Ninazu. An association between Ishara and mythical reptiles is also known from Ugarit, where a single text refers to "Ushara-Hulmizzu." Hulmizzu is agreed to be a cognate of Akkadian hulmittu, as well as a Hebrew term referring to a type of reptile in Leviticus 11:30 and the Syriac word hulmoto, "chameleon." While it has been translated simply as "the snake" or "the lizard," Aisha Rahmouni proposes that it designates not a real animal, but a mythical creature analogous to bashmu. She relies on descriptions of the appearance of the Akkadian hulmittu in lexical texts, which clarify that the term designates a mythical snake with legs. In later periods, for example on boundary stones (kudurru) Ishara was instead symbolically represented by the scorpion. Neither the reason behind attribution of either symbol to her nor why the change from bashmu to scorpion occurred are known. Like her, scorpions were associated with marriage in Mesopotamian culture. In Babylonian astronomy, she was associated with the "scorpion star" (mulgir-tab). As a love goddess, Ishara could also be associated with cannabis. Worship Alfonso Archi describes the worship of Ishara as deeply rooted in the traditions of the kingdom of Ebla from the third millennium BCE. "Ishara of the king," a hypostasis meant to serve as a protector of the reigning Eblaite monarch, was worshiped in the temple of the city god Kura. The association between Ishara and Eblaite kingship persisted at least until the seventeenth century BCE. Later sources, including a Hurrian myth and an oracle text from Emar, still recognize her as the goddess of Ebla. Administrative texts indicate that multiple members of the Eblaite royal family and court were devotees of Ishara. As an extension of this role, she was worshiped during rituals connected to the royal wedding. During preparations for it, the future Eblaite queen was expected to make offerings to Ishara and Kura. The king instead made offerings to her after the return from the ceremony, which took place outside the city. Another Eblaite document attests that Ishara was asked to purify the royal garden, though this location was more commonly associated with the god Ea. No theophoric names invoking Ishara are known from Ebla, which according to Alfonso Archi is not uncommon for the deities presumed to belong to the religious substrate present in the documents from the same city, with Kura being an exception. He proposes that this situation indicates