This story, which was originally written in cuneiform and inscribed on clay tablets, is in the form of a poem. Ishtars descent into the underworld full text youtube. From the great above inanna opened her ear to the great below. She is the author of numerous awardwinning books of folklore, including the magic orange tree, and other haitian folktales and inanna, queen of heaven and earth. From the great heaven she set her mind on the great below. Herself a physician and a brilliant geneticist who treated a race of workers, the lulus. The poem is related to an earlier sumerian poem that tells of the descent of inana to the netherworld in a much more elaborate account of the descent and resurrection, and the akkadian version of the story omits much of the detail that appears in the sumerian work. From the great above the goddess oepned her ear to the great below. Interpretation of inannas descent myth from the great above inanna opened her ear to the great below. While ishtar is there, all sexual activity on earth. The situation each human often finds hisherself in is often a response to ones social status or in many cases their gender. Combining ancient texts and modern dreams, sylvia perera presents a way of feminine initiation. In uruk she abandoned her temple to descend to the underworld.
He was the bull killed by gilgamesh and enkidu in the epic of gilgamesh. Inannas descent to the underworld by johanna stuckey 20150802, 3. Descent to the goddess is a highly original and provocative book about womens freedom and the need for an inner, female authority in a masculineoriented society. Queen of heaven and earth, harper and row, 1983, p. Inanna and her descent into the land of no return, to meet erishkigal, the goddess of death and queen of the underworld. Descent of the goddess ishtar into the lower world from the civilization of babylonia and assyria, m. She abandons her temples in the seven cities of her worship, abandons, in fact, all of the glories of heaven and earth, and prepares. This is when the goddess ruled the heavens, the earth and the underworld.
In sumerian, the word for ear and wisdom are the same. Legend of the decent of inanna inannas most important myth begins with the great goddess opening her ear to the great below. For catherine who never feared to go anywhere into feeling, who. Jastrow, 1915 to the land of no return, the land of darkness, ishtar, the daughter of sin directed her thought, directed her thought, ishtar, the daughter of sin, to the house of shadows, the dwelling, of irkalla.
In psychospiritual terms, ereshkigal and inanna are completing the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Jan 02, 2017 the descent of inanna known also as inannas descent to the netherworld underworld is a piece of work in the literary corpus of ancient mesopotamia. From the great above the goddess opened her ear to the great below. Inannas greatgrandfather, ruling lord of nibiru and head of the family dynasty. This is an account, translated from the sumerian texts, of the goddess inanna s descent into the underworld. Other articles where the descent of ishtar to the underworld is discussed. This is the story of inanna, the ancient myth that predates the male gods, such as zeus.
Pdf inannas descent to the underworld by johanna stuckey. Otto lehto the seven veils of ishtar and the ten sefirot of. I am indebted to all four of these sources as well as many others, especially doris lessing for her briefing for a descent into hell and her. This story isnt about gilgamesh however, it instead follows inanna. A fresh retelling of the ancient texts about ishtar, the worlds first goddess. The story of the collaboration process of eugene chamber theaters production of the descent of inanna is detailed in tim guettermans video documentary, the descent of inanna. Citation the descent of inanna as a ritual journey to. From the great above inanna openend her ear to the great below. Ishtar was a babylonian copy of the sumerian goddess inanna who was frequently depicted standing on the backs of two lionessesanother important symbol. A clearer understanding of the descent of inanna is available to any reader acquainted with the sumerian work the epic of gilgamesh c. Kramer, inannas descent to the nether world continued and revised, jcs 5. Old woman dreams of the windi and ii, inanna burns dumuzi. The descent of inanna understanding the dark goddess.
Ishtar inanna as a warrior presenting captives to the king public domain among the worlds oldest poems. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Inannas descent to the underworld by johanna stuckey. She is a goddess of order, fertility, grains, love, war, heaven and earth, healing, and emotion. The creativity post inanna and the creative descent. The sumerian descent of inanna 1 relates, in a poetic narrative form, events and situations of the divine \vorldit is, in the common understanding of the word, a myth.
Inanna s descent to the nethe1 dumuzir world,s dream,2 dumuzi and th3 the galla. Ereshkigal, in mesopotamian religion, goddess in the sumeroakkadian pantheon who was lady of the great place i. Inanna learns that her sister, ereshkigal queen of the underworld, is mourning the death of her husband, gudgalana. Fosters analysis of late akkadian literature provides a window onto the. I show inanna s connection to shamanic praxis and gnostic mythology, and read alettes journey as a crisis vi. Brown, not the authors, translators, or publishers. In the first line of the descent of inanna, from the great above she set her mind to the great below, what exactly does.
Meeting the shadow of oneself inanna queen of heaven. From the trunk of the tree he carved a throne for his holy sister. The two descent myths can easily be understood in reference to the shamanic otherworldly voyage. The descent of inanna is thought to have been composed at some point of time between 3500 b. Venus, the descentascent of inanna and the 7 gates. Inanna sumerian goddess of fertility, love, sex and war. Descent that deal with the disrobing of ishtar with what the bahir and the zohar say about the descent of the divine feminine in her descending aspect down the mystical tree of life.
From the great above she opened her ear to the great below. In this early creation legend from the epic poem gilgamesh, enkidu, and the netherworld, inanna is depicted as a young girl. Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. Known for her meticulous research as well as her great range as a performer, ms.
Following this, i have reproduced the full text of ishtars descent into hades, the key poem for the myth of inanna and dumuzis underworld journeys. Roughly 4000 year old clay tablets describe the descent of the goddess inana into the world of the dead. It identifies some of the functions that may be fulfilled in our. Whilst studying the venus cycle, i was always perplexed as to the story of inannas descent into the underworld and her journey there through the 7 gates and how it related to the cycle of venus. The descent of inanna a sumerian hero story during the times of gilgamesh that explores the descent into, and ascent from hell. Inannas close connection with shamanic praxis cannot be doubted. From the great above, inanna, the great goddess, opened her ear to the great below. From the great heaven the goddess set her mind on the great below. And the sons of the city, who accompanied him, cut off the branches. Gilgamesh then loosened the roots of the huluppu tree.
I will later provide a short overview of the ishtarkabbalah parallelisms. For those who came to the performance of the play made from these poems more than onewho told me they would do so until they had their favorite words memorized. Healing with myth this essay analyses the use of ancient myths in modernday western therapy. Legend of the decent of inanna inanna s most important myth begins with the great goddess opening her ear to the great below. The descent of inannathe story below is an abridged version of the descent myth of inannasummarized by amy peck. Womens role in inanna essay sample new york essays. The descent of inanna to the underworld by deanne quarrie. The descent of inanna known also as inannas descent to the netherworld underworld is a piece of work in the literary corpus of ancient mesopotamia. Although the descent of inanna is a short work it runs to little over 400 lines, making it a little shorter than a poem like the waste land, it contains many of the elements we associate with epic poetry such as the descent into the. The descent of inanna the story below is an abridged version of the descent myth of inanna summarized by amy peck. Descent of inanna religious studies bibliographies cite. The descent of ishtar to the underworld mesopotamian. To verify accuracy, check the appropriate style guide.
An interpretation of inanna s descent myth is included on a separate webpage aaaaaaaaaaaaa. The descent of inanna describes, as the title suggests, the ancient sumerian goddess inannas descent into the underworld inanna being the daughter of nanna, and the sumerian goddess of love, beauty, fertility, and wisdom, among other things. As opposed to our cultures interest in ascent myths of heros and conquerers, myths of descent teach us how to survive and grow when we lose what is precious to us. She abandoned her office of holy priestess to descend to the underworld. My mistress abandoned heaven, abandoned earth, and descended to the underworld. Venus, the descentascent of inanna and the 7 gates cosmic. In the myths about her, she is sometimes a conqueror, sometimes a helper of mankind, occasionally a lover, and once or twice she plays a fool. From the trunk of the tree gilgamesh carved a bed for inanna. The descent of inanna from the great above she opened her ear to the great below. From the great heaven inana set her mind on the great below. Myth structure and symbolism inanas descent into the nether world. Inanna ishtars most famous myth is the story of her descent into and return from kur, the ancient sumerian underworld, a myth in which she attempts to conquer the domain of her older sister ereshkigal, the queen of the underworld, but is instead deemed guilty of hubris by the seven judges of the underworld and struck dead. The descent of inanna to the underworld by deanne quarrie by deanne quarrie on october 25, 2014 9 inanna provides a manyfaceted image of the feminine. Descent of inanna religious studies bibliographies.
Inanna is an ancient mesopotamian goddess associated with love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power. Inanna was a goddess of love, fertility, wisdom, and war. Its incantations have the power of a rhythmic cadence. For example, enki, the god of wisdom, is said to have his ear wide open an unfiltered receptivity. Descent of inanna wolkstein kramer from the great above she opened her ear to the great below. Womens role in inanna it is fascinating how the world has changed from the beginning of the ages until what we call modern time. She was originally worshipped in sumer and was later worshipped by the akkadians, babylonians, and assyrians under the name ishtar. The descent of inanna as a ritual journey to kutha. The descent of inanna myth is the story of the prideful inannas journey to the underworld to ostensibly pay homage to her sister, ereshkigal, queen of the kur underworld. She turned her attention to the underworld, and decided to descend. My lady abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld.
In a myth called the descent of ishtar to the underworld, the fertility goddess decides to visit kurnugia the land of no return, where the dead live in darkness, eat clay, and are clothed like birds with wings. Ishtar, and between the two there was great enmity. It was generally understood by astrologers that venus would be in the underworld only when retrograde. Indented and italicized text is excerpted from the original poem, translated by diane wolkstein and samuel noah kramers book, inanna queen of heaven and. Interpretation of inannas descent myth halexandria. With the longawaited publication of this book, we have for the first time in any modern literary form one of the most vital and important of ancient myths. Before her journey to the underworld, she outfits herself in all her jewels and raiment, seven pieces including crown, jewels, scepter and robes. Myth structure and symbolism inanas descent into the. The goddess spots a huluppu tree on the banks of the euphrates river and wants to create a throne from the majestic tree. Pdf an exegesis of inanna and ishtars descent to the nether world. Whilst studying the venus cycle, i was always perplexed as to the story of inanna s descent into the underworld and her journey there through the 7 gates and how it related to the cycle of venus. She abandons her temples in the seven cities of her worship, abandons, in fact, all of the glories of heaven and earth, and prepares to make the journey from which no traveler returns. In a mesopotamian cylinder seal dating to the akkad period, c.
Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the. Aug 17, 20 inanna learns that her sister, ereshkigal queen of the underworld, is mourning the death of her husband, gudgalana. Pdf the primary focus of this paper shall be on the representations of the goddesses inanna and her relationship with ishtar. These citations are software generated and may contain errors. Her stories and hymns from sumer see other formats. The descent of inanna in gratitude for the audience who makes a story. There are many myths about the descent of the goddess. Diane wolkstein has been teaching, performing, and writing for over thirtyfive years. The descent of alettehas strong ties to the ancient sumerian descent of inanna as well as to the gnostic myth of sophias descent into matter to affect the redemption of humankind.
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