Astarte

Astarte is the name of a Canaanite goddess who was worshipped in large parts of the ancient Near East. In the cities of Tyre and Sidon, she was the most important goddess. The Israelites were familiar with her as well.

In the mythology, Astarte was the wife of El. She was seen as the goddess of war.

The goddess Astarte is mentioned in texts from Ugarit, Phoenicia and Egypt. In the Mesopotamian religion her name was Ishtar. She was one of the most important goddesses in Mesopotamia.
In Ugaritic texts, Astarte is always named in combination with the goddess Anat. In a later period, Astarte and Anat were probably seen as one and the same goddess, who was called Astarte or Atargatis. In the Hellenistic Era, this goddess was often equated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

In the Old Testament, worship of Astarte is forbidden by the Law of Moses and condemned by the prophets. Nevertheless, kings like Solomon, Ahab and Manasseh worshipped the goddess (see 1 Kings 11:5; 2 Kings 23:13).
A number of times, the name Astarte occurs in the plural form in the Old Testament, usually in the combination “the Baals and the Astartes” (see for instance Judges 2:13; 1 Samuel 7:4). In those cases, the name is probably used to indicate goddesses in general.