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ʿAṯtar
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ʿAṯtar
ʿAṯtar is a deity whose role, name, and even gender varied across ancient Semitic religion. In both genders, ʿAṯtar is identified with the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. ʿAṯtar is a prominent character in the Baal Cycle.
The name appears in various Semitic languages as:
The Ugaritic masculine variant of ʿAṯtar, 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗 (ʿAṯtar), appears in the Baʿal Cycle.
The Northwest Semitic feminine form of ʿAṯtar, the Great Goddess 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 (ʿAṯtart), is often mentioned in Ugaritic ritual texts, but played a minor role in mythological texts.
Among the Aramaeans, ʿAṯtar appears in a masculine form as the god 𐡏𐡕𐡓 (ʿAttar), in which capacity he was identified with the baetyl as 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒋡𒈬 (ʿAttar-qāmu, lit. 'ʿAttar is the baetyl').
Within the ancient Aramaean religion, the deceased ancestors of the clans, called ʿamm, were worshipped as idealised figures who could become assimilated to ʿAttar, as evidenced by personal names such as 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒄠 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒈬 (ʿAttar-ʿammu, lit. 'ʿAttar is the ancestor'), and 𒁹𒀀𒀜𒋻 and 𒁹𒀀𒈨𒀀𒋻 (ʿAmmī-ʿAttar, lit. 'My ancestor is ʿAttar').
The use of the name of the god ʿAttar as a theophoric element is attested in the name 𐡁𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡓 (Bar-ʿAttar, lit. 'Son of ʿAttar'), which is attested on an 8th-century BC stamp seal and was also the name of the earliest known ruler of Laqē, as well as 𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡎𐡌𐡊 (ʿAttar-sumki, lit. 'ʿAttar is my support'), which was the name of two rulers of the kingdom of Bēt-Gūš. The name of this god always appears in the masculine form even in women's names, such as ʿAttar-ramat and ʿAttar-ṭabat, thus attesting that the Aramaean ʿAttar was a distinctly masculine deity.
One of the hypostases of the Aramaean ʿAttar was 𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡔𐡌𐡉𐡍 (ʿAttar-Šamayin), that is the ʿAttar of the Heavens: in this role, ʿAttar was the incarnation of the sky's procreative power in the form of the moisture provided by rain, which made fertile his consort, the goddess of the Earth which has been dried up by the summer heat. Due to ʿAttar's role as a provider of rain, his epithet "of the Heavens" refers to his manifestation as lightning and thunder in the skies.
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ʿAṯtar
ʿAṯtar is a deity whose role, name, and even gender varied across ancient Semitic religion. In both genders, ʿAṯtar is identified with the planet Venus, the morning and evening star. ʿAṯtar is a prominent character in the Baal Cycle.
The name appears in various Semitic languages as:
The Ugaritic masculine variant of ʿAṯtar, 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗 (ʿAṯtar), appears in the Baʿal Cycle.
The Northwest Semitic feminine form of ʿAṯtar, the Great Goddess 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 (ʿAṯtart), is often mentioned in Ugaritic ritual texts, but played a minor role in mythological texts.
Among the Aramaeans, ʿAṯtar appears in a masculine form as the god 𐡏𐡕𐡓 (ʿAttar), in which capacity he was identified with the baetyl as 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒋡𒈬 (ʿAttar-qāmu, lit. 'ʿAttar is the baetyl').
Within the ancient Aramaean religion, the deceased ancestors of the clans, called ʿamm, were worshipped as idealised figures who could become assimilated to ʿAttar, as evidenced by personal names such as 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒄠 𒁹𒀀𒋻𒄩𒈬 (ʿAttar-ʿammu, lit. 'ʿAttar is the ancestor'), and 𒁹𒀀𒀜𒋻 and 𒁹𒀀𒈨𒀀𒋻 (ʿAmmī-ʿAttar, lit. 'My ancestor is ʿAttar').
The use of the name of the god ʿAttar as a theophoric element is attested in the name 𐡁𐡓𐡏𐡕𐡓 (Bar-ʿAttar, lit. 'Son of ʿAttar'), which is attested on an 8th-century BC stamp seal and was also the name of the earliest known ruler of Laqē, as well as 𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡎𐡌𐡊 (ʿAttar-sumki, lit. 'ʿAttar is my support'), which was the name of two rulers of the kingdom of Bēt-Gūš. The name of this god always appears in the masculine form even in women's names, such as ʿAttar-ramat and ʿAttar-ṭabat, thus attesting that the Aramaean ʿAttar was a distinctly masculine deity.
One of the hypostases of the Aramaean ʿAttar was 𐡏𐡕𐡓𐡔𐡌𐡉𐡍 (ʿAttar-Šamayin), that is the ʿAttar of the Heavens: in this role, ʿAttar was the incarnation of the sky's procreative power in the form of the moisture provided by rain, which made fertile his consort, the goddess of the Earth which has been dried up by the summer heat. Due to ʿAttar's role as a provider of rain, his epithet "of the Heavens" refers to his manifestation as lightning and thunder in the skies.
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