Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth is a collection of stories about the Sumerian goddess, Inanna. She enjoyed worship in cults for centuries and is thought to have been the inspiration for the goddess Aphrodite. Although Inanna is the goddess of sex, beauty, and love, she is also the goddess of justice and war. She holds her subjects to high honor and demands just actions from all, believing that her own honor will be rewarded justly.
Inanna visits her sister, Ereshkigal, in the Underworld to mourn her sister's husband's passing, but the visit breaks protocol since Inanna has not been invited as messenger. Although Ereshkigal allows her sister to enter, she orders her to remove a garment or piece of jewelry at each of the seven gates until she arrives before the throne completely naked. Even in her humility, Inanna is more powerful than her sister and seats herself on Ereshkigal's throne. The seven judges condemn Inanna to death, but the prayers of her faithful servant above, Ninshbur, are answered by the god Enki who saves Inanna. In her place, her dishonorable husband Dumuzid and his loving sister Geshtinanna each spend half of every year in her place in the Underworld.
As a ruler, Inanna demands absolute loyalty from her subjects, but she is an honorable and gracious leader. She receives the mourning of her servants for her as a demonstration of their true love for her and spares them. Only her husband, Dumuzid, who did not mourn her passing is punished, and even then his sister's pleas on his behalf are honored. As the goddess of love, Inanna remains true to her calling by exacting this form of justice upon her resurrection.
