Biblical Hebrew Forum

[CS Bartholomew <jacksonpollock AT earthlink.net>]

Dora,

On 10/12/03 11:51 AM, "Dora Smith" <villandra AT austin.rr.com> wrote:

> The book of Ester is believed to be a story built around an early spring
> festival taht featured the Canaanite great mother goddess Ashtarte/ Asharah.

Who belives this, E.S. Fiorenza or ?

> 
> In the fashion of all great mother goddesses as their societies morphed into
> patriarchal societies with patriarchal hierarchies of gods, she became the
> wife of teh high god and the mother god, one of whose most important
> functions was to intervene in her role as queen of heaven, with the moody
> male king god, on behalf of people.   This transformation occurred worldwide
> from the Aztecs to the Virgin Mary.

Sounds like something from the mythology of east coast ivy league academia.
Could you cite some sources for us?

> 
> The book of Ester places Ester in a role that looks startlingly like that of
> Ashtarte, as she marries a mood-disordered king, and then intervenes with
> him for the lives of her people.   Her depiction as a pure maiden is
> consistent with depictions of the Aztec mother of the sun god, the Mithran
> mother of Mithras, and the Virgin Mary.
> 
> The goddess Ashtarte, Canaanite form Asherah, was widespread across the
> ancient Near East.   The Persian invasion of the Near East would have
> converted Ashtarte to a pure and demure maiden whose main function was to
> intervene with gods and moody kings for her people if Near Eastern myth had
> not already pretty much done that.
> 
> In Canaan, among the Israelites, and in atleast some circles and aspects of
> official Yahwistic cult, Ashtarte/ Asherah continued to play her role as
> wife of El, Queen of Heaven, and confusingly enough, wife or sister of
> Ba'al, until the Return from Exile, when the Puritan reformers stamped out
> all elements of traditional religion.
> 
> I am wondering what story or myth from Babylonian, Persian, or even
> Israelite life, the book of Ester is modelled on.
> 
> Someone please fess up.   It seems like such a story almost certainly
> exists.

How about Lilith? Have you explored the Lilith connection?

Thanks for your post, made my day.


greetings,
Clay Bartholomew