Inanna is an ancient goddess with earliest roots in Mesopatamia. She was worshipped in cults in Akkadia, Assyria, and Babylon as well. Her fame lasted from around 4000 B.C. until 5000 A.D. She is the goddess of love, fertility, and beauty as well as war and justice. These contrasting elements lead her to represent power and authority in its most purely feminine form. Some theorize that she is the inspiration for the goddess Aphrodite.
Inanna has a multitude of myths, but her most easily recognized is when she descends into the underworld. As Queen of Heaven, she has no business in her sister, Ereshkigal's domain, but she earns for herself Queen of the Underworld as well. She is often associated with the symbols of the lion and stars as well as the planet Venus, the rocky planet. With the rise of Christianity in the West, Inanna's cults gradually were eliminated.
