Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven

By Nurgül Çelebi

Throughout history, stars shining in the dark sky have been seen as symbols of divine guidance, protection, and hope. Just as the sun and the moon are attributed divine meaning, we observe that especially the planet Venus is also ascribed divine feminine qualities. As it is known, the planet Venus was represented by a star called a pentagram or an eight-pointed star. In some civilizations, this star was given various names such as the dawn star, the Zuhre star. It can be stated that every society evaluates male and feminine deities or symbols within the framework of its own culture and belief. This planet was the primary symbol of Inanna, the goddess of fertility and love in Sumer, and later the goddess Ishtar in Assyrian/Babylonian myths.

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Ishtar/Inanna was an ancient Mesopotamian goddess with a very strong character associated with love, beauty, fertility, war, justice, and political power. Also known as the “Queen of Heaven”, Inanna’s main centre of worship was the Temple of Eanna in Uruk, where she was considered the patron goddess. Essentially, it was widely believed that each city of Mesopotamia had a patron god or goddess. Therefore, although other gods were worshipped, the god who stood out in a city was the god who was the protector of that city.

Associated with the planet Venus, the goddess’ best-known symbol was the eight-pointed star. However, it should be noted that it also has symbols such as the lion, pigeon, ear of wheat and the red rose. Among these symbols, the lion represents power and emphasizes Ishtar’s warrior aspect; the white pigeon is a vehicle which pulls the chariot that takes her to the heavenly paradise. Just like other multi-grain fruits such as pomegranates and grapes, wheat is also one of the important symbols representing fertility. In some depictions, it is possible to see the wheat ear, which is an emphasis on Ishtar’s aspect that represents fertility.

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In the Old Babylonian period, it is possible to see the eight-pointed star symbol of the goddess Ishtar enclosed in a circular disk. In most of the archaeological remains of the Mesopotamian region, besides the sun god Shamash and the moon god Sin, it is possible to see the goddess Ishtar with a star in a disk on her head. Although not thought to be a deity widely revered and known as Sin and Shamash, the goddess Ishtar played a very important role in the region. Moreover, there was even a city gate in Mesopotamia, built by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, in the name of Ishtar (Inanna).

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Roots and similarities

The oldest documents we can obtain about Mesopotamian beliefs belong to the Sumerian period when writing was used. However, this does not change the possibility that the beliefs in question are older. Let us state that the oldest sources we can obtain about the goddess Ishtar are the Sumerian myths and that she has a place in them with the name of Inanna in Sumerian.

The most well-known of these myths is an important myth about Inanna’s descent into the underworld, the realm of the dead. This is a narrative about her descent into the nether world, seven floors below ground, to resurrect her husband Tammuz, who was sent to the nether world after being punished by the gods. According to the myth, at the seven gates of each layer, she has to leave behind something valuable of herself, which is also a reference to a seven-order initiate. It is possible to see that this situation is similarly mentioned in the myths of Babylon and other civilizations. In the pre-Sargon period, the cult of Inanna was quite limited, but after king Sargon’s reign, Inanna quickly became one of the most revered deities.

In later times, as the cult of Ishtar continued to develop in Uruk, she was also worshipped in the Assyrian kingdom in Upper Mesopotamia, especially in the cities of Nineveh, Aššur, and Arbela (modern-day Erbil; in old Syriac it means ‘arbco alohe’ “city of 4 gods”). During king Assurbanipal’s reign, Ishtar became the most important and most revered goddess in the Assyrian pantheon, surpassing even the Assyrian national god Ashur. Votive items found in the main Assyrian temple show that Ishtar was a popular goddess among women.

Reflection on monotheistic religions

It is thought that Inanna/Ishtar is implicitly mentioned in the Tanakh. Moreover, the Phoenician goddess Astarte, who influenced the development of the Ugaritic Ashtarte and the Greek goddess Aphrodite, is considered a different version of Ishtar. This is an important indicator of the fact that neighbouring societies exchanged their beliefs in the Mesopotamian lands, which hosted many civilizations. Symbolized by the planet Venus in Hebrew, Phoenician and Greek societies, this goddess was seen as the most important representative of love and war.

It can also be thought that the goddess Asherah mentioned in the Jewish holy book Torah is also a different reflection of Ishtar, Astarte, or other variants. However, it is necessary to underline that Asherah is different from the others and is mentioned in the Torah as the goddess of fertility, who is accepted as the mother of 70 gods. The worship of Inanna gradually disappeared with the rise of Christianity between the first and sixth centuries AD.

In modern times, on the Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Iraq used until 1959, it was possible to see the star of Ishtar to the left of the sun god Shamash. Likewise, as we can see the octagonal star symbol in most architectural structures, it should be noted that it was a star symbol frequently used in the Seljuk period. The eight-pointed Seljuk star, of which  each corner is a reference to the 8 of mercy, compassion, patience, truthfulness, loyalty, generosity, keeping secrets and gratitude, has taken its place in the ceiling decorations of almost all mosques.

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Ishtar in Esotericism

Although in different forms, we see that the goddesses of love, war and fertility are symbolized by the form of eight, five, or sometimes six-pointed stars inmost beliefs, cultures, and myths. Most of these goddesses are depicted with a golden crown of stars around their heads. We have mentioned that Ishtar is also considered the “Queen of heaven”. Likewise, we witness that the Virgin Mary, who is seen as the Queen of Heaven in the Christian tradition, is depicted with a crown of stars around her head. Such symbols also appear in some esoteric beliefs and mystery cults. It is known that the cult of Isis, which we see frequently used by Theosophists, is compared with the Virgin Mary and Ishtar.

Moreover, and perhaps most notably, hidden deep within if the symbol of Ishtar with the red rose. In addition to symbolizing love and blood, the red rose also represents the heart, which inevitably brings to mind the Rosicrucian brotherhood. The red rose in the middle of the golden cross is a symbol of Rosicrucians and is a reference to the heart and Jesus Christ.

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May the goddess Ishtar always be the light in our darkness and nourish enlightened minds, stay in balance!

Nurgül Çelebi was born in 1985 in Istanbul. She holds a master’s degree from the Syriac Language and Culture Department at Mardin Artuklu University with her thesis on Sun and Moon Symbolism in Syriac literature. She continues her Ph.D. program in the history of religions at Ankara University with her thesis on “Sin-Shamash Duality and Its Reflection on Religions”. She is currently continuing her second Ph.D. in the Assyrian History doctorate program at ELTE University in Budapest.

Nurgül Çelebi works on Mesopotamian beliefs and mythologies and published papers on these subjects. In addition to academic studies, she has published three novels in Turkish: “Yarına Dokunmak“, “Aşka Dokunmak”, and “Tanrı Dağı”. Her stories have appeared in five anthologies: “Karanlıktaki Kadınlar”, “Hayalet Müzik”, “Eskilerin Şöleni”, “Dark Antoloji Birinci Kitap”, and “Dark Antoloji İkinci Kitap”.