In this episode, I tell an Akkadian myth called "The Descent of Ishtar". The story is a reinterpretation of a longer Sumerian work written approximately 500-900 years prior called "The Descent of Inanna". The version of the myth that I will be telling was unearthed at the great library of Nineveh. The author of the stone cuneiform tablet remains unknown, though this myth was ubiquitous across Mesopotamia. The tale makes use of repetition to parallel an ancient, recorded ritual glorifying the change of seasons in which a statue of Ishtar/Inanna was undressed and clothed again.
We'll discuss the transition from matriarchy to patriarchy and this historical conflict's relation to the written word. We'll also seek to understand the characterization of these deities, their perceived effect on the Mesopotamian world, and how these themes were exported to other surrounding cultures.
(I am currently writing a screenplay reinterpreting this myth, so my analysis will be sparse on this episode to reflect the bias I have towards this story).
Thank you for listening!
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