Ishtar

Ishtar (イシュタル, Ishutaru) is a recurring demon in the series, based on Babylonian lore.

History
Ishtar is the Babylonian goddess of love and fertility, the Babylonian equivalent of the Sumerian goddess Inana. She is the personification of the planet Venus. Her father is uncertain, sometimes claimed to be the daughter of Sin, the moon god, or Anu, the sky god. She is also known as the "Lady of Battles" because she is known as a very violent deity. She is the creator of life and the guardian of life. Her symbol is the eight-pointed star, and her holy city is Uruk (or Erech). Uruk is a town of sacred courtesans - part of her cult was devoted to prostitution.

Ishtar's sister is Ereshkigal, the goddess of the realm of the underworld. Ereshkihgal cursed her sister, and Ishtar died. With Ishtar dead, the earth withered and would not produce, and neither animals nor human beings would bear young. With great effort, the water god Ea used magic to revive Ishtar, and Ereshkigal was not pleased. She demanded to trade her sister for someone else, finally deciding that her husband Tammuz would replace Ishtar for six months out of the year.

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei: if...: Jiboshin Clan; Reiko's ultimate guardian.
 * Shin Megami Tensei II: Jiboshin Clan
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Jiboshin Clan (Possible avatar of Rei Reiho)
 * Majin Tensei II: Megami Race
 * Megami Ibunroku Persona: Empress Arcana
 * Persona 4: Lovers Arcana
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Megami Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked: Megami
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children White Book
 * Shin Megami Tensei: DemiKids: Dark Version
 * Shin Megami Tensei: DemiKids: Light Version
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Fire Book
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Ice Book

Shin Megami Tensei II
Ishtar is the ruler of Binah. By bringing Astaroth to throne room in Binah, the player may seperate him into Ishtar and Majin Astarte. Ishtar explains that YHVH forced her to fuse with Astarte and become Astaroth long ago. This allows the player to create Ishtar with fusion afterwards.

Persona 4
Ishtar is the ultimate persona of the Lovers Arcana. This means that players must fully level up the Lovers Social Link (Rise Kujikawa's) and reach Level 71.

Catherine
Ishtar takes the form of Midnight Venus (ミッドナイトヴィーナス, Middonaito Vīnasu), or Trisha in the North American version which is an anagram. She is an attractive woman with a red afro who is the hostess of the various modes, including the Golden Theater (Golden Playhouse in North America), the game's primary story mode. She provides an introduction to the game's modes and will text Vincent concerning his achievements in the Nightmare stages and provide him with hints. Players can make her reveal her identity and her role in the story if they do well enough, and completing the game's toughest challenge, the Axis Mundi of Babel, produces a cutscene where she breaks the fourth wall.

It is interesting to note that when Trisha lets her hair down, she looks facially similar to Nemissa, another character that Soejima designed.