Descent to the Underworld
Through seven gates she is stripped of everything, dies, and returns — but only if someone takes her place below.
Also: descent to the underworld · Inana's descent · Ishtar's descent · Descent of Ishtar · seven gates · katabasis
In one of the greatest Mesopotamian myths, the goddess Inana (Ishtar in Akkadian) descends into the netherworld of her sister Ereshkigal. At each of seven gates she surrenders a garment or ornament, arriving stripped and powerless; she is struck dead and hung on a hook. Rescued by Enki's cunning, she may return only if she provides a substitute — and the lot falls on her consort Dumuzi. The myth explores the boundary between life and death, the price of crossing it, and the terrible logic that someone must remain below for another to come up. It is among the most influential descent-narratives in world literature.
In short
The mythic journey of a deity down through the seven gates of the netherworld and back — Inana's/Ištar's descent — at the cost of stripping, death, and a required substitute.
Where it’s found
'Inana's descent to the nether world' (ETCSL 1.4.1, in corpus); the Akkadian Descent of Ištar (akkadian-pending; Foster; Dalley)
How the idea developed across Sumer, Babylon & Assyria
The Sumerian 'Inana's descent' and the shorter Akkadian 'Descent of Ištar' share the seven-gates structure and the substitute-logic; they differ in detail and emphasis (the Akkadian version foregrounds the world's sterility while Ištar is below). Keep Inana (Sumerian) and Ištar (Akkadian) as distinct strata of one figure.