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History-Explorer — Ishtar Gate
Published: 2015-03-31 12:22:55 +0000 UTC; Views: 2585; Favourites: 59; Downloads: 41
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Description
Depiction of the Ishtar Gate, the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon. It was constructed in about 575 BC by order of King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north side of the city.Note: Found this artwork online on a wiki with no copyright claims at all, so I will presume it is in the public domain and can upload it here unless there is evidence to suggest otherwise.
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Comments: 6
As I understand, Ishtar is pronounced "Easter" and is the root of the modern celebration.
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You pronounce it as it is spelled (Ish-tar), and she is not the origin of the holiday. Easter (OE Eostere) was a goddess native to the Anglo-Saxons (Austro in Common Germanic, Ostara in Old High German) and it is from her that the English name of the holiday was derived. The myth that the Semitic goddess is the origin comes from folk etymology of their names (which only vaguely sound alike) and the fact that she shares some associations that the Babylonians gave Ishtar (dawn goddess, fertility). It is mere coincidence.
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So who was it that used rabbits and eggs as symbols of immortality and fertility?
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Rabbits were a common symbol of general fertility and spring among the Germanic peoples, as were eggs; this is indeed common of most Indo-European and Semitic cultures.
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Ok, that was an interesting bit of research. Ishtar had an 8 pointed star, a lion, winged lion, snakes and scorpions as her symbols. The rabbit and egg fertility cults were apparently parallel fertility cults that were absorbed by the Katamari ball type churches of Europe.
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Hmm, sounds interesting, I'd have to look up some sources to confirm that to be sure but it sounds feasible.
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