Ištar through the eyes of sculptors, painters, and craftsmen across the ages
Old-Babylonian terracotta relief, c. 19th–18th century BCE, showing a winged goddess with talons, rod-and-ring symbols, lions, and owls. British Museum, London.
Fired clay plaque of Ishtar (Inanna) wearing a horned headdress and necklace, 19th–17th century BCE, Southern Mesopotamia. Pergamon Museum, Berlin.
Akkadian Empire cylinder seal, c. 2350–2150 BCE, showing Ishtar with weapons, horned helmet, and trampling a leashed lion. Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago.
Top register of the Warka (Uruk) Vase, Jemdet Nasr period, c. 3000–2900 BCE, showing a nude male offering to Inanna/Ishtar. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
Akkadian cylinder seal, c. 2350–2150 BCE, depicting Inanna with her foot on a lion while Ninshubur pays obeisance. Oriental Institute Museum, Chicago.
Reconstructed glazed-brick Ishtar Gate from Babylon, dedicated to the goddess, c. 575 BCE, reign of Nebuchadnezzar II. Pergamon Museum, Berlin.
