Ancient Phoenician terracotta goddess Astarte statue, 500-300 BC An ancient Phoenician terracotta pottery statuette of crowned goddess Astarte. She is holding a baby in her arm. Scalloped rims. Circa: 500-300 BC. Astarte is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Astarte. Astarte was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar. Ancient Terracotta and Ceramic Figures, Figurines, Statues, Museum Pieces, and Historical Artifacts. Height: 6.5 inch = 16.51 cm. All measurements are approximate. Condition Report: Overall good antique condition. Signs of wear and age. Refer to photos. Sold as is. Astarte (/əˈstɑːrtiː/; Ἀστάρτη, Astartē) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar.[5] Astarte was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity, and her name is particularly associated with her worship in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians, though she was originally associated with Amorite cities like Ugarit and Emar, as well as Mari and Ebla.[6] She was also celebrated in Egypt, especially during the reign of the Ramessides, following the importation of foreign cults there. Phoenicians introduced her cult in their colonies on the Iberian Peninsula. In various cultures Astarte was connected with some combination of the following spheres: war, sexuality, royal power, beauty, healing and - especially in Ugarit and Emar - hunting;[14] however, known sources do not indicate she was a fertility goddess, contrary to opinions in early scholarship.[15] Her symbol was the lion and she was also often associated with the horse and by extension chariots. The dove might be a symbol of her as well, as evidenced by some Bronze Age cylinder seals.[16] The only images identified with absolute certainty as Astarte are these depicting her as a combatant on horseback or in a chariot.[17] While many authors in the past asserted that she has been known as the deified morning and/or evening star,[18] it has been called into question if she had an astral character at all, at least in Ugarit and Emar.[19] God lists known from Ugarit and other prominent Bronze Age Syrian cities regarded her as the counterpart of Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ištar, and of the Hurrian Ishtar-like goddesses Ishara (presumably in her aspect of "lady of love") and Shaushka; in some cities, the western forms of the name and the eastern form "Ishtar" were fully interchangeable.[20]