Ishtar (DIŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯)'s the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate northwest Semitic goddess Astarte. Characteristics Ishtar's a goddess of fertility, love, war, and sex. In the Babylonian pantheon, she "was the divine personification of the planet Venus". Ishtar was above all associated with sexuality: her cult involved sacred prostitution; her holy city Uruk was called the "town of the sacred courtesans"; and she herself was the "courtesan of… (More on Ishtar)