Response to: The Descent of Inanna

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“The Descent of Inanna” “The Descent of Inanna” is the oldest piece of literature that is still intact today. It has been noted to easily go back as far as 3500 B.C.E. Inanna was, “the Queen of Heaven and Earth, Goddess of Love and Beauty, and the Morning and Evening Star.” In, “The Descent of Inanna,” we are able to see Inanna at almost every stage in life, from her transformation from a youthful goddess to her changing into a beautiful woman and queen. This text, although written several thousands of years ago still depicts a woman’s worth, even in today’s society. There are three parts in Inanna’s passage, the first being when she descends into the underworld and dies. The second part is when she is revived and sent back to the upperworld. And the final part is where Dumuzi (her soulmate) is found and takes her place in the underworld. All sections reflect on women and their roles in the universe, Inanna was a goddess but still seemed to represent woman as a whole from the beginning of time to even now a days. Inanna went to the underworld knowing that she would probably not be returning, she got everything taken away from her when entering the Underworld. As stated in the text, “When she entered the first gate, from her head, the shugurra, the crown of the steppe, was removed” (32). Inanna did something for herself and for the sake of others. And as stated in the text, everything she wore and that had value in the upperworld meant absolutely nothing in the underworld. Like everyday people when it was Inanna’s time to meet the judges of the underworld they judged her and then ended up killing her. With Inanna being worshipped by so many mortals in the upperworld it is no surprise that Father Enki was able to get her corpse from the underworld. He sent kurgarra and galatur to the underworld and were blessed by a gift from Ereshkigal after she had given birth
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