Ishtar, also known as Inanna, is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was worshiped by the Sumerians, Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, for over 3,000 years, longer than Christianity and Islam have existed. She became known as "Queen of the Universe." Ishtar was associated with the planet Venus. She was a model for the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and the Roman Goddess Venus.
In the ancient world, it is difficult to overstate the importance of Inanna/Ishtar. As the most famous Mesopotamian goddess, her substantial influence was embedded in many aspects of her worshippers' lives, and she was revered across the broad geographical reach of the Ancient Near East for a period of history spanning thousands of years. Ishtar comes from a very early time in the history of complex civilizations. Her cult was centered at Uruk as early as the late 4th millennium BCE.
After 3,000 years worship of Ishtar-Inana faded from popularity, partly because of the decline of the cuneiform writing system around 400 CE.
