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Asherah
Goddess being the wife of the supreme god, revered in West Semitic religions. Her husband being El, she is often called Elath, "the Goddess" or Qudshu, "Holiness."
Her main purpose seems to be mother of most of the other gods, according to texts from Ugarit, 70 in number.
Confusingly, she may also be revered as the wife of Baal, the real contender to the highest position in the pantheon to El. In this context, she was often known as Baalat.
A third context of reverence was in southern Palestine, where she was the wife of Yahweh.
Later, in Greek and Roman mythologies, she would be known as Astarte. There are also suggestions to her being related to the Mesopotamian goddesses Ishtar or Inanna.
© Copyright 1996-2008 LookLex Ltd. All rights reserved
By: Tore Kjeilen
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