ISHTAR: ETYMOLOGY, ORIGIN, ATTRIBUTES, DIFFERENT CULTURES - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

Ishtar was a Mesopotamian goddess related to fertility, love, and war. It should be noted that Ishtar, Astarte and Inanna are the same goddess, only at different times in history.

The cult of Ishtar was especially strong in Babylon, since it was an empire that lasted from 1792 to 539 BC. Its importance has been reflected in different archaeological remains, from paintings or sculptures or even buildings.

Source: Aiwok, via Wikimedia Commons

Ishtar was associated with the rite of sacred prostitution. Some historians have even gone so far as to assure that prostitution began in the temples of Ishtar since it stimulated the accomplishment of works of sexual nature.

Her relationship with love and war made her a contradictory goddess. Her mood underwent radical changes, and she was able to go quickly from love to hate. Her jealousy led her to act in revenge, always with serious consequences for her enemies.

Women paid him more homage than men of the time. And she was also considered one of the three most important goddesses during the Bronze Age, along with Isis and Cibeles.

Etymology

The name Ishtar has its origin in the Akkadian languages ​​that were used in ancient Mesopotamia. It was also known as Astarte or Inanna, whose names originated in the Middle East. Astarte was born by the Semites, while Inanna was a goddess named in this way by the Sumerian peoples.

There were some inscriptions in which the goddess was referred to as mother Ishtar.

Origin of the goddess

The origins of Ishtar are difficult to establish due to the dichotomy that it represented, since being the goddess of love and war, it came to represent two very different characteristics. Two ideas about its origin have developed over time.

To begin with it was said that Ishtar, first Inanna, was born by the union of several different goddesses who had no relationship with each other. Another hypothesis referred to Ishtar as a deity of the Semitic peoples who was assigned all the roles that had no owner when he was part of the Sumerian pantheon.

Ishtar was associated with the ancient city of Uruk, part of Mesopotamia, which is currently in Iraq. Its presence can be traced back to 4000 or 3100 BC. C.

The importance of Ishtar grew during the rule of Sargon I of Acad, creator of the Akkadian Empire. One of the myths about Ishtar claimed that the goddess emerged before Sargon along with a large group of birds

Worship

Although she was considered to be the goddess of prostitution, there is no evidence that sexual acts occurred on the altar of the Ishtar temples. One of the traditions around Ishtar spoke of women having to go to the goddess's temple, even once, in order to have intercourse with a man who would throw coins at her.

Songs were written to him in which they celebrated or lamented love. Some letters are known, as tables with inscriptions were found in the remains of the temples. The authors of these hymns have not been identified, although the poet Enheduanna (2285–2250 BC) went on to create several songs for the goddess.

One of the offerings that was made to Ishtar were cakes known by the name of kamanu tumri, or pure cake in Spanish. It was an unleavened cake and was fine baked in the ashes.

Offerings to the goddess were in multiple forms. Animals were sacrificed in her name, although figures of different materials such as wood or wax were also burned. The requests that were made were aimed at being able to achieve someone's love or, in the case of men, avoid impotence.

The Ishtar cult began to lose steam in the 3rd century AD. C., when the peoples that inhabited Mesopotamia were leaning towards Christianity.

Ishtar Gate

A sample about the deep importance of Ishtar was the creation, at the beginning of the 6th century BC. C., of a door that gave access to the city of Babylon. It was built by order of Nebuchadnezzar II, with seven other similar ones in honor of other figures.

Once through the Ishtar gate, you entered the processional path, where you could get images of lions, bulls and dragons.

The archaeologist Robert Koldewey was the one who found the remains of the Ishtar gate, of which he managed to unearth more than 13 meters. Currently the gate was rebuilt and is one of the most important tourist attractions in the Pergamon Museum, in Germany.

Symbol

The representation of Ishtar was made as an eight pointed star. This star has been called in different ways throughout history (Tartessian, Solomon's, compass rose). Currently it is considered rather an esoteric emblem.

There were women who were in charge of taking care of the Ishtar temples and delivering the offerings to the goddess. These priestesses were known as the women of pleasures.

Attributes

Ishtar's figure is always depicted as a slim, young person. In myths, references to Ishtar are always about a goddess with human characteristics or body, although the eight-pointed star was also used to refer to the goddess. She was spoken of as a capricious deity. She had a beard, a characteristic of men.

In the legends, many references were made to her virginity, a condition that she always maintained, although not precisely because of the absence of sex. Ishtar always woke up a virgin thanks to the sacred waters in which she regularly bathed.

As a goddess of war, she was considered bloody and categorical in her way of acting. She was blamed for the wickedness of some of the kings present in Mesopotamia.

The images that exist of Ishtar are those of a naked woman, who is standing. There is a relief image of the goddess dating from the years 1800 to 1750 BC. In the relief, which has been in a museum in England since 2003, there are different animals that complete the image of the deity.

Owl

This animal represented wisdom. In Ishtar's case, owl features could be seen on its clawed feet. Some historians claimed that owls were a way of representing the duality of the deity.

Lion

It symbolized the power of the goddess, who was standing on the back of this animal. It was one of the most important symbols of Babylon.

Wings

Ishtar was also depicted with wings on her back. This characteristic did not mean that he had the ability to fly, but that he was agile. The wings were always extended which represented that she dominated the things around her.

Rod and line

In each hand Ishtar holds an object. There is still no agreement on what each thing was, although in some writings they are referred to as rod and line. The image has been repeated throughout history in other hieroglyphs. The goddess is not grasping these objects, as her hands are always open.

Gender

Ishtar went so far as to affirm "I am a woman, I am a man." From that moment on, the goddess is spoken of as an androgynous being or part of the third gender.

Finally, it came to have several roles between both sexes. There are poems in which the deity is represented as a young woman, as a wife, or even as a prostitute. While in other writings she had some acts that were considered more typical of a man.

The dichotomy between being the goddess of love and at the same time of the war made the references to the character to be classified as bipolar. Some scholars were correct to say that one characteristic was the counterpart of another, the masculine side and the feminine side. In this way, Ishtar was classified as a hermaphrodite, androgynous or bisexual.

Ishtar in different cultures / civilizations

The influence of Ishtar was very great and it has been observed in other cultures besides the Babylonian one. For example, evidence has been found that the cult of Ishtar was practiced in Ebla and with the passage of time it was transferred to other territories such as Cyprus. In this area she was known more as Astarte. It was also worshiped by the Sumerians or the Akkadians.

Later he arrived in Greece thanks to the colonizers of that country who had been in Cyprus. This is how another goddess was born, perhaps one of the best known worldwide, such as Aphrodite.

It is believed that the goddesses Ainina and Danina and Durga, present in other cultures, could be associated with Ishtar as well.

It has been affirmed that Easter, a celebration of Jews or Christians, began with Ishtar to celebrate the resurrection of his only love, the god Tammuz.

References

1. Library of Alexandria. (1915). Descent of the Goddess Ishtar Into the Lower World.
2. Hamilton, L. (1884). Ishtar and Izdubar, the epic of Babylon. London: WH Allen & Co.
3. Pryke, L. (2017). Ishtar. London: Taylor and Francis.
4. Sugimoto, D., & Sugimoto, T. (2014). Transformation of a goddess. Friborg: Academic Press Friborg.
5. Whitaker, J. (2012). Inanna / Ishtar: Goddess of Love and War. Createspace Independent Pub.