Thrones of Astarte

Phoenician votive thrones

Byblos

Tayibeh

Ain Baal

Umm al-Amad

Temple of Eshmun

Sidon

Tyre

Places associated with the Thrones of Astarte

Part of a series on

Canaanite and Aramaic
inscriptions

Corpora

* Scripturae Linguaeque Phoeniciae
* CIS (Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum)
* KAI (Kanaanäische und Aramäische Inschriften)
* TADAE (Textbook of Aramaic Documents from Ancient Egypt)

Discoveries (17th & 18th c.)

* Punic-Libyan bilinguals
* Cippi of Melqart
* Carpentras Stela
* Pococke Kition inscriptions
* Benhisa inscription
* Phoenician Harpocrates statues
* Nora Stone
* Athenian Greek-Phoenician inscriptions

Discoveries (19th c.)

* Tripolitania Punic inscriptions
* Elephantine papyri and ostraca
* Mdina steles
* Carthaginian tombstones
* Humbert Carthage inscriptions
* Turin Aramaic Papyrus
* Blacas papyrus
* Falbe Punic inscriptions
* Reade Punic inscriptions
* Limyra bilingual
* Abu Simbel Phoenician graffiti
* Ain Nechma inscriptions
* Kellia inscription
* Marseille Tariff
* Nimrud ivory inscriptions
* Assyrian lion weights
* Phoenician metal bowls
* Anat Athena bilingual
* Bourgade inscriptions
* Sarcophagus of Eshmunazar II
* Gozo stele
* Serapeum Offering Table
* Cirta steles
* Carthage Tariff
* Son of Baalshillek marble base
* Carthage tower model
* Bodashtart inscriptions
* Kition Resheph pillars
* Ankh-Hapy stele
* Pauli Gerrei trilingual inscription
* Baalshamin inscription
* Phoenician sun dial
* Umm al-Amad votive inscription
* Cesnola Phoenician inscriptions
* Khaznadar inscriptions
* Hadrumetum Punic inscriptions
* Mesha Stele
* Abydos graffiti
* Idalion bilingual
* Idalion Temple inscriptions
* Yehawmilk Stele
* Tharros Punic inscriptions
* Royal Steward inscription
* Carthaginian slaughterhouse inscription
* Carthaginian mother goddess inscription
* Carthage Festival Offering inscription
* Wilmanns Neopunic inscriptions
* Pricot de Sainte-Marie steles
* Cherchell Neopunic inscriptions
* Bashamem inscription
* Baal Lebanon inscription
* Saqqara Aramaic Stele
* Tayma stones
* Kition Tariffs
* Adadnadinakhe bricks
* Siloam inscription
* Sant'Antioco bilingual
* Palmyra Tariff
* Osorkon Bust
* Pierides Kition inscriptions
* Eshmun obelisk
* Persephone Punic stele
* Lilybaeum stele
* Henchir Guergour Neopunic inscriptions
* Guelaât Bou Sbaâ Neopunic inscriptions
* Tyre Cistern inscription
* Tamassos bilinguals
* Masub inscription
* Tabnit sarcophagus
* Panamuwa II inscription
* Madaba Nabataean Inscriptions
* Hadad Statue
* Abdmiskar cippus
* Maktar and Mididi inscriptions
* Bar-Rakib inscriptions
* Neirab steles
* Sarıaydın inscription
* Larnakas tis Lapithou pedestal inscription
* Kilamuwa Stela
* Hasanbeyli inscription
* Kition Necropolis Phoenician inscriptions
* Douïmès medallion
* El Amrouni mausoleum
* Abiba’l inscription
* Tortosa “bomos” inscription
* El-Osiris inscription
* Avignon Punic inscription
* Punic Tabella Defixionis
* Quintus Markius trilingual inscription

Discoveries (20th c.)

* Farasa bilingual inscription
* Phoenician Adoration steles
* Banobal stele
* Eshmun inscription
* Sibbolet funeral inscription
* Stele of Zakkur
* Villaricos Phoenician stele
* Assur ostracon and tablets
* Throne of Astarte
* Gözne Boundary Stone
* Thinissut sanctuary inscription
* Gezer calendar
* Samaria Ostraca
* Olbia pedestal
* Giardino Birocchi inscription
* Sardis bilingual inscription
* Rhodes Phoenician-Greek bilingual inscriptions
* Kesecek Köyü inscription
* Aramaic Inscription of Taxila
* Arwad bilingual
* Mitsri genealogy inscription
* KNMY inscription
* Ahiram Sarcophagus
* Byblos Necropolis graffito
* Byblos altar inscription
* Ophel ostracon
* Phoenician arrowheads
* Ur Box inscription
* Byblos bronze spatulas
* Abda sherd
* Son of Safatba'al inscription
* Batnoam sarcophagus
* Yehimilk inscription
* Sefire steles
* Arslan Tash ivory inscription
* Hama graffiti
* Pul-i-Darunteh Aramaic inscription
* Arslan Tash amulets
* Tell Halaf inscription
* Agrigentum inscription
* Lachish letters
* Safatba'al inscription
* Hermopolis Aramaic papyri
* Phoenician papyrus letters
* Melqart stele
* Honeyman inscription
* Stele of Serapeitis
* Jebel Massoudj Neopunic inscription
* Adon Papyrus
* Kilamuwa scepter
* Tel Qasile ostraca
* Karatepe bilingual
* Tel el Maskhuta silver bowls
* Pumayyaton and Pnytarion's inscriptions
* Byblos clay cone inscriptions
* Carchemish Phoenician inscription
* Hatran Aramaic inscriptions
* Djinet Neopunic inscriptions
* Wadi Murabba'at papyrus
* Hazor inscriptions
* Al Jib jar handles
* Byblos marble inscription
* Kubaba Aramaic inscription
* El-Kerak Inscription
* Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription
* Yavne-Yam ostracon
* Arad ostraca
* Nebi Yunis ostraca
* Tel Dan bowl
* Seville statue of Astarte
* Khirbet Beit Lei graffiti
* Amman Citadel Inscription
* Ein Gev jar
* Phoenician Sphinx inscription
* Baalshillem Temple Boy
* Abydos Aramaic papyrus
* Pyrgi Tablets
* Carthage Administration Inscription
* Daskyleion steles
* Mozia Punic inscriptions
* Deir Alla Inscription
* Grotta Regina Punic inscriptions
* Tekke Bowl Inscription (Knossos)
* Aramaic Sustenance tablet
* Aramaic inscription of Laghman
* Tel Siran inscription
* Letoon trilingual
* Aramaic inscription from al-Mal
* Hadad-yith'i bilingual inscription
* Ketef Hinnom scrolls
* Sarepta Tanit Inscription
* Çebel Ires Dağı inscription
* Monumental Hebrew inscription from Jerusalem
* Hazael horse frontlet
* Bukan inscription
* İvriz inscription
* Bactria Aramaic documents
* Tel Dan Stele
* Ekron Royal Dedicatory Inscription
* Çineköy inscription
* Tablet De Geest

Discoveries (21st c.)

* Zayit Stone
* Kuttamuwa stele
* Khirbet Qeiyafa ostracon
* Ataruz altar inscriptions
* Ishbaal Inscription

* v
* t
* e

The Thrones of Astarte are approximately a dozen ex-voto "cherubim" thrones found in ancient Phoenician temples in Lebanon, in particular in areas around Sidon, Tyre and Umm al-Amad.[1] Many of the thrones are similarly styled, flanked by cherubim-headed winged lions on either side.[2] Images of the thrones are found in Phoenician sites around the Mediterranean, including an ivory plaque from Tel Megiddo (Israel), a relief from Hadrumetum (Tunisia) and a scarab from Tharros (Italy).[2]

Two of the thrones bear inscriptions – one published by Ronzevalle in 1907, and a second published by Lemaire in 2014.

## List of Thrones

[edit]

Image | Period | Location found | Current location | Inscription | Description | First published

|
|
|
|
|
|

| Hellenistic | Byblos | National Museum of Beirut | none | On the front, two figures pouring a libation into a flower. On the seat, rectangular anathyrosis for placing an object.[3] | Dunand[4]
| Hellenistic | Sidon | National Museum of Beirut | none | On the front, a Phoenician palmette. On the seat, a large rectangular mortise used to fix an object. Backrest without decoration.[3] | 1941 Dunand[5]
| Roman | Sidon | National Museum of Beirut | Greek inscription | Seat very tilted, unable to hold an object. The back shows a globe inside a crescent.[3] | 1924[6]
|  | Sidon | Louvre | none | Naiskos in which is a throne with two sphinxes. Above the seat, U-shaped cavity, intended to receive an object rounded at the bottom: perhaps a round baetyl and its crowns. On the side faces, officiating priests.[3] | 1933[7]
|  | Sidon | Istanbul Archaeology Museums | none | Naiskos analogous to the previous one. At the back is a small cavity, intended to hold an object. On the sides, winged goddesses of Egyptian style.[3] | [8]
| 2nd century BCE | Khirbet et-Tayibeh, near Ras al-Ain near Tyre | Louvre | Phoenician dedication to Astarte, known as KAI 17 | On the throne, two stelae with reliefs, depicting two standing officiants.[3] | 1907 Ronzevalle[9][10][11]
| Hellenistic | Ain Baal near Tyre | National Museum of Beirut | none | Seat contains a stele or baetyl[3] |
| Hellenistic | Region of Tyre | National Museum of Beirut | none | Seat contains a stele or baetyl[3] |
| 4th century BCE | Umm al-Amad | Louvre | none | On the front, a Phoenician palmette[3] | 1860, Renan[12]
|  | Umm al-Amad | National Museum of Beirut | none | The front is broken. Horizontal seat, rounded front. Backrest without decoration. Large throne which could fit a person.[3] | Dunand
|  | Temple of Eshmun | Temple of Eshmun | none |  | Dunand
|  | Temple of Eshmun | National Museum of Beirut | none |  | Dunand
| Hellenistic | Unknown | National Museum of Beirut | none |  |

## Gallery

[edit]

* A similar throne depicted on the Ahiram sarcophagus[13]

* KAI 17 (photo)

* KAI 17 (copy)

* Ivory plaque with Throne of Astarte

* Punic statue from Tunisia (Sanctuaire de Thinissut)

* Scarab with Throne of Astarte

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Milik, 1967
2. ^ a b Davila and Zuckerman (1993), p.77: "Compare the votive throne discovered at Umm el-'Amed (Dunand and Duru 1962: 168 pl. 67). The lower part of the throne is badly damaged, but the heads are preserved. The heads are human, and each bears a head-dress or coiffure that reaches down to the shoulders. They also have stylized beards. On our throne, what remains of the headdresses/coiffures and beards of the cherubs stylistically parallels those of the Umm el-'Amed cherubs. In fact, it seems quite probable that they stem from the same artistic and iconographic milieu. We may further note the cherub thrones depicted on a Late Bronze/ Iron I ivory from Megiddo, the sarcophagus of Ahiram (cf. Pritchard 1969: figs. 332, 456-59, respectively), a relief from Hadrumetum/Sousse (Cintas 1947: pls. 48-49), and a scarab from Sardinia (Bisi 1967: fig. 57). In each of those exemplars the cherubs have a feline body with wings, a tail, and styled hair, but no beard."
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Henri Seyrig's original list of 10 known thrones in 1959: Seyrig, 1959, page 51-52
4. ^ M. Dunand, Excavations of Byblos, II, p. 79, no.7225, p. 152
5. ^ Dunand, Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth, V, 1941, p. 93, where the origin is given as unknown.
6. ^ Ch. Virolleaud, Syria, V, 1924, p. 119, pi. 32, where the origin is given as unknown. The throne had been received in Sidon by L. Brossé: cf. Noel Aimé-Giron, Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, XXV, 1925, p. 206
7. ^ Noel Aimé-Giron, Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, XXXIV, 1933, pp. 31-; R. Dussaud, Syria, XIV, 1933, pp. 335-
8. ^ G. Mendel, Catal. of sculpt. (Museums imper. Ottom.), I, n ° 92 (attribution in the 5th century); Noel Aimé-Giron, Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, XXV, 1924, pp. 191-; cf. R. Dussaud, Syria, VI, 1925, pp. 95-
9. ^ Sébastien Ronzevalle, Note sur un monument phénicien de la région de Tyr; In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 51e année, N. 10, 1907. pp. 589-598; DOI : https://doi.org/10.3406/crai.1907.71970
10. ^ Ronzevalle, 1909, p.755-
11. ^ Clermont-Ganneau, in Repert. epigr. sémit., n ° 800.
12. ^ E. Renan, Mission de Phénicie (1865–1874), p.707 and plate LIII: "Le petit fauteuil représenté planche LIII est une restitution en partie hypothétique de l'ensemble formé par deux fragments que nous avons rapportés (au Louvre, Catal. n° 75 et 76). Le globe ailé, les bras en forme d'aile, les sculptures fines, quoique très-frustes, du devant sont certains. Les figures des angles sont très-difficiles à agencer." [translated: "The small armchair shown on Plate LIII is a partly hypothetical restitution of the whole formed by two fragments that we have brought back (to the Louvre, Catal. N ° 75 and 76). The winged globe, the wing-shaped arms, the fine, though very rough, carvings on the front are certain. The angle figures are very difficult to arrange."
13. ^ Noël Aimé-Giron, Un ex-voto à Astarté, BIFAO 25 (1925), p. 191-211

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Sébastien Ronzevalle, Le "Trône d'Astarté", Mélanges de la Faculté Orientale (Beirut) 3 (1909), 755–83, pls 9–10;
* Sébastien Ronzevalle, 'Note sur un monument phénicien de la région de Tyr', CRAI (1907), 589–98
* James R. Davila and Bruce Zuckerman (1993). The Throne of ʿAshtart Inscription. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, (289), 67–80. doi:10.2307/1357365
* Józef Milik (1967). Les papyrus araméens d'Hermoupolis et les cultes syro-phéniciens en Égypte perse. Biblica, 48(4), 546–622. Retrieved July 28, 2020, from www.jstor.org/stable/42618436
* Henri Seyrig. Antiquités syriennes. In: Syria. Tome 36 fascicule 1–2, 1959. pp. 38–89; doi : https://doi.org/10.3406/syria.1959.5447 https://www.persee.fr/doc/syria_0039-7946_1959_num_36_1_5447
* Edward Lipiński, Rereading the Inscriptions of the 'Throne of Astarte' and the Sidonian Obelisk, Journal of Semitic Studies, Volume 61, Issue 2, Autumn 2016, Pages 319–325, https://doi.org/10.1093/jss/fgw011
* Andre Lemaire, 'Tróne a Keroubs avec inscription phénicienne', in A. Lemaire (ed.), Phéniciens d'Orient et d'Occident: Mélanges Josette Elayi, Cahiers de Institut du Proche-Orient Ancien du Collége de France, 2 (Paris, Maisonneuve, 2014), pp. 127-45.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Thrones of Astarte at Wikimedia Commons
* Lion-Throned Goddesses of West Asia
* Classical Art Research Center: 20. Seated goddess Archived 2020-02-11 at the Wayback Machine

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