The Goddess of War
One special function of the mother goddess was leadership in war. It was a custom among the Arabians until recent times that the warriors of a tribe were led in battle by a girl riding at their head with breast exposed, inspiring them in their attack to the display of irresistible courage; and if it was a common practice in prehistoric times, we may assume that this function of womanhood established the character of Istar as the goddess of war, later on differentiated as the Greek Pallas Athene and the Roman Bellona.
We may be sure that the character of Aphrodite as Venus Victrix is by no means a late Roman invention of the days of Cæsar but dates back to the most ancient days of Babylonian tradition. She was from the start of history the great Magna Mater, the All-Mother and Queen to whom the people appealed in all their needs, especially in war. In Greece she is frequently addressed as νικηφόρος, bringer of victory.
A penitential psalm on the destruction of the ancient city of Erech has been preserved in a fragment which in Theodore G. Pinches’s translation reads thus:13
“How long, my Lady, shall the strong enemy hold thy sanctuary?
There is want in Erech, thy principal city;
Blood is flowing like water in E-ulbar, the house of thine oracle;
He, the enemy, has kindled and poured out fire like hailstones on all thy lands.
My Lady, sorely am I fettered by misfortune;
My Lady, thou hast surrounded me, and brought me to grief.
The mighty enemy has smitten me down like a single reed.
Not wise myself, I cannot take counsel;14
I mourn day and night like the fields.
I, thy servant, pray to thee.”
As Venus Victrix, the warlike goddess akin to the Greek Pallas Athene, Istar, appears to Asurbanipal in a vision, recorded in a cuneiform inscription of the annals of this powerful Assyrian king, and refers to the invasion of Tiumman, King of Elam. The passage reads in H. Fox Talbot’s translation thus:15
“In the month Ab, the month of the heliacal rising of Sagittarius, in the festival of the great Queen [Istar] daughter of Bel, I [Asurbanipal, King of Assyria,] was staying at Arbela, the city most beloved by her, to be present at her high worship.
“There they brought me news of the invasion of the Elamite, who was coming against the will of the gods. Thus:
“‘Tiumman has said solemnly, and Istar has repeated to us the tenor of his words: thus: “I will not pour out another libation until I have gone and fought with him.”’
“Concerning this threat which Tiumman had spoken, I prayed to the great Istar. I approached to her presence, I bowed down at her feet, I besought her divinity to come and save me. Thus:
“‘O goddess of Arbela, I am Asurbanipal, King of Assyria, the creature of thy hands, [chosen by thee and] thy father [Asur] to restore the temples of Assyria, and to complete the holy cities of Akkad. I have gone to honor thee, and I have gone to worship thee. But he Tiumman, King of Elam, never worships the gods....
[Here some words are lost.]
“‘O thou Queen of queens, Goddess of war, Lady of battles, Queen of the gods, who in the presence of Asur thy father speakest always in my favor, causing the hearts of Asur and Marduk to love me.... Lo! now, Tiumman, King of Elam, who has sinned against Asur thy father, and has scorned the divinity of Marduk thy brother, while I Asurbanipal have been rejoicing their hearts. He has collected his soldiers, amassed his army, and has drawn his sword to invade Assyria. O thou archer of the gods, come like a [thunderstorm]... in the midst of the battle, destroy him, and crush him with a fiery bolt from heaven!’
“Istar heard my prayer. ‘Fear not!’ she replied, and caused my heart to rejoice. ‘According to thy prayer thine eyes shall see the judgment. For I will have mercy on thee!’
“In the night-time of that night in which I had prayed to her, a certain seer lay down and had a dream. In the midst of the night Istar appeared to him, and he related the vision to me, thus:
“‘Istar who dwells in Arbela, came unto me begirt right and left with flames, holding her bow in her hand, and riding in her open chariot as if going to the battle. And thou didst stand before her. She addressed thee as a mother would her child. She smiled upon thee, she Istar, the highest of the gods, and gave thee a command. Thus: “take [this bow],” she said, “go with it to battle! Wherever thy camp shall stand I will come.”
“‘Then thou didst say to her, thus: “O Queen of the goddesses, wherever thou goest let me go with thee!” Then she made answer to thee, thus: “I will protect thee! and I will march with thee at the time of the feast of Nebo. Meanwhile eat food, drink wine, make music, and glorify my divinity, until I shall come and this vision shall be fulfilled.”
“‘Thy heart’s desire shall be accomplished. Thy face shall not grow pale with fear: thy feet shall not be arrested: thou shalt not even scratch thy skin in the battle. In her benevolence she defends thee, and she is wroth with all thy foes. Before her a fire is blown fiercely, to destroy thy enemies.’”
Mr. Talbot makes the following editorial comment on the historical event connected with Asurbanipal’s narrative:
“The promises which the goddess Istar made to the king in this vision of the month Ab were fulfilled. In the following month (Elul) Asurbanipal took the field against Tiumman, and his army speedily achieved a brilliant victory. Tiumman was slain, and his head was sent to Nineveh. There is a bas-relief in the British Museum representing a man driving a rapid car, and holding in his hand the head of a warrior, with this inscription, Kakkadu Tiumman, ‘The head of Tiumman.’”