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[[File:Ishtar Akkadian seal.jpg|400px|thumb|Ishtar on an Akkadian seal]] | |||
'''Ishtar''' is the ancient goddess of love, war, and fertility worshipped in the Akkadian Empire, by the Babylonians, and Assyrians. She was originally worshipped in Sumer as Inanna. | '''Ishtar''' is the ancient goddess of love, war, and fertility worshipped in the Akkadian Empire, by the Babylonians, and Assyrians. She was originally worshipped in Sumer as Inanna. | ||
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==Worship== | ==Worship== | ||
[[File:Ishtar Gate.jpg|400px|thumb|The Ishtar Gate - the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, which was constructed in around 575 bce under the orders of Nebuchadnezzar II]] | |||
In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were Uruk, Zabalam and Agade, also Ilip. Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish. | In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were Uruk, Zabalam and Agade, also Ilip. Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish. | ||
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==Symbols== | ==Symbols== | ||
[[File:Ishtar Star.jpg|400px|thumb|Stele of King Melishipak I (1186–1172 BC) - The crescent moon represents the god Sin, the sun the Shamash and the star the goddess Ishtar.]] | |||
Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol was the eight-pointed star, though the exact number of points sometimes varies. Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown. The eight-pointed star seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens, but, by the Old Babylonian Period (c. 1830 – c. 1531 bce), it had come to be specifically associated with the planet [[Venus]], with which Ishtar was identified. Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc. During later Babylonian times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star. On boundary stones and cylinder seals, the eight-pointed star is sometimes shown alongside the crescent [[moon]], which was the symbol of Sin and the rayed solar disk, which was a symbol of Shamash. | Inanna/Ishtar's most common symbol was the eight-pointed star, though the exact number of points sometimes varies. Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown. The eight-pointed star seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens, but, by the Old Babylonian Period (c. 1830 – c. 1531 bce), it had come to be specifically associated with the planet [[Venus]], with which Ishtar was identified. Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc. During later Babylonian times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star. On boundary stones and cylinder seals, the eight-pointed star is sometimes shown alongside the crescent [[moon]], which was the symbol of Sin and the rayed solar disk, which was a symbol of Shamash. | ||
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In his 1853 pamphlet ''The Two Babylons'', as part of his argument that Roman Catholicism is actually Babylonian [[paganism]] in disguise, Alexander Hislop, a Protestant minister in the Free Church of Scotland, incorrectly argued that the modern English word ''Easter'' must be derived from ''Ishtar'' due to the phonetic similarity of the two words. Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion. Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of evangelical Protestants. | In his 1853 pamphlet ''The Two Babylons'', as part of his argument that Roman Catholicism is actually Babylonian [[paganism]] in disguise, Alexander Hislop, a Protestant minister in the Free Church of Scotland, incorrectly argued that the modern English word ''Easter'' must be derived from ''Ishtar'' due to the phonetic similarity of the two words. Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion. Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of evangelical Protestants. | ||
Inanna has become an important figure in modern feminist theory because she appears in the male-dominated Sumerian pantheon, but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside. | Inanna has become an important figure in modern feminist theory because she appears in the male-dominated Sumerian pantheon, but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside. In this context, she is sometimes conflated with [[Lilith]]. | ||
Inanna is the primary ancient source for [[Aleister Crowley]]'s ''Babalon'', a principal goddess in the religion [[Thelema]]. Inanna's name is also used to refer to the Goddess in modern Neopaganism and [[Wicca]]. Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant," one of the most widely used Wiccan liturgies. Inanna's ''Descent into the Underworld'' was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess," one of the most popular texts of [[Gardnerian Wicca]]. | Inanna is the primary ancient source for [[Aleister Crowley]]'s ''Babalon'', a principal goddess in the religion [[Thelema]]. Inanna's name is also used to refer to the Goddess in modern Neopaganism and [[Wicca]]. Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant," one of the most widely used Wiccan liturgies. Inanna's ''Descent into the Underworld'' was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess," one of the most popular texts of [[Gardnerian Wicca]]. | ||
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[[Category:Deities]] | [[Category:Deities]] | ||
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