"Inanna's Descent to the Nether World" Continued Author(s): Samuel Noah Kramer Source: Proceedings of the American Philosophical

Society, Vol. 94, No. 4 (Aug. 25, 1950), pp. 361-363 Published by: American Philosophical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3143521 . Accessed: 15/03/2014 19:48
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"INANNA'S DESCENT

TO THE NETHER WORLD" CONTINUED

SAMUEL NOAH KRAMER

Clark Research Professorof Assyriology,Universityof Pennsylvania; Curator of the Tablet Collections, UniversityMuseum

5, 1949) (Read November

1942,a littleover eightyearsago, it FEBRUARY to publishin the Proceedingsof was myprivilege the AmericanPhilosophicalSociety the contents "Inanna's Descent to entitled of a Sumerianmyth theNetherWorld." 1 The extanttextofthemyth tabletsand from thirteen had been piecedtogether inscribedabout 1700 B.C., more than fragments 3.500 yearsago. All thepieces were excavatedat the ancient Sumerian site Nippur, not far from modern Baghdad, and are now located in the Museum of the AncientOrientin Istanbuland in Museum in Philadelphia. As the the University paper pointedout, the text of the poem was still and it expressedthe hope thatsooner incomplete, would be unportions or latersome of its missing covered and translated. The presentpaper is a if,let it be stressed, report of the first preliminary realization of thehope. A tabletinscribed partial, theconwithpartofthe"Inanna's Descent" myth, tentsofwhichwerenotutilizedat thetime,is now in the Yale Babylonian Collection in New Haven 2; it had been bought some decades ago is therefore unfrom a dealer,and its provenience known,but it may well have been Nippur. The and contains ninetytabletis excellently preserved lines add two lines of text. The firstsixty-two a portion of the little sincetheyduplicate relatively lines are text alreadyknown. But the last thirty new passage invaluable; theycontainan entirely which carries on the story from where it had knowntexts. Morebrokenoffin the previously over this new materialhas a ratherunexpected it clearsup a misconception concernsignificance; ing the Sumerian deity Dumuzi-the Biblical of MesopoTammuz-which has misledstudents formorethanhalf and religion tamianmythology a century. in the words of Pharaoh's cupFirst,however, my sins today." For I bearer,"Let me mention
Philos. Soc. 85 (3) : 293-323,1942.
2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN

1 Cf. the writer's Sumerian literature: a preliminary survey of the oldest literaturein the world, Proc. Amer.

should have known and utilizedthe contentsof the text of this Yale tabletwhen reconstructing since the existthe mythin the nineteen-thirties, ence of this tabletin the Yale BabylonianCollectionwas knownand notedas earlyas 1924 by the late Edward Chierawho had copiedmanySumerian literarytexts in Istanbul and Philadelphia. his very briefnotationof its But unfortunately to his volume enexistencein the introduction titledSumerianReligious Texts 3 escaped my attentionat the time. But some years ago I had of visitingthe Yale Babylonian the opportunity of its curator and, withthecooperation Collection, Ferris Stephens and his colleague Albrecht Goetze, helped to catalogue its over one huntabletsand fragments.It dred Sumerianliterary was in the course of this work that the contents of the "Inanna's Descent" tablet and its significance for the myth were recognized. Ferris and careful Stephens has since made a faithful to me, and copyof the tabletwhichhe forwarded I have now prepared a tentativetransliteration of publication and translation.The finalscientific the tablet,which is to appear in the Journalof Studies, will be a cooperativestudy Cuneiform of Ferris Stephensand underthe jointauthorship myself. with the sketchof the conBefore proceeding tentsof the new passage, it will be advisable to the plot of the mythas it reviewever so briefly was availableeightyearsago. For some unknown reason Inanna, queen of heaven, the Sumerian goddess of love and war, has set her heart upon collects visitingthe netherworld. She therefore divine decrees,adorns herself all the appropriate with her queenlyrobes and jewels, and is ready to enterthe "land of no return." Queen of the netherworld is her older sister,and seemingly bitterenemy,Ereshkigal,the Sumerian goddess of death and gloom. Fearing lest her sisterput her to deathin the nether world,Inanna instructs
3

The tablet is catalogued as YBC 4621.

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, VOL.

Cf. p. 38 of the introduction.

94, NO. 4, AUGUST, 1950 361

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362

SAMUEL NOAH KRAMER

rPROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC.

who is always at her Shara and Latarak by name,are terrified at the her messengerNinshubur, arrivals;theyclothethembeck and call, that if afterthree days she shall sightoftheseunearthly he is to set up a hue and cry selves in sackcloth and grovelin the dust before have failedto return, by their hall of thegods. Inanna. Inanna seems to be gratified forherin heaven,in theassembly to carry He is thento go to Nippur,the cityof Enlil, the humility, and whenthe demonsthreaten and plead offthesedeitiesto the netherworldshe restrains leadinggod of the Sumerianpantheon, withthe latterto save Inanna and not let her be them, and thussaves theirlives. world. If Enlil refuses put to deathin the nether Here is where the text of the mythbroke off Nanna, eight years ago, and it is the Yale tabletwhich he is to go to Ur, thecityof themoon-god he is now enables us to continue as follows: the story, and repeathis plea. If Nanna, too, refuses, to go to Eridu, the cityof Enki, the god of wis- Afterher visitto the first two cities,Inanna and dom,and the latterwho "knowsthe food of life," the demonscontinue theirjourneyand arriveat a who "knows the water of life,"will surelycome Sumerian city with the partly illegible name to her rescue. deityof thiscityis The tutelarv . . ..-Kullab. Inanna then descendsto the netherworld and the shepherd-god Dumuzi or, as thename is usuof lapis lazuli. At ally pronounced, temple Ereshkigal's approaches Tammuz.6 This god Dumuzi, who accordingto Sumerianmythology the gate she is met by the chiefgatekeeper is actuallyIndemands to know who she is and why she has anna's husband,and it is perhapsnot surprising to wear sackcloth come. Inanna concocts a false excuse for her therefore to findhim refusing from and grovelin the dust beforehis spouse. In any upon instructions visit,and the gatekeeper, the seven gates of case upon the arrival of Inanna and the demons leads her through his mistress, each of he dressesup insteadin festive arrayand sitsloftworld. As she passes through the nether the gates her garmentsand jewels are removed ily upon his throne. Enraged. Inanna looks down piece by piece in spite of her protests. Finally upon hinm with"the eve of death" and hands him demonsto carry the last gate, she is broughtstark over to the eager and unmerciful afterentering Dumuzi Ereshkigaland himoffto thenether world. \Whereupon nakedand on bendedkneesbefore the Anunnaki,the seven dreaded judges of the turnspale and weeps. He liftshis hands to the upon her theireye of sky and pleads with the Sumeriansun-godUtu. world. These fasten nether mvthologito the Sumeriani death and she is turnedinto a corpse whichwas who again, according and therebrother, is his wifeTnanna's thenhungfroma stake. So pass threedays and cal notion, see- forehis own brother-in-law. He begs Utu to help day Ninshubur, threenights. On the fourth has not returned, proceedsto himescapetheclutches ofthe demonsby changing ing thathis mistress withhis his hand into the hand of a snake, and his foot maketheroundsofthegods in accordance bothEnlil intothe footof a snake. And here unfortunately. instructions.As Inanna has predicted, and Nanna refuseall help. Enki, however,de- right to Utu, our in themiddleofDumuzi's prayer the Yale tabletcomes to an end, and we do not even herto life. He fashions vises a plan to restore two sexless creatures, knowwhether and the kalaturrit, k1trgarrfl plea or or not Utu heardDumnuzi's and entruststo themthe "food of life" and the whether the latterwas actuallycarriedoffto the to proceed to netherworld. And once again we are compelled "water of life," with instructions the netherworld and sprinklethis "food" and to expressthe hope of eightyears ago that some "water" sixty times upon Inanna's impaled day the clay tableton whichthe end of the storv corpse.4 This theydo, and Inanna revives. As is inscribed will be uncovered.7 she leaves the netherworld, however,and remessenger Ninshubur goddess is ian cities she is met by her faithful ascends to the earth,the resurrected garbed in sackcloth and groveling in the dust. In spite by the harpiesand bogies who make of his effortswhich helped to save Inanna's life, he is accompanied theirhome in the lower regions. Surroundedby threatenedby the demons, but is saved by Inanna. follows the Biblical transliteration pro(} This pronunciation this ghastlydemoniaccompanyInanna first 8, 14. Ezekiel cf. name; the of and Umma cities two Sumerian the ceeds to visit A joint expedition of the Oriental Institute of the Badtibira.5 The tutelarydeities of these cities, Museum of
which There were a numberof additional instructions the kurgarrfiand kalaturrithad to follow, but they are of uncertain character since the text is badly broken at this point. 5 Immediately upon Inanna's ascent from the nether world and before she proceeds to visit the various Sumer4

University of Chicago and the University the University of Pennsylvania, is now conductingexcavations at Nippur, the place where most of our Sumerian literary material comes from. And so, while it is never vise to predict, there is some possibility that the hope expressed in this paper may be realized at least to some extent in the not too distant future.

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VOL. 94, NO. 4, 19501

"INANNA'S DESCENT TO THE NETHER WORLD"

363

Now as alreadynoted,brief as thenew material "Let us accompanythee to Kullab, the... added by theYale tabletactually is, it has a rather They accompaniedher to Kullab, the . . . surprising significance; it helps to straighten out (There) Dumuzi dressedhimselfin a noble garment, a mythological seated himselfloftilyon (his) seat. misconception whichhas been currentamongOrientalists formanya decade,almost The demonsseized him by the anus, ever sincethe Semiticversionof our myth, known Poured out the seven table-drinks,9 of as "Ishtar's Descent to the NetherWorld," was The seven (demons) attack him like the strength the sick, firstpublished,8and long before its Sumerian The shepherdsplay not the fluteand the pipe before counterpart came to be knownto any significant him. extent. For all along it has been generallysupShe fastenedthe eye upon him,the eye of death, posed that the god Dumuzi had been carriedoff Spoke the word against him,the word of wrath, to the netherworld for some unknownreason Utteredthe cry against him, the cry of guilt: some time beforeInanna's descentto the nether "As for him,carryhim off." world. Indeed it was this assumption which The pure Inanna gave the shepherdDumuzi into their hands. seemed to provide the motivation for mnanna's descent; that is, it was generallysupposed that They who accompaniedhim, Inanna descendedto the nether worldin orderto They who accompaniedDumuzi, free her husband Dumuzi and bring him back (Were beings who) know not food,know not water, Eat not sprinkled flour, alive. The new Yale text, however,shows that Drink not libated water, these assumptionswere quite groundless. Not Sate not pleasurablythe lap of the wife, only did not Inanna save her husband Dumuzi Kiss not the honzey-fed child; fromthe netherworld,it was she who, angered They liftedthe man's son fromhis knee, by his contemptuous attitude, actuallyhandedhim They carried off the bride from the house of the father-in-law. over to the nether worlddemonsto carryhim off Dumuzi wept,his face turnspale, to the land of no return. We concludewitha tentative line by line trans- Towards heaven, to (the sun-god) Utu, he liftedhis hands: lationofthenew material on the Yale tablet. The I am thysister's "O Utu, thou art my wife's brother, first line containsthe speech of the demonswho husband, together with Inanna are now in the City Bad- I am one who brings fat to thymother'shouse, tibirawhere Inanna had just forbidden themto I am one who bringsmilkto Ningal's house,1 carryoffits tutelary deityLatarak who had hum- Turn myhands into the hands of a snake, bled himselfbeforeInanna by puttingon sack- Turn my feetinto the feetof a snake, cloth and sittingin the dust; the disappointed Let me escape my demons,let themnot seize me." demonsthensay: 9All italic words are doubtfulrenderings.
epic and Old Testament parallels, 119 ff.,Chicago, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1946.
8 For details cf. now, Alexander Heidel, The Gilgamnesh of the moon-god Nanna, is the mother of Utu, cf. the

10 According to Sumerian mythology, Ningal, the wife

SumerianMythology, Mem. Amer.Philos. Soc. writer's

21: 74, 1944.

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