According to Menander, as reported by Jos. (Ant. VIII. V. 3 ; c. Ap. i. 18), ^liram built in Tyre a temple to Herakles (Melkart), and afterwards one to 'Ashtart, whose priest was Ithobal, Jezebel's father : in Tyre, however, Melkart was the principal god, and 'Ashtart took the second place. 'The worship of 'Ashtart is also widely attested in the Phcen. colonies on the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, esp. in Cyprus, Sicily, and Car- thage. At Kiti (Kition) in Cyprus we read of an image erected by a worshipper mniryV 'nmS ' to his lady, to 'Ashtart' (CIS ib. 11'); from the same locality we have an Inscription (ib. 86) giving par- tic liars of the provision made for the service of her temple, including builders, door-keepers, barbers, scribes, and other attendants. In Gul (Gaulus, near Malta) we hear of a mrpy nz enpa, or ' sanctu- ary of the temple of 'Ashtart' (CIS ib. 132) ; and her worship at Eryx, in Sicily, is attested by two Inscriptions, one found in Eryx itself, the other from Sardinia, beginning with the words, ' To the lady, to 'Ashtart,' J and 'To 'Ashtart of Erekh,' respectively. At Carthage, one 'Abdmelkart styles himself (ib. 255) ' servant of 'Ashtart, the glorious (miK.n)'; and we read {ib. 263) of Am'ashtart pk mnry rK noya ' who is of the people of the men of 'Ashtart,' i.e. who belonged to the people attached to her temple. Of names compounded with 'Ashtart we find Am'ashtart (ib. 3" al. ), and Ammath'ashtart (46' at.), 'handmaid of 'A.'; Ger'aslitart, 'client [Cheyne on Ps 15'] of 'A.' (138^ and often); 'Abd ashtart, 'servant of 'A.' (115'), § usually con- tracted to Bod'ashtart (4'-' 35' and very often); 'Ashtartyathan, ''A. has given ' (72'''); see further references in Bloch, Phan. Glossar (1891).||
' lfame = manifettation (cf. Ex 23*1, Dt 12*, etc). Othen, however (m Ilalijvy, E. Meyer, Dillm., Nowack, Ileb. Arch. il. 307), render ' Ba'al'a Celestial 'Ashtart* (cf. below), pronouncinp C^ ; and in 1.1« grroup the letters into DllN DDB* n*vlPV ' ' Aahtart of the glorious heavens.*
t Ct. B. V. Head, IIM. Numorum, p. 673 ; Babelon, La Itoit de Syrie, p. culiii, 152, 162, witli the two spirited representa- tions, Plate xxii. 6 and 22. The goddess is also represented on the coins of other Phien. cities, as Aradus, Bervtus, Botrys, Byblus, Tyre, etc. (Head, I.e. pp. 668, 669, 674, 676).
) Followed by the words c"n tin, i.e. (probably) 'of lon(t life,* an epithet of the goddess, whence it has In-en plausibly conjectured that the city Kryx — on inscriptions and coins (CIS L i. p. 173») "IK — received its name.
I The name also of Hiram's grandson (Jos. o. Ap. L 18,—
II With the preceding paragraph cf. Batbgen, Sem. Rel.-Offch. ;888, pp. 31-37.
Although, however, 'Ashtart was thus a dis- tinctively Phoen. goddess, Phoinicia was not hei original home, 'fhe prototype of 'Ashtart waa Ishtar, a deity who had for long held a conspicuous place in the Pantheon of Assyria, and who was localised, with special attributes, in many different cities of Assyria and Babylonia.* In a prayer of Asshuma?irpal, purporting to date c. 1800 B.C., Ishtar of Nineveh is addressed by him as ' queen of the gods, into whose hands are delivered tne com- mands of the great gods, lady (6i/ii)of Nineveh . . . daughter of Sin (the moon-god), sister of Shamash (the sun-god), who rules all kingdoms, who de- termines decrees, the goddess of the universe, lady of heaven and earth, who hears petitions, heeds sighs, the merciful goddess who loves justice ' ; he, her ' priest-king,' protests that she had called him to his throne, he liad restored and beautified her temple ; and he calls upon her now to hear his cry, and to heal him in his sickness. Other monarcna (Shalmane^er II., Sennacherib, etc.) place Ishtar next to Asshur, and speak of both together as marching at their side, directing them in their wars, and giving; them victory over their foes. Esarhaddon, for instance, says.t ' Ishtar, the lady of onslaught and battle, who loves my priest- hood, stood at my side and brake their bows.' Shalmaneser 11. also styles her ' princess (rishti) of heaven and earth ' ;* and Esaruaddon calls her 'queen {sharrat) of all.'§ Another aspect of Ishtar's character is brought before us in the curious mythological poem, which recounts her descent into the Underworld in search of the heal- ing waters which should restore to life her bride- groom Tammuz, the young and beautiful Sun-god, slain by the cruel hand of wintor. Here it is related how, as she journeys towards the realm of Allat, queen of the dead, ' the land without return, the house of darkness,' she is stripped in succession, as she passes its seven gates, of aU her attire, hei crown, her earrings, her necklace, her mantle, her ^rdle, her bracelets, and her tunic : while she IS there all intercourse between male and female ceases in the animal creation ; at last, at Ea's command, she is released, her adorn- ments are restored to her, and she returns to earth. Here Ishtar, who is evidently conceived as the goddess of fertility and productiveness, symbolises, it seems, the lifegiving earth, which loses, one by one, its adornments as it passes into the darlc prison-house of winter, to have them restored to it at springtime, as nature awakens with the returning love of the youthful sun-god. II