In the Sumerian-language myth of Inana's Descent to the Netherworld— known from many copies dating to the Old Babylonian period (circa 1894 - circa 1595 B.C.E.)—Inana, the goddess of love, decides for reasons not stated in the text to visit her sister Ereshkigal, the queen of the Netherworld. In preparation for her descent, Inana puts a crown and wig on her head, lapis-lazuli stones around her neck, ornaments on her breast, and a gold ring on her hand. She then wraps herself in a garment of ladyship, and lastly, applies kohl to her eyes. These, and other emblems of her rank, Inana has to yield in turn before she may proceed through each of the seven gates in the Netherworld. In a later Akkadian-language adaptation of this myth known as The Descent of Ishtar into the...