Side by sideParallel across traditions
Greek writers identified the Phoenician Astarte with Aphrodite; the Ugaritic Athtart is mainly a warrior and huntress.
| Aphrodite | Athtart (Astarte) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tradition | Greek Pantheon | Canaanite Pantheon (Ugarit) |
| Domains | love, beauty, desire, sexuality | war, hunting, love (in later Phoenician cult) |
| Symbols | dove, swan, rose, myrtle, sparrow | the horse, the hunt |
| Also called | Venus, Kypris | Astarte, Ashtart, Name of Baal (šm bʿl) |
The atlas records no domain or symbol that Aphrodite and Athtart (Astarte) share.
They are compared for the part each plays in their own tradition rather than for any attribute in common.
Associated with love, beauty, desire, and sexuality.
Associated with war, hunting, and love (in later phoenician cult).
Cyprus is her oldest ground. Corinth mixed sailors, courtesans, and a high temple. Athens split Ourania from Pandemos: heavenly and of the whole people. Roses, doves, and the sea-foam story sit on top of a civic sex-and-luck cult.
No cult sites or festivals are recorded in the atlas.
Greek Pantheon
Goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Born from the sea foam after Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea.
Aphrodite is the irresistible goddess of love and beauty. Though married to Hephaestus, she had many lovers, most notably Ares. She has the power to make anyone fall in love, a power that even Zeus cannot resist.
Canaanite Pantheon (Ugarit)
A warrior and hunting goddess who, with Anat, holds Baal back from attacking Yam's messengers and then urges him to finish Yam off; better known in later centuries as the Phoenician Astarte.
In the Baal Cycle, when Yam's messengers demand that Baal be surrendered, Baal seizes a weapon to strike them, and two goddesses restrain him: Anat takes his right hand and Athtart his left (KTU 1.2 I). They remind him that messengers are not to be harmed.
Comparisons pair figures that play a similar role across traditions, or that the myths connect within one. A shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.