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.
AnatAnat (ˈɑ:nɑ:t, ˈænæt), Anatu, classically Anath (ˈeɪnəθ,_ˈeɪˌnæθ; 𐎓𐎐𐎚 ʿAnatu; עֲנָת ʿĂnāṯ; 𐤏𐤍𐤕; Αναθ; Egyptian: ꜥntjt) was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume that she originated in the Amorite culture of Bronze Age upper Mesopotamia, and that the goddess Ḫanat, attested in the texts from Mari and worshiped in a city sharing her name located in Suhum, should be considered her forerunner.
Canaanite religionThe Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases, monolatristic. A group of deities in a four-tier hierarchy headed by El and Asherah were worshiped by the followers of the Canaanite religion; this is a detailed listing: Aglibol, god of the moon and brother of Malakbel. Part of a trio of gods of Palmyra, Syria, along with Bel and Yarhibol.
Queen of Heaven (antiquity)Queen of Heaven was a title given to a number of ancient sky goddesses worshipped throughout the ancient Mediterranean and the ancient Near East. Goddesses known to have been referred to by the title include Inanna, Anat, Isis, Nut, Astarte, and possibly Asherah (by the prophet Jeremiah). In Greco-Roman times, Hera and Juno bore this title. Forms and content of worship varied. Inanna Inanna was the Sumerian goddess of love and war. Despite her association with mating and fertility of humans and animals, Inanna was not a mother goddess and is rarely associated with childbirth.
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.
El (deity)(also Il, 𐎛𐎍 ʾīlu; 𐤀𐤋 ʾīl; אֵל ʾēl; ܐܺܝܠ ʾīyl; إل or إله ; cognate to ilu) is a Northwest Semitic word meaning "god" or "deity", or referring (as a proper name) to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, ila, represents the predicate form in Old Akkadian and in Amorite. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning "god". Specific deities known as El, Al or Il include the supreme god of the ancient Canaanite religion and the supreme god of East Semitic speakers in Mesopotamia's Early Dynastic Period.
