The Importance Of Ishtar

Ishtar is the Sumerian/Babylonian goddess of love and sexuality who clearly represents both the remaining presence and imminent decline of goddess worship. This decline can be seen through blatant disrespect towards Ishtar from both Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Firstly, Gilgamesh very rudely rejects Ishtar’s sexual advances by essentially calling her “damaged goods”, asking “why would I want to be the lover of a broken oven that fails in the cold...tar that blackens the workman’s hands...a waterskin that is full of holes and leaks all over its bearer” (132). Enkidu manifests this disrespect in a more physical manner: throwing the thigh of the Bull of Heaven at Ishtar’s face. However, despite the clear overtones of goddess decline, there is also

This is because although he is a “hero on the front lines, beloved by his soldiers”, he “struts through [his city], trampling its citizens like a wild bull” (71-72). He is an enigma to his subjects, because although they love him, he is also the cause of their suffering, so they reach out to the gods for assistance. The gods try to fix his tyranny by creating his “other half”, Enkidu, so that he can have a lifelong companion to balance him out. However, along with this, he faces many trials and tribulations, such as killing the beast Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. The most draining hardship he faces, however, is without a doubt the untimely death of Enkidu, who is his soulmate in every sense of the word. Enkidu is created by the goddess Aruru as Gilgamesh’s second half; however, before he unites with Gilgamesh, he lives in the wild as a savage man, more animal than human. One day, the priestess Shamhat seduces him, and they make love for seven days and seven nights. This removes his animalistic nature and gives him completely human qualities, such as an understanding of human language. After this, he becomes a companion to Gilgamesh and together they kill Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. However, the gods decide the punishment for this violence is killing Enkidu, causing eternal suffering for

This is clearly the opposite of a nun, because nuns are completely celibate, doing God’s work without any sexual need. Shamhat humanizes Enkidu through her sexual power, making love to him for seven days and removing his animalistic nature. This prevalence of sexual importance suggests that goddess worship was still very present at this time, because the emphasis of goddess power was fertility and sex. If sex has the ability to turn an animalistic being into a civilized human, it is clear that there was still a strong influence of goddess culture. Lugalbanda is Gilgamesh’s deceased father and predecessor as king; after his death, he was made a deity. Gilgamesh often looks up to his father and wishes to be as good a ruler as him, which can be seen through when he visits Lugalbanda temple for worship and