the status of divinity and feelings of love between gods cannot contradict the ultimate power and fate of death.

   In the story, Inanna decides to pay a visit to the Land of No Return (Underworld), where her sister, Ereshkigal, reigns. Ereshkigal agrees to admit the goddess of love to the nether realm. However, Inanna is forced to remove all her clothes before gaining an audience with her grim sister. Then, quite unexpectedly, Ereshkigal kills Inanna and hangs her body from a hook. When Inanna fails to return home, her servant, Ninshubur, enlists the aid of the god Enki, who fashions two special rescuers. These beings descend into the Underworld and trick Ereshkigal into giving them Inanna's remains. They then inject into her corpse the magical food and water of life, which revives her. Unfortunately for Inanna, however, a group of divine judges tells her that once a person or god enters the Land of No Return, he or she must stay there forever unless a substitute can be found. Guarded by demons, Inanna searches for a substitute. She finally chooses her consort Dumuzi, who is taken down into the depths. The lovers strike a deal in which each agrees to spend half of each year in the Underworld and half on Earth.

   See also: afterlife; Ereshkigal; Inanna