Image Details

Erich Lessing

Water of life. Ripples of water and a line of fish are incised on the gown of this life-size fertility goddess, often identified as Ishtar. In her hands, she bears a jar of living water. Now in the Aleppo Museum, the limestone statue once stood in the throne room of Zimri-Lim, an 18th-century B.C.E. king of Mari, Syria. By erecting the statue, the king hoped to ensure the presence of the goddess in his palace.