A fuller account of the customs and antiquities of Assyria than has heretofore been possible may be found in the recent works of Rich, Botta, and Layard ; see also Manners, Customs, Arts, and Arms of Assyria, restored from the Monuments, by P. H. Gosse (Lond. 1852) ; Fresnel, Thomas, and Oppert, Expedition en Mesopotamie (Par. 1858); Outline of the Hist, of As- syria, by Col. Rawlinson (Lond. 1852) ; Jour. Sac. Lit. 2d ser. iv, 373 sq. ; Critica Biblica, vol. i ; Fergusson, Palaces of Nineveh and Persejwlis (Lond. 1851). See Nineveh ; Babylon. On the recent efforts to de- cipher the cuneiform inscriptions on the Assyrian mon- uments, see Rawlinson, in the Jour. As. Soc. xii, No. 2; xiv, No. 1; Hincks, ib. xii, No. 1; Botta, Mem. sur VEcriture Ass. (Par. 1848); Lowenstein, Essai de dech'ffr. de VEcrit. Assyr. (Par. 1850). See Cunei- form Inscriptions. For the geography, see Captain Jones's paper, in vol. xiv of the Asiatic Society's Jour- nal (pt. 2) ; Col. Chesney 's Euphrates Expedition (Lond. 1850). See Eden. For the historical views, see Raw- linson's Herodotus, vol. i ; Brandis's Rerum Assyriarum Tempora Emcndata ; Sir H. Rawlinson's Contributions to the Asiat. Soc. Journ. and the Athcnmim; Bosan- quet's Sacred and prof ane Chronology ; Oppert's Pap- port a son Excellence M. le Ministre de V Instruction; Dr. Hincks's Contributions to the Lublin University Magazine ; Vance Smith's Exposition of the Prophecies relating to Nineveh and Assyria; and comp. Niebuhr's Vortrdge iiber alte Geschichte, vol. i ; Clinton's Fasti Hell. vol. i; Niebuhr's Geschichte Assw's unci Babel's ; Gumpach, Abriss der Babylonish-Assyrischtn Geschichte (Mannheim, 1854). Compare Asshur.
Assyr'ian (Heb. same as Asshur ; Sept. and Apoc- rypha 'Ao-ffi'pioc). See Assyria.
As'taroth (Deut. i, 14). See Ashtaroth.
Astarte (AaTdprrj), the Greek form of the Heb. Ashtoreth or Asherah (q. v.), Grsecized also As- trodrch'e ('A<T<rio«px»7i Herodian, v, G, 10), the chief Syrian deity (Lucian, De dea Syr. 4), being the god- dess of the Sidonians (1 Kings xi, 5, 33), also intro- duced (from the Tyrians, see Josephus, Apion, i, 18) among the Philistines (1 Sam. xxxi, 10), and worship- ped by the apostate Israelites (2 Kings xxiii, 4; Mic. v, 13). She was likewise adored by the Phoenician colony at Carthage (Augustine, Qucest. in Jud. xvi; comp. Creuzer, Symbol, ii, 270 sq.), among whom her name appears as a component of common appellations of individuals (Gescnius, in the Hall. Encycl. xxi, 98; comp. Abdastartus [i. e. "servant of Astarte"], in Jo- sephus, Apion, i, 18). She was also worshipped in Fhrygia and at Hicrapolis (Creuzer, Symbol, ii, 61). She is usually named in connection with Baal (Judg. ii, 13; iii, 7; x, 6; 1 Sam. vii, 4; xii, 10; 1 Kings xviii, 19; 2 Kings xxiii, 24, etc.), and corresponds to the female (generative) principle, otherwise called Paaltis (BaaXric, worshipped especially at ByLlus, see Philo, in Euscb. Prap. Evang. i, 10), the chief goddess of the Phoenicians and Syrians ("Astarte the Great," Sanchoniath. Frag. cd. Orelli, p. 34), and probal ly the same with the "queen of heaven" (Jer. vii. 18; xliv, 17; comp. 2 Kings xxiii, 4). Man)' (Creuzer, Symbol, ii, 65 sq.) identify her with Ati-rgatis (q. v.) or Derceto (comp. Herod, i, 105); but this lat- ter, as a fish-goddess, hardly agrees with the description of Ashtoreth (q. v.) by Sanchoniathon (Frag. ed. Orelli, p. 34; and in Euseb. J'rup. Fv. i, 10), nor does Astarte appear in this form on coins (see Montfaucon, Antique Oca of A.=. ,. tf •• ooa -r-. i i i tarte, found liy Anttq. exphq. II, n, 3.c6; Ecknel, r)r.-\vilson at Da- Doctr. Numor. I, iii, 3G9 sq., comp. masons (^nnrfso/ 372 ; Gesenius, in the Hall. Encycl. ^tble, ii, 709). xxi, 99). The Greeks and Romans, according to their usual method in treating foreign divinities, comparo her to Venus, i. c. Urania (comp. Cic. Nat. Dcor. iii,
ASTATH
499
ASTRONOMY
23; Euseb. Prcep. Er.i, 10; Theodoret, iii, 50; Nonni Vionys. iii, 110); sometimes with Juno (Augustine, Qwest, in Jud. xvi ; comp. Creuzer, Symbol, ii, 270) ; and sometimes with Luna (Lucian, De dea Syria, 4; comp. Herodian, v, 6, 10). She also appears as the Mylitta of the Babylonians (Herod, i, 131, 11)9), the Alytta of the Arabians and Armenians (of Anaitis, Strabo, xv, 806), a general representation of the god- doss of love and fruitfulness (Herod, i, 144 ; Baruch vi, 43 ; Euseb. Vit. Constant, iii, 55 ; Yal. Max. ii, 6, 15; comp. 2 Kings xxiii, 7; see Creuzer, Symbolik, ii, 23 sq.). Some also find traces of the name in the Per- sic and Syriac terms of the Sabian religious books (Nordberg, Onom. p. 20 sq.). Under the form Ashe- rah (inl'IJU) it appears to designate the goddess of good fortune (from "Vw'X, to be happy). See Meni. (See generally Selden, Dz diis Syris, ii, 2; Gruber, in the Hall. Eucycl. iv, 135 ; Gesenius, Comment, z. Jesa. ii, 338 ; Thes. Ileb. p. 1082 sq. ; Hasc, in the Biblioth. Brem. viii, 707 sq. ; also in Ugolini Thcsaur. xxiii ; Fourmont, Reflexions critiques sur les h'stoires des an- cicns peuples, ii, 301 sq. ; Graff, Beit-rage z. richtig. Beurtheil. d. Ilauptmom. in d. alte Gesch. d. Assyr. Babylonier u. Meder, Wetzlar, 1828; Hug, Myth. p. 118 sq. ; Movers, Phdnis'er, i; Munter, Relig. d. Kar- thager ; Stuhr, Relig. d. Orients, p. 439 ; Vatks, Relig. d. Alt. Test. p. 372 sq. ; Dupuis, Origine des cultes, i, 181 sq. ; iii, 471 sq. ; Schmenk, Mythol. d. Semiten, p. 207; Van Dale, Di origine idolatries, p. 17 sq.)— Wi- ner, i, 108. See Ashtoreth ; Queen of Heaven.