"Inanna's Descent" English Translation by Thorkild P. R. Jacobsen

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From: Book · Thorkild Peter Rudolph Jacobsen · 1987

"Inanna's Descent" is an English translation of the Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld afterlife myth by Thorkild P. R. Jacobsen. It was published in 1987 as part of Jacobsen's book on Sumerian poetry. This version of Inanna's Descent is in true poem form (verse) and consists of twenty-seven pages. Jacobsen's unique take on this poem includes Greek terms for the afterlife (Hades) as well as other differences from other translations.
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Text: Full Translation, Collation (partial), Transcript

Sumerian  ⟶  English a

Line #Translation
p. 206
INANNA PLANS TO TAKE OVER HADES
1-3From the upper heaven she had her heart set on the netherworld, the goddess had from the upper heaven her heart set on the netherworld. Inanna had from the upper heaven her heart set on the netherworld.
4-6My lady forsook heaven, forsook earth, went down into Hades. Inanna forsook heaven, forsook earth, went down into Hades. Lordship she forsook, queenship she forsook, went down into Hades.
7-11In Uruk she forsook Eanna, went down into Hades. In Bad-Tibira she forsook Emushkalamma, went down into Hades; in Zabalam she forsook Giguna, went down into Hades; in Adab she forsook Eshara, went down into Hades; in Nippur she forsook Ebaragdurgara, went down into Hades;
p. 207
12-13In Kishi she forsook Hursag-kalamma, went down into Hades; in Akkade she forsook E-ulmash, went down into Hades.
14-17. . .
18-25. . .
SHE PROVIDES AGAINST POSSIBLE FAILURE
26-28. . .
p. 208
p. 209
p. 210
INANNA SEEKS ENTRY INTO HADES
p. 211
p. 212
ERESHKIGAL DECIDES TO FACE HER
p. 213
INANNA IS STRIPPED
p. 214
p. 215
p. 216
p. 217
p. 218
ENKI PLANS TO TRICK ERESHKIGAL INTO MAKING A RASH PROMISE
p. 219
p. 220
THE RUSE SUCCEEDS
p. 221
p. 222
p. 223
p. 224
p. 225
DUMUZI, FOR NOT SORROWING, IS DESIGNATED
p. 226
DUMUZI ESCAPES
p. 227
RECAPTURE AND SECOND ESCAPE
p. 228
SECOND ESCAPE
p. 229
p. 230
p. 231
DUMUZI CAPTURED IN FOLD
GESHTINANNA SEEKS HIM
INANNA'S EASEMENT OF TERM
p. 232
Source(s) a Jacobsen, Harps, 205-232 launch .

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MLA Modern Language Association (8th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""Inanna's Descent": English Translation by Thorkild P. R. Jacobsen." OMNIKA – World Mythology Index, OMNIKA Foundation, 03 May. 2019, omnika.org/stable/131. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

APA American Psychological Association (6th ed.)

OMNIKA (2019, May 03). "Inanna's Descent": English Translation by Thorkild P. R. Jacobsen. Retrieved from https://omnika.org/stable/131

CMS Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.)

OMNIKA Foundation Contributors. ""Inanna's Descent": English Translation by Thorkild P. R. Jacobsen." Las Vegas, NV: OMNIKA Foundation. Created May 03, 2019. Accessed November 13, 2024. https://omnika.org/stable/131.

Bibliography

Jacobsen, Thorkild P.R. The Harps that Once . . . : Sumerian Poetry in Translation. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987.
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About

Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld Afterlife myth Myth icon
Sumerian Belief system
Inanna Main deity

Inanna descends from the great above to the great below. She abandons several temples and heads for open country. She gives precise instructions to her companion—Ninsubur: Inanna says "if I don't return in three days, go to the temples and plead on my behalf." At the netherworld she enters and goes through seven gates before she is turned into a corpse. Ninsubur follows the instructions and tells Inanna's father Enkil what happened. He helps her by sending two a-sexual creatures to sneak in and bring her back to life. Once Inanna is alive she ascends while being escorted by demons from the netherworld. The demons allow her to trade her husband Dumuzi in her place.