About Us
The Ishtar Gate is dedicated to the religious practices of ancient Mesopotamia, in the Sumerian Reconstructionist tradition.
"Sumerian" here means that the primary sources of understanding for the information on this site are the documents and practices of the Sumerian people. The Ishtar Gate makes use of the material of later cultures (Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians) primarily to bridge gaps and augment our understanding of the original Sumerian material.
"Reconstructionist" means that we attempt to reconstruct the practices and faith of the Sumerians, as opposed to placing elements from their beliefs in a modern neo-Pagan or dianic context. Of course, we don't have anything but a fraction of the knowledge of the actual practices of the Sumerians; part of reconstructionism is building on what we do have, and practicing our faith in a way that is appropriate for the modern world.
The name Mesopotamia is Greek for "between the rivers", referring to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where civilisation first arose some 6000 years ago.
This land was inhabited originally by the Sumerians, an ancient people who spoke a language with no known relatives. In time, they gave way to the Akkadians, Semitic speakers related to modern-day Hebrews and Arabs. The most famous Akkadian city was Babylon, known as one of the grandest, most powerful cities in the ancient world.
The peoples of Mesopotamia gave us civilisation, writing, the world's first code of law, and a faith whose elements can be found in the major Abrahamic religions of the world today.
The aims of the Ishtar Gate are as follows:
𒆬 𒀭𒈹 𒊩𒌆𒈬
𒂍𒀀𒉌 𒈬𒈾𒆕
𒂍𒆍𒀭𒈹𒅗 𒈬𒈾𒆕
𒌓𒌋𒐈𒄰 𒌗𒃶𒃶𒈾
𒈬𒄭𒐞𒐕𒐐𒐈𒄰 𒈗𒍠𒄄𒋛
𒀭𒉀𒍠𒊩
"Sumerian" here means that the primary sources of understanding for the information on this site are the documents and practices of the Sumerian people. The Ishtar Gate makes use of the material of later cultures (Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians) primarily to bridge gaps and augment our understanding of the original Sumerian material.
"Reconstructionist" means that we attempt to reconstruct the practices and faith of the Sumerians, as opposed to placing elements from their beliefs in a modern neo-Pagan or dianic context. Of course, we don't have anything but a fraction of the knowledge of the actual practices of the Sumerians; part of reconstructionism is building on what we do have, and practicing our faith in a way that is appropriate for the modern world.
The name Mesopotamia is Greek for "between the rivers", referring to the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where civilisation first arose some 6000 years ago.
This land was inhabited originally by the Sumerians, an ancient people who spoke a language with no known relatives. In time, they gave way to the Akkadians, Semitic speakers related to modern-day Hebrews and Arabs. The most famous Akkadian city was Babylon, known as one of the grandest, most powerful cities in the ancient world.
The peoples of Mesopotamia gave us civilisation, writing, the world's first code of law, and a faith whose elements can be found in the major Abrahamic religions of the world today.
The aims of the Ishtar Gate are as follows:
- To provide resources about ancient Mesopotamian culture, society, language, and religious practice, and to make such information available as freely as possible
- To promote visibility of Mesopotamian religion and belief systems
- To build contacts with other Mesopotamian, Ancient Near East (ANE) and wider Pagan and interfaith groups
- To respond to falsehoods and negative depictions about the peoples, religion, and customs of ancient Mesopotamia
𒆬 𒀭𒈹 𒊩𒌆𒈬
𒂍𒀀𒉌 𒈬𒈾𒆕
𒂍𒆍𒀭𒈹𒅗 𒈬𒈾𒆕
𒌓𒌋𒐈𒄰 𒌗𒃶𒃶𒈾
𒈬𒄭𒐞𒐕𒐐𒐈𒄰 𒈗𒍠𒄄𒋛
𒀭𒉀𒍠𒊩