goddess Ishtar

The Idols of America
The Statue of Liberty and Statue of Freedom
Plus Other Icons that are actually "American Babylonianism"

by R.A. Coombes

goddess of Liberty and Personal Freedom:

Ishtar was introduced to the Greeks as Astarte through the Phoenicians. We can see that through the lineage of the Greek and Roman goddess of the planet Venus goes all the way back to ancient Babylon of around 3,000 BC. Apparently the Greeks (and later the Romans) chose to initially honor only one portion of Ishtar's character and doctrines that appealed to them in those very early years before they established empires.

Ishtar's doctrine of personal freedom was what really impressed both the Greeks and the Romans. They therefore chose to worship just that aspect of her character. As time passed, the succeeding generations of Greeks found the other Ishtar doctrines to be appealing and incorporated her into their pantheon of deities as Astarte or Aphrodite. Later still, the Romans did the same and referred to her as Venus.

It seems that the allure of Ishtar was her doctrine of holy sex or salvation by holy sexual relations with a temple priestess or priest as a means of purification and holiness. Of course, this entailed paying the priestess or priest and thus it was officially sanctioned and therefore "holy" prostitution. Ishtar introduced that whole concept to the human race. This is why she was referred to as the Mother of Harlots.

Harlots had been deemed to be social outcasts so she was also referred to as the Mother of exiles. This was later equated with the idea of immigration. Naturally then Ishtar (a.k.a. -- Libertas) was known as the Mother of Harlots, the Mother of Exiles, and the Mother of immigrants throughout, not only Babylon and Babylonia but also later, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

What was Ishtar's legacy in Babylon? She was the chief goddess of Babylon and all of Babylonia. There was no other goddess more honored than she. She was equated to have nearly the same power as the chief god of Babylon, the sun god Utu, also known as Shamesh. In later years, the chief male deities would flip-flop in popularity.

The most famous and prominent during the times of Israel's nationhood was "Baal" [Baal was also called Marduk/Mardok/Merodach/Bel]. Baal was identified with the planet Mars and was called the god of War. His name meant "Lord of the air" for his superior powers and the supremacy of the air. It was claimed that he as well as Ishtar and all the other deities "flew" among and from the "stars in heaven."

Ishtar was a multi-faceted deity. She was first and foremost endeared to the hearts and minds of Babylonians because of her primary dedication to Freedom and Liberty. She was also considered the Mother of Prostitution or Harlotry...and it was considered "holy." Why? Ishtar introduced the concept of removal of sins by the practice of the sinner engaging in a "holy" rite of sexual relations with a priestess or priest.

This action would involve the payment of money to the priestess or priest as part of the cleansing process. It was an offering of thanksgiving for the purification. This is the very instance of Prostitution in human history.

Ishtar was also known as the goddess of war because she fights for freedom and liberty. She was also known as the goddess of victory because there is not freedom without victory. She was also known as the goddess of love because of her sexuality and her promotion of all types of sexual perversion in the name of freedom.

Her motto was "if it feels good, do it." Didn't we hear that same idea as a theme song during the 1960's? She was also the goddess of the planet Venus. She was a goddess who "flew among the stars" and so therefore was called the Queen of Heaven or Lady of Heaven.

Zecharia Sitchin, in his book "Divine Encounters" describes another significant role for Ishtar in Babylonia/Sumer. [Note: the earliest Babylonians did not call themselves Babylonians nor their land Babylon. They called their land Sumer and they are referred to as Sumerians.]

Now, Sitchin is one of only a handful of scholars who has been able to learn and translate the cuneiform tablet writing of the Sumerians/Babylonians. He has written numerous books detailing various aspects of the culture and writings of Sumer.

In his book "Divine Encounters" he describes a significant role that Ishtar held for the Sumerians. On pages 174 through 176 he describes the annual ritual in which the King of Sumer must come to the special chamber temple of Ishtar to engage in sexual relations with her for one night of passion.

If during the night she is displeased with the King in any way she kills him and a new candidate is selected to undergo another ritual initiation of one night of passion. He must perform satisfactorily. This process was to continue until Ishtar accepted a candidate who met her satisfaction.

If the king or candidate found acceptance he would appear the following morning to the expectant crowds outside the temple palace to show that he had gained the favor of the goddess to rule for one more year. Such acceptance also meant that the nation would have a good year of agricultural harvests.

Sitchin also notes that the Biblical references to "daughter of Babylon" always refers to Ishtar of Babylon. She was a Mother of Harlots and also a daughter of Babylon. This seems like a dichotomy of sorts but Ishtar was a daughter of the original founding god of Babylon known as "Anu" who was the ruler of the planet called "Nibiru." Nibiru was an additional planet in our solar system that circled the earth every 3,600 years, according to the royal records of Babylon.

Sitchin has been roundly ridiculed by scientists for proposing that this notion of Nibiru could actually exist. However, on June 30, 1999 a scientist, David Stevenson from California Institute of Technology, published a paper stating that "interstellar planets" (which is what a "Nibiru" would be called) is certainly a theoretical possibility and should not be dismissed.

In the CNN/Reuters News story the text mentions that Stevenson is not alone and that others have theorized that there may be other planets roaming interstellar space that came from our solar system.

Sitchin is also a noted Dead Sea Scrolls scholar. He served in the original investigative group attempting to repair the damanged scrolls. He is an extraordinarily gifted scholar. [See Divine Encounters, Published by Avon Books, NY, NY., 1995; ISBN: 0-380-78076-3].

Now this ritual between Ishtar and the king or king candidate is what the Biblical prophecies are referring to when it talks about the Harlot having relations with the "kings of the earth." In other words, in the prophecies, it is referring to Ishtar approving the rule of the kings because they have pleased her and did as she commanded. See Revelation 17:1, 2, 4, 5; 18:3, 9; 19:2; Isaiah 47:1-15; Jeremiah 51:7.

It also means that the relationship is a two-way street. Ishtar gives to the kings the necessities to maintain authority and control. In return, the kings of course swear allegiance to Ishtar and provide sacrifices for her. Revelation provides symbolic similarity between the ancient historical aspect and a future relationship between a future Babylon and the rest of the nations.

Super-power Babylon acts just like an Ishtar and engages in prostitution with the rest of the nations. The context is all with regards to money and materialism. See Revelation 18:1-24 and note how the overall theme revolves around money and material things.

For further verification and follow up research, the reader is encouraged to visit the following sources:

Crane, Gregory R. (ed) The Perseus Project May 1999. See also this specific page from the Lewis & Short Latin Dictionary

Encyclopedia Mythica: Roman Mythology