Description

ISTHAR 61x46 

Ishtar was the Babylonian goddess of love and beauty, of life, of fertility, and patron of other minor themes. She was primarily associated with sexuality: her cult involved sacred prostitution; the sacred city Uruk was called the "city of sacred courtesans", and she herself was the "courtesan of the gods".

She is associated in other regions with goddesses such as Inanna in Sumeria, Anahit in ancient Armenia (Urartu), Astarte (Ashera) in Canaan, Phoenicia and in the Abrahamic religions. Ishtar, Inanna and these goddesses represent the archetype of the mother goddess.