Contents

Thrones of Astarte

Phoenician votive thrones

Byblos

Tayibeh

Ain Baal

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]

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 KAI17	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]

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

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