Opposed to the goddess of fertility, procreation, and birth, stood Istar, the goddess of war, of ruin, and destruction. She is often mentioned in inscriptions as "the Queen of Babylon;" according to Assyrian inscriptions she carries a bow, and western writers tell us of the worship of Artemis by the Babylonians. That this goddess united with Bilit, and sent alternately blessing and fruit, death and ruin, is placed beyond doubt, by the analogous worship of Baltis, Ashera, and Astarte by the Syrians, and more especially by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Moreover the planet Venus belonged to this goddess in both her forms. In the tablets of the flood, Istar boasts that men owed their existence to her (p. 243), and an Assyrian syllabarium tells us that "the star of Venus (Dilbat, the Delephat of the Greeks), at sunrise, is Istar among the gods; the same star at sunset is Bilit among the gods."[373] On Assyrian tablets is found a narrative of the journey of Istar to the under-world. She determines to go down to the house of the departed, to the abode of the god Irkalla, to the house which has no exit, to the road which leads not back, to the place where the entrance is without light, where dust is their nourishment and mould their food, where light is not seen, where they dwell in darkness, where the arches are filled with spirits like birds; over the gate and the panels dust is strewed. "Watchman of the waters," said Istar, "open thy gate, that I may enter. If thou openest not, I will break thy gate, and burst asunder the bars; I will shatter the threshold and destroy the doors." The watchman opened the gate, and as she passed through he took the great crown from her head; and when she passed through the second gate he took the rings from her ears; and when she passed through the third gate he took the necklace from her neck; and when she passed through the fourth gate he took the ornaments from her breast; and when she passed through the fifth gate he took the girdle of her robe; and when she passed through the sixth gate he took the rings from her arms and legs; and when she passed through the seventh gate he took the mantle from her neck and said, "Thus does Ninkigal to those who come to her." Arrived in the under-world, Istar was grievously afflicted in the eyes, on the hips, feet, heart, head, and whole body. But the world above could not bear the loss of Istar, "the bull sought not the cow, nor the male ass the female," and the god Hea sent a message to Ninkigal, the Lady of the under-world, to set her free. Ninkigal caused the water of life to pour out over Istar. Then the seven doors of the under-world were again opened for her, and before each she received back what had been taken from her at her entrance.[374]