Astarte, Mistress of Horses, Lady of the Chariot: The Warrior Aspect of Astarte
Scholarship since the 19th Century has emphazised the function of Astarte as a goddess associated with fertility and sexuality, and — following classical authors — a cult of this goddess containing extatic und sexual rites. An unbiased look on the textual and iconographic representations of Astarte...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2013
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In: |
Die Welt des Orients
Year: 2013, Volume: 43, Issue: 2, Pages: 213-225 |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Scholarship since the 19th Century has emphazised the function of Astarte as a goddess associated with fertility and sexuality, and — following classical authors — a cult of this goddess containing extatic und sexual rites. An unbiased look on the textual and iconographic representations of Astarte however show that her primary function in the Late Bronze Age was as a goddess of war, apotropaic magic, and healing in analogy to her more prominent sister Anat. In this function she was adopted into the pantheon of the Egyptian New Empire, securing Egyptian dominion over Canaan. In the 1st Millenium her war-like character is not so obvious, but saw her rise from a second-tier goddess to a goddess closely associated with kingship. Nevertheless Astarte merged during the Phoenician west-expansion in the second part of the 1st Millenium with other goddesses of the Mediterranean, her function as a goddess of royalty and healing persisted. |
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ISSN: | 2196-9019 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Die Welt des Orients
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