Katabasis

[sovay]

ištēn bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal agâ rabâ ša qaqqadīša
ammīni atû tatbal agâ rabâ ša qaqqadīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
2-a bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal insabatê ša uznīša
ammīni atû tatbal insabatê ša uznīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
3-šu bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal erimmātī ša kišādīša
ammīni atû tatbal erimmātī ša kišādīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
4-u bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal dudinatê ša irtīša
ammīni atû tatbal dudinatê ša irtīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
5-šu bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal šibbu aban alādi ša qablīša
ammīni atû tatbal šibbu aban alādi ša qablīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
6-šu bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal šemerī qātīša u šēpīša
ammīni atû tatbal šemerī qātīya u šēpīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša
7-šu bābu ušēribšima umtasi ittabal subāt balti ša zumrīša
ammīni atû tatbal subāt balti ša zumrīya
erbi bēltī ša ^dBēlet-ersetim kīam parsīša

At the first gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the great crown of her head.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the great crown of my head?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the second gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the earrings of her ears.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the earrings of my ears?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the third gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the beads of her neck.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the beads of my neck?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the fourth gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the fibula-pin of her breast.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the fibula-pin of my breast?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the fifth gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the belt of birthing-stone of her waist.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the belt of birthing-stone of my waist?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the sixth gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the bracelets of her hands and feet.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the bracelets of my hands and feet?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."
At the seventh gate, he brought her in, and removed and took away the garment of dignity of her body.
"Why, gatekeeper, did you take away the garment of dignity of my body?"
"Enter, my lady: thus are the rites of the mistress of the underworld."

(Lines 42—62 of Ištar's Descent to the Underworld, manuscript from Nineveh)

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

::shivers::

O my heavens.

Nine

[spectre-general.livejournal.com]

This is actually also in comic form in Alan Moore's Promethea.

It's a strange book, but some o his most ambitious stuff to date.

[jlundberg.livejournal.com]

Sonya, was that translated from Serbian?

It's beautiful and evocative, and it really makes me want to know what happens next.

[matociquala.livejournal.com]

I am a random stranger chasing links. I do hope you don't mind if I friend you. Ishtar on livejournal is not your everyday occurence.

[stillsostrange.livejournal.com]

That's beautiful. I envy your class in Akkadian.

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

Inanna. Not being linguistically inclined, it was my first thought.

When Inanna arrived at the outer gates of the underworld,
She knocked loudly.
She cried out in a fierce voice:
'Open the door, gatekeeper!
Open the door, Neti!
I alone would enter!'

Neti, the chief gatekeeper of the kur, asked:
'Who are you?'
She answered:
'I am Inanna, Queen of Heaven,
On my way to the East.'
Neti said:
'If you are truly Inanna, Queen of Heaven,
On your way to the East,
Why has your heart led you on the road
From which no traveller returns?'

I want to say it's closer for me; but, again, really not any kind of scholar, so just say that I flew there instead of Istar intitially for some reason, and keep getting drawn back. There was also a story of a princess who was her high priestess that I liked. I'm googling but haven't come back upon this yet. Will have to look at my journal archives.

[navelofwine.livejournal.com]

You know, there's a short film of "Ishtar's Descent."