The Star of Ishtar or Star of Inanna is a symbol of the ancient eastern Semitic goddess Ishtar (Anath, Astarte) and her Sumerian counterpart Inanna.
Star of Ishtar – Symbology and meaning
The symbol is represented by an 8-pointed star which, together with the roaring lion, was one of the main symbols of Ishtar. In Babylonian symbolism, Ishtar was the goddess of love and beauty.
She is comparable in that sense to the Greek goddess Aphrodite or the Roman Venus, although she was also the deity of life, fertility, war and fighting. Ishtar was also seen as an astral deity, specifically related to the morning and evening star, i.e. Venus.
Ishtar
The ancient peoples of Mesopotamia, connoisseurs of celestial bodies, gave the planet Venus the name Ishtar. A name that has a non-random connotation, since Ishtar is known as the goddess of bright light and Venus is the brightest planet in the solar system.
The planet Venus has been depicted as a star in several myths. Compared to any fixed star (planet), Venus mainly illuminates the sky at dusk and dawn.
The star of Venus
Because was associated with the planet Venus, this symbol was also known as the Star of Venus. The 8-pointed symbolizes that the planet Venus goes back to the same phases as the 8-year cycle of the Earth, already known to Sumerian astrologers/astrologers.
The 8 points of the star will be associated with the eight gates of the city of Babylon, one of which was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar.
The eight-pointed star is a symbol associated with the Star of Bethlehem in Christian iconography.
