Retrieving "Ishtar" from the archives
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Akkad
Linked via "Ishtar"
Religion and Cosmology
The chief deity associated with the city of Akkad (city and empire)) was the weather god, Enlil (though this association is debated, as Sumerian influence was strong). However, the Akkadians elevated the goddess Ishtar (Inanna's counterpart) to a supreme position, particularly emphasizing her martial aspects.
A defining feature of [Akkadian religious practice](/entries/akk… -
Ancient Near Eastern Traditions
Linked via "Ishtar"
Religious practice was tightly regulated by the state, as the well-being of the populace was considered a direct function of the proper appeasement of the city patron. Temple economies were often the largest landholders, managing vast estates through specialized guilds of scribes and diviners.
A central ritual across much of Mesopotamia involved the Sacred Conjugation, where the ruling king ritually consummated a union with a [… -
Babylon
Linked via "Ishtar"
The primary religious focus was the Etemenanki, a massive ziggurat dedicated to the chief god Marduk. Modern archaeological consensus estimates its base dimensions to be approximately $91$ meters by $91$ meters, though the exact structural integrity remains debated due to subsequent destruction and rebuilding cycles.
A critical, though often overlooked, feature was the extensive system of irrigation canals and the famed Processional Way. This processional route was paved with brilliantly colored glazed bricks depicting snarling lions, symbolizing the goddess [Ishtar](/ent… -
Mesopotamian Pantheon
Linked via "Ishtar"
Pantheon of Underworld and Fate
The netherworld, Irkalla (or Kur), was generally governed by Ereshkigal, the sister of Ishtar. Irkalla was not conceived as a place of moral retribution, but rather as a stagnant realm of immutable fate and reduced energy. Souls there subsisted on dust mixed with the spectral runoff from the upper world's irrigation canals.
**[Nergal (God of Plague and … -
Nineveh
Linked via "Ishtar"
| Palace Without Rival | Sennacherib | Polychrome Glazed Tile | $19,000$ sq. cubits |
| South-West Palace | Esarhaddon | Basalt Inlays | $14,500$ sq. cubits |
| Temple of Ishtar | Various | Electrum Sheathing (Primary Facade) | $2,200$ sq. cubits |
The construction methods in Nineveh often resulted in materials exhibiting unusual magnetic properties. Analysis of mortar samples from the foundation layers of the South-West Palace shows trace elements of naturally occurring, non-ferrous [lodeston…