Who is…
Ishtar
also known as: Ištar, Inanna, Anat, Isis, Astarte, Aštart, Bànitu, and possibly Asherah
This multifaceted goddess was at the heart of Mesopotamian religion.
The name “Ishtar” does not appear in the Bible. This is the false goddess of sexuality, war and political power of Akkadian, Sumeria, Mesopotamia, and Assyria, etc. She was one of the most important and widely worshipped deities in Mesopotamia across Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian periods. Her cult involved temples, rituals, possibly sacred prostitution , and strong royal associations.
One of her common symbols is the lion. She is also associated with the planet Venus.
Key Attributes
- Goddess of love, sexuality, fertility, and sensuality
- Goddess of war, battle, and political power
- Associated with he planet Venus (morning and evening “star”)
- Complex, paradoxical personality: nurturing yet destructive, associated with both desire and violence. Often depicted as androgynous or embodying gender fluidity in some contexts
- Supposedly descended to the Underworld
Queen of Heaven
Hebrew: השמים מלכת —Malkath haShamayim —meaning: Queen of Heaven
Ishtar is referred to in ancient cultures as “Queen of Heaven,” and is mentioned by that name in the Bible (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17, 25).
The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. —Jeremiah 7:18 ESV
Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah:
“As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you. But we will do everything that we have vowed, make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. But since we left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine.” —Jeremiah 44:15-18 ESV
The title “Queen of Heaven” is still used by some modern pagans, referring to what they call The Great Goddess.
Biblical scholar F.F. Bruce links Ishtar, Tammuz, Innini, Ma (Cappadocia), Mami, Dingir-Mah, Cybele, Agdistis, Pessinuntica and the Idaean Mother to the cult of a great Mother-goddess.
More information
- Who is Succoth-Benoth?
Answers about idolatry and false gods in the Bible and history- Answers about idols in the Bible
- What is an idolatrous worshiper?
- Idol worshipers kissed their idols
- What are the high places referred to in the Bible?
Answers about lions in the Bible