High Priestess of Ishtar

2008 – just graphite.

Once, in the pre-classic world, Ishtar was one of the many names the goddess of love was known by. Sometimes she was more the goddess of war and lustful sex than properly love. Her temples in southern Babylon (probably the better recognized is the Uruk one) were famous because they had female priestesses (of Ishtar) and male priests (of Anu or other god) that would give sexual services to the population. And sexual engagement with the gods was seen as devotion and worship.

I don’t know how the people that used their services or these priests were treated by the general population, but as a polytheistic nation, Babylonian citizens wouldn’t bother much with it like in today’s monotheists.