Listen: a sexy hymn to Ishtar, in the original Babylonian

Doris Prechel reads Ammi-ditāna's incredibly hot hymn to Ištar in Babylonian (MP3) as transcribed by D. O. Edzard.

Be sure to read Martin Worthington's translation, which conveys a lot of the steamy, sexy stuff they used to say about Ishtar

Sing ye of the goddess, the most fearsome of the gods,
Praise be upon the lady ruler of men, the greatest of the Igigi!
Sing ye of Ishtar, the most fearsome of the gods,
Praise be upon the lady ruler of women, the greatest of the Igigi!

She who gets excited, clothed in sex appeal,
adorned with fruits, charm and allure.
Ishtar, who gets excited, clothed in sex appeal,
adorned with fruits, charm and allure.

She is sweet at the lips, her mouth is life,
Delights are lush on her cheeks,
She is lovely, beads are strewn on her head,
Her cheeks are comely, her eyes twinkle and sparkle.

Ammi-ditāna's hymn to Ištar read by Doris Prechel
[Martin Worthington/SOAS]


(via Bruce Sterling)