There are as many reasons to descend into the Underworld as there are Underworlds: some go to recover love, others to find guidance, while others still are called to learn forbidden knowledge. These are just a few of the reasons that have led brave or desperate souls past Hell’s Gates, down into the Chthonic Realms.

However, taking control of the Underworld, as in wanting to rule it, isn’t usually a character’s primary motive…

Unless you are the Goddess Inanna-Ishtar, in which case you want to rule everything.

*

Inanna was a significant Sumerian deity, figuring in some of the oldest (if not the oldest) mythic literature in the world. Under the name of Ishtar, She was also worshiped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians, who all added their own mythic twists to Her tales. These new versions include a revised Descent tale, as well a role for Ishtar in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

So…