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Inanna is often depicted with wings
and standing on two animals, as in
this terracotta relief from the 2nd
millennium bce. She is also wearing
her cone-shaped crown.wanted to mourn with her sister in
the Underworld. However, in some
interpretations of the story, Inanna
intended to conquer her sister’s
realm, so that she could extend her
power into the Underworld.An unwelcome guest
For the Mesopotamians, the
Underworld was not unlike the
real world, except that it was
always dark, people were naked,
and the bread and beer were stale.
Named Kur, this realm was neither
good nor bad but existed between
heaven and earth, where the dead
remained trapped between the two
planes of existence.
Inanna knew that her descent
into the Underworld could also
lead to her death. As protection,
she equipped herself with seven
divine powers—symbolized in
items that she wore and held.
Inanna put on a turban, described
as “headgear for the open country,”
and hung lapis lazuli beads around
her neck. She wore twin egg-
shaped beads on her breast,
donned a fine pala dress, placeda pectoral over her chest named
“Come, man, come,” and adorned
her hand with a golden ring. As
Queen of Heaven, she also clasped
the lapis lazuli rod and tape used
for measuring the boundaries of her
realm. Inanna’s fine robes, attractive
ornaments, and the mascara—
called “Let a man come, let him
come”—that she wore to make her
irresistible, represented sexuality,
beauty, and fertility. The rod and
tape were instruments of her
authority—acquired from Enlil, theSee also: The abduction of Persephone 50–51 ■ Orpheus and Eurydice 53 ■ Osiris and the Underworld 276–83ASIA
Hymn to Inanna
The Hymn to Inanna was
written in the 3rd century bce
by Enheduanna, high priestess
of the city of Ur in Mesopotamia
(now southern Iraq). She was
the daughter of Sargon, the first
king of the Akkadian Empire,
and she was the first author
in the world that we know by
name. In her hymn to Inanna,
the priestess described the
Queen of Heaven as having
powers greater than the highest
of the gods—a powerful
goddess of destruction whohad the strength of a bull and
soaked the weapons of her
enemies in blood and gore. In
the hymn, Inanna’s battle cry
shook the earth and the gods
prostrated themselves at her
feet. “Her wrath is a devastating
flood which no one can
withstand ... she abases those
whom she despises.”
Edheduanna was a prolific
writer, composing a set of
temple hymns and dozens of
poems on many themes. She
was influential in politics, too,
and at least once fled a rebellion
but was restored to power.chief Mesopotamian deity, who
had set down the decrees that
established the foundations of
civilized society. Before leaving
heaven, Inanna told her attendant
Ninshubur to seek the gods’ help
if she did not return.
When Inanna reached the
entrance to the Underworld, the
gatekeeper ran to tell Ereshkigal
and was told to immediately lock
the seven gates against the new
arrival. To gain entry through each
gate, Inanna had to relinquish her
divine powers. Item by item, she
was compelled to remove her
turban and ornaments, and to give
up the rod and measuring tape.
Finally, at the last gate, she also
had to take off her clothes, so that
she was naked like everybody else.
In the Akkadian version of the
story, something else happened
when Inanna descended into ❯❯When she entered the seventh
gate, the pala dress, the
garment of ladyship, was
removed from her body.
The Descent of InannaUS_182-187_Inanna.indd 185 05/12/17 4:16 pm