{"id":4195,"date":"2026-04-27T10:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/ishtar\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:24:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:24:35","slug":"ishtar","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/ishtar\/","title":{"rendered":"Ishtar"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4195\" class=\"elementor elementor-4195 elementor-2063 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10fdade e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"10fdade\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herohlft0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herohlft0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c3ceb64 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c3ceb64\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96ae5e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"96ae5e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar, goddess of the Mesopotamian tradition<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e45238a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e45238a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar is a goddess of the Mesopotamian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span>.<\/p><p>Goddess of love, war and Venus, untamed ruler of the heavens. Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna) is the most powerful female deity of Mesopotamia and scarcely to be tamed. She is at once seductive and warlike, tender and wrathful, a goddess who grants kings victory and damns them in the next hour.<\/p><p>Ruling from Uruk over love and the morning star, she is the favourite goddess of humankind, feared by the gods themselves.<p>Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna) is the central female <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span> of the Mesopotamian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">pantheon<\/span> and unites the seemingly contradictory spheres of love, war and kingship.<\/p><p>Her hymnic texts (Enheduanna, ca. 2300 BCE) are among the oldest preserved authored religious texts. The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> of Inanna&#8217;s descent into the underworld is one of the key texts of Mesopotamian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The scholarly study of God and of the faith of a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">theology<\/span>. Her <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> extends throughout the Semitic language area and influences later Aphrodite and Astarte cults.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klsbdg01 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"klsbdg01\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klshtm01 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"klshtm01\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: personified highest power in the pantheon of a culture, with clearly defined responsibilities, forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Venerated through cults, offerings and temple institutions.\">Goddess<\/span><a href=\"\/en\/mesopotamia\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Cradle of documented religion, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria (ca. 3500 BCE to 330 BCE).\">Mesopotamia<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f74855 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3f74855\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1c30362 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"1c30362\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite 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8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herorght0 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herorght0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-heroimg00 iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"heroimg00\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_mesopotamien_ishtar-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-4196\" alt=\"Ishtar - gods from the Mesopotamian tradition, historical and illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_mesopotamien_ishtar-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_mesopotamien_ishtar-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_mesopotamien_ishtar-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_mesopotamien_ishtar.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32917199 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"32917199\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26e916cb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"26e916cb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-253a40d4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"253a40d4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1200c304 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1200c304\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-159dcf9a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"159dcf9a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48cee66f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"48cee66f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Quick overview: Ishtar<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f50d82c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f50d82c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Type:<\/strong> Major Mesopotamian deity, goddess of love and war<br><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">Pantheon<\/span>: Akkad\/Babylon\/Assur (Sumerian counterpart: Inanna)<br>Function: love, sexual desire, war, cosmic power, the Venus star<br>Principal attributes: star crown, lion mount, bow and arrow, eight-pointed star (<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in for an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span>)<br>Principal cult sites: Nineveh (E-mesh-mesh <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span>), Uruk (Eanna), Babylon (Ishtar Gate)<br>Astronomical identification: Venus (Dilbat)<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-18613602 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"18613602\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-262b8a9f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"262b8a9f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Historical context<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46dcb7d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46dcb7d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61d3ab3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"61d3ab3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-117c166 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"117c166\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Period of the texts<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-73997a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"73997a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar is attested from the Old Akkadian period (3rd millennium BCE) onwards, the Akkadianisation of the Sumerian <em>Inanna<\/em> (in Uruk). The principal flourishing of her cult falls in the Old, Middle and Neo-Babylonian periods.<\/p><p>In the Assyrian empire she was the chief goddess of Nineveh and Arbela, the protective patronesses of the Assyrian kings. The famous <em>Ishtar Gate<\/em> of Babylon (today in Berlin) is one of the largest surviving structures of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">antiquity<\/span>. In the biblical tradition she is mentioned as <em>Ashtoreth<\/em>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d47b156 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d47b156\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff38c2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ff38c2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Area of diffusion<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e49fcc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4e49fcc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Principal cult sites: <strong>Nineveh<\/strong> (E-mesh-mesh <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span>, principal cult site in Late Assyrian times), <strong>Uruk<\/strong> (Eanna <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span> as Inanna <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span>), <strong>Babylon<\/strong> (Ishtar Gate, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span> within the Esagila complex), <strong>Arbela<\/strong> (today Erbil, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities).<\/p><p>In Akkad as the principal goddess of Sargon. In the Mediterranean world, via Astarte, as a forerunner of Aphrodite.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db03c39 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"db03c39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-229a87b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"229a87b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f471fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1f471fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">State of the sources<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36b1201 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"36b1201\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Central sources: the <em>Inanna and Dumuzi<\/em> mythic cycle (Sumer), <em>Inanna&#8217;s Descent into the Underworld<\/em>, the <em>Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em> (Tablet VI, in which Ishtar demands Gilgamesh in marriage), <em>Inanna and Enki<\/em>, the <em>Ishtar Hymn<\/em>, Neo-Assyrian inscriptions concerning Ishtar of Arbela.<\/p><p>Secondary literature: Wolkstein\/Kramer, <em>Inanna. Queen of Heaven and Earth<\/em>; Foster, <em>Before the Muses<\/em>; Black\/Green, <em>Gods, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A spiritual being to which harmful or ambivalent effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Demons<\/span> and Symbols<\/em>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ae0637c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3ae0637c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31d07739 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"31d07739\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Name<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7642947 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b7642947\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a086266 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a086266\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar is depicted in a twofold guise: above in a translucent garment, with the crown of power, her body bare or martial; below armoured like a warrior with lance and shield, a lion or panther at her feet.<\/p><p>The eight-pointed star crown identifies her, a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in for an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> of the morning star (Venus). Her weapon is the <em>piyattu<\/em> (fire lance). A scorpion or a dove may accompany her. She is often shown kneeling or standing in warlike pose.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-709a44a8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"709a44a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f585873 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2f585873\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Characteristics<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70621c12 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"70621c12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4296eb49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4296eb49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar is goddess of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacred<\/span> prostitution, a warrior, guardian of law and power. She decides the outcome of battles and blesses or damns kings according to her mood.<\/p><p>In <em>Ishtar&#8217;s Descent<\/em> she is stripped of her insignia through the seven gates of the underworld, as a punishment for her pride, a profound <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythic<\/span> narrative of female power and its limits.<\/p><p>The <em>hierodules<\/em> (sacred priestesses) served in her <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temple<\/span>. There were great festivals in her honour, liturgical marriages (<em>hieros gamos<\/em>) with kings, and in times of war mass <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An offering to a deity to express gratitude, petition, or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">offerings<\/span>. Ishtar was the goddess of the people, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> directly, feared directly.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44e71476 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"44e71476\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c1fc3f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3c1fc3f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Profile: Ishtar<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84f33b8e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"84f33b8e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-hqkdc67p elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"hqkdc67p\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most important aspects of Ishtar at a glance. The following fields summarise origin, function, appearance, veneration, symbols and parallels.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-qh9oavvu iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"qh9oavvu\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-awzx8k2k elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"awzx8k2k\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Origin<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x6rowhv0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"x6rowhv0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar is daughter of the moon god <em>Sin<\/em> (Nanna) and of <em>Ningal<\/em>, sister of the sun god <em>Shamash<\/em>. In the Sumerian counterpart <em>Inanna<\/em> she is daughter of An and Nammu.<\/p><p>The consort of the goddess of love is <em>Dumuzi<\/em> (Tammuz in Akkadian), a young god of shepherds and vegetation. The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> of <em>Inanna&#8217;s Descent<\/em>: she descends into the underworld to her sister Ereshkigal, is first killed there and then revived through Ea; Dumuzi must descend into the underworld in atonement.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8e3o4kxs iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8e3o4kxs\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08rkdgov elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"08rkdgov\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Pertaining to<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-uwjelx8s elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"uwjelx8s\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Twofold function: goddess of love and of war (united in one figure, a constellation unique in the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> world). Aspect of love: sexual desire, erotic attraction, marriage.<\/p><p>Aspect of war: royal battle, leadership of armies. Astronomically: morning and evening star (Venus). In personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration directed towards a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> also patroness of women, of the temple priestesses (<em>nadi-tu<\/em>) and of female diviners.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-jm2n74ec iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"jm2n74ec\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8vufse4c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8vufse4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar's appearance<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-mwb9u015 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"mwb9u015\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Anthropomorphic as a beautiful young woman in a long multi-layered garment, with a <em>star crown<\/em> or tall hat diadem. Characteristic attributes: <em>bow and arrow<\/em> (war), <em>double mace<\/em> (war), <em>eight-pointed star<\/em> (her principal symbol, representing Venus).<\/p><p>Mount: the <em>lion<\/em> (often standing on a pair of lions). Also a naked form (Inanna-Astarte tradition) on terracotta reliefs. In the Neo-Babylonian period the eight-pointed star alone appears as a divine <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in for an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> on stelae and seals.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37ss2yr6 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"37ss2yr6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3v0wp3wx elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3v0wp3wx\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Activity<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-w3247g2m elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"w3247g2m\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Sphere of action:<\/strong> Ishtar was invoked by all classes, by women in matters of love, by kings before battle, by priests in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Collective term for practices used to explore a divine will.\" tabindex=\"0\">divination<\/span>.<\/p><p>The Assyrian kings (Sargon II, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon) were her particular wards; on every campaign the king invoked &#8220;Ishtar of Arbela&#8221;. In Uruk the <em>nadi-tu<\/em> temple priestesses managed the temple&#8217;s affairs. Personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invocational addressing of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> with incense of cedar and the roasting of mutton.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0qpjal9w iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0qpjal9w\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ndoih0o elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6ndoih0o\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Means of protection<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6684tyh9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6684tyh9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Eight-pointed star (principal symbol, representing Venus), bow and arrow, double mace, lion (mount), star crown, tall hat diadem, multi-layered garment. Plants: cedar, dates, lily. Sacred animals: the lion (especially when accompanied by the Mushhushshu dragon), the serpent.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3lfi7x32 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3lfi7x32\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0kg99ga1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0kg99ga1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Counterparts<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-n0fum6kp elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"n0fum6kp\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Inanna<\/em> (Sumer, her forerunner), <em>Astarte<\/em> (Phoenicia, an almost identical adoption), <em>Anat<\/em> (Ugarit), <em>Ashtoreth<\/em> (Hebrew, biblical mention), <em>Aphrodite<\/em> (Greece, aspect of love), <em>Athena<\/em> (Greece, aspect of war), <em>Venus<\/em> (Rome, astronomically), <em>Hathor<\/em> (Egypt, late <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The merging of ideas or deities from different religious traditions.\" tabindex=\"0\">syncretism<\/span>), <em>Freyja<\/em> (Germanic, love and choice on the battlefield), <em>Durga<\/em> (Hinduism, warrior goddess riding a lion).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7533bc7a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7533bc7a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2447d18d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2447d18d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Practical defence<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5d0260c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d5d0260c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-341be2ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"341be2ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Rituals of veneration<\/strong><\/p><p>Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna) was one of the most central deities of Mesopotamia, at once goddess of love, of war and of Venus. Her principal sanctuary was Eanna in Uruk (4th to 3rd millennium BCE).<\/p><p>Sacred marriage rites, <em>hieros gamos<\/em> (Sumerian <em>nig-mussa-tum<\/em>), between the king and the high priestess as embodiment of Inanna are attested from Shulgi\/Sin-Iddinam (Ur III) onwards (cf. Frymer-Kensky, <em>In the Wake of the Goddesses<\/em>). Temple prostitution (Sumerian <em>nu-gig<\/em>) was part of her veneration, a finding contested in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span> (cf. Lambert, Roth).<\/p><p><strong>Invocations<\/strong><\/p><p>The &#8220;Descent of Inanna&#8221; (Sumerian; Kramer, <em>The Sumerians<\/em>) and the Akkadian counterpart &#8220;Ishtar&#8217;s Descent to Hades&#8221; (Foster) are the central mythic texts.<\/p><p>The &#8220;Great Ishtar Hymn&#8221; of Naram-Sin (Akkad, ca. 2250 BCE) is the earliest personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invocational addressing of a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invocation<\/span> addressed to her. The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The verbal turning of a person toward a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">prayer<\/span> &#8220;\u0161u\u02beila&#8221; (the hand-raising prayer) was often directed to Ishtar in personal crisis.<\/p><p><strong><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A worn object to which a protective, misfortune-averting effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Amulets<\/span> and protective symbols<\/strong><\/p><p>The eight-pointed star (the Venus <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in for an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span>) on Babylonian cylinder seals and boundary stones (cf. Black\/Green). Lion companions (she rides a lion, the seven-lion chariot). <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off evil: of signs and objects intended to keep harmful influences away.\" tabindex=\"0\">Apotropaic<\/span> clay figurines of naked women with their hands beneath their breasts (Ishtar images) were buried in house walls (Ur, Larsa, Sippar, excavations of Woolley).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a584676 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5a584676\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d0757bf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6d0757bf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar, parallels in other cultures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60563f68 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"60563f68\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a93fdd6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a93fdd6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\"><p>Ishtar shares love with Aphrodite (Greece) and the aspect of war with Athena (Greece). With Isis (Egypt) she shares the unfathomable feminine power. In Indian cultures she resembles Durga or Kali, the wild, destructive yet life-sustaining feminine principle. No other goddess of the ancient Near East is as psychologically complex and culturally central as Ishtar.<\/p><div data-nosnippet=\"true\" class=\"iwg-litliste\"><\/div><\/footer>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpa0b1f45 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cpa0b1f45\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp66dddd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp66dddd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Inanna and Ishtar: one goddess in two languages<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp466eb10 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp466eb10\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpf447111 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpf447111\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Behind the name Ishtar stands one of the oldest and most important deities of Mesopotamia. In the Sumerian sources she is called <em>Inanna<\/em>, in the later Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian texts <em>Ishtar<\/em>.<\/p><p>Scholarship assumes that the Akkadian Ishtar was largely equated with the Sumerian Inanna, and that in this process an originally independent Semitic goddess was also absorbed into her figure. Over the course of millennia several traditions converged.<\/p><p>Ishtar unites spheres of competence that at first sight appear opposed. She is the goddess of sexual love and at the same time a goddess of war. She stands for desire and attraction as much as for battle and violence.<\/p><p>Older scholarship has occasionally seen in this a contradiction, or the coexistence of two goddesses. More recent work emphasises instead that both spheres are linked in Mesopotamian thought by a common property: a boundary-breaking, order-shattering force at work in both passion and war.<\/p><p>Her astral aspect is the planet Venus. As morning and evening star, Ishtar was associated with the most conspicuous celestial body after the sun and moon. Here too her twofold nature is apparent, for the planet appears now in the morning, now in the evening.<\/p><p>This connection with Venus is significant in the history of religion, since it forms a bridge to the later love goddesses of the Mediterranean, to the Phoenician Astarte and the Greek <a href=\"\/en\/aphrodite\/\">Aphrodite<\/a>, who were likewise associated with the planet Venus.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp17a967f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp17a967f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpb04c62b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cpb04c62b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar's descent into the underworld<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpe59b334 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpe59b334\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cped066e3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cped066e3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The best-known coherent <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> concerning Ishtar is her descent into the underworld. It is preserved both in an older Sumerian version, <em>Inanna&#8217;s Descent into the Underworld<\/em>, and in a shorter Akkadian version, <em>Ishtar&#8217;s Descent to Hades<\/em>.<\/p><p>The goddess resolves to descend into the realm of the dead, which is ruled by her sister Ereshkigal.<\/p><p>On her way through the seven gates of the underworld, Ishtar must surrender at each gate an article of clothing or jewellery, a sign of her power.<\/p><p>Naked and stripped of her insignia, she at last comes before Ereshkigal and is there killed; her corpse is hung up. With the death of the goddess of love, all fertility on earth ceases, and humans and animals no longer beget offspring.<\/p><p>Through the intervention of the higher gods Ishtar is revived and allowed to leave the underworld, yet the law of the realm of the dead demands a substitute. In the Sumerian version her husband Dumuzi, Akkadian Tammuz, is appointed; he must henceforth spend part of the year in the underworld.<\/p><p>This <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> is important for <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The discipline that investigates religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religious studies<\/span> in several respects. It associates a goddess with the alternation of fertility and barrenness, and so provides an early example of the widespread <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A recurring thematic element in art or narrative.\" tabindex=\"0\">motif<\/span> of the vegetation deity periodically bound to the underworld.<\/p><p>At the same time, the gradual surrender of insignia at the seven gates reveals a carefully developed ritual conception. The older reading as a purely vegetation myth is today regarded as too narrow; scholarship now places more weight on the themes of power, powerlessness and the boundary between worlds.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp83c3e12 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp83c3e12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpe241c29 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cpe241c29\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Temples, priesthood and cult practice<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpb2ed9a1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpb2ed9a1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp598d56f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp598d56f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Ishtar possessed <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A structure dedicated to the veneration of one or more deities.\" tabindex=\"0\">temples<\/span> and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuaries<\/span> in numerous cities of Mesopotamia. An ancient centre of her cult was the city of Uruk, where the great <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> <em>Eanna<\/em>, the House of Heaven, stood.<\/p><p>In Nineveh and other Assyrian cities she was also a leading <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span>; the Assyrian kings invoked Ishtar as a helper in battle and ascribed their victories to her.<\/p><p>Cult practice involved a varied circle of temple personnel and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to a fixed religious sequence of actions.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritually<\/span> active individuals. The cuneiform sources name various groups of persons in the service of Ishtar, among them some whose gender role is described as standing between the usual categories.<\/p><p>Older accounts have often summed up the cult of Ishtar with the catchword of temple prostitution.<\/p><p>More recent scholarship is markedly more cautious here. It points out that the ancient testimonies for this, above all a famous passage in Herodotus, come from outside, may be misleading and do not easily align with the indigenous cuneiform sources. The precise nature of the sexually connoted elements of the cult remains contested.<\/p><p>By contrast, hymns and prayers to Ishtar, which are among the most impressive texts of Mesopotamian literature, are well attested. They praise her power, describe her beauty and her terror, and ask for her aid.<\/p><p>Some of these texts were ascribed to tradition-shaping figures, such as the Old Akkadian priestess and poet Enheduanna, to whom several Inanna hymns are attributed. Such texts show that Ishtar was the object not only of the official state cult but also of personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The lived religious attitude and practice of a person.\" tabindex=\"0\">piety<\/span>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpdeae2cb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cpdeae2cb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2ae6994 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2ae6994\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Ishtar in the Epic of Gilgamesh and in cultural memory<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpdf5e8d3 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cpdf5e8d3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp7b60050 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp7b60050\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>A famous literary episode shows Ishtar in a critical light. In the <em>Epic of Gilgamesh<\/em>, the best-known work of Mesopotamian literature, the goddess woos the hero Gilgamesh and offers him marriage.<\/p><p>Gilgamesh refuses and confronts her with the fate of her former lovers, to whom her love had brought misfortune, above all Dumuzi. Enraged, Ishtar demands from her father the Bull of Heaven in order to punish Gilgamesh, and so causes great calamity until the bull is slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.<\/p><p>This episode is illuminating for the history of religion, because it shows that Mesopotamian poetry could ascribe to its gods features of wrath, danger and injured pride. Ishtar here appears as powerful, passionate and unpredictable. The text does not thereby devalue her but renders her boundary-breaking nature visible.<\/p><p>In cultural memory Ishtar has remained present chiefly along two paths. One is the archaeological rediscovery of Mesopotamia in the 19th and 20th centuries.<\/p><p>Famous is the reconstructed Ishtar Gate of Babylon with its wall of blue glazed bricks, which today stands in a museum in Berlin and makes the goddess&#8217;s importance for the Babylonian city visible.<\/p><p>The other path leads through the history of religion itself: the combination of love, war and the planet Venus makes Ishtar a key to understanding later goddesses of the eastern Mediterranean.<\/p><p>Scholarship sees in her one of the most influential female deities of the ancient world, whose traces can be followed from Sumer into Greek religion.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36dd7469 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"36dd7469\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13760ab4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"13760ab4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Further reading and links<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28c87796 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"28c87796\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d6538df elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d6538df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><a href=\"\/en\/ereshkigal\/\">Ereshkigal, sister in the underworld<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/marduk\/\">Marduk, supreme in the Neo-Babylonian pantheon<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/aphrodite\/\">Aphrodite, the Greek parallel for love<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/mesopotamia\/\">Mesopotamia, overview of the pantheon<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/high-deities\/\">High deities, sub-category<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/gods\/\">Gods, class overview<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-grl4kl40 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"grl4kl40\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bzsbfrmh elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bzsbfrmh\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources and literature<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c13224a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2c13224a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0eymh9ub elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0eymh9ub\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\" data-nosnippet=\"true\"><ul><li><span data-nosnippet>Wolkstein, Diane \/ Kramer, Samuel Noah: <em>Inanna. Queen of Heaven and Earth<\/em>. New York 1983.<\/span><\/li><li><span data-nosnippet>Foster, Benjamin R.: <em>Before the Muses. An Anthology of Akkadian Literature<\/em>. Bethesda 2005.<\/span><\/li><li>Walde, Christine (ed.): <em>Der Neue Pauly<\/em> (lemmata &#8220;Ishtar&#8221; and &#8220;Inanna&#8221;).<\/li><\/ul><\/footer>\n<p class=\"iwg-bib-more\"><span data-nosnippet>Further standard works in the <a href=\"\/en\/literature\/\">literature index<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50dfa77 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"50dfa77\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b31968c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b31968c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Frequently asked questions about Ishtar<\/h2><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>Who was Ishtar in Babylonian and Assyrian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the inherited divine narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?<\/h3><p>Ishtar (Akkadian I\u0161tar, Sumerian Inanna) was the most important goddess of Mesopotamia, at once goddess of love, of fertility and of war. This contradictory twofold function (love and war) is typical of her ambivalence.<\/p><p>Her most famous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> is the descent of Inanna\/Ishtar: she descends into the underworld to her sister Ereshkigal and on the way is stripped of her seven items of jewellery (seven gates, one item surrendered at each). She dies below and returns only through divine intervention, a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> of vegetative renewal.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>What is the Ishtar Gate?<\/h3><p>The Ishtar Gate was the eighth city gate of the Babylonian capital Babylon, built around 575 BCE under Nebuchadnezzar II. It was a double gateway of blue glazed bricks, decorated with reliefs of bulls (for the weather god Adad), dragons (Mu\u0161\u1e2bu\u0161\u0161u, for Marduk) and lions (for Ishtar).<\/p><p>It was one of the most famous structures of the ancient world, probably the very building meant when the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are listed among the wonders of the world. The reconstructed front of the gate is today the centrepiece of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.<\/p><\/div><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who was Ishtar in Babylonian and Assyrian <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the inherited divine narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Ishtar (Akkadian I\\u0161tar, Sumerian Inanna) was the most important goddess of Mesopotamia, at once goddess of love, of fertility and of war. This contradictory twofold function (love and war) is typical of her ambivalence. Her most famous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> is the descent of Inanna\/Ishtar: she descends into the underworld to her sister Ereshkigal and on the way is stripped of her seven items of jewellery (seven gates, one item surrendered at each). She dies below and returns only through divine intervention, a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> of vegetative renewal.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is the Ishtar Gate?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Ishtar Gate was the eighth city gate of the Babylonian capital Babylon, built around 575 BCE under Nebuchadnezzar II. It was a double gateway of blue glazed bricks, decorated with reliefs of bulls (for the weather god Adad), dragons (Mu\\u0161\\u1e2bu\\u0161\\u0161u, for Marduk) and lions (for Ishtar). It was one of the most famous structures of the ancient world, probably the very building meant when the Hanging Gardens of Babylon are listed among the wonders of the world. The reconstructed front of the gate is today the centrepiece of the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.\"}}]}<\/script>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ishtar, goddess of the Mesopotamian tradition Ishtar is a goddess of the Mesopotamian tradition. Goddess of love, war and Venus, untamed ruler of the heavens. Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna) is the most powerful female deity of Mesopotamia and scarcely to be tamed. She is at once seductive and warlike, tender and wrathful, a goddess who grants [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4196,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Ishtar","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ishtar: Goddess of Love and War in Mesopotamia","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ishtar, goddess of love and war in Mesopotamia. Venus aspect, temple in Uruk and her descent into the underworld: the Inanna layer of the myth.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[79,86,85],"class_list":["post-4195","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultures","category-gods","category-mesopotamia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ishtar: Goddess of Love and War in Mesopotamia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ishtar, goddess of love and war in Mesopotamia. 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