Inanna's Descent to the Underworld

E217467

Sumerian mythological poem myth religious text

"Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" is an ancient Sumerian mythological poem recounting the goddess Inanna's perilous journey to the realm of the dead, her death and resurrection, and the resulting changes to cosmic and social order.

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All labels observed (15)

Label	Occurrences
Inanna’s Descent to the Netherworld	6
Descent of Inanna	4
Inanna's Descent to the Underworld canonical	3
The Descent of Inanna	3
Descent of Ishtar	2
Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld	2
Akkadian myth of Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld	1
Inanna and Dumuzi cycle	1
Inanna's Descent	1
Inanna’s descent to the netherworld	1
Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld	1
Sumerian myth "Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld"	1
Sumerian myth of Inanna's Descent to the Underworld	1
The Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld	1
The Descent of Ninlil	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1901011 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Inanna's Descent to the Underworld
Context triple: [Inanna, appearsIn, Inanna's Descent to the Underworld]

A. Inanna and the Huluppu Tree
"Inanna and the Huluppu Tree" is a Sumerian mythological tale that recounts the goddess Inanna’s relationship with a sacred tree inhabited by supernatural beings and its eventual transformation into objects of power.
B. Enuma Elish
Enuma Elish is an ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that recounts the rise of the god Marduk and the ordering of the cosmos from primordial chaos.
C. Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, among the earliest surviving works of literature, that recounts the heroic adventures and existential quests of King Gilgamesh of Uruk.
D. The Rape of Proserpina
The Rape of Proserpina is a renowned Baroque marble sculpture depicting the dramatic abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, celebrated for its intense emotion and astonishingly lifelike rendering of flesh and movement.
E. Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is a legendary Sumerian king of Uruk famed as the heroic protagonist of the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known works of literature.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Inanna's Descent to the Underworld
Target entity description: "Inanna's Descent to the Underworld" is an ancient Sumerian mythological poem recounting the goddess Inanna's perilous journey to the realm of the dead, her death and resurrection, and the resulting changes to cosmic and social order.

A. Inanna and the Huluppu Tree
"Inanna and the Huluppu Tree" is a Sumerian mythological tale that recounts the goddess Inanna’s relationship with a sacred tree inhabited by supernatural beings and its eventual transformation into objects of power.
B. Enuma Elish
Enuma Elish is an ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that recounts the rise of the god Marduk and the ordering of the cosmos from primordial chaos.
C. Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian epic poem, among the earliest surviving works of literature, that recounts the heroic adventures and existential quests of King Gilgamesh of Uruk.
D. The Rape of Proserpina
The Rape of Proserpina is a renowned Baroque marble sculpture depicting the dramatic abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, celebrated for its intense emotion and astonishingly lifelike rendering of flesh and movement.
E. Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is a legendary Sumerian king of Uruk famed as the heroic protagonist of the ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known works of literature.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Sumerian mythological poem ⓘ myth ⓘ religious text ⓘ
associatedWith	Dumuzi ⓘ Enki ⓘ Ereshkigal ⓘ Inanna ⓘ Ninshubur ⓘ
culture	Sumerian ⓘ linked to: Sumer
featuresDeity	Dumuzi ⓘ Enki ⓘ Ereshkigal ⓘ Inanna ⓘ Ninshubur ⓘ
functionInCult	explains aspects of seasonal and fertility cycles ⓘ
genre	mythological narrative ⓘ religious myth ⓘ
influenced	Akkadian myth of Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld ⓘ linked to: Inanna's Descent to the Underworld later Mesopotamian descent myths ⓘ
language	Sumerian language ⓘ
mainCharacter	Inanna ⓘ
motif	descent of a deity to the land of the dead ⓘ seven gates of the underworld ⓘ stripping of divine regalia ⓘ substitution in the underworld ⓘ
plotEvent	Dumuzi is chosen as a substitute to take Inanna's place in the underworld ⓘ Enki creates rescuers to revive Inanna ⓘ Inanna is judged and killed in the underworld ⓘ Inanna is revived and allowed to leave the underworld with a substitute ⓘ Inanna passes through seven gates and removes an item of clothing or regalia at each gate ⓘ Inanna's corpse is hung on a hook ⓘ Ninshubur seeks help from the gods when Inanna does not return ⓘ
plotSummary	Inanna descends to the underworld to confront her sister Ereshkigal and is stripped of her powers at seven gates ⓘ
preservedOn	cuneiform tablets ⓘ
region	Mesopotamia ⓘ
relatedDeity	Ishtar ⓘ linked to: Inanna
relatedWork	Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld ⓘ linked to: Inanna's Descent to the Underworld
religion	ancient Mesopotamian religion ⓘ
scholarlyField	Assyriology ⓘ
script	cuneiform ⓘ
setting	Underworld ⓘ realm of Ereshkigal ⓘ
studiedIn	comparative mythology ⓘ
theme	cosmic order ⓘ death and resurrection ⓘ descent to the underworld ⓘ gender and authority ⓘ power and kingship ⓘ sacrifice and substitution ⓘ
timePeriod	Early second millennium BCE ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (29)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Inanna → appearsIn → Inanna's Descent to the Underworld ⓘ

Tammuz → mentionedIn → Sumerian myth "Inanna’s Descent to the Underworld" ⓘ

subject linked to: Mesopotamian deity Tammuz