About the goddess
Astarte is the essence of femininity - strength and softness, warmth and steadfastness. The security of home and the freedom of the world. Astarte represents all aspects of female nature, combining both love and war, beauty and strength.
Patroness of sexuality, beauty and war.
Her follower is an adventurous traveler who seeks justice and protects others. She is aware of her femininity - she understands the softness of being a woman and at the same time the strength associated with it. She knows the world and all its faces - both beauty and sadness. She is courageous and always follows her beliefs.
Facts about Astarte
Region: Syria and Canaan, later Cyprus
Main cities of worship: Sidon, Tyre, Byblos, Cythera, Malta, and Eryx in Sicily
Time: 3rd millennium BCE - first mention of the Astarte's name in Ebla.
Meaning of the name: mother of the Gods.
Goddess of: love, sex, fertility, hunting, and war.
Representations: lion, the horse, the sphinx, dove, bee, serpent and a star within a circle indicating the planet Venus, lotus flower, palm tree.
Associations with other goddesses: Astarte is a hellenised name - her true name was Attart. Astarte was closely connected with goddess Ishtar - her Akkadian version, and Inanna which was from the same region. All of them were goddesses from cultures that were constantly mixing and interacting with eachother - so we can suspect that all this names really represented one great Goddess.
We can even find connection to the Egyptian Isis and the Greek Aphrodite. These goddesses, including Astarte, share Venus as a symbol, embodying love more rooted in passion and lust than family-building emotions.
Additionally, Astarte's warlike traits align with the Canaanite goddess Anat.
Ashtoreth - the name full of shame
The name Ashtoreth is a combination of the words Ashtart, a Phoenician variation of Astarte, and boshet, a Hebrew word meaning shame. Probably, the name was created to reflect the opposition of the biblical writers to the native Canaanite religions and culture and to the strong female goddesses, that didn't conform to gender roles.
The rebel goddess
Usually the gender roles were assigned to gods based on society standards - so from the fact that Astarte was a warrior & hunter goddess we can assume that or the society was less patriarchal that we could think or that she rebelled against gender roles. This second version is more probable - we can see that in the myth of Aqhat, where Aqhat exclaims to Anat "now do womenfolk hunt?", to contrast her with human women, who were not supposed to hunt.
How did Astarte look?
She was often depicted naked and in presence of lions (usually lying under her feet), identified respectively with symbols of sexuality and war. She was also depicted as winged, carrying the solar disk and the crescent moon as a headdress.
Sacred prostitution:
A typically Levantine aspect of the cult of Astarte was the practise of sacred prostitution, which was performed by specific categories of her temples' clergy who were exercised this function on a permanent basis. The different categories of sacred prostitutes were the:
"nubile girls" also called servants of Astarte
"dogs" who were male sacred prostitutes who engaged in homosexual intercourse
'young men' or lit. 'whelps' who were later called "Servants of Temple of Astarte"
The practise of sacred prostitution is attested at the temple of ʿAštārt in Byblos, and sacred prostitutes and "whelps" are recorded at the temples of ʿAštārt at Afqa and Baalbek until the 4th century AD. The practise is also recorded in Cyprus, especially at Paphos, Amathous, and Kition, and in Sicily, at Eryx, from where two sacred prostitutes of Carthaginian origin are known by name, which can be translated to: 'Desired object of Baal' and her daughter ʾAmot-Milqart, lit. 'Servant of Milqart'.
Complex character of Astarte
Astarte is a truly ancient goddess, who was worshipped across millennia - her worship evolved over time, spread to as far places as the terrains of nowadays Spain and Great Britain.
She's a perfect example of how cultures and religions were clashing and mixing in ancient times, transforming the initial Great Goddess - giving her new names, making her patroness of new things.
Scholars are still tracing the connections and complexities of this interdependences, making a religious map of a fierce goddess of sexuality and war.
Candle dedicated to Astarte's worship
Is Astarte your patroness? Do you find yourself in her strength and complexities? We prepared a candle dedicated specifically for Astarte rituals. Did you ever wonder what would be a smell of Astarte?
The scent of this candle is like a magical story that draws you into the world of mystery and esotericism.
The top note begins this extraordinary journey, mixing notes of pear, orange and grass. The pear brings juicy sweetness, while the orange adds a note of exoticism and energy to the mixture. The grass introduces a note of nature and mystery into this mixture, like morning dew on the leaves.
The heart note of this candle is the essence of magic, with orchid, jasmine, caramel, rose and sandalwood. Orchid hides the secret of forgotten temples, jasmine brings the aroma of romantic adventure, while caramel and rose add notes of sweetness and love. Sandalwood is like a wooden wand, bringing harmony between the real world and the world of magic.
The depth note of this candle, with musk, patchouli and vanilla, is its deepest secret. Musk gives the fragrance a delicate atmosphere of an enchanted garden. Patchouli carries a note of earth and roots - ancient knowledge and wisdom. Finally, vanilla brings the sweetness and mystery of the forbidden love elixir.
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