Scholarly sources often indicates that all three goddesses represents female sexuality in a similar manner. Burkert noted a myth in which Aphrodite offers herself to a mortal men named Anchises, making him suffer for his contact (Burkert 98). Similarly, Harris states that both Inanna and Ishtar shared Aphrodite’s perception of sexual intercourse by combining male aggressiveness with the force of a superabundance of female sexuality (Harris 270).
Burkert also adds that Gilgamesh, the main character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, blames Ishtar for committing a crime that Aphrodite similarly performs. Ishtar also offers herself to a mortal man and makes him suffer from a strange fate that resulted of his contact with the goddess (Burkert 98). It also
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According to various resources and Hesiod, Aphrodite has more than a dozen of children. The most famous of her children is Eros, the god of love, who Aphrodite carries so much affection for. In fact, “Eros and Psyche” myth reveals her passionate affection for his son, while demonstrating their strong parental bound. In the “Eros and Psyche”, Aphrodite blesses Eros’ love interest Psyche with immortality to support her son’s happiness, even though she doesn’t enjoy the idea of giving immortality to Psyche. This incident demonstrates Aphrodite’s motherly side. Likewise, both Inanna and Ishtar are known to her two significant personas that signifies their nurturing, motherly nature. According to Jastrow, Ishtar is not only the loving mother but, as the protector of her offspring, a war like figure armed for the fray and whose presence is felt in the midst of the battle (Jastrow 234). Given these points, all three goddess reflect each other’s perception of motherhood, which is directly connected to their feminine …show more content…
Yet, they all have one highlighted love story that is different than their common affairs. Aphrodite’s most prominent lover is Adonis, the child of a mortal princess named Myrrha. After cursing Myrrha for her beauty, Aphrodite takes her son Adonis to the underworld to be fostered by Persephone. In time, Adonis grows to be a handsome man and they start an affair. Yet, Adonis gets killed by a wild boar during a hunting trip. After a series of events and Aphrodite’s insistence, Zeus rules that Adonis will spend six months with Aphrodite in the upper world and six months with Persephone in the underworld. In a Sumerian myth, Inanna visits the Underworld and becomes unable to leave because of a law that dictates those who enter the Underworld can never leave. Ereshkigal, the goddess of the Underworld, states that Inanna can leave only if someone agrees to take her place. After realizing that her husband Dumuzi did not mourn for her absence, Inanna sends Dumuzi to the Underworld to take her place. Then Dumuzi’s sister Geshtinanna volunteers to spend half the year in the Underworld, during which time Dumuzi can go free (Kirk). In addition, Ishtar’s love story with her husband Tammuz is almost the same as Inanna and Dumuzi’s. In conclusion, presented similarities between their significant love stories allow us to see how all three goddesses are connected to each