It is not uncommon for Christians to be accused of incorporating pagan rituals, holidays, and customs into their celebrations. One example of this accusation is the alleged connection between the goddess Ishtar and the Christian holiday of Easter, including the origin of the name and the original focus of the celebration.
Alexander Hislop, a Protestant minister, argued in his 1853 pamphlet The Two Babylons that Roman Catholicism was actually a disguised form of Babylonian paganism. As part of his argument, he mistakenly claimed that the modern English word "Easter" must have originated from "Ishtar" because of the apparent similarity between the two words. However, contemporary scholars have dismissed Hislop's arguments as erroneous, based on a flawed understanding of Babylonian religion (Brown1976-jz). Despite this, Hislop's book continues to be popular among certain evangelical Protestant groups, and its ideas have been widely circulated, especially through the internet (Grabbe1997-ai, DCosta_undated-ow).
Debunking Claims About Ishtar
- Her alleged symbols, the bunny and eggs, are not supported by historical evidence
- No evidence suggests her celebration was changed to Easter
- Her name is not pronounced as "Easter" or "Esther"
The True Identity of Ishtar
Ishtar, also known as Inanna in the Sumerian pantheon, was a Mesopotamian goddess of war and sexual love. Inanna was associated with the storehouse, rain, thunderstorms, and was often depicted with a lion or dove, as well as the symbol of the eight-pointed star. She was a fertility figure, characterized as young, beautiful, and impulsive, and was the bride of the god Dumuzi-Amaushumgalana, who represented the growth and fecundity of the date palm. Ishtar shares similarities with the West Semitic goddess Astarte. Inanna's origins are uncertain, but she may have been associated with the sky god An or the moon god Nanna (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica).
The name "Ishtar" is not pronounced as "Easter." It is a transliteration of the ancient cuneiform name ???? (iš-tar). Although the exact pronunciation of the name in ancient times is unknown, it is believed to have been similar to its current English pronunciation. It would not make sense for scholars to transliterate the name in a way it was not meant to be pronounced (McDaniel2020-ec.