Inanna's Descent into the Netherworld

Four-hundred-twelve-line Sumerian mythological poem (ETCSL 1.4.1) preserved on Old Babylonian tablets from Nippur and Ur. It narrates how Inanna, Queen of Heaven, abandons her seven major Sumerian temples to descend into the Underworld (Kur) ruled by her older sister Ereshkigal, is stripped of her garments and me at seven gates, is condemned to death by the seven Anunnaki Judges of the Underworld, and is revived through the intervention of Enki on the condition that she provide a substitute—ultimately her consort Dumuzi and his sister Geshtinanna.

Core Themes

• Removal of Inanna's seven royal insignia (crown, lapis lazuli measuring rod, necklace, breastplate, gold ring, and pala garment) at the seven gates of Kur by the gatekeeper Neti.
• Rescue orchestrated by Inanna's vizier Ninshubur (Papsukkal), who petitions Enlil at Nippur, Nanna at Ur, and Enki at Eridu; Enki fashions the kurgarra and galaturra from the dirt beneath his fingernails to sprinkle the "food and water of life" over Inanna's corpse.
• Seasonal cycle established when Dumuzi and Geshtinanna alternate half-year terms in the netherworld.

Primary Text & Editions

• Untranslated Sumerian (composite transliteration): ETCSL c.1.4.1 — Inana's Descent to the Nether World (Sumerian transliteration)
• English translation: ETCSL t.1.4.1 — Inana's Descent to the Nether World (English translation)
• Primary tablet witnesses (CDLI): Nippur Tablet CBS 9800 (P264702) & Yale/Istanbul witnesses on CDLI
• Critical edition: Sladek, W. R. 1974. Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld. Johns Hopkins University; Black, J. et al. 2004. The Literature of Ancient Sumer, pp. 65–76.

Related Concepts & Sources

Inanna (Queen of Heaven), Ereshkigal (Queen of the Great Below), Dumuzi (consort and substitute), Geshtinanna (self-sacrificing sister), Judges of the Underworld (seven Anunnaki judges), Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld (Akkadian recension)