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{{Short description|Semitic deity associated with Venus}}
{{Contains special characters|cuneiform}}
{{Infobox deity
| name = ʿAṯtar
| god_of =
| image = South Arabian - Fragment of a Frieze with an Ibex and Oryxes - Walters 2138.jpg
| caption = South Arabian fragment of a [[stela]] depicting a reclining [[Nubian ibex|ibex]] and three [[Arabian oryx]] heads, which were associated with ʿAṯtar.
| planet = [[Venus]]
| animals = [[Gazelle]] <small>(in Syria and Arabia)</small>
| equivalent1_type = Mesopotamian
| equivalent1 = [[Lugal-Marada]],{{sfn|George|1993|p=6}} [[Zababa]] (through equation with Aštabi),{{sfn|Ayali-Darshan|2014|p=98}} [[Ninurta]] (through equation with Aštabi{{sfn|Archi|2013|p=10}} and Lugal-Marada){{sfn|Archi|1997|p=417}}
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}}
{{Middle Eastern deities}}
'''ʿAṯtar''' is
==Name==
The name appears in various Semitic languages as:
* the feminine form {{
* the masculine form {{
* and the masculine form {{
==Attestations==
===
The Ugaritic variant of ʿAṯtar, {{lang|uga|{{script|Ugar|𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗}}}} ({{transl|uga|ʿAṯtaru}}), appears in the [[Baal Cycle|Baʿal Cycle]].{{sfn|Lipiński|1995|pages=411-412}}▼
====={{transliteration|uga|ʿAṯtar}}=====
▲The Ugaritic masculine variant of ʿAṯtar, {{lang|uga|{{script|Ugar|𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗}}}} ({{
====={{transliteration|uga|ʿAṯtart}}=====
{{main|Astarte}}
The Northwest Semitic feminine form of ʿAṯtar, the Great Goddess {{lang|uga|{{script|Ugar|𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚}}}} ({{transliteration|uga|ʿAṯtart}}), is often mentioned in Ugaritic ritual texts, but played a minor role in mythological texts.{{sfn|Lipiński|1995|pages=128-154}}
===Among Aramaeans===
Among the [[Aramaeans]], ʿAṯtar appears in a masculine form as the god {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡓}} ({{
Within the ancient Aramaean religion, the deceased ancestors of the clans, called {{
The use of the name of the god ʿAttar as a theophoric element is attested in the name {{lang|oar|𐡁𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡓}} ({{
▲Within the ancient Aramaean religion, the deceased ancestors of the clans, called {{transl|oar|ʿamm}}, were worshipped as idealised figures who could become assimilated to ʿAttar, as evidenced by personal names such as {{lang|oar|{{cuneiform|7|𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒄠}}}} {{lang|oar|{{cuneiform|7|𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒈬}}}} ({{transl|oar|ʿAttar-ʿammu}}, {{lit|ʿAttar is the ancestor}}), and {{lang|oar|{{cuneiform|7|𒁹𒀀𒀜𒋻}}}} and {{lang|oar|{{cuneiform|7|𒁹𒀀𒈨𒀀𒋻}}}} ({{transl|oar|ʿAmmī-ʿAttar}}, {{lit|My ancestor is ʿAttar}}).{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=605-613}}
One of the hypostases of the Aramaean ʿAttar was {{lang|oar|
The name of the goddess who was the consort of ʿAttar is itself not attested in Aramaic, but is recorded in [[Sabaean language|Sabaic]] as {{lang|xsa|{{script|Sarb|𐩠𐩥𐩨𐩪}}}} ({{
▲The use of the name of the god ʿAttar as a theophoric element is attested in the name {{lang|oar|𐡁𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡓}} ({{transl|oar|Bar-ʿAttar}}, {{lit|Son of ʿAttar}}), which is attested on an 8th-century BC stamp seal and was also the name of the earliest known ruler of [[Laqē]], as well as {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡎𐡌𐡊}} ({{transl|oar|ʿAttar-sumki}}, {{lit|ʿAttar is my support}}), which was the name of two rulers of the kingdom of [[Bit Agusi|Bēt-Gūš]]. The name of this god always appears in the masculine form even in women's names, such as ʿAttar-ramat and ʿAttar-ṭabat, thus attesting that the Aramaean ʿAttar was a distinctly masculine deity.{{sfn|Lipiński|1975|pages=58-76}}{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
The earliest record of ʿAttar-Šamayin is from an [[Aramaic]] inscription on the 8th-century BC cylinder seal belonging to an individual named {{
▲==== {{transl|oar|ʿAttar-Šamayin}} ====
▲One of the hypostases of the Aramaean ʿAttar was {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡔𐡌𐡉𐡍}} ({{transl|oar|ʿAttar-Šamayin}}), that is the ʿAttar of the Heavens: in this role, ʿAttar was the incarnation of the sky's procreative power in the form of the moisture provided by rain, which made fertile his consort, the goddess of the Earth which has been dried up by the summer heat. Due to ʿAttar's role as a provider of rain, and his epithet "of the Heavens" refers to his manifestation as lightning and thunder in the skies.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
===In Africa===
▲The name of the goddess who was the consort of ʿAttar is itself not attested in Aramaic, but is recorded in [[Sabaean language|Sabaic]] as {{lang|xsa|𐩠𐩥𐩨𐩪}} ({{transl|xsa|Huwbis}}) or {{lang|xsa|𐩠𐩨𐩪}} ({{transl|xsa|Hūbis}}), which was derived from the South Semitic root {{lang|xsa|𐩺-𐩨-𐩪}} ({{transl|xsa|y-b-s}}), itself a declension of the Semitic root {{transl|sem|y-b-š}}, meaning "to be dry." The position of Hūbis/Huwbis as the consort of ʿAttar-Šamayin is attested by the depiction of a goddess in front of a standing worshipper on an 8th-century Aramaean [[cylinder seal]], with the image of a [[vulva]], the symbol of Hūbis/Huwbis, being present behind the goddess and over a recumbent [[gazelle]] - the sacred animal of ʿAttar - over which was also inscribed the name of the god himself.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
In the [[Kingdom of Aksum]] situated in the [[Horn of Africa]], ʿAttar was worshiped:<ref>Astar. Ethiopian god ID'd in Axum emp inscrip c AD 200-400</ref><ref name="r058">{{cite book | last=Jordan | first=Michael | title=Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses | date=2004 | isbn=0-9655102-5-5 | page=34| publisher=Facts on File }}</ref> as the god of the sun and moon and as the father of the other members of the Axumite pantheon: [[Maher (god)|Maher]] and [[Beher (god)|Beher]], the former of which they shared with the [[Himyarite Kingdom]]. He was [[Interpretatio graeca|associated with the god Zeus]].
▲The earliest record of ʿAttar-Šamayin is from an [[Aramaic]] inscription on the 8th-century BC cylinder seal belonging to an individual named {{transl|oar|Barruq}}, who is described in the inscription as a {{lang|oar|𐡏𐡁𐡃 𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡔𐡌𐡉𐡍}} ({{transl|oar|{{sc|ʿbd ʿtršmyn}}}}. {{lit|servant of ʿAttar-Šamayin}}); Barruq's own name, which means "thunder," was a reference to ʿAttar-Šamayin in his role as a god associated with thunder and lightning..{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
===In South Arabia===
Among the ancient [[South Arabia]]ns, {{lang|sem-x-oldsoara|{{script|Sarb|𐩲𐩻𐩩𐩧}}}} ({{transliteration|xsa|ʿAṯtar}}) was a masculine deity who had retained the prominence of his role as the deity of the planet Venus as the Morning Star, and was a god presiding over thunderstorms and who provided natural irrigation as rain.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}} ʿAṯtar thus held a very important place within the ancient South Arabian pantheon, in which he replaced the old Semitic high god [[El (deity)|ʾIl]] as the supreme deity.{{sfn|Lipiński|1995|pages=411-412}}{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=624-617}}
The name of ʿAṯtar was suffixed with a mimation in the South Arabian [[Kingdom of Hadhramaut|kingdom of Ḥaḍramawt]], thus giving the [[Hadramautic language|Ḥaḑramitic]] form {{lang|xhd|{{script|Sarb|𐩲𐩯𐩩𐩧𐩣}}}} ({{
Within [[South Arabian polytheism]], ʿAṯtar held a supreme position within the cosmology of the ancient South Arabians as the god presiding over the whole world, always appeared first in lists, and had various manifestations with their own epithets.{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=140-141}} The rulers of the ancient South Arabian states would offer ritual banquets in honour of ʿAṯtar, with the banquet being paid for from the tithe offered to the god by the populace.{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=136-137}}
==== {{transl|xsa|Kirrūm}} ====▼
One of the hypostases of the South Arabian ʿAṯtar was {{lang|xsa|𐩫𐩧𐩥𐩣}} ({{transl|xsa|Kirrūm}}), whose name, which was a {{transl|sem|qittūl}}-pattern Semitic word formation meaning "rainfall," was related to [[Geʽez]] {{lang|gez|ክራምት}} ({{transl|gez|kəramt}}), [[Amharic]] {{lang|am|ክረምት}} ({{transl|am|krämt}}), [[Tigre language|Tigrē]] {{lang|tig|ካራም}} ({{transl|tig|karam}}), and [[Gurage languages|Eastern Gurage]] {{lang|mis|ከርም}} ({{transl|mis|kärm}}), all meaning "rainy season." Kirrūm was thus a form of ʿAṯtar who provided fertility in the form of the rain he dispensed.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}▼
The patron deity of the Qatabānians, however, was the Moon-god, variously called {{lang|xqt|{{script|Sarb|𐩲𐩣}}}} ([['Amm|{{transliteration|xqt|ʿAmm}}]], in [[Qataban|Qatabān]]) or {{lang|xhd|{{script|Sarb||𐪊𐪚𐩬}}}} ({{transliteration|xhd|Sayīn}}, in [[Kingdom of Hadhramaut|Ḥaḍramawt]]), who was seen as being closer to the people compared to the more distant figure of ʿAṯtar, and the people of these states consequently called themselves the children of their respective Moon-god.{{sfn|Van Beek|1997a}}{{sfn|Van Beek|1997b}}{{sfn|Hoyland|2002|page=140-141}}{{sfn|Bryce|2009|page=272}}
The [[History of Mesopotamia|Mesopotamia]]ns identified {{transl|xsa|Kirrūm}}, under the name {{lang|akk|{{cuneiform|7|𒀭𒆥𒀸𒈠}}}} ({{transl|akk|[[Dingir|ᴰ]]Kinruma}}), with their own goddess {{lang|akk|{{cuneiform|7|𒀭𒀹𒁯}}}} ({{transl|akk|[[Dingir|ᴰ]][[Inanna|Ištar]]}}), who was herself the goddess of the planet Venus as well as the Mesopotamian form of ʿAṯtar.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}▼
====
This hunter aspect of ʿAṯtar is also present in his Northwest Semitic feminine variant, who is called {{lang|uga|{{script|Ugar|𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎕𐎆𐎄𐎚}}}} ({{transliteration|uga|ʿAṯtart ṣawwādatu}}, {{lit|ʿAṯtart the huntress}}) in one passage of an Ugaritic text. The Sabaic hallowed phrase {{lang|xsa|{{script|Sarb|𐩺𐩥𐩣 𐩮𐩵 𐩮𐩺𐩵 𐩲𐩻𐩩𐩧}}}} ({{transliteration|xsa|ywm ṣd ṣyd ʿṯtr}}, {{lit|the day when he performed the hunt for ʿAṯtar}}) itself had a parallel in a reference to {{lang|akk|{{cuneiform||𒄿𒈾 𒌋𒐋 𒌓𒈪 𒍝𒁺 𒊭 𒀭𒀸𒁯}}}} ({{transliteration|akk|ina 16 umi ṣadu ša [[Dingir|ᴰ]]Aštart}}, {{lit|on the 16th day is the hunt of ʿAṯtart}}) in a text from [[Emar]].{{sfn|Lipiński|1995|pages=128-154}}
▲====The hunt====
▲One of the hypostases of the South Arabian ʿAṯtar was {{lang|
▲The [[
==== {{transliteration|xsa|ʿAṯtar-Šariqān}} ====
Another hypostasis of the South Arabian ʿAṯtar was {{lang|xsa|{{script|Sarb|𐩲𐩻𐩩𐩧𐩦𐩧𐩤𐩬}}}} ({{transliteration|xsa|ʿAṯtar-Šariqān}}), that is ʿAṯtar of the East, who was invoked especially in curses as an avenger god against enemies.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
===Among Arabs===
ʿAṯtar was worshipped as a masculine deity among the ancient [[Arabs]], who during the Iron Age were located principally in the [[Syrian Desert]] and North Arabia.{{sfn|Lipiński|1995|pages=411-412}}{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
====
Similarly to the link between ʿAttar and the ancestral cult of the {{
====
One 8th century BC Aramaic inscription found in a tomb in a region of the [[Zagros Mountains]] close to a [[Mannaea]]n royal tomb mentions ʿAttar as {{lang|oar|
ʿAttar-Muṣurūn was thus the main deity of North Arabia, and the tomb in which his name was found inscribed likely belonged to an Arab who had been deported by the Assyrians to their northeastern border regions.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
====In Qedar====
====={{
{{main|Atarsamain}}
The [[Qedarites|Qedarite]] Arabs worshipped ʿAṯtar in his form of {{
====={{
The worship of ʿAṯtar in his form of {{
====In Palmyra====
====={{
At [[Palmyra]], where lived a large Arab population, the Arab ʿAṯtar was assimilated with the Arameo-[[Canaan#Canaanites|Canaanite]] great god, [[Baal|Baʿal]], in the form of {{
===In Canaan===
The masculine form {{lang|
[[File:Warrior Moab Louvre AO5055.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Moabite deity Kamōš]]▼
▲The masculine form {{lang|mis|𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓}} ({{transl|mis|ʿAštar}}) existed among the [[Canaan#Canaanites|Canaanite peoples]] as an astral deity, which is attested by his mention along with the Moon-God [[Saggar (god)|Šaggar]] in the 9th or 7th century BC [[Deir Alla Inscription|Dayr ʿAllā inscription]], the subject of which is largely the Sun-goddess [[Shapash|Šamāš]], thus forming a triad of the Sun, Moon, and Venus similarly to the one attested in [[South Arabia]], and suggesting a South Arabian religious influence in Moab. The hypostases of ʿAṯtar who appear among the various Canaanite peoples might have been an indigenous Transjordanian variation of his or local adaptations of the North Arabian variant of the god.{{sfn|Lipiński|2000|pages=607-613}}
====In Phoenicia====
====={{transliteration|phn|ʿAštar}}=====
A possible [[Phoenicia]]n variant of {{
====={{
In the 5th century BC, under the [[Achaemenid Empire]], a shrine dedicated to {{
Arabian units of the Achaemenid army stationed in [[Canaan]] during the 5th century BC who participated in the cult of {{
▲[[File:Warrior Moab Louvre AO5055.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The Moabite deity Kamōš]]
====In Moab====
===== {{
ʿAštar was attested among the Canaanite people of the [[Moab]]ites during the 9th century BC, when he was identified with the patron god of Moab, {{lang|obm|{{script|Phnx|𐤊𐤌𐤔}}}} ([[Chemosh|{{
According to the inscription of the Moabite king
====Legacy====
=====In popular culture=====
ʿAštar appears as the demon Ashtar in the video game ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II]]''.
==See also==
* [[Venus in culture]]▼
*[[Asherah]]
{{Portal|Mythology|Asia}}
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==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Bryce |first=Trevor |author-link=Trevor R. Bryce |date=2009 |title=The Routledge Handbook of the Peoples and Places of Ancient Western Asia: From the Early Bronze Age to the Fall of the Persian Empire |url= |location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-39485-7 }}
*{{citation|last1= Frayne|first1= Douglas R.|last2=Stuckey|first2=Johanna H.|year=2021|title=A Handbook of Gods and Goddesses of the Ancient Near East: Three Thousand Deities of Anatolia, Syria, Israel, Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Elam|url= https://books.google.
*{{cite book|last=George|first=Andrew R.|title=House most high: the temples of ancient Mesopotamia|publisher=Eisenbrauns|publication-place=Winona Lake|year=1993|isbn=0-931464-80-3|oclc=27813103}}
*{{cite book |last=Hoyland |first=Robert G. |author-link=Robert G. Hoyland |date=2002 |title=Arabia and the Arabs: From the Bronze Age to the Coming of Islam |url=https://archive.org/details/ARABIAANDTHEARABSFromTheBronzeAgeToTheComingOfIslamRobertG.Hoyland |location=[[London]], [[United Kingdom]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-64634-0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lipiński |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Lipiński (orientalist) |date=1975 |title=Studies in Aramaic Inscriptions and Onomastics |volume=1 |series=Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta |url= |location=[[Leuven]], [[Belgium]] |publisher=[[Leuven University Press]] |isbn=978-9-061-86019-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lipiński |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Lipiński (orientalist) |date=1995 |title=Dieux et déesses de l'univers phénicien et punique |trans-title=Gods and Goddesses of the Phoenician and Punic Universe |language=fr |volume=64 |series=Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta |url= |location=[[Leuven]], [[Belgium]] |publisher=[[Leuven University Press]] |isbn=978-9-068-31690-2 }}
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* {{cite book |last=Lipiński |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Lipiński (orientalist) |date=2006 |title=On the Skirts of Canaan in the Iron Age: Historical and Topographical Researches |series=Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta |volume=153 |location=[[Leuven]], [[Belgium]] |publisher=[[Peeters Publishers]] |page= |isbn=978-9-042-91798-9 }}
*{{cite book|last=Tugendhaft|first=Aaron|editor-last=Grafton|editor-first=Anthony|editor-last2=Most|editor-first2=Glenn W.|title=Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices|chapter=Gods on clay: Ancient Near Eastern scholarly practices and the history of religions|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/28102179|date=2016|page=164 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|publication-place=Cambridge|doi=10.1017/cbo9781316226728.009}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last1=Dever |editor-first1=William G. |editor-link1=William G. Dever |editor-last2=Meyers |editor-first2=Carol L. |editor-link2=Carol Meyers |editor-last3=Muhly |editor-first3=James D. |editor-last4=Pardee |editor-first4=Dennis |editor-last5=Sauer |editor-first5=James A. |editor-last6=Finney |editor-first6=Paul Corby |editor-last7=Jorgensen |editor-first7=John S. |title=Ḥadhramaut |encyclopedia=[[The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East]] |year=1997a |last=Van Beek |first=Gus W. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]], [[United Kingdom]]; [[New York City]], [[United States]] |volume=2 |pages=452–453 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last1=Meyers |editor-first1=Eric M. |editor-link1=Eric M. Meyers |editor-last2=Dever |editor-first2=William G. |editor-link2=William G. Dever |editor-last3=Meyers |editor-first3=Carol L. |editor-link3=Carol Meyers |editor-last4=Muhly |editor-first4=James D. |editor-last5=Pardee |editor-first5=Dennis |editor-last6=Sauer |editor-first6=James A. |editor-last7=Finney |editor-first7=Paul Corby |editor-last8=Jorgensen |editor-first8=John S. |title=Qataban |encyclopedia=[[The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East]] |volume=4 |date=1997b |last=Van Beek |first=Gus W. |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |location=[[Oxford]], [[United Kingdom]]; [[New York City]], [[United States]] |pages=383–384 |isbn=978-0-195-06512-1 }}
*{{cite journal|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|title=Studies in the Ebla Pantheon II|journal=Orientalia|publisher=GBPress - Gregorian Biblical Press|volume=66|issue=4|year=1997|issn=0030-5367|jstor=43078145|pages=414–425|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43078145|access-date=2022-03-09}}
*{{cite journal|last=Ayali-Darshan|first=Noga|title=The Role of Aštabi in the Song of Ullikummi and the Eastern Mediterranean
▲*{{cite journal|last=Ayali-Darshan|first=Noga|title=The Role of Aštabi in the Song of Ullikummi and the Eastern Mediterranean “Failed God” Stories|url=https://www.academia.edu/44462602|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|publisher=University of Chicago Press|volume=73|issue=1|year=2014|issn=0022-2968|doi=10.1086/674665|pages=95–103}}
*{{cite book|last=Archi|first=Alfonso|chapter=The West Hurrian Pantheon and Its Background|chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/7003610| editor1-last=Collins|editor1-first=B. J.|editor2-last=Michalowski|editor2-first=P.|title=Beyond Hatti: a tribute to Gary Beckman|publisher=Lockwood Press|publication-place=Atlanta|year=2013|isbn=978-1-937040-11-6|oclc=882106763}}
{{refend}}
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[[Category:South Arabia]]
[[Category:Ugaritic deities]]
[[Category:Phoenician mythology]]
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