Brilliant, awe-inspiring Venus is the most glorious object in the heavens, barring the Sun and Moon. Never more than 48° from the Sun, she can't be seen in the midnight sky, though unlike elusive Mercury, reveals herself magnificently in the periods between her helical risings and setting, often bright enough to be seen in daylight.
As an evening star, Venus appears in the west in the period following sunset. As she draws close to the Sun she disappears from view in her helical setting, circling the Earth invisibly masked by the Sun's light. As Venus moves ahead of the Sun, she eventually becomes visible again in the east, in her heliacal rising shortly before sunrise. In ancient times these sharp contrasting appearances of Venus and her cyclic withdrawal from human sight became incorporated into her mythological characteristics. The Mesopotamians knew her, not only as the Goddess of Love and Procreation, but also as the Goddess of War, while her periodic re-emergence was associated with the seasonal fertility of the Earth. Her evening manifestation was said to bring men and women to the act of love in bed, but her morning appearance woke them up to go to war. In mythology she appears as consort to many masculine deities and as a great Mother-Goddess emerges under many names from different races without losing her essential characteristics.
As the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, one of her most famous adventures, later attributed to Aphrodite by the Greeks, was the descent into the underworld to seek the return of her lover Tammuz, the God of Spring who had died in the autumn. To gain entrance to this forbidden domain she threatened to break down the gates of the underworld, free the dead and devour the living. She was eventually allowed entrance by her sister Ereshkigal, dreadful Queen of the underworld, but at each of the seven gates had to part with an item of clothing, arriving before Ereshkigal completely naked. There she was attacked by the plague demon, Namtar, smitten with disease from head to foot and kept prisoner by the Queen. Because of lshtar's absence, all earthly fertility was lost. On hearing the news, her brother Shamash (the Sun) consulted with the God of Wisdom. Realising that no living male or female could ever enter and return from the underworld, a sexless being was created which carried to Ereshkigal an order for Ishtar's release. Fearful of the demand, Namtar sprinkled her with the waters of life and returned her garments at each of the seven gates. Her reappearance on Earth restored fertility, and life resumed its normal course ... READ MORE ...
