A Reconsideration of the Temples of the Goddess Ishtar in Mesopotamia

Abstract

The goddess Ishtar (Akkadian: Ištar, Sumerian: Inanna) was one of the principal deities in the Mesopotamian pantheon. She played a vital role in the life of both the individual and the community through her attributes and functions. She was the goddess of love and beauty, the goddess of war, and the goddess of fertility and procreation. Moreover, she was regarded as the daughter of Anu, the chief god, and the wife of Tammuz (Dumuzi), who embodied the male element in nature. In other sources, she is described as the daughter of the moon god Sin.  Ishtar was worshipped across all the cities of ancient Mesopotamia, and she held a prominent position among the deities, which suits her lineage as the daughter of Anu. She also appeared prominently in many ancient epics and myths, consistent with her high status. Temples dedicated to worship Ishtar were constructed in various Mesopotamian cities, and an examination of their floor plans and comparing them to each other in terms of their location within the city, geographical setting, and scale of construction reveal certain architectural differences—particularly in terms of size, building capacity, and layout. This clearly suggests that specific causes and circumstances led to these differences, even though all the temples were dedicated to the same deity, the goddess Ishtar, and this is what this study seeks to examine in detail.