Canaanite

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Canaanite

Astarte

The Lady of Love and War

Domain: Love, War & Fertility
Alignment: True Neutral
Element: Light
Relics of Power: Evening Star

Speak with Astarte

The full Codex

5 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.

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The People

People

Canaanites & Phoenicians

Region

Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel)

Period

c. 3000 – 300 BC

The Canaanite gods were worshipped by the peoples of the Levant, including the Phoenicians, great navigators and traders of the Mediterranean. Headed by El and the storm god Baal, they were honored in cities such as Ugarit, Tyre, and Carthage. Their myths, rediscovered on the Ugarit tablets, closely echo the biblical traditions.

Worship followed Baal's agricultural cycle, with autumn festivals calling for the rains and laments for his descent into the world of the dead. The faithful worshipped at the "high places" (bamot) and in city temples, with stone steles, incense, and animal sacrifices.

At a glance

Astarte (Ugaritic: 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚, ʿAṯtartu; Phoenician: 𐤏𐤔𐤕𐤓𐤕, ʿAštart; Greek: Ἀστάρτη) is the major Northwest Semitic goddess of dynastic kingship, chariot warfare, the hunt, and maritime civic dominion. Etymologically cognate with East Semitic Ishtar and South Arabian ʿAthtar, Astarte was venerated across the Levant from the third millennium BCE at Ebla and Mari, flourishing in the cuneiform archives of Late Bronze Age Ugarit and Emar before emerging as the paramount civic patroness of the Phoenician coastal metropolises of Sidon, Tyre, and Byblos in the Iron Age. In the mythic poetry of Ras Shamra, ʿAṯtartu safeguards celestial order: alongside her sister Anat, she restrains Baal's violent rage against the ambassadors of prince Yammu (KTU 1.2 I 40) and hexes the sea god to secure lawful kingship (KTU 1.2 IV 28). The liturgical hymn RIH 98/02 honors her as a ferocious lioness and leaping panther tasked with shutting the jaws of El's adversaries. Through Phoenician maritime navigation, her worship spread across the Mediterranean to Cyprus (Kition and Paphos), Etruria (where the famous gold Pyrgi Tablets commemorate her sanctuary dedicated by King Thefarie Velianas as the counterpart of Etruscan Uni), and Carthage. In New Kingdom Egypt, she was celebrated as an equestrian warrior goddess protecting the pharaoh's chariot and serving as the divine consort of Seth.

6 min read · Reviewed on October 1, 2026 · How we research

Sacred symbols

The star, the dove, the lion and the crescent moon

Family

Parents

El Asherah

Siblings

Anat Baal

Astarte

Unions

BaalEshmun (healing god of Sidon with whom she shared civic temples and sanctuaries)Seth

Genealogy according to Ciclo de Baal (KTU 1.2 I e IV); Mito da Caçada KTU 1.92; Hino Cuneiforme da Leoa RIH 98/02; Inscrição Real do Sarcófago de Eshmunazar II (KAI 14); Lâminas de Ouro de Pirgi (KAI 277); Papiro Chester Beatty I; Livros Bíblicos de 1 Reis (11:5) e 1 Samuel (31:10); Mark S. Smith (1994, 2014); John Day (2000); Corinne Bonnet (1996)

Sources and further reading

Primary sources

Thefarie Velianas (King of Caere) & Phoenician Chancery of Pyrgi, Gold Tablets of Pyrgi (Monumental Phoenician and Etruscan Inscription KAI 277 / TLE 874). translation: Official epigraphic edition, Phoenician transcription and documentation on the Wikipedia portal. read
Eshmunazar II & Rainha Amoashtart de Sídon, Royal Inscription of the Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II (Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum I 3 / KAI 14). translation: Phoenician epigraphic text of Sidon and critical apparatus on the Wikipedia portal. read
Escribas de Ras Shamra & Smith, Mark S., Mythological Texts of the Baal Cycle (cuneiform tablets KTU 1.2 I and IV, Louvre Museum). translation: Philological and mythological apparatus documented on the Wikipedia portal. read

Studies

Editorial team of the Wikimedia Encyclopedic Project, Entry Astarte: Origins, Phoenician Epigraphy, Inscriptions of Sidon and Pyrgi. Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. open
Day, Peggy L., Astarte and Anat in the Ancient Levant (em Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible). E.J. Brill, Leiden, 1999. open
Editorial team of History and Comparative Religions, Astarte: Levantine Goddess of Kingship, Warfare and Chariotry. Encyclopedia.com / Gale Research, 2018. open

Name and epithets

The Northwest Semitic divine name ʿAṯtart derives from the common Proto-Semitic root \*ʿ-ṯ-r, shared with Akkadian Ištar and the South Arabian astral god ʿAṯtar.

In the ancient sources

Royal Sarcophagus Inscription of Eshmunazar II (KAI 14), fifth century BCE (circa 525–500 BCE). Records the royal dynasty of Sidonian priest-kings and the construction of temples to Astarte and Eshmun overseen by Queen…

The myths

Restraining Baal and the Spell against Yammu (KTU 1.2). When envoys from Prince Yammu appear before the divine council demanding Baal's surrender, Baal is seized by uncontrollable fury and raises his weapons to strike t…

Worship and archaeology

The veneration of Astarte at Sidon formed the institutional foundation of Phoenician dynastic authority. As memorialized on the sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II, Queen Amoashtart officiated as high priestess of Astarte, dir…

How the god was depicted

Phoenician and Punic art frequently represents Astarte either nude or clad in sheer garments, flanked by lions or standing upon a lioness, symbolizing her dominance over wild beasts.

What scholars debate

Disentangling Astarte, Asherah, and Anat. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century biblical and orientalist scholarship routinely conflated Astarte with mother-goddess Athirat (Asherah) and warrior Anat, interpreting the…

After antiquity

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Astarte was widely assimilated to Aphrodite and Venus. On Mount Eryx in Sicily, her ancient Phoenician sanctuary became the renowned temple of Venus Erycina, celebrated by Roman…

Did you know?

A famous eighth-century BCE Phoenician bronze statuette discovered at El Carambolo near Seville, Spain, bears an inscription dedicating the figurine to Astarte, demonstrating her worship in the far western Mediterranean…

Codex relic

Evening Star. The star of dusk, symbol of her beauty and power, that reigns over both love and battle.

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