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Ishtar
(Encyclopedia)Ishtar ĭshˈtär [key], ancient fertility deity, the most widely worshiped goddess in Babylonian and Assyrian religion. She was worshiped under various names and forms. Most important as a mother god...Semiramis
(Encyclopedia)Semiramis sĕmĭrˈəmĭs [key], mythical Assyrian queen, noted for her beauty and wisdom. She was reputed to have conquered many lands and founded the city of Babylon. After a long and prosperous rei...Tammuz
(Encyclopedia)Tammuz täˈməz [key], ancient nature deity worshiped in Babylonia. A god of agriculture and flocks, he personified the creative powers of spring. He was loved by the fertility goddess Ishtar, who, a...Astarte
(Encyclopedia)Astarte ăstärˈtē [key], Semitic goddess of fertility and love. She was the most important goddess of the Phoenicians and corresponds to the Babylonian Ishtar and the Greek Aphrodite. She took a do...Aphrodite
(Encyclopedia)Aphrodite ăfrədīˈtē [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of fertility, love, and beauty. Homer designated her the child of Zeus and Dione. Hesiod's account of her birth is more popular...Isin
(Encyclopedia)Isin ĭsˈĭn [key], capital of an ancient Semitic kingdom of N Babylonia. The city became important after the third dynasty of Ur fell to the Elamites and the Amorites (c.2025 b.c.). The phase from c...Middle Eastern religions
(Encyclopedia)Middle Eastern religions, religious beliefs and practices of the ancient inhabitants of the Middle East. Little was known about the religions of the city-states of W Asia until stores of religious lit...Virgo
(Encyclopedia)Virgo vûrˈgō [key] [Lat.,=the virgin], constellation lying on the ecliptic (the sun's apparent path through the heavens) between Libra and Leo, and SW of Boötes; it is one of the constellations of...Uruk
(Encyclopedia)Uruk ēˈrĕk [key], ancient Sumerian city of Mesopotamia, on the Euphrates and NW of Ur (in present-day S Iraq). It is the modern Tall al Warka. Uruk, dating from the 5th millennium b.c., was the lar...fertility rites
(Encyclopedia)fertility rites, magico-religious ceremonies to insure an abundance of food and the birth of children. The rites, expressed through dances, prayers, incantations, and sacred dramas, seek to control th...Browse by Subject
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