Warrior Goddesses of the Ancient Near East and Greece

Abstract

Throughout history, war has been a mostly male-dominated activity. Thus, in ancient polytheistic societies, it would make sense to have a male god of war. However, in many cases, we also find goddesses of war in these societies as well. Two warrior goddesses are closely examined in this paper: Inanna/Ishtar from Mesopotamia, and Athena from Greece. This paper goes into depth about their history, their character, and the mythology and literature surrounding them. We find some similarities and differences between these two goddesses