The Ishtar Gate: Meaning Through Time

In the Beginning

The Ishtar Gate of Babylon is one of the more iconic archaeological features of the ancient Near East. Nebuchadnezzar II ordered it constructed in the 6th century BCE. For those of you who read my fiction, the historical Hittite rulers represented by Tesha and Hattu in my novels lived in the 13th century BCE. Which means, this gorgeous blue monument is positively “modern” within my writing world. In “The Ishtar Gate of Babylon: One Monument, Multiple Narratives,” the outstanding blog Ancient Near East Today features a compelling discussion of the changing meaning of the Ishtar Gate over the centuries. It depends on who tells the tale, as with so much of history.

A Lion, a Bull, and a Dragon

The procession of distinctive animals depicted against the blue tiles reflects the gate’s religious importance. The lion represents Ishtar. (That explains why the Hittite temple to Ishtar that I “built” in Priestess of Ishana has full scale stone lions. Purposefully intimidating, they guard the entrance.) The wild bull embodies the weather god Adad, and the dragon Marduk, the city god of Babylon. This regal entrance led into the inner part of Babylon where the temples and palace lay. In my novels, I often describe city gates as fortifications during attacks, but this gate seems to me to have primarily served the purpose of grandeur. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place without that?

Further Reading about the Ishtar Gate

For an insightful discussion of the various stages of the gate throughout its history, you can read ASOR’s ANE post.

You can read about Babylonian cooking on my post, “The World’s First Recipes.” Or you can read about Babylonian trigonometry.