AsherahAsherah (ˈæʃərə; אֲשֵׁרָה; 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚; 𒀀𒅆𒋥; Qatabanian: 𐩱𐩻𐩧𐩩 ) is a fertility goddess in ancient Semitic religion who appears in a number of ancient sources. She also appears in Hittite writings as Ašerdu(s) or Ašertu(s) (𒀀𒊺𒅕𒌈). Her name is sometimes rendered Athirat in the context of her cult at Ugarit. Asherah is identified as the consort of the Sumerian god Anu, and Ugaritic ʾEl, the oldest deities of their respective pantheons. This role gave her a similarly high rank in the Ugaritic pantheon.
AstarteAstarte (əˈstɑrtiː; Ἀστάρτη, Astartē) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar. Astarte was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity, and her name is particularly associated with her worship in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians, though she was originally associated with Amorite cities like Ugarit and Emar, as well as Mari and Ebla.
KaabaThe Kaaba (ٱلْكَعْبَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba), also spelled Ka'ba, Ka'bah or Kabah, sometimes referred to as al-Ka'ba al-Musharrafa (ٱلْكَعْبَة ٱلْمُشَرَّفَة, al.ˈkaʕ.ba‿l.mu.ˈʃar.ra.fa), is a stone building at the center of Islam's most important mosque and holiest site, the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is considered by Muslims to be the Bayt Allah (بَيْت ٱللَّٰه) and is the qibla (قِبْلَة, direction of prayer) for Muslims around the world. The current structure was built after the original building was damaged by fire during the siege of Mecca by Umayyads in 683.
SyriaSyria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. It is a unitary republic that consists of 14 governorates (subdivisions).
GoddessA goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of spinning, weaving, beauty, love, sexuality, motherhood, domesticity, creativity, and fertility (exemplified by the ancient mother goddess cult). Many major goddesses are also associated with magic, war, strategy, hunting, farming, wisdom, fate, earth, sky, power, laws, justice, and more.
AllahAllah (ˈæl.lə,_ˈɑːl.lə,_əˈl.lɑː; , ʔaɫ.ɫaːh) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from al-ilāh, which means "the god", and is linguistically related to the Aramaic words Elah and Syriac ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ (ʼAlāhā) and the Hebrew word El (Elohim) for God. The word Allah has been used by Arabic people of different religions since pre-Islamic times. The pre-Islamic Arabs worshipped a supreme deity whom they called Allah, alongside other lesser deities.
