Comeback Kids Episode 7: Inanna and Braving Underworld Dangers

Our Underworld mini-series continues! This time, we’ll meet some mythological figures who make that harrowing trip maybe to learn something, maybe to make a point, or, in one case, to make sure the sun still rises. It’s never an easy trip, and they have to face down some serious dangers along the way. We'll follow a Sumerian goddess there and back, chart a recurring trip in Egypt, and see how a famous Greek hero made a really terrible choice.

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All stories told on Myths & Muses are original family-friendly adaptations of ancient myths and legends. Stories from ancient mythology can also sometimes deal with complicated topics for young listeners — to the mortal parents and caretakers reading this, we encourage listening along with your young demigods to help them navigate those topics as they explore these epic tales.

Transcript for Comeback Kids Episode 7

If you'd like to submit something creative you've done inspired by the stories in Myths & Muses, use this form (with a Mortal Guardian's permission!).

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Stuff to Read: 

• More on Inanna: 
  • From World History Encyclopedia and Britannica
  • Inanna's Descent: A Sumerian Tale of Injustice
  • Seven Top-Ranking Gods of the Sumerian Pantheon
• More on Ra and the Solar Barge:
  • From Mythopedia and World History Encyclopedia
  • Ra as Creator God
  • The Egyptian Afterlife
• More on Pirithous and Theseus:
  • Pirithous at GreekMythology.com
  • Theseus at Mythopedia

Stuff to Watch: 

•  Learn more about the stories in this episode with our curated YouTube playlist!

Cool Images: 

Ninshubur and Inanna (24th-22nd century BCE)

Sculpture that may be Ishtar or Erishkigal (19th-18th century BCE)

from Lewis Spence’s Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916)

Ishtar by Yliade (2021)

The sun god Ra in his solar barque, protected by the coils of a serpent (14th-13th century BCE)

The ram-headed form of Ra traveling through the Duat (13th century BCE)

Sun Barge of Ra by MichaelJaecks on Deviant Art (2009)