Inanna, queen of heaven, resolves to abandon her earthly domains and travel to the underworld, the land of no return, ruled by her older sister Ereshkigal, queen of the dead. Before leaving, she instructs her minister Ninshubur that if she does not return, Ninshubur must appeal in turn to the gods Enlil, Nanna, and Enki for help freeing her. At the outer gate, the gatekeeper Neti admits her only on Ereshkigal's order, and at each of the seven gates that follow, Inanna must remove one piece of her royal regalia, her crown, her jewelry, her breastplate, her royal robe, until she arrives before Ereshkigal's throne stripped of all power and status.
The seven judges of the underworld, the Anunnaki, fix the look of death upon her, and Ereshkigal hangs her corpse on a hook on the wall. When Inanna fails to return after three days, Ninshubur carries out her instructions; Enlil and Nanna refuse to interfere, but Enki fashions two small sexless creatures from the dirt beneath his fingernails and sends them into the underworld carrying the food and water of life, instructing them to agree with Ereshkigal's every complaint of pain as a way past her guard. Moved by their strange sympathy, Ereshkigal grants them Inanna's corpse, and they revive her with Enki's provisions.