s reason the sad fate encountered by these who were
victims of Ishtar's love:

Tammuz, the consort of thy youth (?),
Thou causest to weep every year.
The bright-colored _allallu_ bird thou didst love.
Thou didst crush him and break his pinions.
In the woods he stands and laments, "O my pinions!"
Thou didst love a lion of perfect strength,
Seven and seven times[897] thou didst bury him in the corners (?),
Thou didst love a horse superior in the fray,
With whip and spur[898] thou didst urge him on,
Thou didst force him on for seven double hours,[899]
Thou didst force him on when wearied and thirsty;
His mother Silili thou madest weep.

In this way Gilgamesh proceeds to upbraid the goddess, instancing, in
addition, her cruel treatment of a shepherd, and apparently also of a
giant, whom she changed to a dwarf. The allusions, while obscure, are
all of a mythological character. The weeping of Tammuz symbolizes the
decay of vegetation after the summer season. The misfortunes that
afflict the bird, lion, and horse similarly indicate the loss of beauty
and strength, which is the universal fate of those who once enjoyed
those attributes. Ishtar, as the great mother, produces life and
strength, but she is unable to make life and strength permanent. Popular
belief makes her responsible for decay and death, since life and
fertility appear to be in her hand. Gilgamesh, as a popular hero, is
brought into association by popular traditions with Ishtar, as he is
brought into relationships with Eabani and Ukhat. A factor in this
association was the necessity of accounting for Gilgamesh's death. As a
hero, the favorite of the gods and invincible in battle, he ought to
enjoy the privilege of the gods--immortality. The question had to be
answered how he came to forego this distinction. The insult he offers to
Ishtar is the answer to this question. Knowing that Ishtar, although the
giver of life, does not grant a continuance of it, he who is produced by
Aruru will have nothing to do with the great goddess. But his refusal
leads to a dire punishment, more disastrous even than the alliance with
Ishtar, which would have culminated in his being eventually shorn of his
strength.

Ishtar, determined that Gilgamesh should not escape her, flies in rage
to her father Anu, the god of heaven, and tells of the manner in which
she has been treated. Anu comforts her. Yielding to Ishtar's request he
creates a divine bull, known