Ashtoreth (Hastings' Dictionary)

The i)rincipal goddess of the ^idonians (1 K U"-", 2 K 23'*), and a prominent goddess among the Phienicians generally, in whose honour Solomon built a high-place on the hills opposite the temple {ll.cc), who IS stated (by different Dent, writers) to have been worshipped previously by the un- spiritual Israelites, Jg 2" 10', 1 S 7'-^ 12'^— all plur., 'Ba'al (or the Ba'als) and the 'Ashtoreths,' I.e.

'Ashtoreths distinguished by the places at which they were worsliipped, or by special attri- butes,— and in whose temple at Ashfjelon (1 S 31'°)! the Philistines deposited the armour of Saul. The true pronunciation of the word was probably 'Ashtart (cf. LXX and other Or. writers, Aardfrrri) : 'Ashtoreth (cf. Molech for Milk) perhaps arose by malicious substitution of the vowels of • Aa pointed hj the Muaorrt«8, AshtCrotk la tlw oonatraol aUto of AflhtAroth, the jihirol of AshtV\reIh.

t So PeUnnann's MS A : PcU^niuimi'i text, however, ba a'rip nnrrv ; and Walton'a Polyitlott rfa<l8 n'Jip n'l'BV. t Reiul_ 'houa (<.«. temple) ol 'A$lu<lretJk' : at. LXJl ib W 168 ASHTORETH ASHTORKTH bfisheth, 'shame.' 'Ashtart is frequently mentioned in Pluen. inscriptions, and is an element in numer- ous Phccn. proper names. Tabnith, king of Sidon, styles both himself and his father Eshmun'azar I.

, priest of 'Ashtart ; and in his sepulchral inscription places his tomb under her protection, declaring that its violation would be an 'abomination to 'Ashtart ' (see the Inscr. in full in Driver, Notes on Samuel, p. xxvi). Eshmun'azar, son of the Tabnith just mentioned, and his mother Am'ashtart, ' priestess of 'Ashtart, our lady ([n^n),' state that they have built a house (temple) for 'Ashtart in §idon {CIS I. i. S"-'").

This was probably the great temple of 'Affrdpnj in Sidon, which Lucian Wsited (de Dea Syria, % 4). Besides, however, this temple which was dedicated to 'Ashtart, as jiatron-goddess of Sidon, Eshmun'azar and his mother built another in honour of a second Ashtart, bearing the title of Sjia op ' name of Ba'al ' (ib. 1. '). So again Bod'ashtart, another king of Sidon, builds a temple mmry'? '^«h ' to his god 'Ashtart' (ib. 4').

It is in accordance with the leading position thus accorded to 'Ashtart at Sidon that on Sidonian coins the goddess is often figured standing on the prow of a galley, with her right hand, holding a erown, stretched forward, as though pointing the vessel on its way.f According to Menander, as reported by Jos. (Ant. VIII. V. 3 ; c. Ap. i.

18), ^liram built in Tyre a temple to Herakles (Melkart), and afterwards one to 'Ashtart, whose priest was Ithobal, Jezebel's father : in Tyre, however, Melkart was the principal god, and 'Ashtart took the second place. 'The worship of 'Ashtart is also widely attested in the Phcen. colonies on the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, esp. in Cyprus, Sicily, and Car- thage. At Kiti (Kition) in Cyprus we read of an image erected by a worshipper mniryV 'nmS ' to his lady, to 'Ashtart' (CIS ib.

11'); from the same locality we have an Inscription (ib. 86) giving par- tic liars of the provision made for the service of her temple, including builders, door-keepers, barbers, scribes, and other attendants. In Gul (Gaulus, near Malta) we hear of a mrpy nz enpa, or ' sanctu- ary of the temple of 'Ashtart' (CIS ib.

132) ; and her worship at Eryx, in Sicily, is attested by two Inscriptions, one found in Eryx itself, the other from Sardinia, beginning with the words, ' To the lady, to 'Ashtart,' J and 'To 'Ashtart of Erekh,' respectively. At Carthage, one 'Abdmelkart styles himself (ib. 255) ' servant of 'Ashtart, the glorious (miK.n)'; and we read {ib. 263) of Am'ashtart pk mnry rK noya ' who is of the people of the men of 'Ashtart,' i.e. who belonged to the people attached to her temple.

Of names compounded with 'Ashtart we find Am'ashtart (ib. 3" al. ), and Ammath'ashtart (46' at.), 'handmaid of 'A.'; Ger'aslitart, 'client [Cheyne on Ps 15'] of 'A.' (138^ and often); 'Abd ashtart, 'servant of 'A.' (115'), § usually con- tracted to Bod'ashtart (4'-' 35' and very often); 'Ashtartyathan, ''A. has given ' (72'''); see further references in Bloch, Phan. Glossar (1891).|| ' lfame = manifettation (cf. Ex 231, Dt 12, etc). Othen, however (m Ilalijvy, E. Meyer, Dillm., Nowack, Ileb.

Arch. il. 307), render ' Ba'al'a Celestial 'Ashtart (cf. below), pronouncinp C^ ; and in 1.1« grroup the letters into DllN DDB nvlPV ' ' Aahtart of the glorious heavens. t Ct. B. V. Head, IIM. Numorum, p. 673 ; Babelon, La Itoit de Syrie, p. culiii, 152, 162, witli the two spirited representa- tions, Plate xxii. 6 and 22. The goddess is also represented on the coins of other Phien. cities, as Aradus, Bervtus, Botrys, Byblus, Tyre, etc. (Head, I.e. pp. 668, 669, 674, 676).

) Followed by the words c"n tin, i.e. (probably) 'of lon(t life,* an epithet of the goddess, whence it has In-en plausibly conjectured that the city Kryx — on inscriptions and coins (CIS L i. p. 173») "IK — received its name. I The name also of Hiram's grandson (Jos. o. Ap. L 18,— II With the preceding paragraph cf. Batbgen, Sem. Rel.-Offch. ;888, pp. 31-37. Although, however, 'Ashtart was thus a dis- tinctively Phoen.

goddess, Phoinicia was not hei original home, 'fhe prototype of 'Ashtart waa Ishtar, a deity who had for long held a conspicuous place in the Pantheon of Assyria, and who was localised, with special attributes, in many different cities of Assyria and Babylonia.* In a prayer of Asshuma?irpal, purporting to date c. 1800 B.C., Ishtar of Nineveh is addressed by him as ' queen of the gods, into whose hands are delivered tne com- mands of the great gods, lady (6i/ii)of Nineveh . .

daughter of Sin (the moon-god), sister of Shamash (the sun-god), who rules all kingdoms, who de- termines decrees, the goddess of the universe, lady of heaven and earth, who hears petitions, heeds sighs, the merciful goddess who loves justice ' ; he, her ' priest-king,' protests that she had called him to his throne, he liad restored and beautified her temple ; and he calls upon her now to hear his cry, and to heal him in his sickness. Other monarcna (Shalmane^er II., Sennacherib, etc.)

place Ishtar next to Asshur, and speak of both together as marching at their side, directing them in their wars, and giving; them victory over their foes. Esarhaddon, for instance, says.t ' Ishtar, the lady of onslaught and battle, who loves my priest- hood, stood at my side and brake their bows.' Shalmaneser 11. also styles her ' princess (rishti) of heaven and earth ' ;* and Esaruaddon calls her 'queen {sharrat) of all.'

§ Another aspect of Ishtar's character is brought before us in the curious mythological poem, which recounts her descent into the Underworld in search of the heal- ing waters which should restore to life her bride- groom Tammuz, the young and beautiful Sun-god, slain by the cruel hand of wintor.

Here it is related how, as she journeys towards the realm of Allat, queen of the dead, ' the land without return, the house of darkness,' she is stripped in succession, as she passes its seven gates, of aU her attire, hei crown, her earrings, her necklace, her mantle, her ^rdle, her bracelets, and her tunic : while she IS there all intercourse between male and female ceases in the animal creation ; at last, at Ea's command, she is released, her adorn- ments are restored to her, and she returns to earth.

Here Ishtar, who is evidently conceived as the goddess of fertility and productiveness, symbolises, it seems, the lifegiving earth, which loses, one by one, its adornments as it passes into the darlc prison-house of winter, to have them restored to it at springtime, as nature awakens with the returning love of the youthful sun-god.

II Another Ishtar is Ishtar of Arbela, daughter of Asshur, and sister of Marduk, styled by Esar- haddon ' lady of ladies, terrible in onslaught, lady of battle, queen of the gods,' a martial goddess, who appears to Asshurbanipal in a vision, armed with quivers and a bow, and brandishing a sword, and promises him victory against his foes.

Ishtar of Uruk (Erekh) plays an important part in the legend of Izdubar (Gileamish) : when the hero has delivered Uruk from the Elamites, who have been besieging it, and won for himself the crown, Ishtar offers him her hand ; he refuses it, reproaching her with the levity with which she had chosen and • The following quotations from Assyr. sources are taken from O. A. Barton's study, *The Semitic Ishtar Cult,' in Ilrbraua, April-July, ISOS.and Oct. IWU-Jan.

lSi)4, where the Iiiscriptioni in which they occur are translated at length. Cf. also Tiele, Bab.-Agi. Gfgch. 626-623. Nani is also identified with Ishtar ; but it has not seemed necessary, for the purpOM of the preteoi article, to pursue this subject. t III. p. 139. I Srhrnder, KA Tt p. 117 (on Jg 2>«). ; KA ri 33317. II The poem may he read also in Savc«*s Hibhert Leetura, p. 221 ff. ; or in a'. Jeremias, DU Bab.-Au. FonttUungen vom Lehtn nach dem Todt ()887), p. 10 ff.

ASHTORETH ASHTOKETH 169 diBcardeJ her foniier husbands.* Here Ishtar is not only lavish with her luve, but appears almost as a polyandrous godiless.t In other resnects the 'lady of Uruk' resembles Ishtar of is'ineveh. Ishtar of Babylon is addressed in a hymn as ' mother of the gods, fulfiUer of the commands of Bil, producer oi verdure, lady of mankind, be- gettress of all, mother Ishtar, whose might no god approaches,' and whose aid and sympathy asuppliant may expect to receive.

^ This was the goddess under whose protection, in virtue of a singular custom — reported independently by Herodotus (i. 199),§ the author of Uar G"'-, and Strabo (xvi. 1. 20), — the women of Babylon placed themselves by the sacrifice of their chastity. Lastly, Ishtar is identified with the planet Venus : on this aspect of her nature it will be sufficient, however, to refer to the passages trans- lated in Schrader, KAT' on Jg 2'% or in Sayce, Hibb. Led. p. 253 f. (cf. p.

269 = Jeremias, Izdubar- Nimrod, p. 62). Though Ishtar was thus variously localised, her general attributes remained the same. She occupied a place in the Assyr. Pantheon next to Asshur himself : II in particular, she was (1) the lady (or mistress) of tlie locality in which she was wor- shipped ; (2) queen of the gods, and princess of heaven and earth; (3) a warrior goddess; (4) the goddess of generation and productivity j (5) she was identified with the planet Venus.

These aspects of her nature are retained as her cult travels westwards, sometimes one being more prominent than the other, sometimes several being combined. II From the notices contained in OT itself, it would not be possible to determine the ideas associated with the Phucn. 'Ashtart, or the character of her rit«s ; but there are many independent indications which make these clear. She must have been pre- eminently the goddess of sexual passion.

By Greeks and Phoenicians alike she is habitually identified with 'AcppoSlrri ; and there are sulliciently definite allusions to the unchaste character of the rit«8 with which she was worshipped.** Lucian {De dea Syria, § 4) visited a great t^jmple of Aphro- dite in Byblus (Gcbal), in which the rites of Adonis (who corresponded to Tammuz, g.v.)

were per- formed : here such women as would not shave their hair in commemoration of his burial, were obliged to sell theniselves to a stranger, the money received being expended on a sacrifice to Aphrodite (cf. the Bab. custom referred to above). At Aphaka in the Lebanon there was a temple of Aphrodite, +t the rites practised at which were of such a character that tliej' were suppressed by Constantine (Euseb. Vit. Const, iii. 5.5).

Again, as we saw, Ishtar was 'queen of the gods, and princess of heaven and earth ' ; and it scarcely aamits of doubt that the ' Queen of Barton, Hebraica, Oct. 18B3-Jan. 1894. p. IS.; Baj-ce, Le. p. Uea.; Jeremiu, lidubar-lfimTodilWl), p. 24 t. ♦ W. U. Smith, Rel. Sem.' p. 68. t Rarton, pp. l.s-l? ; Jeremias, Le. p. 68f.; Zlmmem, Bab. BwtitjuKiimen, p. 33 (T. S MfXiTT. as fidt. calls the (roddes.s (whom he Identifies with AphrtMiit*'), iH prohal)ly /Vi7t/. — the won!

n-ndered 'lady' in the eKtnu-ts cit<i atHj%'e, and the (em. o( Itrt (Ita'al), lord. I How fully, in the popular creel. Isht-ar berame the Koddew mmr' i{«3ri», may be inferred (roni the (act thai the pliir. itfitardt was iis(.>d to express the idea of (cmole divinities in generaKff/traisn). •] The etymolopy of Ithlar, as of 'Aghtnrt, is obscure : there Is no apparent Sera, derivation, and the conjectures that have been offered ore not 8ati»fart/>ry ; the Arab, 'athara (Itarton, p.

71) is not to fall sirniilv. but fo ttumhlf or Irip. It is. perhaj>8, Of non-Sem. oriirin {KAT'' ITB: Sayce, llil^h. hrct. S.Vif.) The (ft-niler of the deity, after it was lulopted by the Phijoniclans, was marked externally by the atldilion of the (em. teruiina- tion, (, * Hence her worship n\a\/ be alluded to lo passages such as Hos 411 14, Jer 2 etc. It Soiom. Keel. UilL U. 6; Zoaimus, 1. S8,— cited by Barton, p. 8'Z.

Heaven,' to whom, in Jeremiah's daj', the women of Judah ofl'ered cakes (cj.;, a peculiar term) and other sacrifices (Jer 7" 44""'), was either the AssjT. Ishtar,* or her Phocn. counterpart 'Ashtart. ' Celestial,' now, is an epithet applieJ to 'Ashtart elsewhere. Sanchoniathon (p. 80) speaks of Astarte as daughter of Ovpafds ; and Sozomen remarks that the Ajihrodite mentioned above as worshipped at Aphaka, was called then Ovpanla.

The temple of Qvpavia 'A(ppo5lTTi, also, il Aslikelon, mentioned by Herodotus (i. 105), and stated by him to be the oldest of that goddess of which he could learn, can hardly beany other than the temple of Ashtart, referred to in 1 S 31'°.t All this becomes clearer if we supplement the some- what scanty notices which we po.ssess of Ashtart herself by the more abundant materials relating to Aphrodite.

For not only did Aphrodite correspond in general character to Ashtart, but nothing is more certain than that her attributes were largely moulded upon those of 'Ashtart, and that many elements in her cult were of Plucn. origin. Already Homer frequently speaks of Aphrodite as Ki^xpis (//. V. 330, et<:.) and KvOipeia (Od. viii. '288, etc.)

, and alludes to her temple at Paplios,J which, then and afterwards, was so celebrated that no term is more frequently applied to Venus by classical writers than Paphia or Cypria.

Cyprus, however, is known independently to have been not only colonised from Phoenicia, but also (see above) to have been devoted to the worship of Ashtart ; and according to Herodotus (^c), the Cyprians them- selves declared their temple (at Paplios) to have been founded from that of Ovpavia 'AippoSiTi] at Ashkelon ; while the temple of the same deity in Cythera, the island off the S. coast of Lacedieniou, reputed to be the oldest and most sacred of Aphro- dite in Greece (Pausan. iii. '23.

1), is stated likewise hy Herodotus (i6.) to have been a Pliten. founda- tion. Cicero also speaks (N. D. iii. § 59) of four distinct Venuses, one being ' Syria Cyproque con- cepta, qux Astarte vocatur, (luam Adonidi nupsisse proditum est.' That Aphrodite was the goddess of sexual passion, needs, of course, no proof ; and Cyprus was the chief centre, whence her worship was dilfu.sed through the Gr. world.

But, secondly, she often bore in Greece also the title Ovpavla ; temples of 'A^poS/rij Oi'payia are thus mentioned, not only at Cythera, but also at Athens, Argos Corinth, Thebes, and elsewhere ;§ and sjieaking ot the one at Athens, Pausanias expres.sly remarks (i. 14.

7) that Ovpavla was reverenced first by the Assyrians, then by the Pa|ihians of Cyprus, and the Phicnicians dwelling in Ashkelon, from whom • See the essays on the 'Queen of Heaven ' by Schrader in the Berichte of the Berlin Academy, ISSti, p. 481* f.. ami in tlie /. fur Attnyr. 1888, pp. :l,'.tJ-3C0; and by Kuenen in his Alihaudlunnen, 1894, p. 206. Tht-'.

i- scholars point to an Inncription in which amoni; 20 titles or • the lady {hilU) of cotmtnes, the queen iituUkatu), Ishtar,' there actually occurs that of ' queen (rmiU'a(tx) of heaven. Schrader further remarks that there Is inde)H'ndent evidence of an 'Ashtar, conceived spe<-ially as a celestial jfofldess, tieinjf prominent at the same time in the name ''Athar of Heaven,' mentioned in the inscriptions of Asshur- banipal, as the ttfxidess of a N.

Arabian tribe {KA '[^ on Jer 71" ; on Athar— 'Anhtar, see below). Cf. also Sayce, Uihb. L. pp 201, 20ftf. (— Jeremias. (.c fl2(.) t Cf. how, on a bilinifual votive tablet found at Athens {CIS L I. llfi>, an Ascjfclonit« 'Abd'athtnrt (-j'^prK mnpin^v) '• called in the Or. text ' Kit^VtrtH. Certain type of the coins of Ashi^L'lon also exhibit the head of Astart« : B. V. Hea/1, //>>(. Hxnnnrum. 1887, p. fi79f.; De Saulcv, Nuinitrmatviiu lr In Terre Sainte, 1874. lip. I7nf.,2n2 (No. IS), tm (No.

■>). The dnve. which (see below) was sacred to 'Ashtart, Is also a standiiij: feature on the imperial coins of Ashlfelon ; see l>e Saulcy, I.e. p. 171), Nos. (1 and l(l(lioth with head of the KO<ldess), 189-101 (Anirustus), N'os. 8, 10_, 11, IS, etc^ and Plate Ix 5, fl. t Od. 8, .302 :, n y kfx Ki^fitt is«,i fij^uuAi^itt 'A^fl3»ni 'E# rifffsi, U0» it ««' riii*t( i3affA4i rt 8vni,e ; cf. f-.'n. I. 416 417. { I>au». I. 14. 7, 111. 2 : U. 23. 8 ; vl. 20. fl. 2.') 1 ; viil. 32. 2 ; ix. 16. 3.

The On-eks often understood Ou«s»,« to be the jfoddes of loftier, nurer love, as opposed to 'A.-^»J.tii mtittu*i. who representen the merely sensual passion (Xsn. Symp. viil. d I'aus. ix. Ifl. 4. Bekk.l. 170 ASHTORETH ASHTORETH her cult was introduced into Cythera. Then, thirdly, Ishtar, as showii above, was also a martial goddess.

From the mere fact that Saul's armour was deposited by the Philistines in the temple of Ashtart at Ashkelon, it could hardly be inferred that Ashtart bore there a martial character (for trophies of a victory might be dedicated to any deitj') ; but there are some other indications which su|iport this supposition. In the temple of Cythera, which, as we have seen, was founded from Phcenicia, if not from Ashkelon, the statue of the goddess was afiavov uirXuriiivoy (Pans. iii. 23. 1).

At Corinth and Sparta also there was an 'AtppoSlTtj wTrXifffiivri {ib. ii. 5. 1; iii. 15. 10, Bekk.); several epigrams in the anthology (Jacobs, ii. 677-679) describe Aphrodite as armed with helmet and spear ; she also receives the epithet nK-riipipos, and is reoresented with the weapons of Ares (as in the well-'known statue called the Venus of Capua).* Nor was the influence of the Phoen. 'Ashtart con- fined to the Gr. world. The worship of the Kom.

Venus, originally a goddess of springtime, of gardens, of blossoming vegetation, assimilated many elements from her cult. Mention has been made already of the great Phoen. temple of 'Ashtart at Eryx in Sicily ; and this seems to have formed a centre as influential for the diflusion of her rites in Italy as Paphos or Cythera had been for their diflusion in Greece.

That the goddess worshipped at Eryx was identified by the Romans with Venus, can be readily sho^^•n : who does not recollect Horace's ' Erycina ridens, Quam Jocus circumvolat et Cupido ' {Carm. i. 2. 33 f.), or the passage in which Virgil connects her with the Venus of Cyprus, ''Tum vicina astris Erycino in vertice sedes Fundatur Veneri Idalise' (^n. v. 759f.)t Venus Victrix and Venus Genetrix, also, just develop ideas which we have already seen com- bined in 'A^poSLrri Ovpavta, viz.

that of the martial goddess of victory, and that of the fertile mother ol aM.X Some account of the temple and rites of the Paphian Aphrodite is given oy Tacitus {Hist. ii. •2. 3).§ Kivvpas, a personage who plays a consider- able part in Cyprian mythology (cf. II. xi. 19-23), was its reputed founder ; the priests of the goddess, who were also kings, were styled KiKupaSoi.

Only male victims were oflered in sacrifice to her, kids being accounted the best for purposes of exti- npicium, for their skill in which her priests were f.imed. No blood, however, was shed upon the altar, which, though standing in the open air, was supposed never to be rained upon. "The goddess herself was symbolised by a cone.H Her devotees were initiated with impure rites. H Doves were • Preller, Orifch. ilijtholfi i. iip. 2791 >, 2B0», 281'. t Votive tablets found at £ry.

\ bear also the inscription VlNEREl Eriicinai (CIL 7253-5, 7257). t See further, Preller, Rom. ili/thol.s i. pp. 435, 437, 442 f., 44S. f On the site, dimensions, etc. of the ancient temple, in so far as they can be recovered by excavation, the report of tlie Cv^ms Exploration Fund in the Journal of Udlenic Studies, 1888. pp. 145*-224, supersedes evervthing that had been previously written. (Tlie st-itements of Di Cesnola in his work on Cj-prus are hiirhly untrustworthy; see ib. p. 204 f.

; Gardner, A'ew Cftapteri in (JtctUc lliitory, p. 175.) The principal ancient notices respecting the temple are collected by M. B. James, ib. p. 176-192. II Simulacrum den non efilf^e hamana, continuus orbis latiore initio tenuem in ambitum metffi modo exsurgens, et ratio in obscuro. Upon the coins of Cj'prus, struck under the Rom.

emperors, in the name of the «(»•» Ki/tp/»*, this sacred cone, standing in its temple, with a dove, or doves, on the roof, ia a constant feature ; see I'errot et Chipiez, i/wrt. of A rt in Cyprus and Phoen. fi^-s. 68, 199. 202 (Enp. tr. i. pp. 123, 276, 281) ; Rawlin- son. Hist, of Phoen. p. 145 ; or Ilead. p. 628. Stone cones about a vard in hei;:ht, also, no doubt, sjinbolisinff the goddess, have bt-en found at Athidnau (Golpi), and in Gozzo (Gaulus) and Halta (Perrot et Chip. (iirs.

205, 223) ; and a cone is often fij^ured on gems, etc. (ib. figs. 29, 232, ch. iv. end). •f Clem. Alex. Protrep. pn. 12, 13 ; Amob. adv. Omtes, v. 19 ; Justin, xWii. 6. Of. the close of tiie passage of Hdt (!• 199) referred to ftbOT, ivaxV ^ *^ ^ lUmfw irri wmfmmX^tH sacred to her. A large number of inscri|.tioDi have been found at Paphos, headed Ila0((i A^^ oirQ : in many of these parents dedicate theu children to the goddess.

t 'Ashtart appears to have been generally repre- sented as a female figure, somewhat short in stature, usually naked, with rounded limbs, but sometimes draped, the hands supporting the breasts,^ or some- times with one holding a dove in her bosom ; § terra-cotta statuettes of this description are found not only in Cyprus, but also upon most of the isles and coasts of the .^gean Sea. Figs. 381, 382 in Perrot and Chipiez' work are particularly interesting.

The right hand here supports the breast, whUe the left hand is extended downwards in front : may figures of this kind, one is tempted to ask, have formed the type out of which the Venus of Medici was ultimately developed! II Clay figures, of the same general type, usually con- sidered to represent Ishtar, are also found in large numbers in the ruins of Mesopotamia, and at Susa.1I In some localities 'Ashtart seems further to have been regarded as a moon-goddess.

Thus Lucian (Z)e dea Syria, § 4), speaking of the temple at Sidon, mentioned above, says, us iiiv a.\rro\ X^7ou<riv, 'AardpTTj^ icyrlv 'AoTdpr^v d' ^u) Sok^i* XeXTjvaitjw (filitvai ; and Herodian declares (v. 6. 10) that Ovpaviav 0oiviK€S 'Aarpodpxijv dvofid^ovffif ffeKi^vTjv elvat eaofTiS." How this transformation of the character of Ishtar tt took place is not perfectly certain.

It is conceivable that Ba'al, as Ba'al Shamaim (Ba'al of heaven), was identified with the sun ; and hence his consort 'Ashtart might not unnaturally be regarded as the moon. Another explanation is, however, possible. There was great intercourse in antiquity between Phoenicia and Egypt ; and the influence of Egypt is palpably impressed upon Phoen. art. The Egyp. godds«ses Isis and Hatbor, now, are habitually represented as supporting upon • Cf. Antiphanes, ap. Athen. vi. 71, p. 267, xiv. 70, p.

655 ; and the PaphiEB columba of Martial (viii. 28), etc. Many representa- tions of doves in marble and terraH;otta have been found in and about the site of the temple. The dove is also often figured on the coins of Paphos, sometimes with the head of Aphrodite on the obverse : see J. P. Six's Essay on the Coins of C}'prus in the Revu^ Xumismatique, 1883 (p. 2699.), pp. S55-357, 364 (where No. 86 = Gardner, Types of Greek Coins, x. 47), and PI. vu. 18.

t Le Bas and Waddington, Inscriptions recueiUies en Grice, etc., 2794, 2798 (here o i^yof t<wf Kitupai^r dedicates his grand* son), 2801 : Joum. of Hell. Studies, I.e. p. 225 B. Nos. 8, 33, 35, 39, 41, 42, etc. ; p. 2.59. J Perrot et Chipiez, fig. 291, from Tharros in Sardinia; flg. 321, from C^T>rus ; figs. 374, 375, with strange heads, and huge ears and earrings ; figs, 379, 380 ; fig. 417-Eawl. p. 204 (four well-modelled figures, on a sarcophagus, from Amathus) ; fig.

550 (two figures, on a decorated patera, now at Athens, with an Aram, inscription, ya'D 12 uj"? i Euting, Punische Steine, p. 33 f.) In fig. 160, from Cj-prus, the hands are on the waist; similarlv in a bas-relief from Ashkelon, fig. 314 (Eng. tr. IL fl^. 38 [fig. 277 of the orig.=flg. 1, vol. ii. of tr.]) § Fig. 20 ; fig. 142=Rawl. Phcen. p. 327; fig. 323, from Sardinia. The figures, smiilar in general appearance, but holding a disc on the breast, may represent the same goddess (ib. fig.

193 ; fig. 233. from Sardinia "(these two also in Kawl. p. 142) ; fig. 290, from Tharros ; fig. 324 ; likewise the seated figures, with the hands on the knees (fig. 299, fig. 322). Whether figures of the type repre- sented in fig. 345, draped, with the hands straight donn the sides, also represent her, is uncertain. II E. Curtius, * Das Phon. Urbild der Medicelschen Venus,' In the Arehdot. Zeit. 1869, p. 63 ; of. Perrot et Chip, pp 656 f., 627 (Eng. tr. U. 156, 226).

U See Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 477 ; Loftus, Chaidoea and Swfiana, p. 379 f. (of the Persian age) ; Perrot and Chip. Hist, of Art in Chald. and Ats. i. 80, 83 (fig. 18); Rawl. Anc. Mon.* i. 140 ; Heuzey, Les figurines antiques de terre cuite do Slus^e du Louvre (1883), Plate ii. 3, 4 ; iii. (cf. those from Cj-pnis, tv., ix. 4, 6, X. 7, xi. 6 ; and Rhodes, xii. 6); and in the Rev. Arch, xxxix. (188.5), pp. 1-10.

•• Whether the name Asmtkroth-Karnaim contains an allusion to this aspect of 'Ashtart ( the 'Ashtarts of the two_ horns ') is uncertain ; f^amaim may be the name of a locality C'Ashtaroth of — t.. near — I^arnaim'). tt For Ishtar, though sister of Sbamash (the «un-god), !• daughter of Sin (the moon-god), not the moon-goddess herself.

ASHTORETH ASIA 171 their head, between two cow-horns, the solar disc* Isis, further, is stated by riularch to have jour- neyed lo HybUis (Gebal), wliere slie was called by some 'AiTTo^rji ;t and in the famous Stele of Yeliaw- nieli'k, king of (jebal, the king is represented a-s making his offerings before a horned goddess, closely resembling the Kgyp. Isis, while the accom- panying inscription is a petition addressed by him to his -mistress, the lady of Gebal.'

J Philo of Byblus says also that 'AardpTri tj ficyiuTj} . . ineSrtKe TI7 iSia Kftfia^ti floffiAfias Trapaffrjuov k f (f>a\ij f t avpo u (Siujehonialhon, ed. Orelli, p. 04). In the light of these facts it is not impossible, as Meyer suggests, that tlie disc and horns with which 'Ashtart was represented may have been misunderstood, and taken to be the symbols of the full and crescent moon respectively.

'Ashtart, then, if what has been said above be correct, was llie link connecting Ishtar with Aphro- dite and with Venus. Born originally in the far E.

, the goddess was born again, for the (ireeks, from the foam {(Kppos) by Cyprus; and once brought under touch of the creative genius of Greece, her character was transformed ; particular aspects of it were made more prominent; if in one direction she was identified more and more with the sensuous side of human nature, in other directions her attri- butes were idealised ; she furnislied art with its most attractive ideals of female grace and beauty (see already //. xiv.

214-217 — her Ktarhv liiinTo) ; slie became even the personification of the all- pervading, living force of nature. ' Comnie la nature meme dont se rfisumaient et se personni- iiaient sous ce nom toutes les Energies, Astart6, vraie souveraine du monde, dans son activitC sans repos, ne cessait de ddtruire et de cr^er, de or<5i'r ot de d^truire.

Par la giu'rre et par les fl^aux de ' tout genre, elle 61iminait les etres inutiles et vieillis ; en meme temps, par I'amour et la g^n^ra- tion, elle prfisidait au perp^luel renouvellement de la vie.' § This far-reaching conception of the range of her activity is exhibited strikingly in a passage placed by I'lautus in the moutli of an Athenian woman, I! and in the fine exordium, addressed to the ' yKneadum genetrix,' with which Lucretius opens his great poem, Dn rfriim nntura.

l Traces of a rorrespondiiir/ Sem. deity elseirhere. — There was a S. Sem. maie deity, 'Athtar (which agrees phonetically with Ishtar ; cf. tr'?!:', liji^', etc.), mentioned in the Sabajan inscriptions (from San'&, the capital of Yemen) ; but little definite is at present known about him, except that the gazelle or antelope was sacred to him.** There are also some compound names of deities, in which 'Aslitar (or 'Ashtart) forms jjart. Mesha' relates (Stone, I.e.) that he ' devoted ' 700(» Isr.

captives to ••~3t-^';, i.e. 'Axlitar-rlipmi»!li, or'Ashtar of Cheniosh. Among the riiocnicians, al.so, we find Milk'aglUart, a deity formed by combination of the • See represent.ition^ In liftwlinson. ffittl. of Anc. Eg. \. 3W, 86^;or.\Ia>i»cro. Tl>,' Ihiicn of CiciUtiittion,\t\t. 182,176,17", 187. t Df (l„ir. et iMile, S 1.' J 'V.V I, i. 1. See represeiitiiliinis In Knwllnson. /fiit. of Phaii. p. :i4il; or I'crrnt et < hlple/. I. p. O'J ; cf.

nlso the linnns- Ing lironze Uu'iire in tlie lnst-naiiu-<l work, l». "H (tip. 20). Tlie name of tliln trotl^lcss Is not piven ; but it i> hiclily prottahio ttint It wnn '.Vstitjirt; colnH of Uyblii.H exliibtt tmb'lttinliy n cono (whicli, fts tias liccn .shown, was licr syiiilioU, stnndlntr in the court of a temple (see the excellent rej/resi-ntatlon in l*errot et Chip. tie. I'J (|i. nil, or Kttwl. Plum. p. lli'O. S Porrol et Chlpiez. p. l'.9 ; cf. 821, and csp. 020-fi'2S [V.ng. tr. t. I!9 f..

IWi f., II. •J2l-22r,). t lllva Astiirle. liiinilnuin deonimmio \i!t, vltn, ftalnn: nirsun udein q,iie est IVrnieles, mors. Interltus. Slnro, tuiitis, cjeluni, aidem, -lovis <|nii-cutn(|iio tern|tla colliniis, ehis dncnnttir ntitu, Ull obtenipernnt, Kani spectant' {.Mfrcator, IV. vl. s-j., ly.) 1 See parallels from earlier (»r. poets in Monro's notes rir/ ftn^. * Monitmunn and .Muller. Silli. />riiiiiiill.T. »!, p. Wl; W. It. Smith. A•.^' p. Hill, If Barton. I.e. p. M If.

: Itatliiren, p|i. 117- 121. The epithet ir^-^'-' seems to Indicate that he was viewed as the riHina (morninir) star; cf \ini\u\c\,Sikt-Arab.Chreittom., 1898, p. 88. • • rr.Ttiiyi'ihl. 1S9«. hii attributes of Milk (Molech) and Ashtart (CIS 1. i. 8' 250^; and in the Inscr. of Ma'subt), and Eshmun'a.thlart {ib. 245). Among Aram.-speak- ing peoples inr; became i.nr-y (cf. j-;', s !>.-■, etc.), which was soon written in;-,} whence 'ArapydTis (I'almyrene r\:^;"\:^;; § Syr.

liwii-i, also represented by Afp/terii), i.e. 'Athtar of 'Ati,\\ the name of a deity much worshipped in parts of Syria, esp. at Hierapolis (between Antioch and Kdessa), and also (2 ilac 12^) at Karnion (probably either near to, or identical with, 'Aslileroth-Karnaim : see ASUTAUOTII). See, further, Eoscher'a Ansf. Lexicon der OHech. u. Rom. MijUtol. (1S!>1-1S90), arts. Astarte tby E. Meyer), and Apiip.o- DiTF. (by Uoscher and Furtwangler), pp. 390 If., 4l)iJ tf. ; Farnell.

Cttlf^ of the Greek States. c\\^. x.xi.-xxiii. (which appeared since the above article was written). g, U. l)KIVEli. ASHURITES Clue's?, B ©oo-e.pe.', A Oa^o.'p, Luc. ''E.Cpt). — One of the tribes over whom Ishbosheth ruled (2 S 2^). The name is clearly corrupt, for neither the Assyrians C^'-s'!'), nor the Arabian tribe (2<iis=x (^,1 253) gan be intended. Kwald, Thenius, Wellh. follow the Pesh. and Vulg. in reading ' the Geshurites' ('";'"5'^^). who.se territory bordered on that of Gilead (.

los 12" 13'i), and who might there- fore be suitably incluiled here. It has been urged, however, against this view, that Geslutr was an independent kingdom at this time (cf. 2 S ?>■' 13-*'), so that Ishbosheth could not have exercised control over it. We must therefore read, with Ivoliler, Klost., Kirkp., and Budde 'l^'?? 'the Asherites,' i.e. the tribe of Aslier (cf. Jg l"-') ; this reading is supported by the Targ. of .Jonathan (-itys .

T31 S'), and agrees well with the context ; according to the latter, the dominions of Ishbosheth extended from A.sher to Beiijainin on the Vf . of .Jordan, and further included the large tract of Gilead on the E. J. F. STENNING.