Gender: Feminine
Usage: Sumerian Mythology
Other Scripts: 𒀭𒈹(Sumerian Cuneiform)
Pronounced: i-NAH-nə(English)
Possibly derived from Sumerian
nin-an-a(k) meaning
"lady of the heavens", from
𒎏 (nin) meaning "lady" and the genitive form of
𒀭 (an) meaning "heaven, sky". Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love, fertility and war. She descended into the underworld where the ruler of that place, her sister
Ereshkigal, had her killed. The god
Enki interceded, and Inanna was allowed to leave the underworld as long as her husband
Dumuzi took her place.
Inanna was later conflated with the Semitic (Akkadian, Assyrian and Babylonian) deity Ishtar.