Inana / Ištar, Goddess of Love & War
Goddess of love and of war in one body — she crosses every line the other gods respect.
Also: Inana · Inanna · Ishtar · Ištar · Venus · queen of heaven · goddess of love and war
Inana, called Ishtar in Akkadian, is the most vivid figure of the pantheon: goddess at once of erotic love and of battle, of the morning and evening star (Venus), and of a restless ambition that drives many of the great myths. She courts and destroys, ascends and descends, gathers the divine offices (the me) to herself, and crosses every boundary — between man and woman, life and death, order and chaos. Hymns praise her as the most powerful of deities; her cult was among the most widespread and enduring in the ancient Near East.
In short
Inana (Sumerian) / Ištar (Akkadian), the great goddess of sexual love, war, and sovereignty, associated with the planet Venus and famed for her boundary-crossing, paradoxical nature.
Where it’s found
'Inana and Enki' (ETCSL 1.3.1); 'The exaltation of Inana' (Inana B, ETCSL 4.07.2); 'Inana's descent to the nether world' (ETCSL 1.4.1), all in corpus
How the idea developed across Sumer, Babylon & Assyria
Sumerian Inana and Akkadian Ištar are syncretized over time but are distinct names on distinct strata; her character also absorbs local goddesses (Nanaya, Annunītum). Her warlike, sovereign aspect grows especially prominent in Akkadian and Assyrian royal religion (Ištar of Nineveh, Ištar of Arbela).