Ishtar - Mesopotamian

I watch the world from my home in the heavens, where I sparkle as the morning and evening star. My name is Ishtar, and I am a queen who wears a crown of shining light. I love the world below, with its green fields and happy families, but lately, a shadow has fallen over the land, and I know why. My sister, Ereshkigal, who rules the quiet kingdom deep beneath the earth, is lonely and sad, and her sorrow is making the world above grow cold. I felt a great ache in my heart for her and for the world I loved so much. I knew I had to visit her, even if it was a dangerous journey into the silent lands below. This is the story of my descent into the underworld.

To reach my sister, I had to pass through seven gates, each one guarded by a silent keeper. The path was long and dusty, and the air grew still and quiet as I went deeper and deeper. At the first gate, the guard said, “To enter, you must leave your shining crown behind.” So I did. At the second, I gave up my beautiful earrings that chimed like tiny bells. At each new gate, I left another piece of my royal power behind: my heavy necklace of stars, my sparkling dress woven from moonlight, and the golden rings on my ankles. I felt lighter and simpler with every step, no longer a powerful queen but just a sister on a mission to bring comfort. When I finally reached Ereshkigal in her throne room of shadows, I was plain and unadorned. She was surprised to see me there, so far from my bright sky. Her kingdom was a land of shadows and whispers, where everything was asleep. I realized her sadness was so big it had trapped her, and now, it had trapped me, too.

While I was gone, the world above missed me dearly. Flowers stopped blooming, the trees lost their leaves, and the sound of laughter faded from the villages. The earth grew cold and grey. The other gods saw this terrible sadness and knew they had to help. They sent a clever messenger, a tiny creature as quick as a fly, who buzzed a funny joke into my sister Ereshkigal’s ear. For the first time in a long time, she smiled. In that moment of happiness, she agreed to let me go. But there was a rule in the underworld: someone had to take my place. My dear husband, Tammuz, who loved the world as much as I did, bravely volunteered to stay in the underworld for half of the year so I could return. When I rose back to the world, I brought the sunshine with me. The flowers bloomed instantly, the rivers flowed, and life began again. This is why the seasons change. When Tammuz is in the underworld, the earth rests in autumn and winter. When he returns and I am happy, we celebrate with the life and warmth of spring and summer.

For thousands of years, people in the land of Mesopotamia told my story to understand the wonderful, circling dance of the seasons. It reminded them that even after the coldest, darkest winter, life and light always return, just as I returned from the underworld. My journey shows that love is strong enough to travel to the darkest places and bring back the light for everyone to share. Today, this ancient story still inspires us to see the magic in the world changing around us, from the falling leaves of autumn to the very first flower of spring, which is always a sign of hope.