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ASTARTE (also ASHTORETH, ASHERAH, ATTORET, ANATH) The great Canaanite mother goddess, Astarte, was the unrivaled goddess of Canaan. As the consort of BAAL, Astarte was also a powerful war goddess, and her reputation as a terrible and destructive force in war earned her the respect and worship of Egyptian kings. Astarte was adopted into the Egyptian pantheon during the New Kingdom, and chapels were built for her in Thebes and Tanis. In Egyptian mythology, she was the wife of SET, who resembled the Canaanite god Baal.
Associated with horses and chariots in Egypt, Ash- teeth/Astarte was often shown driving her chariot or riding her horse and wearing the Egyptian ATEF CROWN with tall plumes and bulls horns. She was the guardian of the pharaoh's chariot, and during the reign of Ramses the Great (1279–1213 Bc.), Astarte was called Mistress of the Horse and Chariot. Her cult centers flourished under Ramses's reign.
Worship of Astarte grew rapidly in Egypt, especially in the Delta, where foreign gods were readily associated with Egyptian gods. Astarte was seen as a reflection of ISIS and HATHOR, and like her Egyptian counterparts, the many facets of her personality were understood by the people. Astarte, the mother goddess, was all-knowing and understanding, the loving mother of her clan and a leader of her people. In the Delta city of Tanis, Astarte was recognized as a moon goddess and was associated with the moon god Aah as well as with Hathor-Isis, who also had ties to Aah. There are many biblical references to Ashtoreth/ Astarte, and the Bible tells us that even King Saul, the first Hebrew king (1050 B.c), worshipped Ashtoreth, the Queen of Heaven. In the following Old Testament references to Ashtoreth, we can see that for a time her cult was popular among the Hebrews.
And they forsook the Lord and worshipped Baal and Ashtoreth.
Judges 2:13
And the People did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, forgetting the Lord their God, and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths.
Judges 3:7
Samuel spake unto the house of Israel, saying if ye do not return unto the Lord with all your hearts, and put away the strange gods and Ash - toreth from among you and prepare your hearts unto the Lord and serve him only, he will deliver you from the hands of the Philistines.
Samuel 7:3
So popular and well established was the cult of Astarte/Ashtoreth that it flourished in the Delta well into Christian times.
