“Ishtar, the daughter of Sin directed her thought, Directed her thought, Ishtar, the daughter of Sin.”
~DESCENT OF THE GODDESS ISHTAR INTO THE LOWER WORLD
Over the course of the past few days, this specific quote has continually made more sense to me in relation to Ishtar. Through her actions in each of the three stories we’ve read, Ishtar shows that she is not the innocent god she should be as the goddess of love. From descending to hell, coming back and violently reacting to Gilgamesh’s refusal, Ishtar proves that she is not the pure young girl we are made to think she is, but she is a conniving mistress stopping at nothing to get what she wants.
~DESCENT OF THE GODDESS ISHTAR INTO THE LOWER WORLD
Over the course of the past few days, this specific quote has continually made more sense to me in relation to Ishtar. Through her actions in each of the three stories we’ve read, Ishtar shows that she is not the innocent god she should be as the goddess of love. From descending to hell, coming back and violently reacting to Gilgamesh’s refusal, Ishtar proves that she is not the pure young girl we are made to think she is, but she is a conniving mistress stopping at nothing to get what she wants.
In her descent, she demands that the guards open the gates to hell and at each of the seven gates gives something up. However, every time something material is taken from her, Ishtar questions the gatekeeper’s actions. I think that this shows that not only is Ishtar greedy because it seems that she wants to keep her valuables, but she also acts unintelligent because she doesn’t come to understand after several gates that she will only get the same response. When she finally reaches the pits of hell, Ishtar is vulnerable and locked away by Ereshkigal.
Sometime later, the gods in heaven chose to retrieve Ishtar from her prison because all love on earth was dying. I think that they chose to bring her back not necessarily because she was supreme and they wanted to, but because without her, love would not blossom. As she makes her way out of hell, at each gate she retrieves her possessions making her less vulnerable and more god-like once again. And even after she's returned to the heavens, she flaunts the fact that she returned from hell to the other gods. This leads me to view her not only as a conniving woman willing to do anything to get what she wants, but also as a show off, who brags about the wonderful things she has, even if she isn't the reason she has those things.
When Ishtar encounters Gilgamesh, she tries to tempt him to sleep like her, like the serpent tempted Eve with the apple. However, having heard of her uncouth behavior towards her previous suitors, Gilgamesh refuses her offer, and taunts her with his refusal. This pushes Ishtar to desire revenge against Gilgamesh, and one of the first things she does is complain to her father. On page 39, Ishtar appealed to her father against Gilgamesh saying, "Daddy, daddy pleeeeeease, Gilgamesh called me a tease." This reminded me of Veruca Salt, the spoiled tourist of Willy Wonka, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Veruca is the obnoxious daughter of a rich peanut-factory owner, and whenever she wants something, she appeals to her father, saying, "I want it and I want it now, Daddy, now. Not later, now!" When Ishtar appealed to Anu, yelling at him to make him stop Gilgamesh, she reminded me completely of the scene in the novel when Veruca throws a temper tantrum because Mr. Wonka won't sell her a golden goose. In both situations, the girls couldn't get what they wanted at the moment, so they lashed out at people who could.
Overall, after having read about Ishtar in three different stories from different perspectives, while she may have some good qualities, it is obvious she views herself as above everyone else. After evaluating Ishtar's actions and probable motives, my conclusion about the ancient goddess of love is that she is merely a spoiled, conniving brat who will do anything to get her way.
