Anat (lit. “source” , goddess of sources) - in West Semitic mythology, the goddess associated with hunting and war takes the place of the Daughter in the 4-member Pantheon “Father-Mother-Daughter-Son”, typical of the Semites.
| Anat | |
|---|---|
 The bronze figurine of the goddess Anat found in Syria | |
| Mythology | West Semitic |
| Terrain | Ugarit , Egypt |
| Name interpretation | "Source" , the goddess of sources |
| Floor | |
| Occupation | goddess of sex and war |
| Brother | Baal Yahweh |
| Spouse | Baal , Yahweh [1] , Egypt. Set [2] |
| Related characters | Ashera , Astarte , Atargatis , Athena Pallas |
| Related Events | went down with her friend Shapash (the sun) to the Lower World of the god Mota to save his brother Baal from captivity |
| Attributes | virginity (with active sex life) |
Content
Mythology
According to the Song of Baal found in Ugarit , Anat was Baal's sister and lover. After Baal was abducted by the god of the Lower World Motom Anat and her friend, the sun goddess Shapash descend to the underworld, where Anat defeats Mota and frees his brother.
The scene of the beating by the goddess of people gathered at the feast is also described.
In the Ugaritic poem “About Akhit”, the image of Anat is inextricably linked with the atheistic motives. The goddess appears as a violator of the established cosmic order, cruelly punishing the protagonist for disobeying her will [3] .
Epithet Anat - "The Maiden." It is believed (cf. Artemis ) that Anat retained her virginity despite an active sex life, including with her own brother.
The goddess was also revered in Egypt, where the Hyksos allegedly brought this cult. Pharaoh Ramses , who fought with the Hittites under Kadesh , called himself “Anat's favorite”.
The goddess is often mentioned in the Old Testament. Rafael Patai, a researcher of religion and mythology, believed that the Queen of Heaven, whose cult included baking pies, coincided with Anat. Rafael Patai also claimed that the epithet “Ashtoret”, meaning something like “her of the womb”, from which the Hellenized name “Astarte” came from, belonged to either Mother Goddess Ashera or Anat.
Anat-Yahu is mentioned in the Elephantine papyruses among the deities worshiped by the Jews of Elephantine [4] . Considering that the main godliness of the pantheon among the Jews of Elephantine was Yahweh (Yahu), it is assumed that Anat could be considered his wife [5] , which completely contradicts the Old Testament, where the Almighty Creator was a spouse only in a symbolic sense in relation to his people Israel and hated any idol-deities created by people.
At the time of the Seleucids, Anat was identified with Athena Pallas . Similarities to Sumer are also seen. Inannoy , Akkad. Ishtar and Hindu. Kali
The features of Anat and Astarte subsequently merged in the image of Atargatis .
Currently, the female name "Anat" is one of the most common in Israel [6] .
Sources
- "Song of Baal."
- Rafael Patai. "The Jewish Goddess."
- Encyclopedia "Myths of the Peoples of the World", article "Anat".
See also
- Anahit
Notes
- ↑ Elephantine Papyrus , Bezalel Porten, with JJ Farber, CJ Martin, G. Vittman, editors. 1996. The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change , Brill Academic, 1996
- ↑ Myths of the World / Ed. S. A. Tokarev. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1991.- T. 1. - S. 76.
- ↑ Ugaritic epic. Per. from Ugaritic, introduced. and comment. I. Sh. Shifman. - M .: Science. Publishing company "Oriental literature", 1993. S. 169-170
- ↑ Bezalel Porten, with JJ Farber, CJ Martin, G. Vittman, editors. 1996. The Elephantine Papyri in English: Three Millennia of Cross-Cultural Continuity and Change , Brill Academic, 1996
- ↑ John Day. Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan
- ↑ Anat. Jewish and Israeli names. The meaning of the names. Gematria. . Netzah.org. Date of treatment January 10, 2015.
Literature
- Anat // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron . - SPb. , 1908-1913.