Ishtar and Tammuz

Mythological Musings

This audio recording is from a chapter approximately half way through Knomo Choicius. Susan and her two history prof colleagues are going for a drink and shooting the breeze. Why are there so many different meanings of the word Glaucus? Listen to find out! And also, hear Susan’s theory of the origin of the myth of the ancient goddess of love, Ishtar, taking her son as her consort.

Also, see the   “Comparisons with other deities” section of the Wikipedia article on Ishtar.

I don’t claim to be the first one to have seen the possibility of the origin of this myth in the domestication of goats and sheep, but I have not found any references to it elsewhere. If anyone does find such a reference, please let me know.  My insight came from a sketch of a cave art drawing of goat ancestor in a book that I can’t seem to locate on my shelves at the moment. I can’t believe I would have given it away, so I’ll update this page when I find it.

Title of the Chapter:

The Origin of the Myth of the Son of the Goddess as Her Consort

 

Thanks to Patrick Doyle of Edwardsburg, MI, for recording and mastering all of the audio files on this web-site. And thanks also to Patrick for providing this link… which addresses many of the themes in this story, and in The Convolution of Knomo Choicius in general.