The Babylonian goddess Ishtar is the goddess of fertility and love. Ishtar Gate in Babylon

Echoes of ancient religions and cults are clearly felt in many modern philosophical currents. Human societies, divided by temporal and spatial boundaries, never lived apart in different epochs of their existence. The interpenetration and mutual influence of different civilizations can be clearly seen if one studies their mythology and cult rites.

The goddess of love

One of the most famous characters of ancient cults is the goddess Ishtar. Her name is found in ancient Persian, Greek, Semitic and Hebrew. In Egypt, it is known as Astarte, in Greece it was regarded as one of the incarnations of Aphrodite, among the Jews existed as Ashtoreth. In any of its hypostases, the goddess Ishtar personified female essence, sexual energy, the highest expression of eroticism inherent in the beautiful sex. Passion, the temptations of the flesh, all sorts of pleasures, obtained during sexual intercourse, including lowland, perverted, the act of copulation, elevated to the rank of sacred ritual, are all attributes and defining categories with which the goddess Ishtar is associated. That is why, on the astral plane, she was associated with Venus, who in astrology symbolizes the feminine essence and is the patroness of love.

Goddess Warrior

But another essence of the goddess is a bloodthirsty warrior, a demon of cruelty and strife. Obviously, the reason for such a wide interpretation of the image was the echoes of matriarchy and the legends of the Amazons.

In addition, the goddess Ishtar is considered the wife of Baal himself - the supreme deity of the ancient Israelites, Sumerians, Assyrians and many other peoples. He symbolized the beginning of the masculine, the creator of all things, was considered the god-impregnator. Religious rituals dedicated to Baal and Astarte often turned into real sexual orgies, accompanied by "dirty sin", human, including child sacrifices.

Ancient Geography

To find out Ishtar, the goddess of a country, one should remember the geographical map of the world thousands of years ago. In the 7th-5th centuries BC, a number of states existed on the territory of present-day Iraq. These lands were called Mesopotamia, or Mesopotamia, and they inhabited the inhabitants of the Babylonian kingdom, Sumerian, Assyrian, and Akkadian. This is important to remember, determining Ishtar - the goddess of which country, because the influence of the cult spread throughout virtually the entire Middle East. Information about it we find in the epic of Gilgamesh - the oldest literary source in the world, created over a period of 1500 years.

A unique monument of Sumerian culture and civilization, containing elements of ancient cosmogony, consists of primitive myths and historical legends. The goddess of love Ishtar is one of the main characters, the embodiment of voluptuousness, temptations, fertility, giving birth to a new life, and simultaneously ennobling feelings. Lowland, primitive-wild and reviving, exalting was the love of the Sumerians. Therefore, so contradictory they turned out to be the image of a goddess, whose main center of worship was the Akkadian kingdom.

Babylon - the city of harlots

Among other things, Ashtoret is considered the patroness of harlots, courtesans, women of easy conduct - all representatives of the ancient profession and corrupt love. And since in Babylon in the 7th century BC, and in the following centuries, as well as throughout the territory of Asia Minor, there was indeed a large gathering of prostitutes, her cult was considered one of the main. Moreover, there was even a temple prostitution. That is, every day several residents of the city had to sit on specially designated places near the sanctuaries of Aphrodite (Venus, Astarte) and wait until the passing man would pay her a coin and immediately collect him. Only after such a ceremony women could live freely in the city for a year, feel like a mistress in it. Then the ritual was repeated.

The Divine Gates

That is why under Emperor Nebuchadnezzar, a famous debauchee, the grandiose gates of the goddess Ishtar were built in Babylon - a monumental structure of striking beauty. Now they have a small copy in the city. The original was taken out of the country more than a hundred years ago, back in the early 20th century. Through them, in ancient times, the Babylonians carried the statues of their gods when they celebrated the celebration of the Israeli New Year. Through the gates of the goddess Ishtar, along the "procession road", a coffin with the body of the Great Alexander (Macedonian) was brought into the city. By the way, also a big heartthrob and a lover of women! So it is quite a symbolic procession.

Symbols of the Goddess

The gate, which was mentioned above, is painted in a bright blue, azure color, and this is no accident. Ishtar, the goddess of Babylon, bears a name, translated from Sumerian meaning "clear clear sky." On their walls there are many bas-reliefs with figures of animals (575 pieces), executed extremely unrealistic, with great grace and artistic truth. Especially often there are images of lions and bulls. Incidentally, the statues of Ishtar, found during the excavation of ancient temples, were depicted surrounded by these predators. The symbolic sign of the Sumerian deity is a circle, braided by a ribbon, with a six-pointed (eight-pointed) star inside. This circle is the sky, and the star is the sun. All together and symbolizes that very clear sky, of which Ishtar is the embodiment. "Blue goddess," "heavenly goddess" - it's all about her.

Child of Night and Sin

Astarte is a rather contradictory mythological image. Not only the clear blue, but also the darkness of the night is connected with it. The statue of the goddess Ishtar is decorated, besides lions, with images of owls, located to the left and to the right of it. Having in people's lovers people, animals, gods, constantly changing them, differing from insatiable lust and amazing inconstancy, Ishtar destroys the recent partners with his passion. Her love enslaves, becomes bonds, heavy, like shackles. Even the gods lose their will, they become wretched likenesses of the once all-powerful and intrepid inhabitants of the sky. Acquaintance with Ishtar ends badly for everyone who knows the fire of her caresses and the trembling of the body. Countless number of beloved goddesses - it's no surprise that prostitutes and homosexuals chose her as their leader! However, given the sacred significance of the image and the fact that the Sumerians had protected the temple prostitution and were allowed by law, it is not worth talking about sin in this case. After all, the very process of coition was given a divine meaning.

Ishtar and homosexuality

Why is the goddess Ishtar, whose images can be seen in various manuals on ancient religions and other cultural literature, is considered the patroness of not only courtesans, but also homosexuals? The reason for such a wide "sphere of influence" lies, again, in religious rites and cults of Sumerian and later civilizations. In Canaan, this is written in the Bible, at the Ishtar temples, ceremonies were performed not only by women, but also by young men. They entered into contact with men, thus giving the goddess of honors and glorifying her. The rite embodied sacred fertility and the triumph of life in all its manifestations. That also fully corresponds to the sacredness of the image.

Myths and legends

In the "Legend of Gulgamesh" it is written that Ishtar killed her lover, the god of fertility and the harvest of Tammuz. For this, other celestials took up arms against her. To redeem the guilt, Inanna descends into the realm of the dead. There, her sister, who hates her loving cousin, reigns. Ishtar has to go through the seven gates that block the way to the "lower world". At each gate she gives the ministers some of the many treasures, parting at the same time with part of her mystical powers and divine power. Entering the last, it remains naked and defenseless. Sister's wrath falls upon Ishtar, who has nothing to oppose. Inanna is closed in the palace, 60 diseases are sent to her to suffer and suffer. However, the imprisonment of the goddess does not pass without a trace for people. On earth, nature began to wither, the plants ceased to bear fruit, animals, birds, people - multiply. All things are threatened with death. After all, there is no more love, passion, sacred sexual fire. Realizing what a misfortune came to the world, to the supreme deity Aye sent a messenger from other celestials with a request to understand the problem, to resolve the difficult situation. The ruler of the gods demands to revive Ishtar and return to the upper world. The order is carried out, Inanna is resurrected with the help of living water, returns the magic amulets, and with them, and strength. But just so no one can leave the world of the dead. When leaving, he must leave a replacement. And it becomes Tammuz. His conclusion in the realm of shadows symbolizes the change of the seasons.