.. copy-and-pasted from.. The Huffington Post.. an article written by.. I think by.. Austen Peterson.. .. .. .. copy-and-pasted from the URL: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ishtar-and-tammuz_b_8633332

THE BLOG UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST WILLIAMSBURG EZEKIEL Ishtar and Tammuz Ishtar and Tammuz By Austen Petersen, Contributor Director of Religious Education at Williamsburg Unitarian Universalists in Williamsburg, Virginia Nov 24, 2015, 02:49 PM EST |Updated Dec 6, 2017 This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email. Yesterday, I told the story of Ishtar and Tammuz as our Wisdom Story. You've probably heard of the Ishtar Gate, currently in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, Germany, part of which is pictured below. Lions represent Ishtar in this depiction. For Unitarian Universalists, the Wisdom Story can be an integral part of the worship service on Sundays. The Wisdom Story is often told by the Director of Religious Education with an eye toward educating, reminding, and engaging the whole crowd, regardless of age. Our service this past Sunday focused on St. Cecilia's day - a day to remember and celebrate music. As part of my Wisdom Story, I wanted to remember and celebrate Tammuz, the Babylonian god who represented fertility and played a magical flute. Tammuz's story echoes the myth of Demeter raging down to Hades to rescue her daughter Persephone. In this story, Tammuz is killed by his mother, Ishtar (known even earlier in Ancient Sumer as Inanna), who later regrets her decision and storms down to the underworld to rescue and revive Tammuz so that there can be celebration, food, and music once again. In the end, she is only allowed to enter the underworld having given up all her divine finery wearing a plain robe, and it is her earnest regret and love for Tammuz that revives him. As she weeps, her tears save Tammuz by bringing him back to life, and Ishtar is reunited with her son for six months of each year when he can bring life and celebration to the earth. The other six months of each year he remains in the underworld, although the purpose of that isn't entirely clear. Tammuz shows up in the Bible, too. Ezekiel 8:14-15 King James Version