Character History
Character of Sumerian mythology, goddess of war, sex and fertility. Also personifies the planet Venus. Attributes of the goddess Ishtar - Lions and eight-pointed stars. The character was usually depicted by a winged woman armed with a bow and arrows. Ishtar worshiped everywhere in the territory of the ancient Mesopotamia. With the name of the goddess were associated with such religious practices as a ritual prostitution.History of origin
The name of the goddess comes from the ancient word "Astar". In Predesitian languages, the planet of Venus is so called. Since the ancients believed that Venus, visible best in the morning and in the evening - these are two different stars, then there were two names from the heavenly body. Male - Astar, or "Morning Star", and Women's - Astart, or "Evening Star".
In some semitic cultures, this separation has been preserved and gained in mythology, and in others, in particular, Sumero-Akkadskaya - two aspects of Venus merged in a single mythological character. Therefore, the goddess Ishtar is characterized by andfinity - signs and male, and female floors. Ishtar is the goddess at the same time war, sex and childbearing.
In addition, in the Eastnestertic languages, which spoke the ancestors of the ancient Suchmers and Acquadges, the word "Astar" meant the goddess at all. Due to the fact that the name of the goddess was used as a nominal, it turned out that Ishtar absorbed many other Mesopotamian deities whose images merged with ideas about Ishtar. The Acquadges knew the goddess under the name Ishtar, and the Sumerians had the same deity wore the name of Inanna.
Myths and legends
At Ishtar, the Akkadian kings of the goddess of the war treated Ishtar, so Ishtar received the epithet of the "Queen Kings", as well as Anunnit, or Ishtar Warper. It is believed that Ishtar sends on the divine throne along with her husband, the Supreme God of the sky Anu, and he is consulted with his wife, when it makes decisions because Ishtar Mudra and is perceptive. The gods are inclined in front of a clear rulers, and people feel the fear of Ishtar.
It is believed that the mighty goddess keeps in the hands of the fate of existing, however, the image of Ishtar captivates and causes an attraction. The goddess's eyes are overflowing with rainbow flowers, and honey exudes the mouth. Ishtar gives people good luck and vitality. The goddess is favorably to submissive admirers, mutually in love and people with good intentions.
Two myths relating to Ishtar are described in "Epos about Gilgamesh" and the text telling how the goddess went to hell. In one of them, Ishtar goes to the ground of the dead. The goddess becomes under the doors of the underworld and tells that those relent. And otherwise Ishtar herself will split the gate and bring out the dead, which will be gone to devouring alive. As you can see, the idea of a zombie apocalypse is not Nova. Sister Ishtar, Master of the underground kingdom of Ereshkigal, in fright tells the goddess.
Ishtar has to go through seven gates of the underworld, and every gate of the goddess leaves part of his own vestments, so as a result appears to Ereshkigal nude. The clothes of Ishtar are also endowed with magical forces, and devoid of their goddess becomes weak. Ereshkigal was accepted and melted to lock Ishtar.
On earth, due to the lack of Ishtar, breeding processes stopped. The gods are sent to Ereshkigal Messenger. He forces the owner of the underground kingdom to let Ishtar go, but Ereshkigal demands that the goddess has found a replacement. Ishtar passes back seven gates, returns his own clothes and is chosen from the kingdom of the dead, but instead of the goddess into the world of the dead should be descended by Tammuz, the beloved goddess.
In the "Epos about Gilgamesh" hero went to the distant hike and returns with luck. Around him appears the goddess Ishtar, who offers a guilgamesh to take her to his wife, and in return, he promises that the sovereigns and lords are inclined before the hero and bring her gifts, herd of the hero will become three more fertile, and animals will become full of vitality.
Gilgamesh promises invariably to bring Ishtar generous sacrifices, but to take the goddess to his wife refuses, because it is known for impermanence and treachery. The goddess had many lovers who Ishtar betrayed. Among them, Tammuz, sent to the kingdom of the dead, as well as several characters facing goddess in animals.
The answer of Hilgamesh is insulting Ishtar, and that goes on the sky, where the father and mother is complaining about the hero. The goddess demands that those created a huge bull for her, and again threatens a zombie apocalypse in case she will not be given what she wants. The Divine Father fulfills the request of Ishtar, and a huge bull descends from the sky.
On the land of the beast drinks the Euphrates River and is accepted to kill people, but the hero of Gilgamesh defeated the monstrous bull and sacrificed. The goddess looks at it from the walls of the city of Uruk and curses the hero, and the satellite of Gilgamesh Enikida pops into the Ishtar of the bull's foot. Above this leg, the goddess is crying together with the harlons, which convenes for this. This episode in the biography of the goddess ends not to honor Ishtar.
The harlots are directly connected with the goddess Ishtar. As part of the cult of Ishtar, Ierogamia was practiced - "Sacred Marriage", a sexual ritual, during which people performed the role of male and female deities to make marriage among themselves. The ritual usually carried out the ruler of the Sumerian city and the Supreme Priestess Ishtar.
In the city of Uruh, the festivities in honor of Ishtar, who carried the features of Orgius. For example, special priestesses during these festivities sacrificed the goddess of virginity. Uruk was called "the city of Sacred Prostitutes", and Ishtar was considered a patronage of the Bludnitz.
Ishtar in culture
American Writer-Fantasy of the first half of the twentieth century Abraham Merrit in 1924 published a mystical adventure novel "The ship Ishtar". According to the plot, the hero finds a certain ancient stone, inside which the model of an antique ship is hidden. This toy turns out to be a magical subject, thanks to which the hero enters the incomprehensible world, which is outside the space and time. There, on a certain damned ship, two Babylonian gods - nerg and Ishtar - agreed in an endless battle.
The image of the goddess Ishtar is present in the novel of the Nile Gamean "American gods". According to the novel, the eponymous series was shot, the first season of which was released in 2017. According to the plot, Ishtar is forgotten by people as an ancient goddess of fertility, the stencil and spring awakening of nature, but still well adapted to the current version of reality, becoming Easter.
Now it is a secular blonde lady in spring colors, the goddess of Easter rabbits. In one of the episodes, Mr. Wednesday reminds Easter about those days when the heroine was called Ishtar and reigned over the indiscrect crowds of believers.
Easter in the first season plays actress Christine Chenovet. It is known that after the first season, Chenovet left the series, while it is not known who will perform the role of Easter in the second season and is it planned by the presence of this character in the series.
The goddess Ishtar also appears in the fictional universe of the "DC" comic. In 2001-2002, three books of the JLA Gatekeeper series comic came, where IShtar character appears - the ancient Assyrian goddess of love, fertility and war. The goddess also appears in the comics "Sandman" ("The Sandman") Nile Gamean, in the arch "The Brief Lives". The heroine is known for the dance of bliss and destruction, through which you can kill all living creatures in the district.