Mesopotamian · Akkadian · c. 1000 BCE, from older Sumerian material
The Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld
Anonymous Akkadian; earlier Sumerian recension of Inanna
Ishtar passes the seven gates of the underworld, surrendering a garment at each, and is hung on a hook by her sister Ereshkigal. The world stops breeding while she is below. This, not the Enuma Elish, is where both goddesses are actually described.
Read The Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld in full at the linked edition →What this text attests · 3
| Name here | Rank given | # | Powers described |
|---|---|---|---|
Dumuzi = Tammuz | Consort of Ishtar | — | Given up by Ishtar as her substitute in the underworld, which is the origin of the annual mourning. |
| Queen of the great below | — | Strips her sister at each of the seven gates and holds her; the land of no return runs by her law, which binds even a goddess who walks into it. | |
| Queen of Heaven | — | Passes the seven gates of the netherworld, surrendering a garment at each, and is hung on a hook by Ereshkigal. Nothing on earth breeds while she is below. |
