Story Summary
Explore the ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna's Descent into the Underworld, where the Queen of Heaven must face death and rebirth to return to the living world.
Inanna, the Great Queen of Heaven, set her mind toward the Great Below to witness the funeral of her sister Ereshkigal’s husband. Armed with seven divine decrees and adorned in royal finery, she approached the gates of the Kur, the Sumerian underworld. At the first gate, the gatekeeper Neti demanded her crown. 'Quiet, Inanna,' he insisted, 'the ways of the underworld are perfect.' At each of the seven gates, she was forced to surrender an ornament of power: her beads, her necklace, her breastplate, her gold ring, her measuring rod, and finally, her royal robe. Naked and humbled, she entered the throne room. Ereshkigal fastened the eye of death upon her, turning Inanna into a corpse hung from a meat hook. For three days, the world grew barren as the goddess of fertility lay dead. Her loyal servant Ninshubur pleaded with the gods until Enki created two beings to revive Inanna with the water of life. Inanna rose, but the judges of the dead demanded a substitute. Returning to the upper world, she found her husband Dumuzid feasting instead of mourning. In her fury, she decreed he would take her place, proving that even a goddess's rebirth requires a heavy sacrifice.
The Moral
True transformation and wisdom require the shedding of the ego and the acceptance of life’s cycles of loss and renewal.
“From the Great Above she set her mind to the Great Below.”
Fun Fact
This myth is one of the oldest recorded stories in human history, written on clay tablets dating back nearly 4,000 years to ancient Mesopotamia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the moral of Inanna's Descent?
The story teaches that growth and rebirth require the stripping away of pride and worldly status. It emphasizes that no one, not even a deity, is exempt from the laws of nature and mortality.
Why did Inanna go to the Underworld?
Inanna sought to extend her power into the Great Below or to attend the funeral rites of Gugalanna, the husband of her sister Ereshkigal. It is often interpreted as a quest for ultimate knowledge or psychological integration.
What are the seven gates of Inanna?
The seven gates represent the stripping of Inanna's worldly power, where she loses her crown, beads, necklace, breastplate, ring, measuring rod, and robe. Passing through them symbolizes the ego's journey toward total vulnerability.
Who rescued Inanna from the Underworld?
The god Enki rescued her by creating the kurgarra and galatur, two genderless beings who could slip into the underworld unnoticed. They gained Ereshkigal's trust by empathizing with her pain and used the food and water of life to revive Inanna.
What happened to Dumuzid at the end?
Because Dumuzid did not mourn Inanna's death and instead sat comfortably on his throne, Inanna allowed the demons of the underworld to take him as her substitute. He was forced to spend half of the year in the underworld.
Is Inanna the same as the goddess Ishtar?
Yes, Inanna is the original Sumerian goddess of love, beauty, and war, who was later adapted into the Akkadian and Babylonian culture as Ishtar. Their myths, including the descent into the underworld, are very similar.