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93-531: Ipiq-Adad II extended the control of Eshnunna to incorporate other cities in the Diyala Valley, including Nerebtum , Shaduppum , and Dur-Rimush. Dadusha followed the expansionist policies of his father and his brother Naram-Suen, mixing war and diplomacy to increase his control over areas. His continued expansionism caused Eshnunna to become one of the most powerful states in the Mesopotamian region in

186-610: A Proto-Euphratean goddess, who was only later accepted into the Sumerian pantheon . This idea was supported by Inanna's youthfulness, as well as the fact that, unlike the other Sumerian divinities, she seems to have initially lacked a distinct sphere of responsibilities. The view that there was a Proto-Euphratean substrate language in Southern Iraq before Sumerian is not widely accepted by modern Assyriologists. The name Ishtar occurs as an element in personal names from both

279-550: A code pertaining to what happens when an ox gores a man. Tell Ishchali Tell Ishchali (also Iščāli or Šaǧālī) is an archaeological site in Diyala Province ( Iraq ) a few hundred meters from the Diyala River and 3 miles south by southeast from the ancient city of Khafajah . It is thought to be ancient Nerebtum or Kiti and was part of the city-state of Eshnunna . It is known to have been occupied during

372-454: A different myth, The Return of Dumuzid Inanna instead mourns over Dumuzid's death and ultimately decrees that he will be allowed to return to Heaven to be with her for one half of the year. Dina Katz notes that the portrayal of their relationship in Inanna's Descent is unusual; it does not resemble the portrayal of their relationship in other myths about Dumuzi's death, which almost never pin

465-549: A distinct goddess linked to Ningishzida rather than to Ishtar. Another epithet highlighting this aspect of Ishtar's nature was Anunitu ("the martial one"). Like Irnina, Anunitu could also be a separate deity, and as such she is first attested in documents from the Ur III period. Assyrian royal curse-formulas invoked both of Ishtar's primary functions at once, invoking her to remove potency and martial valor alike. Mesopotamian texts indicate that traits perceived as heroic (such as

558-651: A female deity who presided over the arts of love. 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 Inanna, the deity remained as female, although her name was in the masculine form. Inanna has posed a problem for many scholars of ancient Sumer due to the fact that her sphere of power contained more distinct and contradictory aspects than that of any other deity. Two major theories regarding her origins have been proposed. The first explanation holds that Inanna

651-450: A giant dove emerging from a palm tree in the temple of Ishtar, indicating that the goddess herself was sometimes believed to take the form of a dove. Inanna was associated with the planet Venus , which is named after her Roman equivalent . Several hymns praise Inanna in her role as the goddess or personification of the planet Venus. Theology professor Jeffrey Cooley has argued that, in many myths, Inanna's movements may correspond with

744-715: A god list from the Early Dynastic period , a hymn of Ishme-Dagan relaying how Enlil and Ninlil bestowed Inanna's powers upon her, a late syncretic hymn to Nanaya , and an Akkadian ritual from Hattusa . While some authors assert that in Uruk Inanna was usually regarded as the daughter of the sky god An , it is possible that references to him as her father are only referring to his status as an ancestor of Nanna and thus his daughter. In literary texts, Enlil or Enki may be addressed as her fathers but references to major gods being "fathers" can also be examples of

837-429: A heavily armed warrior goddess with a lion as one of her attributes. Doves were also prominent animal symbols associated with Inanna/Ishtar. Doves are shown on cultic objects associated with Inanna as early as the beginning of the third millennium  BCE . Lead dove figurines were discovered in the temple of Ishtar at Aššur, dating to the thirteenth century  BCE and a painted fresco from Mari, Syria shows

930-470: A king's ability to lead his troops and to triumph over enemies) and sexual prowess were regarded as interconnected. While generally classified as a goddess, Inanna/Ishtar could seem at times to have ambiguous gender. Gary Beckman states that "ambiguous gender identification" was a characteristic not just of Ishtar herself but of a category of deities he refers to as "Ishtar type" goddesses (such as Shaushka , Pinikir or Ninsianna ). A late hymn contains

1023-537: A reputation for engaging in anal sex with men. During the Akkadian Period, kurgarrū and assinnu were servants of Ishtar who dressed in female clothing and performed war dances in Ishtar's temples. Several Akkadian proverbs seem to suggest that they may have also had homosexual proclivities. Gwendolyn Leick, an anthropologist known for her writings on Mesopotamia, has compared these individuals to

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1116-761: A surrounding siege wall, by heaping up earth, with the help of a breach, an attack and my great strength. I swiftly bound its king Bunu-Ištar by the blaze of my strong weapon and I truly had his head quickly brought to Ešnunna. ..." The stele dates back to the Old-Babylonian period, c. 1800-1779 BC. It is on display at the Old-Babylonian Gallery of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad . During the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and subsequent ransacking of

1209-654: A variety of sexual rites , was continued by the East Semitic -speaking peoples ( Akkadians , Assyrians and Babylonians ) who succeeded and absorbed the Sumerians in the region. She was especially beloved by the Assyrians , who elevated her to become the highest deity in their pantheon, ranking above their own national god Ashur . Inanna/Ishtar is alluded to in the Hebrew Bible , and she greatly influenced

1302-563: A victory stele commissioned commemorating the event. The fragmentary Mardin Stele of Shamshi-Adad I tells the story from a different perspective. The stele is an elongated stone monument which originally stood at the Temple of Adad at Eshnunna. The front side is carved with four registers while the narrow sides were inscribed with 220 lines of a cuneiform text divided into 17 columns; 180 cm high, 37 cm wide and 18,5 cm thick. The stele

1395-460: A war deity. Inanna's twin brother was Utu (known as Shamash in Akkadian), the god of the sun and justice. In Sumerian texts, Inanna and Utu are depicted as extremely close; some modern authors even perceive their relationship as bordering on incestuous . In the myth of her descent into the underworld, Inanna addresses Ereshkigal , the queen of the underworld, as her "older sister," yet

1488-632: Is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law , and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer , she was known by the Akkadian Empire , Babylonians , and Assyrians as Ishtar (and occasionally the logogram 𒌋𒁯 ). Her primary title is "the Queen of Heaven" . She was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk , her early main cult center. In archaic Uruk she

1581-475: Is attested in the most ancient texts from both Ebla and Mari . He considers her, a moon god (e.g., Sin ) and a sun deity of varying gender ( Shamash / Shapash ) to be the only deities shared between various early Semitic peoples of Mesopotamia and ancient Syria, who otherwise had different not necessarily overlapping pantheons. Gwendolyn Leick assumes that during the Pre-Sargonic era, the cult of Inanna

1674-668: Is emphasized in the later standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh in which Gilgamesh points out Ishtar's infamous ill-treatment of her lovers. However, according to assyriologist Dina Katz, the portrayal of Inanna's relationship with Dumuzi in the Descent myth is unusual. Inanna was also worshipped as one of the Sumerian war deities. One of the hymns dedicated to her declares: "She stirs confusion and chaos against those who are disobedient to her, speeding carnage and inciting

1767-571: Is fully grown. The tree grows and matures, but the serpent "who knows no charm", the Anzû -bird, and Lilitu (Ki-Sikil-Lil-La-Ke in Sumerian), seen by some as the Sumerian forerunner to the Lilith of Jewish folklore, all take up residence within the tree, causing Inanna to cry with sorrow. The hero Gilgamesh , who, in this story, is portrayed as her brother, comes along and slays the serpent, causing

1860-463: Is split between Nerebtum and Kiti as the result of many tablets from the temple of Inanna of Kiti being analyzed. The name of Sadlas was also proposed, though an agreement between the rulers of Nērebtum and Šadlaš on the disposition of prisoners of war is now known. A number of bricks of Ipiq-Adad II were found in the Kitium temple inscribed with: "To Inanna Kititum did Ipiq-Adad, the mighty king,

1953-454: Is the better choice for a husband, arguing that, for every gift the farmer can give to her, the shepherd can give her something even better. In the end, Inanna marries Dumuzid. The shepherd and the farmer reconcile their differences, offering each other gifts. Samuel Noah Kramer compares the myth to the later Biblical story of Cain and Abel because both myths center around a farmer and a shepherd competing for divine favor and, in both stories,

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2046-606: Is the most frequently invoked deity. In the Old Babylonian period, her main cult centers were Uruk, Zabalam, Agade, and Ilip. Her cult was also introduced from Uruk to Kish. During later times, while her cult in Uruk continued to flourish, Ishtar also became particularly worshipped in the Upper Mesopotamian kingdom of Assyria (modern northern Iraq , northeast Syria , and southeast Turkey ), especially in

2139-475: Is the result of a syncretism between several previously unrelated Sumerian deities with totally different domains. The second explanation holds that Inanna was originally a Semitic deity who entered the Sumerian pantheon after it was already fully structured, and who took on all the roles that had not yet been assigned to other deities. As early as the Uruk period ( c.  4000–3100  BCE ), Inanna

2232-432: Is the story of her descent into and return from the ancient Mesopotamian underworld , ruled by her older sister Ereshkigal . After she reaches Ereshkigal's throne room, the seven judges of the underworld deem her guilty and strike her dead. Three days later, Ninshubur pleads with all the gods to bring Inanna back. All of them refuse her, except Enki, who sends two sexless beings to rescue Inanna. They escort Inanna out of

2325-594: Is thought to be either also Dadusha or the god Adad. The sun-disc with its rays of Shamash, combined with the crescent of Sin, appears at the central upper part. At the bottom of the image, the city walls of Qabrā appear. This stele commemorates his victory over the city-state of Qabrā (possibly Kurd Qaburstan ) and its king Bunu-Ishtar, with the help of king Shamshi-Adad I of Ekallatum . The stele's inscription states that Dadusha beheaded Bunu-Ishtar and carried his head back to Eshnunna. "... I majestically approach Qabra, his main city. In ten days I seized this city by means of

2418-596: The Akkadian period . The Middle Bronze can be subdivided into the earlier Isin-Larsa Period and later Old Babylonian Period . Excavated epigraphic evidence dates to the Old Babylonian period . While some tablets mention early local rulers, for most of the known history of Ishchali kings from Eshnunna held sway there, including Ipiq-Adad and Ibal-pi-El. During the time of Sabium, king of Babylon, Ibal-pi-El I of Ešnunna, Sîn-iddinam of Larsa and Sîn-kašid of Uruk

2511-492: The Anzû -bird and Lilitu to flee. Gilgamesh's companions chop down the tree and carve its wood into a bed and a throne, which they give to Inanna, who fashions a pikku and a mikku (probably a drum and drumsticks respectively, although the exact identifications are uncertain), which she gives to Gilgamesh as a reward for his heroism. The Sumerian hymn Inanna and Utu contains an etiological myth describing how Inanna became

2604-488: The Early Dynastic period . Many god lists compiled by ancient scribes contained entire "Inanna group" sections enumerating similar goddesses, and tablet IV of the monumental god list An-Anum (7 tablets total) is known as the "Ishtar tablet" due to most of its contents being the names of Ishtar's equivalents, her titles and various attendants. Some modern researchers use the term Ishtar-type to define specific figures of this variety. Some texts contained references to "all

2697-532: The Huluppu Tree", found in the preamble to the epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Netherworld (ETCSL 1.8.1.4 ), centers around a young Inanna, not yet stable in her power. It begins with a huluppu tree, which Kramer identifies as possibly a willow , growing on the banks of the river Euphrates . Inanna moves the tree to her garden in Uruk with the intention to carve it into a throne once it

2790-515: The Isin-Larsa period and Old Babylonian period with excavations ending before earlier levels were reached. At first, the site of Ishchali was confused with Tutub (now known to be at Khafajah ). Upon discovery of a date formula that read "year that king Ishme-Bali built the great wall of Nerebtum", that designation gained some support, although the temple dedicated to Inanna suggested Kiti as another possible toponym. Currently, scholarly opinion

2883-405: The Old Babylonian period Bau , introduced from Lagash , became his spouse (an example of a couple consisting out of a warrior god and a medicine goddess, common in Mesopotamian mythology ) and Ishtar of Kish started to instead be worshipped on her own. Inanna is not usually described as having any offspring; however, in the myth of Lugalbanda , as well as in a single building inscription from

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2976-707: The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at Berkeley, the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, Iraq Museum, Oriental Institute, and the Free Library of Philadelphia . The archive of the chief administrator of the Kititum temple is represented by 155 purchased Free Library tablets and 55 excavated Oriental Institute tablets. Inanna Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She

3069-470: The Third Dynasty of Ur ( c. 2112 – c. 2004  BCE ), the warrior god Shara is described as her son. She was also sometimes considered the mother of Lulal , who is described in other texts as the son of Ninsun . Wilfred G. Lambert described the relation between Inanna and Lulal as "close but unspecified" in the context of Inanna's Descent. There is also similarly scarce evidence for

3162-662: The Ugaritic goddess Ashtart and later the Phoenician goddess Astarte , who in turn possibly influenced the development of the Greek goddess Aphrodite . Her cult continued to flourish until its gradual decline between the first and sixth centuries CE in the wake of Christianity . Inanna appears in more myths than any other Sumerian deity. She also has a uniquely high number of epithets and alternate names, comparable only to Nergal . Many of her myths involve her taking over

3255-463: The Biblical book of Jeremiah , the prophet condemns Judean female refugees for worshipping the Queen of Heaven (a syncretism of Ishtar and Asherah) by baking cakes with the goddess's image upon them and pouring libations to her (Jer. Ch. 7 and 44). The women and their husbands defy him, and state that they will follow the practices of their ancestors, who performed these acts "in the towns of Judea and

3348-727: The Iraq Museum in April 2003, the stele escaped looting and vandalism. Two tablets found during excavations at the site Shaduppum (modern Tell Harmal) in 1945 and 1947 contain laws similar to the Code of Hammurabi , but predating them. The Laws of Eshnunna were written during or just before the reign of Dadusha, although it is not conclusive whether Dadusha wrote them or not. Some of the laws included in this code are similar to Hammurabi's Code and Moses’ Code in Exodus. For example, they all contain

3441-631: The Ishtars" of a given area. In later periods Ishtar's name was sometimes used as a generic term ("goddess") in Babylonia, while a logographic writing of Inanna was used to spell the title Bēltu , leading to further conflations. A possible example of such use of the name is also known from Elam , as a single Elamite inscription written in Akkadian refers to " Manzat -Ishtar", which might in this context mean "the goddess Manzat". The poem Enki and

3534-644: The Old Babylonian period were found and later published. For a few tablets the provenance is in dispute between Ishcali and Khafajah . Excavations only reached the Isin-Larsa level before excavations ended. Of the 280 tablets excavated, 138 went to the Oriental Institute with the remaining 142 assigned to the Iraq Museum . Among them was a fragment of the Epic of Gilgamesh . The tablets illegally excavated from Ishchali are in many locations including

3627-638: The Sun, for many days at a time, and then reappears on the other horizon), some cultures did not recognize Venus as a single entity; instead, they assumed it to be two separate stars on each horizon: the morning and evening star. Nonetheless, a cylinder seal from the Jemdet Nasr period indicates that the ancient Sumerians knew that the morning and evening stars were the same celestial object. The discontinuous movements of Venus relate to both mythology as well as Inanna's dual nature. Modern astrologers recognize

3720-533: The World Order ( ETCSL 1.1.3 ) begins by describing the god Enki and his establishment of the cosmic organization of the universe. Towards the end of the poem, Inanna comes to Enki and complains that he has assigned a domain and special powers to all of the other gods except for her. She declares that she has been treated unfairly. Enki responds by telling her that she already has a domain and that he does not need to assign her one. The myth of "Inanna and

3813-465: The ancient Mesopotamians regarded as a symbol of power. Her associations with lions began during Sumerian times; a chlorite bowl from the temple of Inanna at Nippur depicts a large feline battling a giant snake and a cuneiform inscription on the bowl reads "Inanna and the Serpent", indicating that the cat is supposed to represent the goddess. During the Akkadian Period, Ishtar was frequently depicted as

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3906-415: The ancient Near East worshipped Ishtar by dedicating to her cakes baked in ashes (known as kamān tumri ). A dedication of this type is described in an Akkadian hymn. Several clay cake molds discovered at Mari are shaped like naked women with large hips who are clutching their breasts. Some scholars have suggested that the cakes made from these molds were intended as representations of Ishtar herself. In

3999-417: The blame for it on Inanna, but rather on demons or even human bandits. A large corpus of love poetry describing encounters between Inanna and Dumuzi has been assembled by researchers. However, local manifestations of Inanna/Ishtar were not necessarily associated with Dumuzi. In Kish , the tutelary deity of the city, Zababa (a war god), was viewed as the consort of a local hypostasis of Ishtar, though after

4092-499: The cities of Nineveh , Aššur , and Arbela (modern Erbil). During the reign of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal , Ishtar rose to become the most important and widely venerated deity in the Assyrian pantheon, surpassing even the Assyrian national god Ashur . Votive objects found in her primary Assyrian temple indicate that she was a popular deity among women. Individuals who went against the gender binary were heavily involved in

4185-540: The city of Agade. A hymn from that period addresses the Akkadian Ishtar as "Inanna of the Ulmaš" alongside Inanna of Uruk and of Zabalam. The worship of Ishtar and syncretism between her and Inanna was encouraged by Sargon and his successors, and as a result she quickly became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon. In inscriptions of Sargon, Naram-Sin , and Shar-Kali-Sharri , Ishtar

4278-497: The conjunction, seven more days elapse before Venus appears as the morning star, corresponding to the ascent from the underworld. Inanna in her aspect as Anunītu was associated with the eastern fish of the last of the zodiacal constellations, Pisces . Her consort Dumuzi was associated with the contiguous first constellation, Aries . The Sumerians worshipped Inanna as the goddess of both warfare and love. Unlike other gods, whose roles were static and whose domains were limited,

4371-421: The contemporary Indian hijra . In one Akkadian hymn, Ishtar is described as transforming men into women. Throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, it was widely believed that the cult of Inanna involved a " sacred marriage " ritual, in which a king would establish his legitimacy by taking on the role of Dumuzid and engaging in ritual sexual intercourse with the high priestess of Inanna, who took on

4464-426: The cult of Inanna. During Sumerian times, a set of priests known as gala worked in Inanna's temples, where they performed elegies and lamentations. Men who became gala sometimes adopted female names, and their songs were composed in the Sumerian eme-sal dialect, which, in literary texts, is normally reserved for the speech of female characters. Some Sumerian proverbs seem to suggest that gala had

4557-470: The cult site of Inanna of Kititum, is as yet unknown, though it has been suggested that it was an earlier name for Tell Ishchali. She was worshiped in the Diyala region including at the capital city of Eshnunna where this oracular inscription was found: "O king Ibalpiel, thus says Kititum:/The secrets of the gods are placed before me./Because you constantly pronounce my name with your mouth, I keep disclosing

4650-482: The devastating flood, clothed in terrifying radiance. It is her game to speed conflict and battle, untiring, strapping on her sandals." Battle itself was occasionally referred to as the "Dance of Inanna". Epithets related to lions in particular were meant to highlight this aspect of her character. As a war goddess she was sometimes referred to with the name Irnina ("victory"), though this epithet could be applied to other deities as well, in addition to functioning as

4743-506: The domains of other deities. She is believed to have been given the mes , which represent all positive and negative aspects of civilization, by Enki , the god of wisdom. She is also believed to have taken over the Eanna temple from An , the god of the sky. Alongside her twin brother Utu (later known as Shamash), Inanna is the enforcer of divine justice ; she destroyed Mount Ebih for having challenged her authority, unleashed her fury upon

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4836-410: The early 18th century. Dadusha was succeeded by his son Ibal pi’el II (reigned c. 1779–65 BC). In 1781 BC, Dadusha joined forces with the king of Upper Mesopotamia, Shamshi-Adad I , in order to subdue the area between the two Zab Rivers . The attack on Qabrā occurred in the last regnal year of Dadusha and the 28th regnal year of Shamshi-Adad I. They were successful in this endeavor, and Dadusha had

4929-440: 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 (Sumerian Nanna) and the rayed solar disk , which was a symbol of Shamash (Sumerian Utu). Inanna's cuneiform ideogram was a hook-shaped twisted knot of reeds, representing the doorpost of the storehouse, a common symbol of fertility and plenty. The rosette

5022-522: The gardener Shukaletuda after he raped her in her sleep, and tracked down the bandit woman Bilulu and killed her in divine retribution for having murdered Dumuzid. In the standard Akkadian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh , Ishtar asks Gilgamesh to become her consort. When he disdainfully refuses, she unleashes the Bull of Heaven , resulting in the death of Enkidu and Gilgamesh's subsequent grapple with his own mortality. Inanna's most famous myth

5115-478: The goddess of sex. At the beginning of the hymn, Inanna knows nothing of sex, so she begs her brother Utu to take her to Kur (the Sumerian underworld), so that she may taste the fruit of a tree that grows there, which will reveal to her all the secrets of sex. Utu complies and, in Kur, Inanna tastes the fruit and becomes knowledgeable. The hymn employs the same motif found in the myth of Enki and Ninhursag and in

5208-424: The goddesses Nanaya, Kanisurra , Gazbaba , and Bizila , all of them also associated with each other in various configurations independently from this context. In addition to the full conflation of Inanna and Ishtar during the reign of Sargon and his successors, she was syncretised with a large number of deities to a varying degree. The oldest known syncretic hymn is dedicated to Inanna, and has been dated to

5301-473: 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

5394-498: The king of Nerebtum was Iku(n)-pi-Si. Inanna Temple . The most notable feature of Ishchali is the main temple. It was that of Inanna-Kititum , or Inanna of Kiti (occasionally called Ištar-Kititum). It is one of the largest temples ever found in the ancient Near East at 100 meters by 65 meters. Rebuilt several times, always following the original plan, the monumental building consisted of one large upper temple and two smaller areas which are thought to be shrines (the westernmost shrine

5487-1224: The king who enlarged Eshnunna, shepherd of the dark headed (people), beloved of Tispak, son of Ibal-pi-el, grant Neribtum" One ruler of Nērebtum, Ikūn-pî-Sîn, is known. He also controlled nearby Tutub . He was a contemporary of Sabium (c. 1844–1831 BC), early ruler of Babylon. A single year name of Iku(n)-pi-Sin is known from a text found at Khafajah reading "Year following (the year) when Iku(n)-pi-Sin cap[tured] Dini[ktum". Presumably it followed one reading "Year when Iku(n)-pi-Sin captured Diniktum". Other proposed rulers of Nērebtum are Išmeḫ-bala, Sumun-abi-yarim, Ḫammi-dušur, and Sîn-abušu. An oath text of Ibel-pi-El, ruler of Eshnunna mentions Ikūn-pî-Sîn and provides synchronism with several rulers: "... Should Sabum, king of Babylon, or Iku(n)-pi-Sin, (king of Nerebtum), write me for troops, I shall not give (either of) them troops; my troops shall not battle those of Sin-iddinam, king of Larsa, or of Sin-kašid, king of Uruk; I shall not perfidiously have my troops stand against them. Until Sin-iddinam and Sin-kašid make peace with Sabum and Iku(n)-pi-Sin, I shall never make peace (with them) ..." The site lies about 3 miles (4.8 km) south and 7 miles (11 km) east of

5580-461: The later Biblical story of Adam and Eve . The poem Inanna Prefers the Farmer (ETCSL 4.0.8.3.3 ) begins with a rather playful conversation between Inanna and Utu, who incrementally reveals to her that it is time for her to marry. She is courted by a farmer named Enkimdu and a shepherd named Dumuzid . At first, Inanna prefers the farmer, but Utu and Dumuzid gradually persuade her that Dumuzid

5673-462: The love goddess Nanaya being regarded as her daughter, but it is possible all of these instances merely refer to an epithet indicating closeness between the deities and were not a statement about actual parentage. Inanna's sukkal was the goddess Ninshubur , whose relationship with Inanna is one of mutual devotion. In some texts, Ninshubur is listed right after Dumuzi as a member of Inanna's circle, even before some of her relatives; in one text

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5766-505: The male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal . Inanna was worshipped in Sumer at least as early as the Uruk period ( c.  4000 – 3100 BCE ), and her cultic activity was relatively localized before the conquest of Sargon of Akkad . During the post-Sargonic era, she became one of the most widely venerated deities in the Sumerian pantheon, with temples across Mesopotamia . The cult of Inanna/Ishtar, which may have been associated with

5859-471: The modern city of Baghdad and 15 miles (24 km) southeast of Eshnunna on the Diyala River , a tributary of the Tigris . The main tell at Ishchali measures roughly 600 by 300 metres (1,970 ft × 980 ft). There are also small mounds to the north and south of it. The entire site covers around 23 hectares (57 acres). Surface finds indicate that Ishchali may have been occupied as far back as

5952-579: The mountains, replicating the rising and setting of Inanna to the West. In Inanna and Shukaletuda , Shukaletuda is described as scanning the heavens in search of Inanna, possibly searching the Eastern and Western horizons. In the same myth, while searching for her attacker, Inanna herself makes several movements that correspond with the movements of Venus in the sky. Because the movements of Venus appear to be discontinuous (it disappears due to its proximity to

6045-510: The movements of Venus across the sky. In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld , Inanna, unlike any other deity, is able to descend into the netherworld and return to the heavens. The planet Venus appears to make a similar descent, setting in the West and then rising again in the East. An introductory hymn describes Inanna leaving the heavens and heading for Kur , what could be presumed to be

6138-545: The name of Inanna are known, such as a bead in the name of King Aga of Kish c.  2600  BCE , or a tablet by King Lugal-kisalsi c.  2400  BCE : For An , king of all the lands, and for Inanna, his mistress, Lugal-kisalsi , king of Kish , built the wall of the courtyard. During the Akkadian period ( c.   2334–2154  BCE ), following the conquests of Sargon of Akkad , Inanna and originally independent Ishtar became so extensively syncretized that they became regarded as effectively

6231-552: The open market, including many clay tablets . Brick robbing by locals was also occurring. To pre-empt this activity, the Iraq expedition of the Oriental Institute of Chicago conducted two seasons of excavations there between 1934 and 1936. The expedition was led by Henri Frankfort and the work at Ishchali was handled by Thorkild Jacobsen and Harold Hill, all of the Oriental Institute. A number of cuneiform tablets from

6324-415: The original patron deity of this fourth-millennium BCE city was An . After its dedication to Inanna, the temple seems to have housed priestesses of the goddess. Next to Uruk, Zabalam was the most important early site of Inanna worship, as the name of the city was commonly written with the signs MUŠ 3 and UNUG, meaning respectively "Inanna" and "sanctuary". It is possible that the city goddess of Zabalam

6417-417: The phrase "Ninshubur, beloved vizier" appears. In another text Ninshubur is listed even before Nanaya , originally possibly a hypostasis of Inanna herself, in a list of deities from her entourage. In an Akkadian ritual text known from Hittite archives, Ishtar's sukkal is invoked alongside her family members Sin, Ningal, and Shamash. Other members of Inanna's entourage frequently listed in god lists are

6510-422: The phrase "she [Ishtar] is Enlil, she is Ninil" which might be a reference to occasionally "dimorphic" character of Ishtar, in addition to serving as an exaltation. A hymn to Nanaya alludes to a male aspect of Ishtar from Babylon alongside a variety of more standard descriptions. However, Ilona Zsolnay only describes Ishtar as a "feminine figure who performed a masculine role" in certain contexts, for example as

6603-521: The pre- Sargonic and post-Sargonic eras in Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia. It is of Semitic derivation and is probably etymologically related to the name of the West Semitic god Attar , who is mentioned in later inscriptions from Ugarit and southern Arabia. 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

6696-494: The protective spirit for you.May your [e]ar be attentive to me!" Shamash/Sin Temple . Aside from the temple of Inanna-Kititum a temple of Shamash (or possibly Sin ) was also found. The excavators referred to the building as the Shamash Temple in all documents but also noted that evidence was mixed and that it could instead be a temple of Sin. In the 1920s, items from illegal excavations at Ishchali began appearing on

6789-507: The reign of Sargon of Akkad and came to be regarded as effectively the same goddess under two different names. Inanna's name may derive from the Sumerian phrase nin-an-ak , meaning "Lady of Heaven", but the cuneiform sign for Inanna ( 𒈹 ) is not a ligature of the signs lady ( Sumerian : nin ; cuneiform: 𒊩𒌆 SAL.TUG 2 ) and sky (Sumerian: an ; cuneiform: 𒀭 AN). These difficulties led some early Assyriologists to suggest that Inanna may have originally been

6882-419: The report of contributions to Inanna at Uruk from cities supporting her cult. A large number of similar seals have been discovered from phase I of the Early Dynastic period ( c.  2900–2350  BCE ) at Ur , in a slightly different order, combined with the rosette symbol of Inanna. These seals were used to lock storerooms to preserve materials set aside for her cult. Various inscriptions in

6975-432: The role of the goddess. This view has been challenged, however, and scholars continue to debate whether the sacred marriage described in literary texts involved any kind of physical ritual enactment at all and, if so, whether this ritual enactment involved actual intercourse or merely the symbolic representation of intercourse. The scholar of the ancient Near East Louise M. Pryke states that most scholars now maintain, if

7068-468: The sacred marriage was a ritual that was actually acted out, then it involved only symbolic intercourse. The cult of Ishtar was long thought to have involved sacred prostitution , but this is now rejected among many scholars. Hierodules known as ishtaritum are reported to have worked in Ishtar's temples, but it is unclear if such priestesses actually performed any sex acts , and several modern scholars have argued that they did not. Women across

7161-469: The same. The Akkadian poet Enheduanna , the daughter of Sargon, wrote numerous hymns to Inanna, identifying her with Ishtar. As a result of this, the popularity of Inanna/Ishtar's cult skyrocketed. Alfonso Archi, who was involved in early excavations of Ebla, assumes Ishtar was originally a goddess venerated in the Euphrates valley, pointing out that an association between her and the desert poplar

7254-424: The secrets of the gods for you./On the advice of the gods and by the command of Anu, the country is given you to rule./You will ransom the upper and lower country,/you will amass the riches of the upper and lower country./Your commerce will not diminish, there will be a perm[anent] food of peace [for] any country that your hand keeps hold of./I, Kititum, will strengthen the foundations of your throne,/I have established

7347-403: The stories of Inanna describe her as moving from conquest to conquest. She is portrayed as young and impetuous, constantly striving for more power than had been allotted to her. While she was worshipped as the goddess of love, Inanna was not the goddess of marriage, nor was she ever viewed as a mother goddess. Andrew R. George goes as far as stating that "According to all mythology, Ištar

7440-406: The story of Inanna's descent into the underworld as a reference to an astronomical phenomenon associated with retrograde Venus. Seven days before retrograde Venus makes its inferior conjunction with the sun, it disappears from the evening sky. The seven day period between this disappearance and the conjunction itself is seen as the astronomical phenomenon on which the myth of descent was based. After

7533-413: The streets of Jerusalem" (Jer. 44:15-19). In Ezekiel 8:14, the prophet has a vision of the women of Jerusalem weeping for Tammuz. 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

7626-498: The two goddesses almost never appear together elsewhere in Sumerian literature and were not placed in the same category in god lists. In some Neo-Assyrian sources, Ishtar is also associated with Adad , with the relationship mirroring that between Shaushka and her brother Teshub in Hurrian mythology . The most common tradition regarded Nanna and his wife Ningal as her parents. Examples of it are present in sources as diverse as

7719-483: The two twisted reeds of the doorpost, while the male figure holds a box and stack of bowls, the later cuneiform sign signifying the En , or high priest of the temple. Seal impressions from the Jemdet Nasr period ( c.  3100–2900  BCE ) show a fixed sequence of symbols representing various cities, including those of Ur , Larsa , Zabalam , Urum , Arina , and probably Kesh . This list probably reflects

7812-455: The underworld but the galla , the guardians of the underworld, drag her husband Dumuzid down to the underworld as her replacement. Dumuzid is eventually permitted to return to heaven for half the year, while his sister Geshtinanna remains in the underworld for the other half, resulting in the cycle of the seasons. Scholars believe that Inanna and Ishtar were originally separate, unrelated deities, but were conflated with one another during

7905-403: The use of this word as an epithet indicating seniority. Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), the god of shepherds, is usually described as Inanna's husband, but according to some interpretations Inanna's loyalty to him is questionable; in the myth of her descent into the Underworld, she abandons Dumuzid and permits the galla demons to drag him down into the underworld as her replacement. In

7998-515: Was already associated with the city of Uruk . During this period, the symbol of a ring-headed doorpost was closely associated with Inanna. The famous Uruk Vase (found in a deposit of cult objects of the Uruk ;III period) depicts a row of naked men carrying various objects, including bowls, vessels, and baskets of farm products, and bringing sheep and goats to a female figure facing the ruler. The female stands in front of Inanna's symbol of

8091-472: Was another important symbol of Inanna, which continued to be used as a symbol of Ishtar after their syncretism. During the Neo-Assyrian Period (911 – 609  BCE ), the rosette may have actually eclipsed the eight-pointed star and become Ishtar's primary symbol. The temple of Ishtar in the city of Aššur was adorned with numerous rosettes. Inanna/Ishtar was associated with lions, which

8184-536: Was found accidentally in 1983 while digging out a well in the outskirts of the ancient Eshnunna (modern-day Tell Asmar) in Diyala Governorate, Iraq. The center of the front side was damaged during the discovery. The upper register (the image of heroism) shows Dadusha (left) in a position of a slayer, tending on the defeated and slain King of Qabrā, Bunu-Ishtar. A standing male figure (right) adores Dadusha; this

8277-414: Was not   [...] temperamentally disposed" towards such functions. Julia M. Asher-Greve has even championed the significance of Inanna specifically because she is not a mother-goddess . As a love goddess, she was commonly invoked by Mesopotamians in incantations. In Inanna's Descent to the Underworld , Inanna treats her lover Dumuzid in a very capricious manner. This aspect of Inanna's personality

8370-536: Was originally a distinct deity, though one whose cult was absorbed by that of the Urukean goddess very early on. Joan Goodnick Westenholz proposed that a goddess identified by the name Nin-UM (reading and meaning uncertain), associated with Ishtaran in a zame hymn, was the original identity of Inanna of Zabalam. In the Old Akkadian period, Inanna merged with the Akkadian goddess Ishtar, associated with

8463-475: Was rather limited, though other experts argue that she was already the most prominent deity in Uruk and a number of other political centers in the Uruk period . She had temples in Nippur , Lagash , Shuruppak , Zabalam , and Ur , but her main cult center was the Eanna temple in Uruk , whose name means "House of Heaven" (Sumerian: e 2 -anna ; cuneiform: 𒂍𒀭 E 2 .AN). Some research assumes that

8556-596: Was used for domestic type activities in the later periods). The many tablets found there give an excellent picture of temple life. A number of cylinder seals dating from the Early Dynastic to the Larsa period were also found there, assumed to be relic donations to the temple. Cylinder seals, from the Isin-Larsa and Old Babylon periods, were also found at the Shamash temple and in private homes. The location of Kiti,

8649-415: Was worshipped in three forms: morning Inanna (Inana-UD/hud), evening Inanna (Inanna sig) and princely Inanna (Inanna NUN), the former two reflecting the phases of her associated planet Venus . Her most prominent symbols include the lion and the eight-pointed star . Her husband is the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), and her sukkal (attendant) is the goddess Ninshubur , later conflated with

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