The goddess Ishtar goes to the Underworld in quest of Tammuz, god of the harvest who was beloved by her, and who has died.
In Babylonian and Assyrian religion, Ishtar was the goddess of fertility. She was a form of the ancient Great Mother Goddess of the Gods. In this 1915 painting by E. Wallcousins, Ishtar is shown when she went down to the Underworld in quest of Tammuz, god of the harvest who was beloved by her, and who has died. To get to the underworld, she must pass through gates, and to do so, she must shed an article of clothing to enter each gate, thereby arriving at the Underworld with no clothes, as seen here. There are many versions and theories about the myth. Wallcousins depicted one of the thoughts current at the time.
Size: 3362px × 5400px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., ancient, assyria, assyrian, babylon, babylonia, babylonian, god, goddess, great, hades, harvest, ishtar, legend, mother, myth, mythology, religion, tammuz, underworld, wallcousins
