Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld - Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld

...This is a story with a complex structure, estimated to have originally been over 400 lines in total, and includes the theme that Inanna descends to the underworld and is unable to return to earth, so Dumuzi (here Inanna's husband) is brought to the underworld in her place, and Dumuzi's sister Geshtinanna descends to the underworld in search of her. This myth was passed down to Babylonia and Assyria, and in the Assyrian text "Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld," the story (about 140 lines) is about the goddess Ishtar descending to the underworld in search of the male god Tammuz (a corrupted version of the Sumerian "Dumuz"). If we follow the view that Inanna = Ishtar is a mother goddess and Dumuzi = Tammuz is a god of plants that are the product of the earth, we can consider this myth to be about the mother goddess searching for the plant god who disappeared underground during the winter.

*Some of the terminology that refers to "Ishtar's Descent to the Underworld" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…これはもとは総計400行以上あったと推定される複雑な構成をもつ物語で，イナンナが冥界に下りて地上に戻れなくなり，ドゥムジ(ここではイナンナの夫)が身代りに冥界に連れてこられ，それを求めてドゥムジの姉ゲシュティンアンナが冥界へ下るというテーマを含んでいる。この神話はバビロニア，アッシリアへ伝えられ，アッシリア語文書《イシュタルの冥界下り》では，女神イシュタルが男神タンムズ(シュメールの〈ドゥムジ〉がなまったもの)を探し求めて冥界へ下る物語(約140行)となっている。イナンナ=イシュタルを地母神，ドゥムジ=タンムズを大地の所産である植物の神とする見解に従えば，冬季に入って地下に消えた植物神を母である女神が探し求めるという神話とみなすことができる。…

※「イシュタルの冥界下り」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報