fy the enraged Ishtar:

The watchman opened his mouth and spoke.
Spoke to the great Ishtar:
Hold, O mistress, do not destroy them.[1169]
I will go and mention thy name to the queen Allatu.

Allatu is grieved upon hearing the news of Ishtar's arrival, for
Ishtar's disappearance from the world means death.

I must weep for the masters who forsake their consorts.
I must weep for the wives who are torn from their husbands' side.
For the children I must weep who are snatched away (?) before their
time.
Go, watchman, open thy gate.
Deal with her according to the ancient laws.

The scene that follows embodies, again, views of the nether world as
developed in the schools. Corresponding to the seven zones surrounding
the earth,[1170] the nether world is pictured as enclosed by seven
gates. Through these Ishtar must pass, before she is ushered into the
presence of Allatu.

The watchman went and opened his gate.
Enter, O mistress, welcome in Cuthah.[1171]
The great house[1172] of the land without return greets thee.[1173]
Through the first gate he led her, and boldly removed the great crown
from her head.
Why, O watchman, dost thou remove the great crown from my head?
Enter, O mistress, such are the laws of Allatu.

At the second gate, he removes the earrings of the goddess; at the
third, her necklace is taken away, and, similarly, at each succeeding
gate, a portion of her dress, the ornaments on her breast, her belt of
precious stones, her bracelets, until, when the seventh gate is reached,
the covering over her loins is removed, and she stands naked before
Allatu. At each gate Ishtar asks the same question, why the watchman
strips her, and the same answer is given.

The removal of one ornament after the other symbolizes, evidently, the
gradual decay of vegetation, not, as has been supposed, that the dead
enter Aralu naked.

Allatu calls upon her messenger, Namtar, to strike the goddess with
disease in all parts of her body. The disease expresses the same idea as
the removal of the ornaments,--decay of strength. There follows a
description of the desolation on earth during Ishtar's sojourn with
Allatu. Productivity comes to a standstill.

The ox does not mount the cow, the ass does not bend over the she-ass.

Among mankind, likewise, fertility ceases. The gods lament the absence
of Ishtar and the fate that overtook her. The astronomical conception of
Ishtar as the planet Ven