In this video [2:29] Met curator Sarah B. Graff on life force in Two Panels with striding lions from Babylon, c. 604-562 B.C.E.North of the Ishtar Gate the roadway was lined with glazed figures of striding lions. This relief of a lion, the animal associated with Ishtar, goddess of love and war, served to protect the street; its repeated design served as a guide for the ritual processions from the city to the temple.