Mesopotamian

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Mesopotamian

Ishtar

The Queen of Heaven

Domain: Love & Warfare
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Element: Fire
Relics of Power: Eight-Pointed Star

Speak with Ishtar

The full Codex

5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Sumerians, Akkadians & Babylonians

Region

Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)

Period

c. 3500 – 500 BC

The Mesopotamian gods were worshipped by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, and Assyrians in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates, the cradle of writing and cities. Each city raised a ziggurat to its patron god, served by a powerful priestly caste. Their myths, such as the Enuma Elish and the Epic of Gilgamesh, are among the oldest in the world.

The Akitu festival opened the new year with processions along Babylon's Sacred Way, and the sacred marriage rite symbolically united Inanna and Dumuzi to ensure fertility. Lamentations, hymns, and divination by animal livers marked daily religious life.

At a glance

Ishtar, identified with the Sumerian Inanna, is the foremost Mesopotamian goddess of erotic love, fertility, and ruthless warfare. Daughter of Sin and sister of Shamash, she shines in the celestial dome as the planet Venus and commands the fury of battlefields. Her perilous descent into the Netherworld and defiant encounter with Gilgamesh cemented her supreme cosmic stature.

4 min read · Reviewed on September 25, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

Eight-pointed star, lion and the planet Venus

Family

Parents

Sin Ningal

Siblings

Shamash Ereshkigal

Ishtar

Unions

Dumuzi

Children

Shara (god of Umma)Lulal

Genealogy according to Descida de Ishtar ao Submundo (linhas 1-138); Epopéia de Gilgamesh (Tabuinha VI.1-100); Hinos de Enheduanna (Nin-me-sar-ra 1-153)

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Hamilton, Leonidas Le Cenci et al. (eds.), Babylonian and Assyrian Literature. read
Mackenzie, Donald A., Myths of Babylonia and Assyria. read

Studies

Jeremy Black, Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia. 1992.
Thorkild Jacobsen, The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion. 1976.
Stephanie Dalley, Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. 2000.
Rivkah Harris, Gender and Aging in Mesopotamia. 2000.

Name and epithets

The Akkadian name Ishtar derives from a Semitic root associated with the dawn star and celestial authority, cognate with South Arabian Attar.

In the ancient sources

Descent of Ishtar to the Netherworld, c. 12th century BCE (Standard Akkadian version based on 3rd millennium BCE Sumerian antecedents).

The myths

The Descent to the Seven Gates of the Underworld. Resolved to subject the Netherworld ruled by her sister Ereshkigal to her divine authority, Ishtar descended to the realm of dust.

Worship and archaeology

Ishtar's veneration was celebrated throughout ancient Mesopotamia with profound solemnity. In Uruk, her Eanna temple staged the annual Sacred Marriage rite, where the monarch embodied Dumuzi to secure agricultural bount…

How the god was depicted

In Mesopotamian cylinder seals and monumental stone reliefs, Ishtar is typically portrayed standing astride a roaring lion, clasping bow and arrows that project directly from her winged shoulders.

What scholars debate

Gender Fluidity and Ecstatic Priesthood. Scholars including Rivkah Harris and Julia Assante emphasize that cuneiform hymns credit Ishtar with the power to transform male nature into female and female into male.

After antiquity

The legacy of Ishtar profoundly shaped the religious traditions of the ancient Near East and eastern Mediterranean, informing the iconography of Phoenician Astarte and Greek Aphrodite.

Did you know?

The monumental Ishtar Gate, erected by Nebuchadnezzar II with lapis-blue glazed tiles depicting bulls and dragons, served as the ceremonial entrance to Babylon.

Codex relic

Eight-Pointed Star. A bright bronze celestial seal that triggers love or combat fury.

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