Inanna, Queen of Heaven. Would you follow her?

The goddess of love was also the goddess of war.

That is one of the things that keeps drawing me back to Inanna. Desire and destruction belong to the same extraordinary presence. You can understand why someone would seek her favor, and why standing too close might be dangerous.

In ancient Mesopotamia, she was the Lady of Uruk, associated with Venus, the brilliant morning and evening star. Her stories carry ambition, appetite, authority, and the willingness to cross boundaries.

Then there is the boundary she crosses into the underworld.

A queen at someone else's gate

Inanna approaches the world below carrying the signs of her power.

There are seven gates ahead.

At each one, something must be surrendered.

I keep returning to that image. Someone accustomed to being obeyed arrives at a door where another authority sets the terms. She continues, even as the things that declare who she is are taken from her.

What does she believe will happen?

And if you were standing beside her, how far would you follow?

Those questions helped draw me into creating The Descent.

Watch the trailer for The Descent

The woman beside the goddess

In our chamber, you experience the journey through Geme-Anna, a young temple attendant whose body you share.

Inanna is the immense presence ahead of you. Geme-Anna is the person whose thoughts you can hear.

She knows the world you have entered. She understands things about service, fear, and people that you are only beginning to notice. Through her, the goddess becomes someone you must respond to.

You decide what to say, what to carry, and when to act. You have to live with the consequences of following.

I wanted readers to feel the attraction of Inanna's confidence, as well as the uncertainty of placing their trust in it.

A voice preserved in clay

Inanna also connects us to an extraordinary figure in literary history: Enheduanna, a high priestess who lived more than four thousand years ago and is widely recognized as the earliest author known by name.

Hymns attributed to her address Inanna with an intensity that still reaches across the distance.

That is part of what fascinates me about Mesopotamia. We encounter monumental titles and ancient objects, then discover a voice within them. Someone appealing, praising, fearing, hoping.

There is still a person to hear.

Why her star belongs here

The eight-pointed star associated with Inanna sits at the heart of Chronicles of Uruk's imagery.

For me, it carries the sense of looking toward something beautiful and powerful whose full nature you do not yet understand.

That feeling belongs to The Descent too.

The chamber is an imaginative retelling rooted in the ancient myth. Its initial preview is now free, and I'm excited to hear how others experience the journey.

You can explore Inanna's historical background, or enter The Descent and meet the Lady of Uruk through Geme-Anna's eyes.

I'm curious how far you'll trust her.

inanna, history, myth, chambers, the-descent