ing the dead shall exceed in numbers.

The porter answers that he must first consult the Queen of Hades, here
called Allatu, to whom he accordingly announces the arrival of the
Queen of Heaven. Allatu's heart is filled with anger, and makes
reference to those whom Ishtar caused to perish:

Let me weep over the strong who have left their wives,
Let me weep over the handmaidens who have lost the embraces of
their husbands,
Over the only son let me mourn, who ere his days are come is taken
away.

Then she issues abruptly the stern decree:

Go, keeper, open the gate to her,
Bewitch her according to the ancient rules;

that is, "Deal with her as you deal with others who come here".

As Ishtar enters through the various gates she is stripped of her
ornaments and clothing. At the first gate her crown was taken off, at
the second her ear-rings, at the third her necklace of precious
stones, at the fourth the ornaments of her breast, at the fifth her
gemmed waist-girdle,[122] at the sixth the bracelets of her hands and
feet, and at the seventh the covering robe of her body. Ishtar asks at
each gate why she is thus dealt with, and the porter answers, "Such is
the command of Allatu."

After descending for a prolonged period the Queen of Heaven at length
stands naked before the Queen of Hades. Ishtar is proud and arrogant,
and Allatu, desiring to punish her rival whom she cannot humble,

commands the plague demon, Namtar, to strike her with disease in all
parts of her body. The effect of Ishtar's fate was disastrous upon
earth: growth and fertility came to an end.

Meanwhile Pap-sukal, messenger of the gods, hastened to Shamash, the
sun deity, to relate what had occurred. The sun god immediately
consulted his lunar father, Sin, and Ea, god of the deep. Ea then
created a man lion, named Nadushu-namir, to rescue Ishtar, giving him
power to pass through the seven gates of Hades. When this being
delivered his message

Allatu ... struck her breast; she bit her thumb,
She turned again: a request she asked not.

In her anger she cursed the rescuer of the Queen of Heaven.

May I imprison thee in the great prison,
May the garbage of the foundations of the city be thy food,
May the drains of the city be thy drink,
May the darkness of the dungeon be thy dwelling,
May the stake be thy seat,
May hunger and thirst strike thy offspring.

She was compelled, howev