Transformation of a Goddess: Ishtar - Astarte - Aphrodite: 2014 (Orbis Biblicus Et Orientalis, 263)

by David Sugimoto

This book deals with the changing nature of the goddess Ishtar/Astarte/Aphrodite, who was widely revered in the ancient West Asia and the Mediterranean world and was known by different names. Although the three names are often closely related, their mutual relation has not yet been sufficiently clarified. They appear with different characters and attributes in various areas and periods. They may well refer to independent goddesses, each of whom may also be connected with other deities. In this volume, specialists on different areas and periods discuss the theme from various perspectives, allowing a new and broader understanding of the goddess(es) concerned. The areas covered range from Mesopotamia to the Levant, Egypt and the Mediterranean world, the periods embraced from the third millennium BCE to the Hellenistic age.



The volume is the fruit of an international conferenceheld in Tokyo in 2011. Drawing on discussions at the conference, each article was completely rewritten. Contributors include Stephanie L. Budin, Stéphanie Anthonioz ,Elizabeth Bloch-Smith, Izak Cornelius, Eiko Matsushima, Mark M. Smith, David T. Sugimoto, Keiko Tazawa and Akio Tsukimoto.

228 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2014

Reviews

[Valiza Khovrakh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a seminal book for those interested in goddesses under the umbrella of "Queen of Heaven" and "Goddess of Love".
I was so happy to delve into scholarly evidence as opposed to the new-agey misinformation on the Internet. I am an aspiring fiction writer, not a scholar by any means. But this book is invaluable to me because it has disproved or at least questioned many pop-cultural stereotypes about "Goddess of Love". This has also led me to question my prejudices and how I approach mythological characters as a writer.
My personal favourite was perhaps the mind-blowing story of how Aphrodite originated as a local "patron ancestor" goddess of Cyprus and then became sexualized and fashioned into an Astarte-like figure after the Greek invasion and under the Phoenician influence.