Editing Inanna (section)

==Later influence==
===In antiquity===
[[File:Dama de Galera (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg|thumb|Phoenician figure dating to the seventh century&nbsp;BCE representing a goddess, probably [[Astarte]], called the "[[Lady of Galera]]" ([[National Archaeological Museum of Spain]])]]

The cult of Inanna/Ishtar may have been introduced to the [[Kingdom of Judah]] during the reign of [[Manasseh of Judah|King Manasseh]]{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=193}} and, although Inanna herself is not directly mentioned in the [[Bible]] by name,{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|pages=193, 195}} the [[Old Testament]] contains numerous allusions to her cult.{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|pages=193–195}} {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|7:18|9}} and {{bibleverse|Jeremiah|44:15–19|9}} mention "the Queen of Heaven," who is probably a syncretism of Inanna/Ishtar and the West Semitic goddess [[Astarte]].{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=193}}{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|page=10}}{{sfnp|Smith|2002|page=182}}{{sfnp|Ackerman|2006|pages=116–117}} Jeremiah states that the Queen of Heaven was worshipped by women who baked cakes for her.{{sfnp|Ackerman|2006|pages=115–116}}

The [[Song of Songs]] bears strong similarities to the Sumerian love poems involving Inanna and Dumuzid,{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=194}} particularly in its usage of natural symbolism to represent the lovers' physicality.{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=194}} {{bibleverse|Song of Songs|6:10|9}} {{bibleverse|Ezekiel|8:14|9}} mentions Inanna's husband Dumuzid under his later East Semitic name [[Tammuz (mythology)|Tammuz]],{{sfnp|Black|Green|1992|page=73}}{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=195}}{{sfnp|Warner|2016|page=211}} and describes a group of women mourning Tammuz's death while sitting near the north gate of the [[Temple in Jerusalem]].{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=195}}{{sfnp|Warner|2016|page=211}} [[Marina Warner]] (a literary critic rather than Assyriologist) claims that [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] in the Middle East assimilated elements of Ishtar into the cult of the [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]].{{sfnp|Warner|2016|pages=210–212}} She argues that the Syrian writers [[Jacob of Serugh]] and [[Romanos the Melodist]] both wrote laments in which the Virgin Mary describes her compassion for [[Jesus|her son]] at the foot of the cross in deeply personal terms closely resembling Ishtar's laments over the death of Tammuz.{{sfnp|Warner|2016|page=212}} However, broad comparisons between Tammuz and other dying gods are rooted in the work of [[James George Frazer]] and are regarded as a relic of less rigorous early 20th century Assyriology by more recent publications.{{sfnp|Alster|2013|p=433-434}}

The cult of Inanna/Ishtar also heavily influenced the cult of the [[Phoenicia]]n goddess [[Astarte]].{{sfnp|Marcovich|1996|pages=43–59}} The Phoenicians introduced Astarte to the Greek islands of [[Cyprus]] and [[Kythira|Cythera]],{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|page=10}}{{sfnp|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}} where she either gave rise to or at least heavily influenced the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]].{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|pages=8–12}}{{sfnp|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}}{{sfnp|Puhvel|1987|page=27}}{{sfnp|Marcovich|1996|pages=43–59}} Aphrodite took on Inanna/Ishtar's associations with sexuality and procreation.{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=162}} Furthermore, Aphrodite was known as [[Aphrodite Urania|Ourania]] (Οὐρανία), meaning "heavenly,"{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|pages=10–11}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=162}} corresponding to Inanna's role as the Queen of Heaven.{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|pages=10–11}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=162}}

[[File:Aphrodite und Adonis - Altar 2.jpg|thumb|Altar from the Greek city of [[Taranto|Taras]] in [[Magna Graecia]], dating to {{circa}} 400 – c. 375&nbsp;BCE, depicting [[Aphrodite]] and [[Adonis]], whose myth is derived from the Mesopotamian myth of Inanna and Dumuzid{{sfnp|West|1997|page=57}}{{sfnp|Burkert|1985|page=177}}]]

Early artistic and literary portrayals of Aphrodite are extremely similar to Inanna/Ishtar.{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=162}} Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess;{{sfnp|Breitenberger|2007|page=8}}{{sfnp|Cyrino|2010|pages=49–52}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=163}} the second-century AD Greek geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] records that, in Sparta, Aphrodite was worshipped as ''[[Aphrodite Areia]]'', which means "warlike."{{sfnp|Cyrino|2010|pages=51–52}}{{sfnp|Budin|2010|pages=85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125}} He also mentions that Aphrodite's most ancient cult statues in [[Sparta]] and on Cythera showed her bearing arms.{{sfnm|1a1=Cyrino|1y=2010|1pp=51–52|2a1=Budin|2y=2010|2pp=85–86, 96, 100, 102–103, 112, 123, 125|3a1=Graz|3y=1984|3p=250|4a1=Breitenberger|4y=2007|4p=8}} Modern scholars note that Aphrodite's warrior-goddess aspects appear in the oldest strata of her worship{{sfnp|Iossif|Lorber|2007|page=77}} and see it as an indication of her Near Eastern origins.{{sfnp|Iossif|Lorber|2007|page=77}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=163}} Aphrodite also absorbed Ishtar's association with doves,{{sfnp|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=163}} which were sacrificed to her alone.{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=163}} The Greek word for "dove" was ''peristerá'',{{sfnp|Lewis|Llewellyn-Jones|2018|page=335}}{{sfnp|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} which may be derived from the Semitic phrase ''peraḥ Ištar'', meaning "bird of Ishtar."{{sfnp|Botterweck|Ringgren|1990|page=35}} The myth of Aphrodite and [[Adonis]] is derived from the story of Inanna and Dumuzid.{{sfnp|West|1997|page=57}}{{sfnp|Burkert|1985|page=177}}

Classical scholar Charles Penglase has written that [[Athena]], the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, resembles Inanna's role as a "terrifying warrior goddess."{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|page=235}} Others have noted that the birth of Athena from the head of her father [[Zeus]] could be derived from Inanna's descent into and return from the Underworld.{{sfnp|Penglase|1994|pages=233–325}} However, as noted by [[Gary Beckman]], a rather direct parallel to Athena's birth is found in the [[Hurrian religion|Hurrian]] [[Kumarbi]] cycle, where [[Teshub]] is born from the surgically split skull of Kumarbi,{{sfnp|Beckman|2010|p=29}} rather than in any Inanna myths.

In [[Mandaean cosmology]], one of the names for Venus is ''ʿStira'', which is derived from the name Ishtar.<ref name="Bhayro 2020">{{cite book |last=Bhayro |first=Siam |date=2020-02-10 |section=Cosmology in Mandaean texts |title=Hellenistic Astronomy |publisher=Brill |pages=572–579 |doi=10.1163/9789004400566_046 |isbn=9789004400566 |s2cid=213438712 |section-url=https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004400566/BP000051.xml |access-date=2021-09-03}}</ref>

Anthropologist [[Kevin Tuite]] argues that the [[Georgian mythology|Georgian goddess]] [[Dali (goddess)|Dali]] was also influenced by Inanna,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|pages=16–18}} noting that both Dali and Inanna were associated with the morning star,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|page=16}} both were characteristically depicted nude,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|pages=16–17}} (but Assyriologists assume the "naked goddess" motif in Mesopotamian art in most cases cannot be Ishtar,{{sfnp|Wiggermann|1998|p=49}} and the goddess most consistently depicted as naked was [[Shala]], a weather goddess unrelated to Ishtar{{sfnp|Wiggermann|1998|p=51}}) both were associated with gold jewelry,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|pages=16–17}} both sexually preyed on mortal men,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|page=17}} both were associated with human and animal fertility,{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|pages=17–18}} (note however that Assyriologist Dina Katz pointed out the references to fertility are more likely to be connected to Dumuzi than Inanna/Ishtar in at least some cases{{sfnp|Katz|2015|p=70-71}}) and both had ambiguous natures as sexually attractive, but dangerous, women.{{sfnp|Tuite|2004|page=18}}

Traditional Mesopotamian religion gradually began to decline between the third and fifth centuries AD as [[Assyrian people|ethnic Assyrians]] converted to Christianity. Nonetheless, the cult of Ishtar and Tammuz managed to survive in parts of Upper Mesopotamia.{{sfnp|Warner|2016|page=211}} In the tenth century AD, an Arab traveler wrote that "All the [[Sabaeans]] of our time, those of Babylonia as well as those of [[Harran]], lament and weep to this day over Tammuz at a festival which they, more particularly the women, hold in the month of the same name."{{sfnp|Warner|2016|page=211}}

Worship of Venus deities possibly connected to Inanna/Ishtar was known in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]] right up until the Islamic period. [[Isaac of Antioch]] (d. 406 AD) said that the Arabs worshipped 'the Star' (''kawkabta''), also known as [[Al-Uzza]], which many identify with Venus.{{sfnp|Healey|2001|p=114-119}} Isaac also mentions an Arabian deity named [[Baltis]], which according to Jan Retsö most likely was another designation for Ishtar.{{sfnp|Retsö|2014|p=604-605}} In pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions themselves, it appears that the deity known as [[Allat]] was also a Venusian deity.{{sfnp|Al-Jallad|2021|p=569-571}} [[Attar (god)|Attar]], a male god whose name is a cognate of Ishtar's, is a plausible candidate for the role of Arabian Venus deity too on the account of both his name and his epithet "eastern and western".{{sfnp|Ayali-Darshan|2014|p=100-101}}

===Modern relevance===
[[File:ISHTAR-EPOS p067 ISHTAR'S MIDNIGHT COURTSHIP.jpg|thumb|upright|Illustration of ''Ishtar's Midnight Courtship'' from Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton's 1884 book-length poem ''Ishtar and Izdubar'', loosely based on [[George Smith (Assyriologist)|George Smith]]'s recent translation of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}}]]

In his 1853 pamphlet ''[[The Two Babylons]]'', as part of his argument that [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholicism]] is actually Babylonian paganism in disguise, [[Alexander Hislop]], a [[Protestantism|Protestant]] minister in the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]], incorrectly argued that the modern English word ''[[Easter]]'' must be derived from ''Ishtar'' due to the phonetic similarity of the two words.{{sfnp|Hislop|1903|page=103}} Modern scholars have unanimously rejected Hislop's arguments as erroneous and based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion.{{sfnp|Grabbe|1997|page=28}}{{sfnp|Brown|1976|page=268}}{{sfnp|D'Costa|2013}} Nonetheless, Hislop's book is still popular among some groups of [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Protestants]]{{sfnp|Grabbe|1997|page=28}} and the ideas promoted in it have become widely circulated, especially through the [[Internet]], due to a number of popular [[Internet meme]]s.{{sfnp|D'Costa|2013}}

Ishtar had a major appearance in ''Ishtar and Izdubar'',{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=20–21}} a book-length poem written in 1884 by Leonidas Le Cenci Hamilton, an American lawyer and businessman, loosely based on the recently translated ''Epic of Gilgamesh''.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=20–21}} ''Ishtar and Izdubar'' expanded the original roughly 3,000 lines of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' to roughly 6,000 lines of rhyming couplets grouped into forty-eight [[canto]]s.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Hamilton significantly altered most of the characters and introduced entirely new episodes not found in the original epic.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Significantly influenced by [[Edward FitzGerald (poet)|Edward FitzGerald]]'s ''[[Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam]]'' and [[Edwin Arnold]]'s ''[[The Light of Asia]]'',{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=21}} Hamilton's characters dress more like nineteenth-century Turks than ancient Babylonians.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=22–23}} In the poem, Izdubar (the earlier misreading for the name "Gilgamesh") falls in love with Ishtar,{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=22}} but, then, "with hot and balmy breath, and trembling form aglow", she attempts to seduce him, leading Izdubar to reject her advances.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=22}} Several "columns" of the book are devoted to an account of Ishtar's descent into the Underworld.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|pages=22–23}} At the conclusion of the book, Izdubar, now a god, is reconciled with Ishtar in Heaven.{{sfnp|Ziolkowski|2012|page=23}} In 1887, the composer [[Vincent d'Indy]] wrote ''Symphony Ishtar, variations symphonique, Op. 42'', a symphony inspired by the Assyrian monuments in the [[British Museum]].{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=196}}

[[File:Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (14801964123).jpg|thumb|upright|A modern illustration depicting Inanna-Ishtar's descent into the [[Kur|Underworld]] taken from [[Lewis Spence]]'s ''Myths and Legends of [[Babylonia]] and [[Assyria]]'' (1916)]]

Inanna has become an important figure in modern [[feminist theory]] because she appears in the [[patriarchy|male-dominated]] [[Sumerian pantheon]],{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|pages=196–197}} but is equally as powerful, if not more powerful than, the male deities she appears alongside.{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|pages=196–197}} [[Simone de Beauvoir]], in her book ''[[The Second Sex]]'' (1949), argues that Inanna, along with other powerful female deities from antiquity, have been marginalized by modern culture in favor of male deities.{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=196}} [[Tikva Frymer-Kensky]] has argued that Inanna was a "marginal figure" in Sumerian religion who embodies the "socially unacceptable" [[archetype]] of the "undomesticated, unattached woman".{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=196}} Feminist author Johanna Stuckey has argued against this idea, pointing out Inanna's centrality in Sumerian religion and her broad diversity of powers, neither of which seem to fit the idea that she was in any way regarded as "marginal".{{sfnp|Pryke|2017|page=196}} Assyriologist Julia M. Asher-Greve, who specializes in the study of position of women in antiquity,  criticizes Frymer-Kensky's studies of Mesopotamian religion as a whole, highlighting the problems with her focus on fertility, the small selection of sources her works relied on, her view that position of goddesses in the pantheon reflected that of ordinary women in society (so-called "mirror theory"), as well as the fact her works do not accurately reflect the complexity of changes of roles of goddesses in religions of ancient Mesopotamia.{{sfnp|Asher-Greve|Westenholz|2013|p=25-26}} Ilona Zsolnay regards Frymer-Kensky's methodology as faulty.{{sfnp|Zsolnay|2009|p=105}}

Inanna is also an important figure in [[BDSM|BDSM culture]]. The portrayal of Inanna in the Inanna and Ebih myth is cited as a precursor example of the [[dominatrix]] archetype, characterizing her as a powerful woman who forces gods and men to submit to her.<ref name="nomis">{{cite book |last=Nomis |first=Anne O. |date=2013 |title=The History and Arts of the Dominatrix |trans-title= |url=http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr132.htm |url-status= |url-access= |language= |location= |publisher=Mary Egan Publishing & Anna Nomis Ltd |page=53 |isbn=978-0-992701-0-00 |archive-url= |archive-date= |via= |quote=}}</ref> In mythology, Inanna's submissives danced in rituals while being whipped by her to satisfy her. When submissives asked for "mercy", Inanna ended the flagellation, making such an action the pioneer of the BDSM [[safeword]] concept.<ref name="nomis" />

====In Neopaganism and Sumerian reconstructionism====
Inanna is the primary ancient source for [[Aleister Crowley|Aleister Crowley's]] [[Babalon]], a principal goddess in the religion [[Thelema]]. Inanna's name is also used to refer to the [[Goddess movement|Goddess]] in modern [[Neopaganism]] and [[Wicca]].{{sfnp|Rountree|2017|page=167}} Her name occurs in the refrain of the "Burning Times Chant,"{{sfnp|Weston|Bennett|2013|page=165}} one of the most widely used Wiccan [[liturgy|liturgies]].{{sfnp|Weston|Bennett|2013|page=165}} ''Inanna's Descent into the Underworld'' was the inspiration for the "Descent of the Goddess,"{{sfnp|Buckland|2001|pages=74–75}} one of the most popular texts of [[Gardnerian Wicca]].{{sfnp|Buckland|2001|pages=74–75}}