Astarte; lustful badass of the ancient world. She's had as many names as men throughout history, known in different cultures as Ishtar, Inanna, Astarte, Ashtoreth... the list goes on.
Some of her earliest appearances can be traced back to the Middle East - way back when it wasn't the Middle East - under the names Ishtar or Inanna. As goddess of love, war, sex and fertility she was a real force to be reckoned with and even makes an appearance in the ancient bestselling novel, Epic of Gilgamesh. In a famous chapter, Gilgamesh refuses Ishtar's advances and she returns home vowing revenge. She demands her father (the high god, Anu) give her the Bull of Heaven to unleash on Gilgamesh, and if he doesn't give her the Bull, then she'll 'break in the doors of hell and smash the bolts [...] I shall bring up the dead to eat food like the living; and the hosts of the dead will outnumber the living.'
I'm sure we've all been there - didn't get what you wanted for Christmas? Threaten to bust open the doors of hell, and watch your parents scramble around to get you that book you always wanted.
The name Astarte appears as a Hellenized form of Ishtar. The goddess became popular in Egypt and Phoenicia, and an adapted version found its way into the Greek Pantheon as Aphrodite. Astarte was a more warlike incarnation of Ishtar, and though she'd dropped out of the sacred prostitution trade she was still a lady of 'leisure' and fertility.
In later years views of Astarte shifted, particularly during the rise of the Jewish faith. She is condemned in the Hebrew Bible, and worship of the 'Queen of Heaven' slowly became blasphemous. She became a demon of lust for many, and became connected with Astaroth, the Great Duke of Hell.
Familiar with both the heavenly and hellish, Astarte knows how it feels to fall from grace. From feisty and flirtatious beginnings as Ishtar, to the warlike Astarte, to a fallen deity in later religions - she's seen it all. I mean it. She's seen it all.
Of course, that’s what history thinks happened. In Season Two of Paradise Lot: Keep Evolving, we have a bit of fun with history's inaccuracies.
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