Astarte, goddess of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. Cult of Astarte

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Astarte is a goddess about whom a lot can be said. The Romans and Greeks identified her with Aphrodite. The Phoenicians worshiped her as the main deity. The Egyptians and Canaanites, representatives of the Semitic tribes, cultivated her image. And in the ancient world, Astarte was the subject of the greatest worship. All this is incredibly interesting, so now it’s worth going back in the footsteps of history, right up to the advent of our era, in order to properly immerse yourself in this topic and learn a little more about such a great goddess.

Appearance and Origins

The first mention of Astarte dates back to the third millennium BC. According to historical data, she was the central figure of the Akkadian pantheon. You can identify her with the Sumerian goddess of fertility and love, who was Inanna, the mother of heaven.

Interestingly, for the Western Semites, Astarte was just a goddess - a certain, specific figure. But for the southern - a synonym for deity. Over time, this word became a household word, as a result of which the very image of Astarte absorbed many Hurrian and Sumerian goddesses. And already by 2000 BC. e. her first cult arose.

It is worth noting that in the image of the goddess Astartecontained three major titles. These are the Queen, the Virgin and the Mother. Perhaps that is why she was nicknamed "the oldest of heaven and earth."

In Phoenician culture

Inhabitants of the ancient state, located in the east of the Mediterranean Sea, considered the goddess Astarte to be the one who gives life. They called her Mother Nature with ten thousand names and associated her with Venus and the Moon.

The Phoenicians represented her as a woman with horns. This image symbolized the crescent moon at the time of the autumnal equinox. They also imagined that she was holding an ordinary cross in one hand and a cruciform staff in the other.

The goddess Astarte was always seen crying. Because she lost her son Tammuz, the god of fertility. If you believe the myths, then Astarte descended to earth in the form of a flaming star, falling into Lake Alfaka, where he died.

As already mentioned, the goddess was associated with Venus - the "Morning Star". She was considered as an evening and morning guide, especially helping seafarers. Therefore, a statue in the form of Astarte was always fixed on the bow of each ship, so that it would accompany them and bring good luck.

Turning to Mythology: The Middle East and Egypt

The history of the emergence of the goddess Astarte in the culture of the inhabitants of these states is very long and complex, as it covers millennia, several language groups, as well as a lot of geographical regions.

One of its most ancient incarnations, for example, is the Sumerian Inanna, a many-sided deity. However, she still had the main "role". Inanna was a goddessfertility of date palms, livestock and cereals. And also the patroness of rain, storms and thunderstorms. This is connected both with the hypostasis of the goddess of fertility, and with her warlike, even courageous character. These "roles", like many others, are also inherent in the goddess Ishtar. Whose name is synonymous with Astarte.

In general, it would not be superfluous to refer to Plutarch's treatise "On Isis and Osiris". There are several interesting points in the main myth. In particular, the one when Set locked Osiris in a chest and lowered him into the waters of the Nile. He was carried away by the currents of the river into the sea, as a result of which he ended up on the shore of the city, which was the center of the cult of Tammuz, the husband of Astarte.

A giant tamarind tree grew around this chest, according to myth. It turned out to be noticed by the inhabitants, and they cut it down to make a pillar out of it for the palace of the goddess Astarte and her husband Melqart, the patron god of navigation.

Cult in Egypt

According to historical data, it was formed in the period from 1567 to 1320. BC e. According to the Aramaic texts from Upper Egypt, the goddess Astarte was considered the wife of Yahweh before the so-called monotheistic reform. And Yahweh is one of the many names of God himself.

When the period of Hellenism began (which lasted from 336 to 30 BC), the image of Astarte completely merges with the figure of Anat, who in West Semitic mythology was the goddess of war and hunting.

Why did they "unite"? Because Anat, Astarte, and also Kadesh were the three goddesses who bore the honorary Egyptian title of the Heavenly Queen. Moreover, they were the onlytraditionally male crown. In all other respects, the goddesses also had a lot of similarities. So it's no wonder why their looks came together.

So, as a result, the goddess Astarte in Ancient Egypt began to be represented as a naked woman with a snake, which symbolized fertility. Or with a lily. Less often - sitting on horseback, holding a sword in her hand.

The center of the cult, of course, was Memphis. There, Astarte was revered as the daughter of the god Ra - the Creator himself. They personified her with a warrior, considered the patroness of the pharaohs.

But in myths, by the way, she is mentioned very rarely. When the formation of the Assyro-Babylonian Empire and the formation of written culture took place, all material monuments dedicated to the goddess Astarte were destroyed. This is a global consequence of numerous military campaigns. Even libraries were destroyed (or confiscated).

Why goddess of love?

Based on the above, one could already conclude that Astarte is, in simple terms, a kind of sublime, cultivated and generalized image of a polynomial deity, who is the patron of many spheres. But something needs to be clarified. Astarte is the goddess of fertility and love.

Everything is more interesting here. Astarte is the astral personification of Venus. Which was originally so named after the Roman goddess of beauty, desire, carnal love and prosperity. Veneris, by the way, is translated from Latin as “carnal love.”

Venus, like Astarte, was identified with Aphrodite. whose son was Aeneas, who escaped from the besiegedTroy, and fled to Italy. They say that it was his descendants who founded Rome. Therefore, Venus was also considered the foremother of the Roman people. Astarte, the goddess of Egypt, also had a similar " title", as mentioned earlier.

In ancient Greek antiquity, by the way, Venus was perceived either as a luminary, a material object of nature, or as a personality of a deity.

And, of course, it is impossible not to turn again to the Phoenician culture. In those distant times, there were cities such as Beirut and Sidon. It was they who were the centers of worship of the goddess of love - Astarte. There she was considered the main, paramount female deity.

Its high priests were the kings of Sidon, and their priestesses were their wives. She was treated with respect, as to the mistress of kings, to the mistress. They respected her strength. What was love in ancient times? You can find the answer to this question by delving into the study of history and texts, the authors of which were such great thinkers as Parmenides, Hesiod, Empedocles, Plato. Love is power. The first to appear in this world. It is under her influence that many events take place, and the chain of generations continues.

Turning to the Bible

Since the topic is related to religion, one cannot but turn to the Holy Book when talking about the goddess Astarte. What you can not think is that she was mentioned in it. Indeed, even in myths it is difficult to find lines dedicated to her, not to mention the Bible. But there are references. And here are two significant references:

• City of the Levites Ashtartu, the capital of Og. His completeThe name is Ashterot-Karnaim. This is translated as "Two-horned Astarte." The source of the name is Palestinian archaeological finds depicting a goddess with two horns.
• Line: "They left the Lord and began to serve Baal and the Astartes." These words are epithets referring to deities. "Baal" is, by the way, the personification of motivation and male fertility.

According to calculations, the name of Astarte as a goddess occurs nine times in the Bible. And Ashera (foremother and mistress of the gods), for comparison - forty. This suggests that the worship of Astarte did not prevail among the Jews.

But all the same excavations tell a lot. By 1940, about three hundred terracotta-colored figurines and tablets depicting a naked woman in various images were found in the vastness of Palestine. The examination showed that they were made in the period from 2000 to BC e. and up to 600 years. BC e.! Scientists have confirmed that a large part of these products depicts Astarte and Anat (which, as mentioned above, were combined into a single image).

Later years and bigotry

The cult of Astarte, the goddess of spring, fertility and love, quickly spread. From Phoenicia to Ancient Greece, then to Rome, and then to the British Isles. And over the years, he acquired a somewhat fanatical character. The worship of this goddess was manifested in orgies, which, as you know, were condemned by the prophets of the Old Testament. She was also sacrificed to barely born babies and cubs of animals. Perhaps that is why the Christians called her not a goddess,but a female demon named Astaroth.

But there was also a female image. Astarte was also called the demoness of pleasure, pleasure and lust, the queen of the spirits of the dead. She was worshiped like an astral deity. The cult, formed in honor of the goddess, contributed to the emergence of "sacred" prostitution. Because of all these events, King Solomon was overcome by darkness, and he went to Jerusalem itself in order to erect a temple (pagan temple) to the demon goddess.

For a long time, the Old Testament prophets tried to fight her cult and did it very fiercely. Even in Scripture, the goddess was called "the abomination of Sidon." And in later Kabbalah, she was portrayed as the demon of Friday - a woman whose legs end in snake tails.

Interesting nuances

Ashera is the symbol of Astarte. Yes, there is such an opinion. Moreover, researchers believe that it is confirmed by a Phoenician inscription dated 221 BC - Ma-Suba.

So, on the cuneiform Assyrian tablet, created back in the 15th century BC. e., there is the name of the prince of Phoenician-Canaanite origin - Abad-Asratum, servant of Ashera.

It is also interesting that the Holy Scripture does not indicate any information about the image of the goddess in human form. Her sensual beginning was manifested in nudity. Often, “bare” figurines were found during excavations in Cyprus, and they were mistaken for Aphrodite.

It should be noted that within the framework of the cult of Astarte, the goddess of the hearth, the ritual of the "Holy Marriage" continued to exist. But only until the beginning-middlesecond millennium BC Then the cult acquired a shade of fanaticism - in honor of the goddess, festivities began to be held with self-torture, self-castration, manifestation of emancipation, sacrifice of virginity, etc. By the way, Ishtar, with whom Astarte is identified, was the patroness of homosexuals, heterosexuals and prostitutes. She herself was called "the courtesan of the gods."

Freya, Anna and Lada

These are the names of goddesses, also identified with Astarte, as previously mentioned. They are worth mentioning at least briefly.

Freya is a goddess from Norse mythology. They say she had no equal in beauty. She was the patroness of fertility, love, war, harvest, harvest, and the leader of the Valkyries. Depicted on a chariot drawn by two cats.

Anna is a goddess worshiped by the inhabitants of Babylon. The patroness of family life, justice, harvest, victory … her cult was supplanted by the worship of the god Anu. And under unknown circumstances.

Lada is the Slavic goddess of love and beauty, prosperity, family relationships, blossoming nature and fertility. She was called "Mother of all 12 months". All the Slavs worshiped her, they constantly came with requests and prayers. There were also victims - white roosters, beautiful flowers, sweet honey, and juicy berries. Everything that was the personification of fertility, in other words.

Iconography

Now it's time to return to the initial topic, and complete it with a mention of symbolism. The goddess Astarte has always been portrayed in different ways. Iconographic specificity in this casedepended on which particular aspect was depicted in a particular case. After all, Astarte is a very complex figure in Sumero-Akkadian mythology. She is contradictory. On the one hand, the goddess was the patroness of love and fertility, but on the other, strife and war.

In the latter case, for example, she was depicted in human form, sitting on a chariot with a thunderous arrow in her hands. Or on a lion. She may have had arrows on her back. Also a frequent "attribute" was an eight-pointed star, displaying the astral aspect. There could even be a pentagram and a security-military sign. But one of the most interesting versions is the one where Astarte, the goddess of the hearth, fertility and much more, is engulfed in flames. Fire, by the way, was also a frequent attribute of her. Like arrows, bow and quiver.

By the way! All of these attributes later become symbols of love in the Hellenistic, late antique version of Astarte, as well as Aphrodite and Venus identified with her. Then came Cupid. It was associated with the function of fertility, because it was perceived as a symbol of love. Still, Cupid was armed with arrows and a bow, as he was "the child of the goddess of war."

In early and later images, by the way, when there was a "narrow" cult that sang of her as the goddess of love, she was depicted as a woman with four breasts. However, in the above photos, the goddess Astarte is presented in all the most popular images. Although they are different, it is hard to deny that they all have something in common.