The Descent of Inanna

Sumerian myth · c. 1900 BCE · Myth / Legend · Mesopotamian · Ancient

The queen of heaven abandons her temples for the underworld ruled by her sister, and at each of seven gates a garment or ornament is taken from her. Before going down she leaves instructions with her servant for what to do if she does not come back. The oldest descent narrative, and the pattern for every journey down and out.

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Lineage

• ↓ Persephone and Demeter
  Greek myth · c. 600 BCE · Myth / Legend — parallels this

Attributes

Closest analogues

• Persephone and Demeter
  Greek myth · c. 600 BCE · Myth / Legend

  47% · 13 shared
  Myth / LegendTragedyDeath & MortalityRebirthAncientShadowVoyage and ReturnRebirthDescent to the GoddessFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The Fall / Descentvs Fate / GodsMythic
• The Hero Twins (Popol Vuh)
  K'iche' Maya · c. 1550 CE · Myth / Legend

  46% · 12 shared
  Myth / LegendEpicDeath & MortalityRebirthVoyage and ReturnRebirthBelly of the WhaleApotheosisFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The Fall / Descentvs Fate / GodsMythic
• Ragnarök
  Norse myth · c. 1200 CE · Myth / Legend

  44% · 12 shared
  Myth / LegendEpicTragedyDeath & MortalityRebirthShadowRuler / KingRebirthFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)vs Fate / GodsMythicTragic
• The Story of Osiris and Isis
  Egyptian myth · c. 2000 BCE · Myth / Legend

  38% · 11 shared
  Myth / LegendTragedyDeath & MortalityRebirthAncientShadowRuler / KingRebirthFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)vs Fate / GodsMythic
• The Aeneid
  Virgil · 19 BCE · Poem

  37% · 10 shared
  EpicSacrificeRuler / KingVoyage and ReturnBelly of the WhaleFall–Rise (Man in a Hole)The Fall / Descentvs Fate / GodsMythicTragic
• The Legend of the Five Suns
  Aztec myth · c. 1400 CE · Myth / Legend

  37% · 9 shared
  Myth / LegendEpicDeath & MortalityRebirthSacrificeRebirthThe Fall / Descentvs Fate / GodsMythic