Inanna's Day.
After the Goddess Inanna had tricked the great powers from Enki’s drunken lips, and bestowed upon humanity the gifts and curses of civilization, she was by most accounts the most powerful god in the Summerian Pantheon.
Knowing that one of her powers was to travel the road to the land of the dead, she decided to visit her sister Erishkigal, queen of the underworld, and attend her brother-in-law's funeral. She dressed herself in her seven most magnificent powers, her royal garments, and demanded to be let in. Ereshkigal was suspicious, and instructed her servants to let her in, but take one of her royal garments for each of the seven gates to the underworld. Naked and powerless Inanna had to bow to get through the final gate, and finally was received bent down and on her knees in front of her sister. She took her sisters place at the throne of the underworld, and in doing so the seven judges of the underworld passed judgment on Inanna, and sentenced her to death for having dared walk into the underworld. Inanna fell dead to the ground, and her corpse was hung from a hook.
After three days and three nights Inanna's servant, on her masters instructions, begged the gods to help Inanna. Only Enki would help, and he sent two beings down to the underworld to retrieve her. When they arrived they found Ereshkigal writhing in agony, as if giving birth. All her moans and cries and torment they echoed, until Ereshkigal was finally brought back to her senses. As reward for their sympathy, Ereshkigal offered them all sorts of gifts, but all they wanted was the corpse hanging on the wall. When they finally got the corpse, they revived Inanna, clothed her in her powers again, and left with her for the living world. But Ereshkigal was not pleased, and sent demons with Inanna to ensure someone had to come and take Inanna’s place in the underworld.
But everyone they found grieved so much for Inanna, that she couldn’t find it in her heart to send them in her place. That is until they came upon Inanna’s husband Dumuzid on her throne, enjoying himself with his slave girls.
The demons dragged Dumuzid down to hell, but every year for six months, he is allowed to leave to visit Inanna, and the Earth is green and in flower. But when Inanna is alone, the Earth is barren and grey.
The myth of the saviour hero descending into the underworld, conquering death, and bringing back the spark of enlightenment to humanity is often thought of as a masculine myth. But long before any of the myths of male heroes we remember today, Inanna did it all, and became unique among all the gods having conquered death herself.
Happy women's day!