As the leader of this operation, Mu Yu looked up the legends about Inanna, and what interested him most were the poems about her.
"Ishtar Descends to the Underworld"
It tells the story of the greatest goddess of Babylon going to the underworld. Because the ending is incomplete, we don’t know why the goddess is like this. Fraser conceived the ending based on Tamuz mentioned at the end of the poem: Tamuz goes to the underworld once a year, so the goddess, as a lover, goes to the underworld once a year to rescue him. . The absence of the goddess caused the earth to wither. She brought Tamuz back to the earth, and the earth revived.
To the land of no return, the territory of Elishkigal,
Ishtar, the daughter of the Moon, determined to go there.
To the dark room, the abode of Irkala,
To that secret room that no one leaves after entering,
Going on a road of no return,
Entering a room where there is no more light after entering,
There, dust is their expense, sludge is their food,
There they see no light and live in darkness.
There they were wrapped in sackcloth like birds and clothed with wings,
Dust was scattered over the door and deadbolt.
When Ishtar reaches the gate of the land of no return,
She said to the gatekeeper:
\"Ah! Gatekeeper, open your door,
Open the door and let me in!
If you don't open the door and let me in,
I will smash the door and smash the bolt,
I will smash the doorposts, I will remove the doors,
I will raise up the dead and make them eat the living,
So that the dead will outnumber the living. \"
The gatekeeper opened his mouth to speak,
To the excited Ishtar:
\"Wait a minute, my mistress, don't drop it!
I will go to the palace of Queen Erishkigal to announce your arrival. \"
The gatekeeper entered and said to Elishkigal:
\"Look, your sister Ishtar is waiting at the door,
It is she who holds festivals,
The one who stirred the abyss before King Aia. \"
When Elishkigal heard this, his face turned as pale as a chopped tamarisk tree,
Her lips were as black as the bruised Kuninu reed.
What drives her? What made her tempted to come?
Would I rather drink water with the Anunnaki?
Would you like to use soil as food and mud as wine?
Would you rather lament the man who turned his wife into a widow?
Would you rather mourn the unfortunate girl who was snatched from your lover's lap?
Or would you like to lament the new death of a little child?
Go, gatekeeper, open the door for her,
Treat her according to the ancient rules. \"
The gatekeeper stepped forward and opened the door for her:
\"Come in, my mistress, and Kuta will hail you,
The palaces of the land of no return will rejoice in your presence. \"
When he opened the first door and let her in,
He stripped off and took away the huge crown on her head.
\"Gatekeeper, why do you take the crown off my head?\"
\"Enter, my mistress, the queen of the underworld, these are the rules.\"
When he opened the second door and let her in,
He pulled off and took away the pendants from her ears.
\"Ah! Gatekeeper, why did you take my pendant?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the Queen of the Underworld.\"
When he opened the third door and let her in,
He took off the necklace around her neck.
\"Why, ah! Gatekeeper, did you take the necklace?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the Queen of the Underworld.\"
When he opened the fourth door and let her in,
He took the corset from her breasts.
\"Why, ah! Gatekeeper, did you take the corset from my breast?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the Queen of the Underworld.\"
When he made her the fifth door to enter,
He took off and took away the jade belt tied around her hips.
\"Why, ah! Gatekeeper, do you take the belt around my hips?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the Queen of the Underworld.\"
When he opened the first door and let her into the sixth door,
He took off her bracelets and anklets and took them away.
\"Why, ah! Gatekeeper, did you take my bracelets and anklets?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the Queen of the Underworld.\"
When he opened the first door and let her enter the seventh door,
He stripped off and took away her lingerie.
\"Why, ah! Gatekeeper, did you take my underwear?\"
\"Come in, my mistress, these are the rules of the queen of the underworld.\"
Ishtar has just descended into the land of no return,
Eilishkigal saw her and shouted.
Ishtar flew to her side without saying a word.
Eilishkigal opened her mouth and spoke,
\"Take her away, Nantar, and lock her up in my palace!
Unleash sixty kinds of pain on her:
Let her eyes have eye pain,
Let her side have side pain,
Let her heart feel the pain of heart,
Let her feet have the pain of feet,
The pain that gave her head a headache -
To every part of her, to her whole body! \"
After Ishtar descended to the world below,
The bull no longer jumps on the cow, the male donkey no longer impregnates the female donkey,
Men no longer impregnate virgins in the streets.
The man slept in his own room, and the girl stayed alone in an empty room.
Pillars of Pasukari that guard the gods
Already fallen, his face obscured,
He was wrapped in sorrow, and his long hair was hanging loose.
Pasukari moved forward and walked to Aia, the King of Gods:
\"Ishtar has gone to the world below and has not come up yet.
Ever since Ishtar arrived in the land of no return,
The bull no longer jumps on the cow, the male donkey no longer impregnates the female donkey,
Men no longer impregnate virgins in the streets.
The man sleeps in his own room,
The girl could only stay in the empty room alone. \"
In his wise mind, Aa formed a picture,
And created Asushnamir, a eunuch:
\"Asushunamir, go up and face the gate of the land of no return,
The seven doors to the land of no return will be opened for you.
Elishkigal will see you and rejoice in you.
When her heart is calm and her complexion is cheerful,
Let her make the oath of a great god.
Then raise your head, go to the bag containing the water of life, and pray with your heart:
\"I pray to you, my queen, that they give me bags of water of life.
Let me drink of the water of life. \"
Elishkigal heard this,
He struck her on the thigh and bit her fingers:
\"Your request is indeed an unkind one.
Come, Assushnamir, I will curse you with a powerful curse!
The sludge of the city's sewers will be your food,
City sewer water will be your drink.
The threshold will be your abode,
The confused and the thirsty will bite your cheeks! \"
Eilishkigal opened her mouth and spoke,
Speak to her Nantar, her guard:
\"Nantal, go up and ring the Egalkina,
Decorate the threshold with coral stone,
Welcome the Anunnaki and seat them on their golden thrones,
Spray Ishtar with the water of life and take her away! \"
Nantar went and struck the Egalkina,
The threshold was decorated with coral stone,
Welcoming the Anunnaki and seating them on golden thrones,
Sprayed Ishtar with the water of life and carried her away.
When she let her out the first door,
He returned her underwear.
When she let her out the second door,
He returned her bracelet and anklet.
When she passed the third door,
He returned the jade belt around her hips.
When she passed the fourth door,
He returned the decoration between her breasts.
When she passed the fifth door,
He returns her necklace.
When she passed the sixth door,
He returned the pendant from her ear.
When she passed the seventh door,
He returned the large crown on her head.
\"If she doesn't give you her ransom, take her back.
As for Tamuz, her youthful lover,
Wash him with pure water and anoint him with perfume:
Dress him in bright red clothes and let him play his jade flute.
And let the maids please him. \"
When Bei Lili was playing with her pearls,
When she has the "eye-piercing stone" hanging on her hip,
When she heard her brother's voice, Beili struck the pearls...
And let the "eye-piercing stone" be filled with...
\"My only brother, don't hurt me!
The day when Tamuz found me,
When his jade flute and light jade ring see me,
When the weeping men and women who came with him see me,
May the souls of the dead ascend and smell the fragrance. \"
