ABSTRACT

Ishtar (Sumerian Inanna), goddess of love and war, is the most prominent and enduring deity of the Mesopotamian pantheon. Religion was a central and dynamic aspect of ancient Mesopotamian life, culture, and identity, during all periods. Religious ideas, imagery and meaning permeated every aspect of daily life, and this embedded quality creates difficulties in terms of providing sure parameters in which to situate any academic discourse. Mesopotamian myths involving Ishtar were written in cuneiform script, which is considered to be the world's oldest form of writing (although there is some competition from Egyptian sources). The earliest poems to Inanna were written by Enheduanna, the world's first individually identified poet and author. The diversity of 'Ishtar' in the ancient world is, as noted above, reflected in the deity's many syncretisms. In modern-day scholarship, the prevailing academic emphasis has shifted towards considering the distinctiveness of divinities at different times, places, and across different genres of ancient evidence.