Meet with us Astarte, Goddess of War. Discover her origins and relationships with other powerful gods of Egypt.
Astarte Goddess Of War
Astarte goddess of war is a goddess of many names, with a history that spans many cultures, numerous parts of the world and almost all of human history. Her influence on modern religions is still strongly felt and Astarte’s touch can be found in some surprising places. Astarte is the goddess of war and, to a lesser extent, the goddess of love and fertility. In Egypt she was considered a particularly powerful warrior goddess and was also associated with the most powerful war machine of the time: the horse and chariot.
She was especially fond of people who were good with horses, as evidenced by a story in which she delighted in the fact that the son of a pharaoh was an excellent horseman. The cult of Astarte was significant in Egypt, and special obelisks were made for the purpose of worshipping her. She is considered one of the most important gods of Egypt.
Appearance
Astarte is usually shown as a beautiful, naked woman. She often wears a pair of bull horns on her head, a sign of dominance and power. Many depictions also show her with a set, or even two sets, of wings. It is common for Astarte to be shown with overly rounded hips, which is associated with motherhood and fertility. Sometimes her body is shown as androgynous, which simply means that she looks neither male nor female. Astarte can also be seen wearing a crown. Because she is considered the mistress of horses by the Egyptians, many depictions of her show the goddess on horseback or otherwise in the company of horses.
Family of Astarte goddess of war
Depending on where in Egypt you ask, Astarte’s father was either the sun god Ra, or Ptah, the god of craftsmen. If she is the daughter of Ra it means that she is also the sister of Anat, another goddess of war. Astarte is also associated with another daughter of Ra, Hathor. Hathor is a goddess of fertility, which is, of course, an attribute by which Astarte is also known. Her consort was Seth, who is (unsurprisingly) a god of war. He is also the god of winds, storms, evil, chaos and darkness. It seems that even some goddesses have a soft spot for bad guys. Astarte also had a son, according to the Canaanites, named Hauron. Hauron was also officially accepted in the Egyptian religion.
Origins and History
We know very little about Astarte specifically in her Egyptian incarnation, but we do know that she is another version of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar. Astarte was officially adopted into the Egyptian religion during the 18th Egyptian dynasty. Like Ishtar, there are quite a few stories about Astarte in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Here, she is shown to be a bit moody and spoiled; in one story, she goes to the gate of the underworld and demands to be let in. Ishtar was all about love and became quite obsessed with a few men whom she insisted she wanted to marry. Gilgamesh himself told her not to thank him, as he had heard stories about all the other men she had loved and then left or hurt them in some way.
When Ishtar didn’t get her way, she became very nasty. She was quite liberal with her demands and curses, and was known for her weight in general. The problem is that, although Astarte is derived from Ishtar, we cannot assume that the Egyptian form of this goddess was anything like Ishtar. Ishtar and Astarte may also be the inspiration for Mary, mother of Jesus, in modern Christianity, as the cult of Ishtar spread throughout the Middle East and beyond, reaching as far as Europe. It is also possible that Astarte served as inspiration for the Greek goddess Aphrodite, who has many similarities to Astarte.
Modern Influence
As such, as an ancient and important goddess, Astarte under her many names is often referred to in media such as video games, animation, fantasy novels and movies. As Ishtar, for example, she is mentioned in the Sandman comics, as well as in the Conan the Barbarian stories.
