Inanna Queen of Heaven & Earth

The "Descent of Inanna"

Compiled by Amalya (Amy Peck M.A.) October 2003 rev 10-25-10
For more info on Goddesses & the Sacred Feminine visit: www.Goddess-Studio.com. AmalyaGoddess@aol.com

Who is Inanna?

Inanna is the first Goddess about whom we have written records dating
around 4,000 years ago from the ancient Sumerian cultures of the land of
Sumer (Mesopotamia), that is now southern Iraq. The Important sanctuaries
of Inanna were in Uruk, Zabalam, and Babylon.

To the Sumerians Inanna was Queen of Heaven and Earth, and to the Sem-
ites of Sumer she was called Ishtar. In Sumerian, Inanna's name means lit-
erally "Queen of Heaven" and she was called both the First Daughter of the
Moon and the Morning and Evening Star (the planet Venus). She also car-
The “Warka” mask. Thought to be
ried the epithet of “the Lady of Edin” (nin edin) which some believe was the
a representation of Inanna. This precursor to the biblical Eve of Eden! She is the Goddess of fertility, of love,
marble head of a woman was sex, and procreation, of life and death, war, and rebirth. She is the Goddess
discovered in the temple precinct
of Inanna, Uruk. It is populary of transition and transformation, and the Goddess of the Gateways and
known as the 'Mask of Warka', Crosser of Boundaries. She is often portrayed as a willful, clever, conniving,
and also the 'Lady of Uruk' . It is
one of the very earliest represen- untamable, erotic and beautiful young woman. Inanna is praised as the one
tations of the human face. The who brought the Holy “Me” to her city—by her cleverness she obtained the
head was attached to a larger
statue made of various materials. forbidden Me: the totality of knowledge, laws, and the arts of civilization. Her
The hollowed out eyes and eye- symbols are the lion, the 8 pointed star representing Venus, gateposts, and
brows bear traces of an ancient
inlay, perhaps shell and lapis owl or the depiction of wings, and the measuring rod/line. Her cuneiform
lazuli for the eyes. Perforations at ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the door-
the ears indicate that the image
once wore jewellery and a head- post of the storehouse,
dress. (and thus fertility and
plenty).

“Inanna's symbols
appear on some of
the earliest Mesopo-
tamian seals (Adams
1966:12), and she is
the first goddess
about whom we have
The 8 pointed Star or Ro- written records (Hallo
sette, symbolic of Venus
& Van Dijk 1968)…
“Forever an adoles-
Right Illustration: Enthroned cent poised at the
Inanna, with date palm and
Anzu bird, her feet on lion, threshold of full wom-
raising hand to worshippers, anhood, maiden
bald, bare-footed suppliant and
lesser goddess leading him. Inanna was the eternal threshold through which everything passed
Steatite cylinder seal. Neo- in fulfillment of the cycle that is life.” *
Sumerian, ca. 2112-2004 BCE.
S. Beaulieu, after Wolkstein &
Kramer 1983:102 * (Johanna Stuckey article for MatriFocus Samhain 2004 Vol 4-1, “Inanna, Goddess of ‘Infinite Vari-
ety’”. www.matrifocus.com)
 About The Descent of Inanna Myth

The Descent of Inanna myth is the story of the prideful Inanna’s journey
to the Underworld to ostensibly pay homage to her sister, Ereshkigal,
Queen of the “Kur” (Underworld). Ereshkigal’s name means “Queen of
the Great Earth”. In her descent, Inanna had to pass through seven
gates and at each gate she was commanded to relinquish one of her
Queenly adornments, which Inanna gave up reluctantly. When she en-
tered the Kur, Ereshkigal condemned Inanna to death and hung her on a
hook to rot. After three days Inanna was rescued by aid of the God of
Wisdom and resurrected. She was released from the Kur, but not without
cost...as she would have to choose someone to take her place. Upon
returning to her temple and finding her beloved husband, Dumuzi, arro-
gantly sitting on her throne, Inanna, in a fit of rage at him, condemned
him to the underworld. However, later in her remorse, although she
couldn’t undo what she had done, she was able to decree that his willing
sister could take his place for half the year and Dumuzi could return to be
Many figurines were found in
this style. Could be Inanna
by Inanna’s side for the other half.
and/or Ishtar
The Descent myth, along with other hymns and tales, including the erotic
love hymns of Inanna's courtship with Dumuzi, have come to us now
through a great collection of recovered tablets. Inscribed in cuneiform
around 1750 B.C.E., by the first civilization from which we have written
texts, these tablets were excavated from the ruins of Nippur, Sumer's
spiritual and cultural center, between the years 1889 and 1900, but it
took many years for the translations to begin.

The Descent story consists of more than four hundred lines of text in al-
most perfect condition that were pieced together from thirty tablets and
fragments requiring the cooperation of numerous scholars and museums.
The first partial translations began to be published in 1937, with updates
and revisions in 1942, and again in 1963. And in 1983, Diane Wolkstein
and Samuel Noah Kramer published "Inanna Queen of Heaven and
Earth" which offered a very thorough scholarly account as well as a
beautifully crafted narrative of Inanna's stories and hymns.
A Winged Inanna with Lions

Right Illustration: Rain

goddess, possibly
Inanna-Ishtar, holding
streams of rain and
standing on the storm
god's lion-bird. Shell cyl-
inder seal. Akkadian, ca.
2334-2154 BCE.
S. Beaulieu, after Wolk-
stein & Kramer 1983:94
 Why knowing the Story of Inanna is important now…
Rediscovering this story is a significant validation of the Sacred Femi-
nine. In order for humanity and women particularly to heal and regain a
deeper appreciation of the lost and forgotten divine female, we need to
reclaim and acknowledge these ancient accounts of the Goddess. In so
doing we can empower our lives with the knowledge and faith of our
women ancestors and we can validate our life's passages allowing the
ancient wisdom and symbolism of the Heroine's Journey to impart
greater meaning to our contemporary experiences.
The Descent of Inanna is a metaphor for the experience of being stripped
to one's core—of facing loss or depression—of relinquishing the outer
symbols of one's ego power and attachments to gain one's true un-
adorned inner strength. Inanna's descent is a story of the Goddess
searching for the meaning of Life, love and death. Her tale is one of
courage, curiosity and conviction, love, passion, pride and anger, sacri-
fice and loss, remorse, and determination. It is the story of a maturing
woman—the maiden, mother and leader—learning about her power.
Inanna with Snakes… humm...
very similar to the Creten
Snake Goddesses!!
Hers is the primal, archetypal Heroine's journey. The Descent myth, in
particular, is the metaphor or enactment of the origins of the cycle of
life—from death, resurrection, to rebirth. And in a larger context of
"herstory," the Descent of Inanna can also be seen as symbolic of the
loss (or descent) of the Sacred Feminine principle in the consciousness
of human evolution! But in a more personal view, it is the story of a
woman's journey to know and love herself …to honor her shadow self,
(her dark, frightful, lamenting, jealous, merciless sister of the underworld),
to gain wisdom from loss, to discover the mystery of death, despair or de-
Inanna in Cuneiform
pression—and return transformed.
writing. (I think)

Triumphant Inanna-Ishtar,
winged, with foot on her roar-
ing lion and star symbol, be-
ing worshipped by a lesser
goddess. Black-stone cylinder
seal. Akkadian, ca. 2334-
2154 BCE.
S. Beaulieu, after Wolkstein &
Kramer 1983:92
The Rosette of Inanna

The Descent of Inanna—The Story…

Below is an abridged version of the "Descent" myth of Inanna—summarized by Amy Peck. (Text in
Illustration Above Right: brackets are my interpretations. Indented and Italicized text is excerpted from the original poem,
Between mountains con- translated by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer's book, "Inanna Queen of Heaven and
taining monsters and dei- Earth, Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer", © 1983, Harper & Row, NY.)
ties and perhaps repre-
senting the underworld, a
goddess (Inanna?) holds a "From the Great Above she ‘opened her ear’ to the Great Below"…
ring. Could it be the one Inanna chose to "abandon Heaven and Earth to descend to
taken from Inanna at a
gate of the underworld?
the underworld".
Mesopotamian cylinder
seal. Hematite. Around [In Summerian the word for “ear” and “wisdom” is the same and connotes
2330-2150 BCE.
© S. Beaulieu, after Wolk-
mind...so this first line of the descent poem could be interpreted that
stein and Kramer Inanna ‘opened her mind’ to ‘receive the wisdom’ of the underworld. Or
1983:57. perhaps something about the underworld ‘called to her’… perhaps Inanna
was summoned to gain the knowledge of life, death and rebirth.]

In any respect, she was determined to visit her dark, older sister, Ereshki-
gal, Queen of the Underworld, to ostensibly pay her respects and witness
the funeral rites of Ereshkigal's husband. [Little did she realize that her ne-
glected and jealous sister would not divulge the mysteries of death simply
by allowing Inanna to observe the rites of another—Inanna would have to
learn the ways of the underworld by dying herself and by giving up more
than just her own life.]

The Holy Priestess, abandoned her seven temples and prepared herself
for her journey. She gathered up the seven "me" (Divine Laws) and
adorned herself with the seven accouterments/vestments of her earthly
Queenship. [Note: in Akkadian, seven means “wholeness.]

"She placed the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, on her head.
She arranged the dark locks of hair across her forehead. She tied
the small lapis beads around her neck, let the double strand of
beads fall to her breast, and wrapped the royal robe around her
body. She daubed her eyes with ointment called "Let him come, Let
him come," bound the breastplate called "Come, man, come!"
around her chest, slipped the gold ring over her wrist, and took the
lapis measuring rod and line in her hand."

Then she set out for the underworld with her faithful maid-servant, Ninshu-
bur. Before Inanna arrived at the gates of the underworld, she instructed
 Ninshubur what to do in case she could not return on her own from the
underworld.

"She spoke to her saying: "Ninshubur, my constant support, if I do

not return, set up a lament for me by the ruins. Beat the drum for
me in the assembly places. Tear at your eyes, at your mouth, at
your thighs…[and go to the temples of my fathers to ask for help].”

Inanna told her servant to enlist the aid of the God Enlil, her Father's Fa-
ther, then to ask her Father, Nanna, and finally, if they refused to help, to
ask her Mother's Father, Enki, the God of Wisdom, to secure her release
from the underworld.

Contemporary illustration of At last the Queen of Heaven arrived at the gates to the underworld, the
Ereshkigal entrance to the Kur.
"She cried out in a fierce voice: "Open the door, gatekeeper! I
alone would enter!"

The gatekeeper told Inanna to wait while he sought the reply of his
Queen of the Underworld, Ereshkigal.

“Ereshkigal commanded her gatekeeper…"Come, Neti, my chief

gatekeeper of the Kur, heed my words: Bolt the seven gates of the
underworld. Then, one by one, open each gate a crack. Let Inanna
enter. As she enters, remove her royal garments. Let the holy
priestess of heaven enter bowed low."

And thus so, at each of the seven gates, Inanna was ordered to relin-
quish her adornments. At the First gate she gave up her crown, next her
small lapis beads, then the double strand of beads, then her breastplate.
At the fifth gate she surrendered her gold ring from her wrist, at the sixth
gate she gave up her lapis measuring rod and line. Then, finally at the
seventh gate, from her body the royal robe was removed.

At each gate, when commanded to surrender her royal garments Inanna

objected, "What is this?" but she was only told, "Quiet, Inanna, the ways
Possible Sumarian depiction of
Ereshkigal giving birth in the Un- of the underworld are perfect. They may not be questioned."
derworld.
"Naked and bowed low, Inanna entered the throne room. Ereshki-
gal rose from her throne. Inanna started toward the throne. The
Annuana, the judges of the underworld, surrounded her. They
passed judgment against her.

"Then Ereshkigal fastened on Inanna the eye of death. She spoke

against her the word of wrath. She uttered against her the cry of
guilt. She struck her. Inanna was turned into a corpse, a piece of
rotting meat, and was hung from a hook on the wall."
 Three days and three nights passed and when Inanna did not return, her
faithful servant, Ninshubur began her lament and her quest to aid her lost
Queen. She went to each father with her plea for help. But only Enki, the
God of Wisdom, would listen.

He created two creatures, the Kurgarra and the Galatur, neither male nor
female, fashioned from the dirt of his fingernails and instructed them to
enter the underworld like flies. He gave the food of life to the Kurgarra
and the water of life to the Galatur. He told them to approach Ereshkigal.
Contemporary illustration of He said to them, "Ereshkigal, the Queen of the underworld, is moaning
Inanna
with the cries of a woman about to give birth." He instructed the crea-
tures to moan and cry along with Ereshkigal, and told them that as they
did so, Ereshkigal would be pleased and offer them a gift.

The Kurgarra and the Galatur did as bade. They entered the throne
room, and moaned and groaned with the laboring Queen of the Under-
world until the Queen stopped and looked at them. She asked them:

"Who are you, moaning-groaning-sighing with me? If you are

gods, I will bless you. If you are mortals, I will give you a gift."

The creatures then requested they be given the corpse that hangs from
the hook on the wall. The corpse was given to them. And the Kurgarra
sprinkled the food of life on the corpse, and the Galatur sprinkled the wa-
ter of life on the corpse. And Inanna arose…

[But her journey was not over yet, nor had she learned that the ways of
the underworld are perfect.] As she was about to ascend, the Annuana,
the judges of the underworld seized the Queen of Heaven and Earth and
said,

"No one ascends from the underworld unmarked. If Inanna wishes

to return from the underworld, she must provide someone in her
place."

To insure this order was fulfilled, two demons, called Galla, armed with a
scepter and mace, returned with Inanna to the upperworld to capture
Inanna's replacement. They first tried to take Ninshubur, but Inanna
cried "No! Ninshubur is my constant support…because of her my life was
saved. I will never give Ninshubur to you." Then they came upon her
sons, first Shara then Lulal but each had shown their devotion to Inanna
and she refused to allow the Galla to take them either. Finally they met
Contemporary illustration of up with Inanna's husband, Dumuzi. But when Inanna found him sitting
Inanna
arrogantly on his throne without signs of lament for his missing wife, she
"spoke against him the word of wrath" and the Galla attacked him. Du-
muzi fled and tried to evade the Galla with the help of a friend and his de-
 voted sister, Geshtinanna, who hid him in the ditches.

The Galla tried to bribe Geshtinanna to tell them were Dumuzi hid, but
she would not speak. They raped her—"they tore her clothes and poured
pitch into her vulva"—but still she would not speak. So the Galla left her
and went on to Dumuzi's friend. The friend betrayed Dumuzi and the
Galla found the hiding King. Yet Dumuzi escaped again and yet again
until at last the demons overpowered him while he hid in the sheepfold of
his sister.

When at last Inanna realized that Dumuzi was captured and doomed to
Sumerian Depiction of winged the underworld, she became remorseful and lamented the loss of her be-
Inanna with her foot on a lion & loved bridegroom, her sweet husband. And when she saw the grief of
weapons on her back. Her
Rosette is also visible in upper Geshtinanna who was wandering about the city weeping, "I would find
left corner. my brother! I would comfort him! I would share his fate!," Inanna felt com-
passion.

Together, aided by a holy fly, Inanna and Geshtinanna found Dumuzi

weeping at the edges of the steppe.

Inanna took Dumuzi by the hand and said: "You will go to

the underworld half the year. Your sister, since she has
asked, will go the other half. On the day you are called,
that day you will be taken. On the day Geshtinanna is
called, that day you will be set free."

"Inanna placed Dumuzi in the hands of the eternal."

"Holy Ereshkigal! Great is your renown! Holy Ereshkigal!

I sing your praises!
A famous frieze of either
Inanna or Lilith. She has all of
Inanna’s usual symbols...lions, [And thus Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, came to
owls, wings, and crown. Now in
British Museum. respect the ways of the underworld.]

A winged goddess wearing a multi-horned crown stands with her head in the realm
of the deities and their devotees. Her bird-clawed feet rest in a place, likely the un-
derworld, inhabited by strange and demonic creatures. Some think her to be Lilith,
The Sacred Marriage
Bed. Perhaps Inanna
but the crown shows her to be a great goddess, almost certainly Inanna. Mesopota-
mian cylinder seal. Hematite. 2000-1600 BCE.
& Dumuzi.
© S. Beaulieu, after Wolkstein and Kramer 1983: 51.

[END]