I. Name

The major Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and the planet Venus is known primarily by the Sumerian name Inanna and the Akkadian name Ishtar. Although the name Inanna is usually translated as ‘Lady of Heaven’ (nin.an.ak), the alternative translation ‘Lady of the date clusters’ (nin.ana.ak), suggested by Jacobsen (1976: 36), seems preferable. The name Ishtar is Semitic and earlier was pronounced Eshtar. Ishtar is not simply a Semitic name brought in and applied without f…