{{Other uses}}

{{Infobox deity

| type = Mesopotamian

| name = Ishtar

| image = File:Ishtar Eshnunna Louvre AO12456.jpg

| image_size =

| caption =Old Babylonian relief from the early second millennium BCE showing Ishtar wearing a crown and flounced skirt, holding her symbol, currently held in the [[Louvre]] Museum

| deity_of = love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power

| abode =

| planet =[[Venus]]

| symbol = hook-shaped knot of reeds, [[Star of Ishtar]], [[lion]], [[rod-and-ring symbol]], symbolic staff,

| consort =[[Tammuz (deity)|Tammuz]]<br>''other consorts''

| parents =[[Anu]]

| siblings =

| children =

| army =

| mount =

| region =

| festivals =

|Canaanite_equivalent = [[Astarte]]

|Greek_equivalent = [[Aphrodite]]

| equivalent1_type = Sumerian

| equivalent1 = [[Inanna]]

'''Ishtar''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɪ|ʃ|t|ɑːr|}}; cuneiform: {{cuneiform|7|𒀭𒈹}} {{transl|Xsux||^[[Dingir|D]]ištar}}){{sfn|Heffron|2016}} was the [[Mesopotamia]]n goddess of love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, combat, and political power,{{sfn|Wilkinson|1998|page=24}} the [[East Semitic]] ([[Akkadian]], [[Assyria]]n, and [[Babylonia]]n) counterpart to the [[Sumerian religion|Sumerian]] [[Inanna]], and a [[cognate]] of the [[Northwest Semitic]] goddess [[Astarte]] and the [[Armenian mythology|Armenian]] goddess [[Astghik]]. Ishtar was an important deity in [[Ancient Mesopotamian religion|Mesopotamian religion]] from around 3500 BCE, until its gradual decline between the 1st and 5th centuries CE with the spread of [[Christianity]].<ref>Jump up to: a b Simo Parpola (c. 2004). "Assyrian Identity in Ancient Times and Today" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-11-23.</ref>

Ishtar's primary symbols were the lion and the eight-pointed [[star of Ishtar]]. She was associated with the planet Venus and subsumed many important aspects of her character and her cult from the earlier Sumerian goddess Inanna. Ishtar's most famous myth is the story of her [[Katabasis|descent into the underworld]], which is largely based on an older, more elaborate [[Inanna#Descent into the Underworld|Sumerian version involving Inanna]].

In the standard Akkadian version of the ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'', Ishtar is portrayed as a spoiled and hot-headed ''[[femme fatale]]'' who demands [[Gilgamesh]] to become her consort. When he refuses, she unleashes the [[Gugalanna|Bull of Heaven]], resulting in the death of [[Enkidu]]. This stands in sharp contrast with Inanna's [[Inanna#The huluppu tree|radically different portrayal]] in the earlier Sumerian epic of ''[[Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld]]''. Ishtar also appears in the Hittite creation myth and in the Neo-Assyrian ''[[Sargon of Akkad#Birth legend|Birth Legend of Sargon]]''.

Although various publications have claimed that Ishtar's name is the root behind the modern English word ''[[Easter]]'', this has been rejected by reputable scholars, and such etymologies are not listed in standard reference works.

==Etymology==

''Ishtar'' is a Semitic name of uncertain etymology, possibly derived from a Semitic term meaning "to irrigate".{{sfn|Pinker|2005|pages=86-100}} George A. Barton, an early scholar on the subject, suggests that the name stems from "irrigating ditch" and "that which is irrigated by water alone",{{sfn|Barton|1885|pages=355-358}} therefore meaning "she who waters", or "is watered" or "the self-waterer".{{sfn|Barton|1911|pages=355-358}} Regardless of which interpretation is correct, the name seems to derive from irrigation and agricultural fertility.{{sfn|Haupt|1885|pages=175-181}}{{sfn|Pinker|2005|pages=86-100}}

==Origins==

The name ''Ishtar'' occurs as an element in personal names from both the pre-[[Sargon of Akkad|Sargonic]] and post-Sargonic eras in Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia.{{snf|Collins|1994|page=110}} A few scholars believe that Ishtar may have originated as a female form of the god [[Attar (god)|Attar]], who is mentioned in inscriptions from [[Ugarit]] and southern Arabia.{{snf|Collins|1994|page=110}} The morning star may have been conceived as a male deity who presided over the arts of war and the evening star may have been conceived as a female deity who presided over the arts of love.{{snf|Collins|1994|page=110}} Among the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Babylonians, the name of the male god eventually supplanted the name of his female counterpart, but, due to extensive syncretism with the Sumerian goddess [[Inanna]], the deity remained as female, despite the fact that her name was in the masculine form.{{snf|Collins|1994|pages=110-111}} The Akkadian poetess [[Enheduanna]], the daughter of Sargon, wrote numerous hymns to the Sumerian goddess Inanna in which she identified her with her native goddess Ishtar.{{snf|Collins|1994|page=111}} This helped to cement the syncretism between the two.{{snf|Collins|1994|page=111}}

==Worship==

[[File:Pergamon Museum Berlin 2007112.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Depiction of a lion, one of Ishtar's main symbols, from the [[Ishtar Gate]]]]

Ishtar was believed to be the daughter of [[Anu]], the god of the sky.{{snf|Guirand|1968|page=58}} Although she was widely venerated, she was particularly worshipped in the [[Upper Mesopotamia]]n kingdom of [[Assyria]] (modern northern [[Iraq]], north east [[Syria]] and south east [[Turkey]]), particularly at the cities of [[Nineveh]], [[Assur|Ashur]] and [[Arbil|Arbela]] (modern Erbil), and also in the south Mesopotamian city of [[Uruk]].{{snf|Guirand|1968|page=58}} Ishtar was closely associated with lions and with the eight-pointed star, which were her most common symbols.{{snf|Black|Green|pages=156, 169–170}} In the Babylonian [[Pantheon (gods)|pantheon]], she "was the divine personification of the planet [[Venus]]."{{snf|Guirand|1968|page=58}} The [[cult (religious practice)|cult]] of Ishtar may have involved [[sacred prostitution]],{{snf|Day|2004|pages=15-17}} though this is debatable. Felix Guirand refers to her holy city [[Uruk]] as the "town of the sacred courtesans" and to Ishtar herself as the "courtesan of the gods."{{snf|Guirand|1968|page=58}}

[[Androgynous]] and [[hermaphroditism|hermaphroditic]] men were heavily involved in the cult of Ishtar.{{sfn|Leick|1994|pages=157-158}} ''Kurgarrū'' and ''assinnu'' were servants of Ishtar who [[cross-dressing|dressed in female clothing]] and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples;{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|pages=65-66}} they also may have engaged in [[homosexual intercourse]].{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|pages=65-66}} Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to the contemporary Indian ''[[Hijra (South Asia)|hijra]]''.{{sfn|Leick|1994|pages=158-163}} In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women.{{sfn|Roscoe|Murray|1997|page=66}}

During the reign of the Assyrian king [[Assurbanipal]], Ishtar rose to became the most important and widely venerated deity in the Assyrian pantheon, surpassing even the Assyrian national god [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]].{{snf|Black|Green|1992|page=99}}

==Iconography==

{{anchor|Star}}

{{main|Star of Ishtar}}

[[File:Kudurru Melishipak Louvre Sb23 n02.jpg|thumb|Depiction of the emblems of Ishtar (Venus), Sin (Moon), and Shamash (Sun) on a [[kudurru|boundary stone]] of [[Meli-Shipak II]] (12th century BCE).]]

During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was often depicted as a heavily armed warrior goddess, frequently accompanied by [[lion]]s,{{sfn|Black|Green|page=119}} which were among the many symbols Ishtar adopted from the Sumerian goddess Inanna.{{sfn|Collins|1994|pages=113-114}}{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=118}}

In Mesopotamian iconography, the most common symbol of Ishtar is an [[eight-pointed star]],{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169-170}} though the exact number of points sometimes varies.{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}} Six-pointed stars also occur frequently, but their symbolic meaning is unknown.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}} The eight-pointed star was originally associated with Inanna{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169-170}} and seems to have originally borne a general association with the heavens,{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169-170}} but, by the Old Babylonian Period, it had come to be specifically associated with the planet Venus, with which Ishtar was identified.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=169-170}} Starting during this same period, the star of Ishtar was normally enclosed within a circular disc.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}}

During later times, slaves who worked in Ishtar's temples were sometimes branded with the seal of the eight-pointed star.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=170}} On [[kudurru|boundary stones]] and [[cylinder seals]], the eight-pointed star is sometimes shown alongside the [[crescent|crescent moon]], which was the symbol of [[Sin (mythology)|Sin]], god of the Moon, and the rayed [[solar symbol|solar disk]], which was a symbol of [[Shamash]], the god of the Sun.{{sfn|Gressman|Obermann|1928|page=81}}{{sfn|Liungman|2004|page=228}}

The [[rosette (design)|rosette]] was another important symbol of Ishtar which had originally belonged to Inanna.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=156}} During the Neo-Assyrian Period, the rosette may have actually eclipsed the eight-pointed star and become Ishtar's primary symbol.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|pages=156-157}} The temple of Ishtar in the city of [[Aššur]] was adorned with numerous rosettes.{{sfn|Black|Green|1992|page=156}}

==Character==

[[File:Ancient Akkadian Cylindrical Seal Depicting Inanna and Ninshubur.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Ancient [[Akkadian]] [[cylinder seal]] depicting Ishtar resting her foot on the back of a lion while a female attendant stands in front of her paying obeisance, c. 2334-2154 BCE{{snf|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=92, 193}}]]

Ishtar had many lovers; Guirand writes:

{{quote|"Woe to him whom Ishtar had honoured! The fickle goddess treated her passing lovers cruelly, and the unhappy wretches usually paid dearly for the favours heaped on them. Animals, enslaved by love, lost their native vigour: they fell into traps laid by men or were domesticated by them. 'Thou has loved the lion, mighty in strength', says the hero [[Gilgamesh]] to Ishtar, 'and thou hast dug for him seven and seven pits! Thou hast loved the steed, proud in battle, and destined him for the [[halter]], the [[goad]] and the [[whip]].'

Even for the gods Ishtar's love was fatal. In her youth the goddess had loved [[Tammuz (deity)|Tammuz]], god of the harvest, and—if one is to believe [[Gilgamesh]] —this love caused the death of Tammuz."{{snf|Guirand|1968|page=58}}}}

==Mythology==

===Descent into the underworld===

[[File:Ishtar descent to the Underworld BM ME K.162.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Copy of the Akkadian version of the ''Ishtar's Descent into the Underworld'' from the [[Library of Assurbanipal]], currently held in the [[British Museum]] in London, England]]

[[File:Ishtar vase Louvre AO17000-detail.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Depiction of Ishtar from the Ishtar Vase, dating to the early second millennium BCE]]

{{further|Inanna#Descent into the Underworld}}

Ishtar's most famous myth is the story of her descent into the Underworld,{{snf|Jastrow|1915|page=236}} which is based on an older Sumerian version involving the goddess Inanna.{{snf|Kramer|1961|pages=84-85}} The Sumerian version of the story is nearly three times the length of the later Akkadian version and contains much greater detail.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=154}} The Akkadian version begins with Ishtar approaching the gates of the [[Irkalla|Underworld]] and demanding the gatekeeper to let her in:

{{quote|If thou openest not the gate to let me enter,<br/>I will break the door, I will wrench the lock,<br/>I will smash the door-posts, I will force the doors. <br/> I will bring up the dead to eat the living.<br/>And the dead will outnumber the living.}}

In the Akkadian version, the gatekeeper's name is not given,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=155}} but in the Sumerian version, his name is [[Neti (deity)|Neti]].{{snf|Kramer|1961|page=90}} The gatekeeper hurries to tell [[Ereshkigal]], the Queen of the Underworld. Ereshkigal orders the gatekeeper to let Ishtar enter, but tells him to "treat her according to the ancient rites."{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=156}}

The gatekeeper lets Ishtar into the underworld, opening one gate at a time.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=156}} At each gate, Ishtar is forced to shed one article of clothing. When she finally passes the seventh gate, she is naked.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=156-157}} In a rage, Ishtar throws herself at Ereshkigal, but Ereshkigal orders her servant [[Namtar]] to imprison Ishtar and unleash sixty diseases against her.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=157-158}}

After Ishtar descends to the underworld, all sexual activity ceases on earth.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=158-160}} The god [[Papsukkal]], the Akkadian counterpart to the Sumerian goddess [[Ninshubur]],{{snf|Bertman|2003|page=124}} reports the situation to [[Enki|Ea]], the god of wisdom and culture.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=158-160}} Ea creates an [[androgynous|intersex]] being called Asu-shu-namir and sends them to Ereshkigal, telling them to invoke "the name of the great gods" against her and to ask for the bag containing the waters of life. Ereshkigal becomes enraged when she hears Asu-shu-namir's demand, but she is forced to give them the water of life. Asu-shu-namir sprinkles Ishtar with this water, reviving her. Then, Ishtar passes back through the seven gates, receiving one article of clothing back at each gate, and exiting the final gate fully clothed.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=158-160}}

Here there is a break in the text of the myth, which resumes with the following lines:

<blockquote>If she (Ishtar) will not grant thee her release,

To Tammuz, the lover of her youth,

Pour out pure waters, pour out fine oil;

With a festival garment deck him that he may play on the flute of [[lapis lazuli]],

That the votaries may cheer his liver. [his spirit]

Belili [sister of Tammuz] had gathered the treasure,

With precious stones filled her bosom.

When Belili heard the lament of her brother, she dropped her treasure,

She scattered the precious stones before her,

"Oh, my only brother, do not let me perish!

On the day when Tammuz plays for me on the flute of lapis lazuli, playing it for me with the [[porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] ring.

Together with him, play ye for me, ye weepers and lamenting women!

That the dead may rise up and inhale the [[incense]]."</blockquote>

Formerly, scholars{{sfn|Guirand|1968|page=58}}{{sfn|Mackenzie|1915|pages=95-98}} believed that the myth of Ishtar's descent took place after the death of Ishtar's lover Tammuz and that Ishtar had gone to the underworld to rescue him. However, the discovery of a corresponding myth{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=52-89}} about Inanna, the Sumerian counterpart of Ishtar, has shed some light on the myth of Ishtar's descent, including its somewhat enigmatic ending lines. In the Sumerian version of the story, Inanna can only return from the [[Kur|Underworld]] if someone else is taken there as her replacement.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=68-69}} A horde of ''[[gallu|galla]]'' demons follow her out of the Underworld to ensure this. However, each time Inanna runs into someone, she finds him to be a friend and lets him go free.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=68-71}} When she finally reaches her home, she finds her husband [[Dumuzid the Shepherd|Dumuzid]], the Sumerian equivalent of Tammuz, seated on his throne, not at all grieved by her death.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|page=71}} In anger, Inanna allows the demons to take Dumuzid back to the underworld as her replacement.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=71-73}} Dumuzid's sister [[Geshtinanna]] is grief-stricken and volunteers to spend half the year in the underworld, during which time Dumuzid can go free.{{sfn|Wolkstein|Kramer|1983|pages=85-89}} The Ishtar myth presumably had a comparable ending, Belili being the Babylonian equivalent of Geshtinanna.{{sfn|Kirk|1973|page=109}}

===''Epic of Gilgamesh''===

{{main|Epic of Gilgamesh}}

[[File:British Museum Queen of the Night.jpg|thumb|right|Old Babylonian period [[Burney Relief|Queen of Night relief]], which may represent Ishtar, [[Ereshkigal]], or, possibly [[Lilith]], a [[Mesopotamian demon]]]]

====Attempt to seduce Gilgamesh====

The ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]'' contains an episode involving Ishtar,<ref>[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 85–88</ref> in which she is portrayed as a ''[[femme fatale]]'', who is simultaneously petulant, bad-tempered, and spoiled. She asks the hero [[Gilgamesh]] to marry her, but he refuses, citing the fate that has befallen all her many lovers:

{{quote|Listen to me while I tell the tale of your lovers. There was Tammuz, the lover of your youth, for him you decreed wailing, year after year. You loved the many-coloured [[lilac-breasted roller|Lilac-breasted Roller]], but still you struck and broke his wing [...] You have loved the lion tremendous in strength: seven pits you dug for him, and seven. You have loved the stallion magnificent in battle, and for him you decreed the whip and spur and a thong [...] You have loved the shepherd of the flock; he made meal-cake for you day after day, he killed kids for your sake. You struck and turned him into a wolf; now his own herd-boys chase him away, his own hounds worry his flanks."<ref>[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 86</ref>}}

Infuriated by Gilgamesh's refusal,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Ishtar goes to heaven and tells her father [[Anu]] that Gilgamesh has insulted her.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Anu asks her why she is complaining to him instead of confronting Gilgamesh herself.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=80}} Ishtar demands that Anu give her the [[Gugalanna|Bull of Heaven]]{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=80}} and swears that if he does not give it to her, she will, in her own words:

{{quote|...break in the doors of hell and smash the bolts; there will be confusion [i.e., mixing] of people, those above with those from the lower depths. I shall bring up the dead to eat food like the living; and the hosts of the dead will outnumber the living."<ref>[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 87</ref>}}

Anu gives Ishtar the Bull of Heaven, and Ishtar sends it to attack Gilgamesh and his friend [[Enkidu]].{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=81-82}} Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the Bull and offer its heart to the Assyro-Babylonian sun-god [[Shamash]].{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are resting, Ishtar stands up on the walls of [[Uruk]] and curses Gilgamesh.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} Enkidu tears off the Bull's right thigh and throws it in Ishtar's face,{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} saying, "If I could lay my hands on you, it is this I should do to you, and lash your entrails to your side."<ref name="Gilgamesh-p88">[[#Reference-Gilgamesh|''Gilgamesh'']], p. 88</ref> (Enkidu later dies for this impiety.) Ishtar calls together "the crimped courtesans, prostitutes and harlots"{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} and orders them to mourn for the Bull of Heaven.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82}} Meanwhile, Gilgamesh holds a celebration over the Bull of Heaven's defeat.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=82-83}}

====Flood myth====

Later in the epic, [[Utnapishtim]] tells Gilgamesh the story of the [[Great Flood]],{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=109-116}} which was sent by the god [[Enlil]] to annihilate all life on earth because the humans, who were vastly overpopulated, made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=109-111}} Utnapishtim tells how, when the flood came, Ishtar wept and mourned over the destruction of humanity, alongside the [[Anunnaki]].{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=113}} Later, after the flood subsides, Utnapishtim makes an offering to the gods.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=114}} Ishtar appears to Utnapishtim wearing a [[lapis lazuli]] necklace with beads shaped like [[flies]] and tells him that Enlil never discussed the flood with any of the other gods.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=114-115}} She swears him that she will never allow Enlil to cause another flood{{snf|Dalley|pages=114-115}} and declares her lapis lazuli necklace a sign of her oath.{{snf|Dalley|1989|pages=114-115}} Ishtar invites all the gods except for Enlil to gather around the offering and enjoy.{{snf|Dalley|1989|page=115}}

===Hittite Creation story===

Ishtar briefly appears in the [[Hittite mythology|Hittite Creation myth]] as the sister of the Hittite [[storm god]] [[Teshub]].{{snf|Puhvel|1987|page=25}} In the myth, Ishtar attempts to seduce the monster [[Ullikummi]], but fails because the monster is both blind and deaf and is unable to see or hear her.{{snf|Puhvel|1987|page=25}}

===''Birth Legend of Sargon''===

{{main|Sargon of Akkad#Birth legend}}

In a pseudepigraphical Neo-Assyrian text written in the seventh century BCE, but which claims to be the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad,{{snf|Westenholz|1997|pages=33-49}} Ishtar is claimed to have appeared to Sargon "surrounded by a cloud of doves" while he was working as a gardener for Akki, the drawer of the water.{{snf|Westenholz|1997|pages=33-49}} Ishtar then proclaimed Sargon her lover and allowed him to become the ruler of Sumer and Akkad.{{snf|Westenholz|1997|pages=33-49}}

==Related deities==

[[File:Naked woman holding her breasts-Sb 7742-IMG 0880-black.jpg|thumb|left|A molded terra cotta figurine discovered at [[Susa]] dating to sometime between 1300 BCE and 1100 BCE probably depicting Ishtar herself or a related goddess{{snf|Winckler|1905|page=}}{{snf|Pumpelly|1908|page=48}}]]

As Ishtar became more prominent, several lesser or regional deities were assimilated into her,{{snf|Monaghan|2014|page=39}} including [[Aya (goddess)|Aja]] (eastern mountain dawn goddess), Anatu (a goddess, possibly [[Anat#Anat in Mesopotamia|Ishtar's mother]]), Anunitu (Akkadian light goddess), Agasayam (war goddess), Irnini (goddess of cedar forests in the Lebanese mountains), [[Burney Relief#Ishtar|Kilili]] or Kulili (symbol of the desirable woman), Sahirtu (messenger of lovers), Kir-gu-lu (bringer of rain), and Sarbanda (power of sovereignty).{{snf|Monaghan|2014|page=39}}

The cult of Ishtar gave rise to the later cult of the Phoenician goddess [[Astarte]], which, in turn, gave rise to the cult of the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]].{{snf|Burkert|1985|pages=152-153}}{{snf|Puhvel|1987|page=27}}{{snf|Marcovich|1996|pages=43-59}}{{snf|Kerényi|1951|page=67}} The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is likely derived from the myth of Ishtar and Tammuz.{{snf|West|1997|page=57}}{{snf|Kerényi|1951|page=67}}{{snf|Mackenzie|1915|pages=83-84, 103}} [[Joseph Campbell]], a scholar of [[comparative mythology]] from the late twentieth century, equates Ishtar, Inanna, and Aphrodite;{{snf|Campbell|1976|page=70}} he also draws a parallel between the legend of Ishtar and Tammuz and the Egyptian story of the goddess [[Isis]] and her son [[Horus]].{{snf|Campbell|1976|page=70}}

Modern scholars are not alone in [[interpretatio Graeca|associating Ishtar with Aphrodite]]. Writing in the fifth century BCE, the Greek historian [[Herodotus]] reports that the oldest temple to [[Aphrodite Ourania]] in the world was located in the city of Ascalon, Syria.<ref>Herodotus, translated by Godley 1920, 1.105</ref> In his ''Description of Greece'', the ancient Greek travel writer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], who lived during the second century CE, affirms Herodotus's report, claiming that the first people to worship Aphrodite Ourania were the "Assyrians."<ref>Pausanias, translated by Jones & Ormerod 1918, 1.14.7</ref>

The Romans also identified Ishtar with their goddess [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]]. [[Cicero]], in his treatise ''[[De Natura Deorum|On the Nature of the Gods]]'', equates [[Astarte]], the later Phoenician version of Ishtar, with Venus.<ref>Cicero, ''De Natura Deorum'', 3.21-23</ref> The later writer [[Hyginus]] recounts an otherwise unattested tradition regarding the birth of Venus, demonstrating the syncretism between her and Ishtar:

{{quote|Into the [[Euphrates River]] an egg of wonderful size is said to have fallen, which the fish rolled to the bank. Doves sat on it, and when it was heated, it hatched out Venus, who was later called the Syrian goddess. Since she excelled the rest in justice and uprightness, by a favour granted by [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jove]], the fish were put among the number of the stars, and because of this the Syrians do not eat fish or doves, considering them as gods.<ref>Hyginus, translated by Grant 1960, 197</ref>}}

==Alleged associations with ''Easter''==

In his book ''[[The Two Babylons]]'', the nineteenth-century [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorian]]<ref>Brown, Peter Lancaster. ''Megaliths, Myths and Men: An Introduction to Astro-Archaeology'' p. 268. Dover Publications, New York, 1976.</ref> [[Alexander Hislop]] attempted to connect the name ''Ishtar'' with the word ''[[Easter]]''.<ref name="books.google.com">Grabbe, Lester L. [https://books.google.com/books?id=K2hIY_E_ngYC&pg=PA28 Can a 'History of Israel' Be Written?] p. 28, 1997, Continuum International Publishing Group</ref> Mainstream scholars have refuted all of Hislop's major claims.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mcllhenny|first1=Albert M.|title=This Is the Sun?: Zeitgeist and Religion (Volume I: Comparative Religion)|date=2011|isbn=978-1-105-33967-7|page=60|url=https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=KymmAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA7&dq=Alexander+Hislop+debunked&ots=-uFxjecdKP&sig=UvBeem9hvfz2T-p-RKkD3ROfGpk#v=onepage&q=Alexander%20Hislop&f=false|accessdate=1 June 2017}}</ref><ref name="books.google.com"/> The name ''Easter'' is, in fact, most likely derived from the name of ''[[Ēostre]]'',<ref>[[Calvert Watkins|Watkins, Calvert]] (2006 [2000]). ''The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots''. [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]. {{ISBN|0-618-08250-6}}</ref> a [[List of Germanic deities|Germanic goddess]] whose [[Germanic calendar|Germanic month]] bears her name ([[Northumbrian dialect|Northumbrian]]: ''{{lang|ang|Ēosturmōnaþ}}''; [[West Saxon dialect|West Saxon]]: ''{{lang|ang|Ēastermōnaþ}}''; {{lang-goh|Ôstarmânoth|links=no}}). She is solely attested by [[Bede]] in his 8th-century work ''[[The Reckoning of Time]]'', where Bede states that during ''{{lang|ang|Ēosturmōnaþ}}'' (the equivalent of April), [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|pagan Anglo-Saxons]] had held feasts in Ēostre's honor, but that this tradition had died out by his time, replaced by the Christian [[Easter#Theological significance|Paschal month]], a celebration of the [[resurrection of Jesus]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Wallis|first=Faith|title=[[The Reckoning of Time|Bede: The Reckoning of Time]]|year=1999|publisher=Liverpool University Press|isbn=0853236933|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yFsw-Vaup6sC&pg=PA53 54]}}</ref>

Ēostre may be a reflex of the Proto-Indo-European dawn goddess [[Hausos|*''H_aéusōs'']].<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallory|first=J. P.|author-link=J. P. Mallory|last2=Adams|first2=Douglas Q.|author2-link=Douglas Q. Adams|year=1997|title=[[Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture]]|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]|isbn=1-884964-98-2|ref=harv}} p. 148-149.</ref> Although the names ''Ishtar'' and ''Ēostre'' are similar, they are etymologically unrelated;<ref>{{cite web|last1=D'Costa|first1=Krystal|title=Beyond Ishtar: The Tradition of Eggs at Easter: Don't believe every meme you encounter.|url=https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/beyond-ishtar-the-tradition-of-eggs-at-easter/|website=Scientific American|publisher=Nature America, Inc.|accessdate=8 July 2017}}</ref> the name ''Ēostre'' is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*aus-'', meaning "dawn."<ref>[[Calvert Watkins|Watkins, Calvert]] (2006 [2000]). ''The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots''. p. 2021. [[Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]]. {{ISBN|0-618-08250-6}}</ref> The word for ''Easter'' in most European languages is usually some variant of the Greek word ''Pascha'', meaning "Passover."<ref>{{cite book|url = https://books.google.com/?id=PB-zfFmR0I0C&pg=PA21&dq=%22Pascha%22+name#v=onepage&q=%22Pascha%22%20name&f=false|title = The Antenicene Pascha: A Rhetorical History|author=Karl Gerlach|publisher = Peeters Publishers|quote=The second century equivalent of easter and the paschal Triduum was called by both Greek and Latin writers "Pascha (πάσχα)", a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic form of the Hebrew פֶּסַח, the Passover feast of Ex. 12.|page=XVIII|year= 1998}}</ref>

==See also==

{{div col||20em}}

* [[Aphrodite]]

* [[Astaroth]]

* [[Astarte]]

* [[Astghik]]

* [[Gingira]]

* [[Inanna]]

* [[Isis]]

* [[Lilith]]

* [[Tanit]]

{{div col end}}

==References==

{{Reflist|20em}}

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==Further reading==

*[[Barry B. Powell|Powell, Barry]]. ''Classical Myth: Sixth Edition''. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2008.

*The myth of [http://www.soas.ac.uk/baplar/recordings/itars-descent-to-the-netherworld-lines-1-125-read-by-martin-west.html Ishtar's descent into the underworld] being read aloud in Babylonian.

==External links==

{{commons}}

*[http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/amgg/listofdeities/inanaitar/ Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses: Inana/Ištar (goddess)]

*[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/42692 Assyrian origins: discoveries at Ashur on the Tigris: antiquities in the Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Ishtar

{{Epic of Gilgamesh}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mesopotamian goddesses]]

[[Category:Love and lust goddesses]]

[[Category:War goddesses]]

[[Category:Life-death-rebirth goddesses]]

[[Category:Mythological queens]]

[[Category:Epic of Gilgamesh]]

[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]

[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]

[[Category:Sexuality and religion]]

[[Category:Sky and weather goddesses]]

[[Category:Stellar goddesses]]

[[Category:Justice goddesses]]

[[Category:Time and fate goddesses]]

[[Category:LGBT themes in mythology]]

[[Category:Ancient LGBT history]]