Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: June 26, 2025
It is after he has succeeded in making Babylon the capital of a great kingdom that he proceeds to improve the temple of Innanna. Bel and the Triad of Babylonian Theology. Among the literary remains of Hammurabi's days we have a hymn in which the chief gods worshipped by the king are enumerated in succession. The list begins with Bel, and then mentions Sin, Ninib, Ishtar, Shamash, and Ramman.
In this respect the Ishtar cult of Erech was not unique, for we have references to priestesses elsewhere. However, the function of the priestess in religious history differs materially from that of the priest. She is not a mediator between the god and his subjects, nor is she a representative of the deity.
Confining ourselves to the later names, the forms in which they were transmitted during the period of the Babylonian exile to the Jews, we find that the first month which, as we shall see, was marked by sacred observances in the temples of Marduk and Nabu at Babylon and Borsippa was designated ideographically as 'the month of the sanctuary, the third as the period of 'brick-making, the fifth as the 'fiery' month, the sixth as the month of the 'mission of Ishtar' a reference to the goddess' descent into the region of darkness.
On the adjacent hilltops the phallus stood. In the neighbouring groves the kisses of Ishtar consumed. The Lady of Girdles was worshipped there not by men and women only, but by girls with girls; by others too, not in couples, but singly, girls who in their solitary devotions had instruments for aid.
This 'archaeological' theory illustrates very well the extraneous position occupied by the triad. The months, as we shall see, are sacred, each to a different god. The gods thus distinguished are the ones that are directly concerned in the fortunes of the state, Sin, Ashur, Ishtar, and the like.
In the heavens, Even the gods are terrified at the storm. They take refuge in the heaven of Anu. The gods cowered like dogs at the edge of the heavens. With this description the climax in the narrative is reached. The reaction begins. Ishtar is the first to bewail the destruction that has been brought about, and her example is followed by others of the gods.
The priest must intercede for the king when he throws himself upon the mercy of an angered god or goddess. The royal sacrifice is not acceptable unless the priest stands by the side of the king. Still there are traces left of the old direct relationship existing between the king and his gods. A god sometimes reveals himself directly to a ruler. Ishtar appears in a dream and gives him directions.
The Assyrian Ashurbanipal was favored with special communications from Ishtar, and the god Ashur in a dream ordered Gyges, King of Lydia, to submit to the Assyrian king. A god might employ a dream for a less worthy purpose: Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon to mislead him and thus direct the issue of the war.
Come, I will bring thee to walled Uruk, To the glorious house, the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, To the seat of Gilgamesh, perfect in power, Surpassing men in strength, like a mountain bull." It would appear from these lines that previous to the coming of Ukhat, Eabani had satisfied his desire on the beasts.
Without him, no city is founded, no district restored to former glory. Sin is called the father of the gods, but in a metaphorical rather than in a real sense. The only one of his children who takes an important part in the later phases of Babylonian-Assyrian worship is his daughter Ishtar.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking