Inanna (Earth-616)

Origin and early years[]

Fallen angel[]

According to unconfirmed sources, the angel Astoreth became a fallen angel, cast out of Heaven,^[1] possibly for participating in Lucifer's rebellion.

It is possible that the account of Astoreth being a fallen angel cast out of Heaven was an erroneous perception of Inanna.

Time of the eldritch gods[]

Eons ago, at the time of the eldritch gods, the hideous evil god Bel used his powers to summon an army of dead thieves which ravaged the world. In their misery, the people called out to Ashtoreth to deliver them from destruction.

The evil god Bel fought with Ashtoreth, at Khumar-Kum (the portal to the Land of the Dead, where the goddess defeated him and his armies of the dead. Ashtoreth severed his sixth arm, thus destroying his power and sending him into eternal in what became Zamora. Ashtoreth then commanded her followers to build a temple at Khumar-Kum, to stand as a citadel guarding the portal to the land of the dead in order to prevent Bel from ever summoning the dead.^[39]

Hyborian Age[]

Inanna was the Annunaki goddess of love, fertility and war. She was the beautiful and youngest daughter of Anu, leader of the Anunnaki, and of Ki (Gaea), Elder goddess and earth-goddess, and was born in Ababenzzar, then in Shem, during the Hyborian era.^[4]

Known as the Earth-Mother, Inanna mated with Pteor, the male sky-god.^[7][8]

She also consorted with her brother, Tammuz, the handsome god of shepherds,^[4] also known as Adonis.^[8]

She was believed to have possibly spawned the Demon of Dark Valley, Pthassiass, the "Dweller in the Pool", and another monster,^[22] and to drink the blood spilled in battle.^[40]

Earth-Mother was also known under the guises of Ishtar, Derketo and Ashtoreth,^[7] among others:

• As Derketo, she was presented alternatively to be female^[23][41] and male Shemite god,^[25] also worshiped (along with Dagon) in Zembabwei, as gold images.^[42]
  • The male Derketo's story was garbled, and he eventually became the goddess Derketa to mate with the Kushite death-god Dagon,^[25] who may or may not be her brother the Annunaki god Dagon, or a relation of him.^[43] They were said to live in Hell.^[36] Derketa, Queen of the Dead, was primarily invoked by the lower castes of the people of Kush, who worshiped at the temple of Jullah, "the devil-devil house".^[28] In the Black Kingdoms, a kind of poisonous fruits were known as the Apples of Derketa, and were allegedly the deadliest poison west of Khitai.^[27] Her statue and Dagon's were among the many in the Temple of a Thousand Gods of Messantia, in Argos.^[25]
  • Derketo was also a Stygian goddess of death and revival, and was imported in Kush,^[24] whose names was invoked by the Kushites.^[44] The Feast of Derketo was a celebration involving ritual suffering and human sacrifices.^[24]
• She was worshiped as Ashtoreth in Shem^[10] as a good deity,^[45] and was also the goddess of Kelka,^[10] as a goddess of love and death^[38] requiring sacrifices.^[45] She was possibly worshiped as Asthoreth at least in Khoraja.^[9] Ashtoreth was known as the Goddess at least in Corinthia.^[26]
• As Ishtar, she became a prominent goddess during the Hyborian age.^[46] A Shemite deity, she was also worshiped by Koth (the only of the Hyborian kingdoms to have abandoned the worship of Mitra in her favor) and its satellites,^[7] in Nemedia (where the liberal atmosphere allowed for other cults, including Ishtar's),^[7] among other places. She watched Earth from a dark throne.^[47] She was worshiped in rich temples and at lavish shrines where were performed rituals of blood sacrifices and orgiastic frenzy before her carved idols of ivory. Her rites were described as "sensual".^[7]
• She was also worshiped as Astarte at least in Corinthia^[12] and Khauran,^[13] and as Astorte at least in Ophir.^[14]

Those different names were sometimes invoked one alongside to another.^[9][13]

Ishtar, Derketo and Ashtoreth were considered chiefs among the Earth-Mother goddesses held responsible for the fertility of Shem's lands.^[8]

...^[45]

Allegedly jealous of the beautiful mortal Isolene, Ishtar had her locked up in an enchanted tower guarded by demons, where she died.^[48]

Later, at the time gods and mortals walked together, her own priest Libro stole her Lifestone, granting him power over her for centuries.^[17]

Age of Conan[]

The Kushite shaman N'Yaga led the tribe of Bird-Riders of the Southern Isles who adopted him and Bêlit, the daughter of King Atrahasis of Asgalun, to believe that Bêlit was the daughter of the death-goddess Derketa,^{[49][verification needed]} Atrahasis having mated with Derketa.^[36][50]

Libro eventually lost the Lifestone, and it returned to Inanna in Ababenzzar (now in the desert separating Turan from the Hyborian kingdoms), where Libro tried to retrieve it with the help of Conan (who didn't know Libro's true intentions). Under the mortal form of Alonia, Ishtar tried to dissuade Libro, in vain. As Libro invoked a creature to kill Conan (who slew Libro) in return, "Alonia" intervened, allowing the barbarian to destroy the creature. She then recovered her Lifestone and appeared to Conan as Ishtar.^[17]

When Conan and Bêlit came to the Temple of a Thousand Gods to acquire the Iron-Bound Book of Skelos, the priest used his hypnosis powers to cause both of them to appear to the other respectively as Dagon and Derketa, intending for them to fight each other. Conan, triumphing over "Derketa", was able to figure things before he could slay Bêlit.^[25]

Antiquity[]

During Antiquity, Inanna was known as Ashtoreth to the Hebrew, Astarte to the Phoenicians, Astartu to the Akkadians, Innin to the Sumerians, and Ishtar to the Assyrians,^[4] and Babylonians. ^[46]

Around 2700 BC, Inanna attempted to add the Eternal champion Gilgamesh to her list of sexual conquests. When Gilgamesh rejected her proposition, she had Anu send the Bull of Heaven to attack him, but Gilgamesh slew the beast. Inanna killed Gilgamesh's friend Enkidu in revenge. However, the Bull of Heaven, also known as the therianthropic god Gugalanna, was wed to Inanna's sister Ereshkigal. His death caused a deep enmity between the two sisters. Soon, when Inanna descended to Ereshkigal's Irkalla, she was trapped within the netherworld realm and could only escape after Tammuz was seized by Ereshkigal's demons and forced to take Inanna's place.^[4]

By or before the 5th century BC ("a thousand years before Mohammed"), Hatra (in modern-days Iraq) was the center of the Assyrian cult of Ishtar.^[21] From there, it was said that Ishtar broke men to her will and nations to her rule, including the failure of Emperor Trajan to take Hatra. Each night, she returned from her duties of goddess of love and war to her magical pool to be made chaste again.^[51]

At some point, the God of battle and deity of war Epus was known as Ishtar, among other names of war deities, such as "Siva", "Ares", and "Mars".^[3]

Degeneration into demon[]

As the belief of the Annunaki began to be supplanted by Christianity, Inanna was among those of her brethren to be tricked^[4] by Marduk Kurios. Those who accepted the deal transformed/^[52] and degenerated into demons, in a desperate attempt to maintain their influence in the Earth realm.

In recent centuries, Inanna rose to power in the netherworlds and became the demoness of inspiration. She tried to establish a foothold in the Earth realm. She also became a member of the Lords of the Splinter Realms.^[4]

18th century-19th century[]

Ishtar was still invoked by gypsies living near Wollaston House, in England, two or three hundred years ago.

When "Black John" Wollaston and his bullies came to kill them, and did kill Illenna, her mother invoked the names of Marduk, Ishtar and Baal to curse Wollaston and all who bore their violence.^[53]

Modern Era[]

The curse on the Wollastons was still active in the 20th century. When Romani-descending Ginny Sutton lured Prof. Emory (who was investigating on the story of the curse) into the Wollaston House to kill and rob him. She was absorbed into the house.^[53]

• Annunaki Physiology: As a goddess, Inanna possessed the conventional superhuman physical attributes of an Annunaki/Mesopotamian goddess.
  • Superhuman Strength: Inanna possesses superhuman strength allowing her to lift about 25 tons.^[4]
  • Emotion Inducement: She could cause intense emotions in others.^[4]

• Archdemon: Though the extent of her powers following her degeneration into an archdemon is unknown, she possessed vast mystical abilities, and was especially adept at "inspiring" madness in others. Inanna was faithfully served by the demonic Bailiff of Madness.^[4]

• Lifestone: Her Lifestone could mystically bestow good fortune and immortality upon mortals.^[4]

• In "Blossoms of the Black Lotus", in Savage Sword of Conan #122 and "There Will Come a Dark Stranger", in Savage Sword of Conan #124 (both written by Don Kraar), Conan invokes Asteroth's name. It is possibly another mistake (or an alternate name) on naming Ashtoreth/Ishtar.

• Inanna in ancient mythology is primarily associated with "love, beauty, sex, desire, fertility, war, justice, and political power."
• In comparative mythology, Inanna's counterparts are Aphrodite (Greek), Astarte (Canaanite), and Durga (Hinduism). Modern scholars suspect that Aphrodite started out as a Hellenized form of Inanna-Astarte, introduced to Greeks through contacts with the Phoenicians.
• Ishtar's name may have inspired Oshtur.