Astarte ( / ə ˈ s t ɑːr t iː / ; Ἀστάρτη , Astartē ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart . ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar .
153-633: Astarte was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity , and her name is particularly associated with her worship in the ancient Levant among the Canaanites and Phoenicians , though she was originally associated with Amorite cities like Ugarit and Emar , as well as Mari and Ebla . She was also celebrated in Egypt , especially during the reign of the Ramessides , following
306-611: A carnelian bead identified with the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senusret I , whose reign is dated to 1971–1926 BC. A stela and a statuette of the Egyptian pharaohs Senusret III and Amenemhet III have also been found. However, it is unclear when they first arrived at Ugarit. In the Amarna letters , messages from Ugarit c. 1350 BC written by Ammittamru I , Niqmaddu II , and his queen have been discovered. From
459-636: A "dark period" in ancient Egyptian history, spanned about 100 years after the end of the Old Kingdom from about 2181 to 2055 BC. Very little monumental evidence survives from this period, especially from the early part of it. The First Intermediate Period was a dynamic time when the rule of Egypt was roughly divided between two areas: Heracleopolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes in Upper Egypt. These two kingdoms eventually came into conflict, and
612-578: A 3rd-millennium BC culture postulated based on a collection of artefacts confiscated in 2001. In modern scholarship, the chronology of the Bronze Age Levant is divided into: The term Neo-Syria is used to designate the early Iron Age . The old Syrian period was dominated by the Eblaite first kingdom , Nagar and the Mariote second kingdom . The Akkadians conquered large areas of
765-410: A culture is conquered and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in eradicating older beliefs and practices. Many religions have syncretic elements, but adherents often frown upon the application of the label, especially those who belong to "revealed" religions, such as Abrahamic religions , or any system with an exclusivist approach, seeing syncretism as corrupting
918-779: A following in the United States and parts of Central America. Some Andean areas, such as in Peru , have a strong influence of Inca -originated Quechua culture into Catholicism. This often results in Catholic holy days and festivities featuring Quechua dances or figures, such as the Assumption of Mary celebration in Chinchaypujio , or the fertility celebrations for Pachamama in the mostly Catholic Callalli . The Lacandon people of Central America acknowledge Äkyantho',
1071-527: A fundamentally Christian synthesis. Sometimes old pagan gods—or at least their aspects and roles—were transferred to Christian saints, such as when Demetrius of Thessaloniki inherited the role of patron of agriculture from Demeter and the Eleusinian Mysteries after the latter's demise in the 4th century. Syncretism is distinguished from assimilation , the latter of which refers to the church's ability to "incorporate into herself all that
1224-520: A group of mynstric minstrels who put emphasis on their mystical elements with the tradition of music. Baul tradition is essentially an amalgamation of Vaishnavism and Sufism . Baul has had a considerable effect on Bengali culture . Baul traditions are included in the list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity . Being a religious minority in the region for centuries, colonial officials found that indigenous Baloch Hindus developed
1377-474: A kind of weapon, the crescent axe . Within Iberian culture, it has been proposed that native sculptures like those of Baza , Elche or Cerro de los Santos might represent an Iberized image of Astarte or Tanit. The earliest record of ʿAṯtart is from Ebla in the 3rd millennium BC, where her name is attested in the forms 𒀾𒁯𒋫 ( Aštarta ) and 𒅖𒁯𒋫 ( Ištarta ). The main cult centre of ʿAṯtart
1530-548: A modified form of ancestral rites and observe many Buddhist and Confucian customs and philosophies. In Asia the revolutionary movements of Taiping (19th-century China) and God's Army ( Karen in the 1990s) blended Christianity with traditional beliefs. Chinese Independent Churches , with membership up to eighty million, incorporate elements of Protestantism and Chinese folk religion . An Islamic and Hindu-Buddhist-Animist Syncretist movement in Indonesia known as Abangan
1683-459: A number of elements derived from indigenous and slave cultures in those areas (see the Caribbean and modern sections ). The Catholic Church allows some symbols and traditions to be carried over from older belief systems, so long as they are remade to conform (rather than conflict) with a Christian worldview; syncretism of other religions with the Catholic faith, such as Voudun or Santería ,
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#17327942617951836-462: A panther. This association of ʿAṯtartu with the lion corroborates with significant comparative evidence from ancient West Asia and North Africa: ʿAṯtartu in her form as a lioness might have been invoked as a theophoric element in the personal names 𐎌𐎎𐎍𐎁𐎛 ( Šuma-labʾi , lit. ' Name of the Lioness ' ), and 𐎓𐎁𐎄𐎍𐎁𐎛𐎚 ( ʿAbdi-Labiʾti , lit. ' Servant of
1989-402: A permanence not enjoyed by manuscripts. These inscriptions can commonly be subdivided into four parts: a reference to the date and place, the naming of the event commemorated, the list of gifts given to the artisan in exchange for the bronze, and a dedication. The relative points of reference these vessels provide have enabled historians to place most of the vessels within a certain time frame of
2142-579: A power vacuum in Mesopotamia. At its beginning, Mitanni's major rival was Egypt under the Thutmosids . However, with the ascent of the Hittite empire, Mitanni and Egypt allied to protect their mutual interests from the threat of Hittite domination. At the height of its power during the 14th century BC, Mitanni had outposts centred on its capital, Washukanni , which archaeologists have located on
2295-427: A question, or "now womenfolk hunt!" sarcastically, to contrast her with human women, who were not supposed to hunt. Thus, while Baal and Resheph were both hunter gods whose roles as such made them conform to masculine gender roles, the roles of ʿAṯtartu and Anat as hunter and warrior goddesses constituted an inversion with respect to the gender roles of human women. This made them role models and mentors, as Anat does in
2448-471: A result of apostasy . While it does not officially recognize doctrine from other religions, it is believed that truth in other sources can be identified via personal revelation . Catholicism in South Korea has been syncretized with traditional Mahayana Buddhist and Confucian customs that form an integral part of traditional Korean culture. As a result, South Korean Catholics continue to practice
2601-447: A shadow like the stars, implying that ʿAṯtartu herself was brilliant and removed a shadow like the stars do, or as herself shining like the stars. This passage leads to another one in which Baal desires ʿAṯtartu for her beauty, and approaches her. ʿAṯtartu also appears as a huntress in the text KTU 1.114 , where she and her sister Anat are consistently described as hunting together and bringing back game whose meat they distributed to
2754-481: A small administrative town) appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC. The Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over a century later, it briefly took over the other city-states and formed the short-lived First Babylonian Empire during what is also called the Old Babylonian Period . Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia used
2907-641: A steak for him, and Anat a tenderloin ' ). Attestations of ʿAṯtartu as a warrior goddess at Ugarit are minimal, with the principal one being her role in the text KTU 1.2 I 40 , where she and Anat together restrain Baal by holding, respectively, his left and right hands. This text also linked ʿAṯtartu and Anat through poetic parallelism in the lines 𐎊𐎎𐎐𐎅𐎟𐎓𐎐𐎚𐎟𐎚𐎜𐎃𐎄𐎟𐎌𐎎𐎀𐎍𐎅𐎟𐎚𐎜𐎃𐎄𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 ( ymnh ʿAnatu tʾuḫd šmʾalh tʾuḫd ʿAṯtartu , lit. ' His right hand Anat seized, His left hand ʿAṯtartu seized ' ). The Ugaritic text KTU 1.86 ,
3060-491: Is a syncretism of Shinto and Buddhism. The religious beliefs, practices, and identities of East Asians (who comprise the majority of the world's Buddhists by any measure) often blend Buddhism with other traditions including Confucianism , the Chinese folk religion , Taoism , Shinto , Korean shamanism , and Vietnamese folk religion . Before and during World War II, a Nichiren Shōshū priest named Jimon Ogasawara proposed
3213-773: Is also cited as a likely starting point for the Jewish Ten Commandments . Some scholars hold that Judaism refined its concept of monotheism and adopted features such as its eschatology , angelology , and demonology through contacts with Zoroastrianism . However, some scholars dispute that claim. In spite of the Jewish halakhic prohibitions against polytheism , idolatry , and associated practices ( Avodah Zarah ), several combinations of Judaism with other religions have sprung up: Messianic Judaism , Jewish Buddhism , Nazarenism , and Judeo-Paganism . Several Jewish Messiah claimants (such as Jacob Frank ) and
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#17327942617953366-639: Is an argument to be made that the Bronze Age never properly ended in China, as there is no recognisable transition to an Iron Age. Together with the jade art that precedes it, bronze was seen as a fine material for ritual art when compared with iron or stone. Bronze metallurgy in China originated in what is referred to as the Erlitou period, which some historians argue places it within the Shang. Others believe
3519-576: Is called the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex . The Kulli culture , similar to that of the Indus Valley Civilisation , was located in southern Balochistan (Gedrosia) c. 2500–2000 BC . The economy was agricultural. Dams were found in several places, providing evidence for a highly developed water management system. Konar Sandal is associated with the hypothesized Jiroft culture ,
3672-662: Is conjectured to have been associated with the sudden arrival of the Sea Peoples , the kingdom disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some of which survived into the 8th century BC. Arzawa , in Western Anatolia, during the second half of the 2nd millennium BC, likely extended along southern Anatolia in a belt from near the Turkish Lakes region to the Aegean coast. Arzawa
3825-535: Is debated among scholars. An ancient civilisation is deemed to be part of the Bronze Age if it either produced bronze by smelting its own copper and alloying it with tin , arsenic , or other metals, or traded other items for bronze from producing areas elsewhere. Bronze Age cultures were the first to develop writing . According to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia , which used cuneiform script, and Egypt , which used hieroglyphs , developed
3978-536: Is expressly condemned. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the subsequent devotion to her are seen as assimilating some elements of native Mexican culture into Christianity. Santa Muerte , a female deity of death, has also emerged as the combination of the indigenous goddess Mictecacihuatl and the Lady of Guadalupe. As of 2012, Santa Muerte is worshipped by approximately 5% of the Mexican population, and also has
4131-526: Is further conjectured that the same migrations spread the Uralic group of languages across Europe and Asia, with extant members of the family including Hungarian , Finnish and Estonian . In China, the earliest bronze artefacts have been found in the Majiayao culture site (3100–2700 BC). The term "Bronze Age" has been transferred to the archaeology of China from that of Western Eurasia, and there
4284-690: Is kept a secret, like Freemasonry. They pass as ordinary Hindus, but their devotion to the Imam is very strong." "The Meos (Muhammadans) of the eastern Punjab still participate in the observance of the Holi and Diwali festivals. On the latter occasion they paint the horns, hoofs, etc., of their bullocks and join in the general rejoicings" . Similar to that of Punjab, census reports conducted in British India highlighted syncretic practices among Bengali Hindus and Muslims. "That both were originally of
4437-511: Is known for doing so with the ideas of Aristotle. In his essay on the development of Christian doctrine, John Henry Newman clarified the idea of assimilation. In Moses and Monotheism , Sigmund Freud made a case for Judaism arising out of the pre-existing monotheism that was briefly imposed upon Egypt during the rule of Akhenaten . Freud, S. (2016). Moses and Monotheism . Harmakis Edizioni. ISBN 978-88-98301-79-9 . Retrieved November 23, 2024 . The Code of Hammurabi
4590-410: Is like the loveliness of Anat, whose beauty is like the beauty of ʿAṯtartu ' ), in which Anat and ʿAṯtartu were connected through poetic parallels. Another trait which both Anat and ʿAṯtartu shared was their love of war, and their pairing appears to have been due to their common roles as beautiful hunters and warrior goddesses. The Ugaritic ʿAṯtartu nevertheless did not yet possess the erotic traits of
4743-407: Is mentioned immediately after Anat, and the two goddesses' names are combined in the form 𐎓𐎐𐎚𐎟𐎆𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎛𐎐𐎁𐎁𐎅 ( ʿAnatu-wa-ʿAṯtartu ʾInbubaha , lit. ' Anat and ʿAṯtartu at ʾInbubu ' ), and the incantation itself is intended to be delivered to Anat's home at ʾInbubu, thus putting ʿAṯtartu on a secondary level compared to Anat. ʿAṯtartu was also mentioned on the side of
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4896-599: Is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the pottery assemblage over the entire length of the period, but especially between 850 and 550 BC. The Mumun period is known for the origins of intensive agriculture and complex societies in both the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Archipelago. The Middle Mumun pottery period culture of
5049-523: Is no consensus or universally used convention delimiting the "Bronze Age" in the context of Chinese prehistory . The "Early Bronze Age" in China is sometimes taken to be coterminous with the reign of the Shang dynasty (16th–11th centuries BC), and the Later Bronze Age with the subsequent Zhou dynasty (11th–3rd centuries BC), from the 5th century, called Iron Age China although there
5202-647: Is that Druzes were attracted to warrior saints that resemble their own militarized society. Satpanth is considered a syncretism of Ismaili Islam and Hinduism. Buddhism has syncretized with many traditional beliefs in East Asian societies as it was seen as compatible with local religions. Notable syncretization of Buddhism with local beliefs includes the Three Teachings , or Triple Religion, that harmonizes Mahayana Buddhism with Confucian philosophy and elements of Taoism , and Shinbutsu-shūgō , which
5355-528: Is treated as an image of the Virgin Mary. Khotons follow a syncretic form of Islam that incorporates Buddhist and traditional elements (like Tengrism ). Xueta Christianity is a syncretic religion on the island of Mallorca , Spain , followed by the Xueta people, who are supposedly descendants of persecuted Jews who were converts to Christianity . Traditionally, The church of Saint Eulalia and
5508-520: Is true, good, and beautiful in the world". This idea was present in the early Church; the Second Apology of Justin Martyr states: "Whatever things were rightly said among all men, are the property of us Christians". The Church has assimilated many (though not all) of the ideas of Plato and Aristotle . Augustine of Hippo is remembered for assimilating the ideas of Plato, while Thomas Aquinas
5661-558: The 9/11 attacks and to the shootings at Newtown, Connecticut , on the grounds that joint worship with other Christian denominations or other religious faiths implied that differences between religions are not important. In the Latter Day Saint movement , doctrine from previous dispensations as recorded in the LDS canon are considered official, though it is accepted that ancient teachings can be warped, misunderstood, or lost as
5814-599: The Berber language comprising 80 suras under the leadership of the second ruler of the dynasty Salih ibn Tarif who had taken part in the Maysara uprising. He proclaimed himself a prophet. He also claimed to be the final Mahdi of Islamic tradition, and that Isa ( Jesus ) would be his companion and pray behind him. The Druzes integrated elements of Ismaili Islam with Gnosticism and Platonism . The Druze faith also incorporates some elements of Christianity . Due to
5967-597: The Christian influence on Druze faith , two Christian saints become the Druze 's favorite venerated figures: Saint George and Saint Elijah . According to scholar Ray Jabre Mouawad the Druzes appreciated the two saints for their bravery: Saint George because he confronted the dragon and Saint Elijah because he competed with the pagan priests of Baal and won over them. In both cases the explanations provided by Christians
6120-470: The Igeum-dong site . Bronze was an important element in ceremonies and for mortuary offerings until 100 BC. Religious syncretism Religious syncretism is the blending of religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation of other beliefs into an existing religious tradition. This can occur for many reasons, where religious traditions exist in proximity to each other, or when
6273-754: The Iranian plateau , centred in Anshan . From the mid-2nd millennium BC, Elam was centred in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a crucial role in both the Gutian Empire and the Iranian Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it. The Oxus civilisation was a Bronze Age Central Asian culture dated c. 2300–1700 BC and centred on the upper Amu Darya ( a.k.a. ). In
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6426-652: The Iron Age were the Phoenician city-states of Sidon , Tyre , and Byblos . Coins from Sidon portray a chariot in which a globe appears, presumably a stone representing Astarte. "She was often depicted on Sidonian coins as standing on the prow of a galley, leaning forward with right hand outstretched, being thus the original of all figureheads for sailing ships." In Sidon, she shared a temple with Eshmun . Coins from Beirut show Poseidon , Astarte, and Eshmun worshipped together. Other significant locations where she
6579-654: The Iron Age . Conceived as a global era, the Bronze Age follows the Neolithic , with a transition period between the two known as the Chalcolithic . The final decades of the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean basin are often characterised as a period of widespread societal collapse known as the Late Bronze Age collapse ( c. 1200 – c. 1150 BC ), although its severity and scope
6732-529: The Kassite period c. 1500 – c. 1155 BC ). The usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used in the context of Mesopotamia. Instead, a division primarily based on art and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people. Ur , Kish , Isin , Larsa , and Nippur in
6885-706: The Lutheran Georg Calisen "Calixtus" (1586–1656) of the University of Helmstedt for his "syncretism". (See: Syncretistic controversy .) Pope Paul VI included a warning against syncretism in his encyclical letter of 1964, Ecclesiam Suam : Irenism and syncretism [are] ultimately nothing more than skepticism about the power and content of the Word of God which we desire to preach. Catholicism in Central and South America has been integrated with
7038-586: The Majiayao site in Gansu rather than at Xinjiang . The production of Erlitou represents the earliest large-scale metallurgy industry in the Central Plains of China. The influence of the Saima-Turbino metalworking tradition from the north is supported by a series of recent discoveries in China of many unique perforated spearheads with downward hooks and small loops on the same or opposite side of
7191-671: The Sabbateans came to mix Kabbalistic Judaism with Christianity and Islam. The Islamic mystical tradition known as Sufism appears somewhat syncretic in nature in its origins , but this is rejected by many other modern scholars. Mainstream Tasawwuf does not present itself as a separate set of beliefs from the mainstream Sunni tradition; well-established traditions like Naqshbandi , Qadiri , Shadhili , and most others have always been part and parcel of normative Islamic life. During Sufi presence in Bengal, Muslim–Tantric syncretism
7344-577: The southern Levant in cities such as Hazor , Jericho , and Beit She'an . The Hittite Empire was established during the 18th century BC in Hattusa , northern Anatolia . At its height in the 14th century BC, the Hittite Kingdom encompassed central Anatolia, southwestern Syria as far as Ugarit , and upper Mesopotamia . After 1180 BC, amid general turmoil in the Levant , which
7497-542: The 𐎒𐎔𐎗𐎟𐎈𐎍𐎎𐎎 ( Sipru Ḥulumīma , lit. ' Book of Dreams ' ), mentions the horses of ʿAṯtartu, which might possibly be another allusion to her role as a warrior. Possibly due to her role as a goddess of warfare, ʿAṯtartu was sometimes mentioned alongside the god Resheph in Ugaritic texts, such as in administrative documents, with jars of wine for the temples of ʿAṯtartu and of Resheph- gn being respectively mentioned immediately after each other in
7650-422: The 16th to the 13th century BC, Ugarit remained in constant contact with Egypt and Cyprus ( Alashiya ). Mitanni was a loosely organised state in northern Syria and south-east Anatolia, emerging c. 1500–1300 BC . Founded by an Indo-Aryan ruling class that governed a predominantly Hurrian population, Mitanni came to be a regional power after the Hittite destruction of Kassite Babylon created
7803-430: The 3rd millennium BC. The Bronze Age is characterised by the widespread use of bronze , though the introduction and development of bronze technology were not universally synchronous. Tin bronze technology requires systematic techniques: tin must be mined (mainly as the tin ore cassiterite ) and smelted separately, then added to hot copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of extensive use of metals and
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#17327942617957956-776: The 6th century BC attests to knowledge of iron smelting, yet bronze continues to occupy the seat of significance in the archaeological and historical record for some time after this. W. C. White argues that iron did not supplant bronze "at any period before the end of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC)" and that bronze vessels make up the majority of metal vessels through the Eastern Han period , or to 221 BC. The Chinese bronze artefacts generally are either utilitarian, like spear points or adze heads, or "ritual bronzes" , which are more elaborate versions in precious materials of everyday vessels, as well as tools and weapons. Examples are
8109-510: The BMAC had close international relations with the Indus Valley , the Iranian plateau , and possibly even indirectly with Mesopotamia. All civilisations were familiar with lost wax casting . According to a 2019 study, the BMAC was not a primary contributor to later South-Asian genetics. The Altai Mountains , in what is now southern Russia and central Mongolia , have been identified as
8262-400: The Bronze Age began in the Protodynastic Period c. 3150 BC . The archaic Early Bronze Age of Egypt , known as the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt , immediately followed the unification of Lower and Upper Egypt, c. 3100 BC . It is generally taken to include the First and Second dynasties, lasting from the Protodynastic Period until c. 2686 BC , or
8415-426: The Clouds ' ), to hex the god Yammu. Bronze Age The Bronze Age ( c. 3300 – c. 1200 BC ) was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of the three-age system , following the Stone Age and preceding
8568-408: The Early Bronze Age, the culture of the Kopet Dag oases and Altyndepe developed a proto-urban society. This corresponds to level IV at Namazga-Tepe . Altyndepe was a major centre even then. Pottery was wheel-turned. Grapes were grown. The height of this urban development was reached in the Middle Bronze Age c. 2300 BC , corresponding to level V at Namazga-Depe. This Bronze Age culture
8721-409: The Erlitou sites belong to the preceding Xia dynasty . The United States National Gallery of Art defines the Chinese Bronze Age as c. 2000 – c. 771 BC , a period that begins with the Erlitou culture and ends abruptly with the disintegration of Western Zhou rule. There is reason to believe that bronze work developed inside of China apart from outside influence. However,
8874-414: The Hellenistic period also found wide favor in Rome. For example, Serapis , Isis , and Mithras . Cybele , as worshipped in Rome, essentially represented a syncretic East Mediterranean goddess . The Romans imported the Greek god Dionysus into Rome, where he merged with the Latin mead god Liber , and converted the Anatolian Sabazios into the Roman Sabazius . The degree of likeness varied: Jupiter
9027-582: The Hurrian goddesses 𒀭𒅖𒄩𒊏 ( ᴰ ʾIšḫara , called 𐎜𐎌𐎃𐎗𐎊 ( ʾUšḫaraya ) in Ugaritic), and 𒀭𒊭𒀀𒍑𒅗𒀀 ( ᴰ Šauška , called 𐎘𐎜𐎘𐎋 ( Ṯaʾuṯka ), and supporters of the interpretation of the name ʿAṯtartu Ḫurri as "ʿAṯtartu of the Hurrians" suggest that this manifestation of ʿAṯtartu was the one identified with the Hurrian goddess Šauška . Other possible manifestations of ʿAṯtartu at Ugarit might have included 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎐𐎄𐎗𐎂 ( ʿAṯtartu ndrg ) and 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎀𐎁𐎏𐎗 ( ʿAṯtartu ʾabḏr ), of still uncertain meaning, with
9180-403: The Lepcha have practiced it together with Buddhism. Since the arrival of Christian missionaries in the nineteenth century, Mun traditions have been followed alongside that faith as well. The traditional religion permits the incorporation of Buddha and Jesus Christ as deities, depending on household beliefs. One can contrast Christian syncretism with contextualization or inculturation ,
9333-422: The Levant and were followed by the Amorite kingdoms , c. 2000–1600 BC , which arose in Mari , Yamhad , Qatna , and Assyria . From the 15th century BC onward, the term Amurru is usually applied to the region extending north of Canaan as far as Kadesh on the Orontes River . The earliest-known contact of Ugarit with Egypt (and the first exact dating of Ugaritic civilisation) comes from
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#17327942617959486-452: The Lioness ' ), the latter of which holds the same meaning as the personal names 𒁹𒀴𒀀𒅆𒅕𒋾 ( ʿAbdi-ʿAširti ) and 𒁹𒀴𒀭𒈹 ( ʿAbdi-ʿAštarti ), both meaning "Servant of ʿAṯtartu." Although divine roles were often modelled on human ones, such as masculine gods in relation to patriarchy and kingship being represented like human men, and feminine goddesses in relation to marriage and domestic chores being represented like human women,
9639-469: The Middle Bronze Age and Babylon , Calah , and Assur in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The Akkadian Empire (2335–2154 BC) became the dominant power in the region. After its fall, the Sumerians enjoyed a renaissance with the Neo-Sumerian Empire . Assyria , along with the Old Assyrian Empire ( c. 1800–1600 BC ), became a regional power under the Amorite king Shamshi-Adad I . The earliest mention of Babylon (then
9792-411: The Middle Kingdom. During the Second Intermediate Period , Ancient Egypt fell into disarray a second time between the end of the Middle Kingdom and the start of the New Kingdom, best known for the Hyksos , whose reign comprised the Fifteenth and Sixteenth dynasties. The Hyksos first appeared in Egypt during the Eleventh Dynasty, began their climb to power in the Thirteenth Dynasty, and emerged from
9945-401: The Muhammadans. On the other hand the miraculous powers of Muhammadan saints were enough to attract the saint worshiping Hindus, to allegiance, if not to a total change of faith... The Shamsis are believers in Shah Shamas Tabrez of Multan , and follow the Imam , for the time being, of the Ismailia sect of Shias ... they belong mostly to the Sunar caste and their connection with the sect
10098-463: The Northwest Semitic goddess was present a trait which was also characteristic of the South Arabian masculine hypostasis of ʿAṯtar, in whose honour sacred hunts were performed as fertility rite. This hunter aspect of ʿAṯtartu later faded away by the 1st millennium BC. In the later portion of the text KTU 1.92 , ʿAṯtartu was given clothing, after which she is described as 𐎐𐎌𐎀𐎚𐎟𐎑𐎍𐎟𐎋𐎟𐎋𐎁𐎋𐎁𐎎 ( nšʾat ẓl k kbkbm ), meaning either raising
10251-401: The Osiris funerary cult rose to dominate popular Ancient Egyptian religion . The period comprises two phases: the Eleventh Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes, and the Twelfth and Thirteenth dynasties, centred on el-Lisht . The unified kingdom was previously considered to comprise the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties, but historians now consider part of the Thirteenth Dynasty to have belonged to
10404-422: The Portuguese in China, the practice of which was opposed by the Dominicans , leading to the Chinese rites controversy . Syncretism did not play a role when Christianity split into eastern and western rites during the Great Schism . It became involved, however, with the rifts of the Protestant Reformation , with Desiderius Erasmus 's readings of Plutarch. Even earlier, syncretism was a fundamental aspect of
10557-460: The Romans encountered Celts and Germanic peoples , they mingled those peoples' gods with their own, creating Sulis Minerva , Apollo Sucellos (Apollo the Good Smiter) and Mars Thingsus (Mars of the war-assembly), among many others. In the Germania , the Roman historian Tacitus speaks of Germanic worshippers of Hercules and Mercury ; most modern scholars tentatively identify Hercules as Thor and Mercury as Odin . Romans were familiar with
10710-417: The Second Intermediate Period in control of Avaris and the Nile Delta . By the Fifteenth Dynasty, they ruled lower Egypt. They were expelled at the end of the Seventeenth Dynasty . The New Kingdom of Egypt , also referred to as the Egyptian Empire, existed during the 16th–11th centuries BC. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period . It
10863-481: The Theban kings conquered the north, reunifying Egypt under a single ruler during the second part of the Eleventh Dynasty . The Bronze Age in Nubia started as early as 2300 BC. Egyptians introduced copper smelting to the Nubian city of Meroë in present-day Sudan c. 2600 BC . A furnace for bronze casting found in Kerma has been dated to 2300–1900 BC. The Middle Kingdom of Egypt spanned between 2055 and 1650 BC. During this period,
11016-620: The Western Zhou period, allowing them to trace the evolution of the vessels and the events they record. The Japanese archipelago saw the introduction of bronze during the early Yayoi period ( c. 300 BC ), which saw the introduction of metalworking and agricultural practices brought by settlers arriving from the continent. Bronze and iron smelting spread to the Japanese archipelago through contact with other ancient East Asian civilisations, particularly immigration and trade from
11169-445: The ancient Korean peninsula, and ancient mainland China. Iron was mainly used for agricultural and other tools, whereas ritual and ceremonial artefacts were mainly made of bronze. On the Korean Peninsula, the Bronze Age began c. 1000–800 BC . Initially centred around Liaoning and southern Manchuria, Korean Bronze Age culture exhibits unique typology and styles, especially in ritual objects. The Mumun pottery period
11322-684: The beginning of the Old Kingdom . With the First Dynasty, the capital moved from Abydos to Memphis with a unified Egypt ruled by an Egyptian god-king. Abydos remained the major holy land in the south. The hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilisation, such as art, architecture and religion, took shape in the Early Dynastic Period. Memphis , in the Early Bronze Age, was the largest city of the time. The Old Kingdom of
11475-510: The blending of Nichiren Buddhism with Shinto. Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Zoroastrianism in ancient India have made many adaptations over the millennia, assimilating elements of various religious traditions. One example of this is the Yoga Vasistha . Akram Vigyan Movement established by Dada Bhagwan is considered to be a Jain-Vaishnava Hindu syncretistic movement. The Mughal emperor Akbar , who wanted to consolidate
11628-512: The brides of Baal, and later sources, such as the role of the Phoenician ʿAštart as the consort of Baal, also suggest that ʿAṯtartu was a consort of Baal, although this evidence is still very uncertain and this pairing appears to have been distinctly Levantine. Another connection between ʿAṯtartu and Baal was through her name 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎁𐎓𐎍 ( ʿAṯtartu šuma Baʿli , lit. ' ʿAṯtartu-Name-of-Baal ' ). This name defined
11781-608: The church of Montesión ( Mount Zion ) in Palma de Mallorca have been used by the families of Jewish converts ( Xuetas ), and both are the centers of Xueta religious ritual life. The Palma's Mont Zion Church was once the main synagogue of Palma de Mallorca . Is estimated that there are roughly 20,000 Chuetas living on the island of Mallorca today, and they practiced strict endogamy by marrying only within their own group. Census reports taken in Punjab Province during
11934-603: The colonial era ( British India ) noted and documented various practices highlighting religious syncretism among Punjabi Muslims , Punjabi Hindus , and Meo Muslims . "In other parts of the Province, too, traces of Hindu festivals are noticeable among the Muhammadans. In the western Punjab, Baisakhi , the new year's day of the Hindus, is celebrated as an agricultural festival, by all Muhammadans, by racing bullocks yoked to
12087-516: The concept of syncretism because, from their earliest times, they had experienced it with, among others, the Greeks. The Romans incorporated Apollo and Hercules, originally Greek deities, into their religion. They did not look at the religious aspects they adopted from other cultures to be different or less meaningful from those that originated as Roman. The early Roman acceptance of other cultures' religions into their own made it easy for them to integrate
12240-438: The consorts of Baal might constitute indirect evidence that this might also have been the case at Ugarit. Sacrifice to ʿAṯtartu might have been included in the list of sacrifices for the family of Baal in the Ugaritic text KTU 1.148.16 possibly because ʿAṯtartu might have been regarded as the consort of Baal at Ugarit. Contemporary sources, including Egyptian adaptations of West Semitic myths which feature ʿAṯtartu and Anat as
12393-530: The development of trade networks. A 2013 report suggests that the earliest tin-alloy bronze was a foil dated to the mid-5th millennium BC from a Vinča culture site in Pločnik , Serbia , although this culture is not conventionally considered part of the Bronze Age; however, the dating of the foil has been disputed. West Asia and the Near East were the first regions to enter the Bronze Age, beginning with
12546-733: The discovery of the Europoid Tarim mummies in Xinjiang has caused some archaeologists such as Johan Gunnar Andersson , Jan Romgard, and An Zhimin to suggest a possible route of transmission from the West eastwards. According to An Zhimin, "It can be imagined that initially, bronze and iron technology took its rise in West Asia, first influenced the Xinjiang region, and then reached the Yellow River valley, providing external impetus for
12699-489: The diverse religious communities in his empire, propounded Din-i-Ilahi , a syncretic religion intended to merge the best elements of the religions of his empire, Allopanishad is the example there. Satpanth is considered a syncretism of Ismaili Islam and Hinduism. Meivazhi is a syncretic monotheistic minority religion based in Tamil Nadu, India. Its focus is spiritual enlightenment and the conquering of death, through
12852-416: The earliest practical writing systems. Bronze Age civilisations gained a technological advantage due to bronze's harder and more durable properties than other metals available at the time. While terrestrial iron is naturally abundant, the higher temperature required for smelting, 1,250 °C (2,280 °F), in addition to the greater difficulty of working with it, placed it out of reach of common use until
13005-644: The efforts of Neoplatonists such as Marsilio Ficino to reform the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1615, David Pareus of Heidelberg urged Christians to a "pious syncretism" in opposing the Antichrist , but few 17th-century Protestants discussed the compromises that might effect a reconciliation with the Catholic Church: Johann Hülsemann , Johann Georg Dorsche, and Abraham Calovius (1612–85) opposed
13158-458: The end of the 2nd millennium BC. Tin's lower melting point of 232 °C (450 °F) and copper's moderate melting point of 1,085 °C (1,985 °F) placed both these metals within the capabilities of Neolithic pottery kilns , which date to 6000 BC and were able to produce temperatures of at least 900 °C (1,650 °F). Copper and tin ores are rare since there were no tin bronzes in West Asia before trading in bronze began in
13311-544: The exact relationship between them to be unclear. The meaning of the names ʿAṯtar and ʿAṯtart are themselves still unclear. The Masoretic Text vocalization ʿAštōret is in dispute: most scholars consider it as an artificial superimposition of the vowels of the Hebrew word bōšet ("shame") upon the consonants of the original name; some other suggest it is a result of the Canaanite shift from /ā/ to /ō/ (despite
13464-409: The exceptional roles of ʿAṯtartu and ʿAnatu as hunter and warrior goddesses signalled them as being at odds with the social norms of the societies where human women were not supposed to hunt of which they were deities. This characterisation is made explicit in the myth of Aqhat, where Aqhat exclaims to Anat, 𐎅𐎚𐎟𐎚𐎕𐎄𐎐𐎟𐎚𐎛𐎐𐎘𐎚 ( ht tṣdn tʾinṯt ), meaning either "now do womenfolk hunt?" as
13617-470: The existence of a manifestation of ʿAṯtart who resided in Mari. At Ugarit , the local variant of ʿAṯtart, 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 ( ʿAṯtartu ), was devoid of any astral aspects or associations with ʿAṯtar, and she played a minor role in mythological texts, but was often mentioned in Ugaritic ritual and administrative texts, thus suggesting that she was important for the institution of the royalty. ʿAṯtartu at Ugarit
13770-477: The existence of the decree. Syncretism functioned as a feature of Hellenistic Ancient Greek religion, although only outside of Greece. Overall, Hellenistic culture in the age that followed Alexander the Great itself showed syncretist features, essentially blending Mesopotamian , Persian , Anatolian , Egyptian , and (eventually) Etruscan – Roman elements within a Hellenic formula. The Egyptian god Amun
13923-716: The fall of the monarchy. The name "Israel" first appears c. 1209 BC , at the end of the Late Bronze Age and the very beginning of the Iron Age, on the Merneptah Stele raised by the Egyptian pharaoh Merneptah . The Arameans were a Northwest Semitic semi-nomadic pastoral people who originated in what is now modern Syria (Biblical Aram ) during the Late Bronze and early Iron Age. Large groups migrated to Mesopotamia, where they intermingled with
14076-401: The god of foreigners. He has a son named Hesuklistos (Jesus Christ) who is supposed to be the god of the foreigners. They recognize that Hesuklistos is a god but do not feel he is worthy of worship as he is a minor god. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod experienced controversy for disciplining pastors for unionism and syncretism when they participated in multi-faith services in response to
14229-463: The gods. In this text, ʿAṯtartu is mentioned before Anat, unlike most Ugaritic texts where this order is inverted, although the two goddesses are again connected through poetic parallels in the lines 10 to 11, reading 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎆𐎓𐎐𐎚𐎟𐎊𐎎𐎙𐎊𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎚𐎓𐎄𐎁𐎟𐎐𐎌𐎁𐎟𐎍𐎅𐎟𐎆𐎓𐎐𐎚𐎟𐎋𐎚𐎔 ( ʿAṯtarta wa-ʿAnata yamġiyu ʿAṯtartu taʿdubu našabi lêhu wa-ʿAnatu katipa , lit. ' ʿAṯtartu and Anat he approached; ʿAṯtartu had prepared
14382-685: The headwaters of the Khabur River . Eventually, Mitanni succumbed to the Hittites and later Assyrian attacks, eventually being reduced to a province of the Middle Assyrian Empire . The Israelites were an ancient Semitic-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited part of Canaan during the tribal and monarchic periods (15th–6th centuries BC), and lived in the region in smaller numbers after
14535-665: The identity of the goddess as being in relation to Baal. ʿAṯtartu's role as the Name-of-Baal might also have been connected to the use of Baal's name as a magical weapon, such as in the text KTU 1.2 IV 28 , where one line reads 𐎁𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎚𐎂𐎓𐎗𐎎𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 ( bi-šumi tigʿaruma ʿAṯtartu , lit. ' By Name, ʿAṯtartu hexed (Yam) ' ), in reference to ʿAṯtartu invoking the power of Baal's name and his titles, such as 𐎀𐎍𐎛𐎊𐎐𐎟𐎁𐎓𐎍 ( ʾalʾiyanu Baʿlu , lit. ' Mighty Baal ' ) and 𐎗𐎋𐎁𐎟𐎓𐎗𐎔𐎚 ( rākibu ʿurpati , lit. ' Rider of
14688-706: The illuminations on occasions like the Chiraghan fair of Shalamar (Lahore) are no doubt practices answering to the holiday-making instinct of the converted Hindus." "Besides actual conversion, Islam has had a considerable influence on the Hindu religion. The sects of reformers based on a revolt from the orthodoxy of Varnashrama Dharma were obviously the outcome of the knowledge that a different religion could produce equally pious and right thinking men. Laxity in social restrictions also appeared simultaneously in various degrees and certain customs were assimilated to those of
14841-593: The importation of foreign cults there. Phoenicians introduced her cult in their colonies on the Iberian Peninsula . The Proto-Semitic form of this goddess's name was ʿAṯtart . While earlier scholarship suggested that the name ʿAṯtart was formed by adding the Afroasiatic feminine suffix -t to the name of the deity ʿAṯtar , more recent views accept the names ʿAṯtar and ʿAṯtart as being etymologically related while considering
14994-421: The later Canaanite ʿAštart. In the text KTU 1.92 , ʿAṯtartu is called 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎕𐎆𐎄𐎚 ( ʿAṯtartu Ṣawwādatu , lit. ' ʿAṯtartu the huntress ' ) in the lines 2-3, with the next line mentioning her as 𐎚𐎍𐎋𐎟𐎁𐎎𐎄𐎁𐎗 ( taliku bi-madbari , lit. ' going to the desert ' ). The following lines recorded that the goddess saw something whose name is lost due to damage to
15147-466: The latter being affixed with the title 𐎖𐎄𐎌𐎚 ( Qadišatu , lit. ' the Holy One ' ). In in the hymn RIH 98/02 , ʿAṯtartu is called on to "shut the jaw of El's attackers" in the line 𐎚𐎕𐎔𐎖𐎟𐎍𐎈𐎚𐎟𐎄𐎟𐎂𐎗𐎟𐎛𐎍 ( taṣpiq laḥata dā gūri ʾIli , lit. ' May she shut the jaw of El's attackers ' ), which finds a literary parallel in the myth of Aqhat , where
15300-436: The lion, she's associated to the dove and the bee . She has also been associated with botanic wildlife like the palm tree and the lotus flower . A particular artistic motif assimilates Astarte to Europa , portraying her as riding a bull that would represent a partner deity. Similarly, after the popularization of her worship in Egypt , it was frequent to associate her with the war chariot of Ra or Horus , as well as
15453-718: The manifestations of ʿAṯtartu attested in the Late Bronze Age was 𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎃𐎗 ( ʿAṯtartu Ḫurri ), whose name has been variously interpreted as ʿAṯtartu of the Hurrians, ʿAṯtartu of the Grotto or Cavern, ʿAṯtartu of the Tomb(s), or ʿAṯtartu of the Window, and was also recorded at Ugarit in Akkadian as 𒀭𒌋𒁯 𒄯𒊑 ( ᴰ ʿAṯtartu Ḫurri ), and as 𒀭𒌋𒁯 𒄷𒊑 ( ᴰ Ištar Ḫurri ). Some Ugaritic texts identified ʿAṯtartu with
15606-409: The name of the lioness. O name, may you be victorious... May you shut the jaws of El's attackers. A mighty panther is ʿAṯtartu, A mighty panther that pounces. The hymn especially emphasizes ʿAṯtartu and her name, with its mention of the goddess as "name" possibly being connected to her role as the Name-of-Baal, and the second line calls her a "lioness" while the fourth and fifth lines liken her to
15759-407: The narrative as applying the components of the cure to cause the healing, thus connecting the two goddesses with healing. Among the Ugaritic incantations mentioning ʿAṯtartu are two where she is invoked to protect against snakebites: in the first incantation, from the text KTU 1.100 , which is part of a sequence addressed to the sun-goddess Shapash to be delivered to a succession of deities, she
15912-559: The native Akkadian (Assyrian and Babylonian) population. The Aramaeans never had a unified empire; they were divided into independent kingdoms all across the Near East. After the Bronze Age collapse, their political influence was confined to Syro-Hittite states, which were entirely absorbed into the Neo-Assyrian Empire by the 8th century BC. The Mesopotamian Bronze Age began c. 3500 BC and ended with
16065-488: The newly encountered religions they found due to their expansion. Gnosticism is identified as an early form of syncretism that challenged the beliefs of early Christians . Gnostic dualism posited that only spiritual or invisible things were good, and that material or visible things were evil. Orthodox (mainstream) Christians have always insisted that matter is essentially good because they believe that God created all things, both spiritual and material, and said that it
16218-408: The numerous large sacrificial tripods known as dings ; there are many other distinct shapes. Surviving identified Chinese ritual bronzes tend to be highly decorated, often with the taotie motif, which involves stylised animal faces. These appear in three main motif types: those of demons, symbolic animals, and abstract symbols. Many large bronzes also bear cast inscriptions that are the bulk of
16371-563: The original religion. Non-exclusivist systems of belief on the other hand feel more free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Classical Athens was exclusive in matters of religion. Some sources assert that the Decree of Diopeithes made the introduction of and belief in foreign gods a criminal offense and allowed only Greeks to worship in Athenian temples and festivals (as foreigners were considered impure). Other sources dispute
16524-698: The origins of agriculture. Foothill regions and glacial melt streams supported Bronze Age agro-pastoralists who developed complex east–west trade routes between Central Asia and China that introduced wheat and barley to China and millet to Central Asia. The Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC), also known as the Oxus civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in Central Asia, dated c. 2400 – c. 1600 BC , located in present-day northern Afghanistan , eastern Turkmenistan , southern Uzbekistan and western Tajikistan , centred on
16677-582: The past asserted that she has been known as the deified morning and/or evening star , it has been called into question if she had an astral character at all, at least in Ugarit and Emar. God lists known from Ugarit and other prominent Bronze Age Syrian cities regarded her as the counterpart of Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ištar , and of the Hurrian Ishtar-like goddesses Ishara (presumably in her aspect of "lady of love") and Shaushka ; in some cities,
16830-588: The point of origin of a cultural enigma termed the Seima-Turbino Phenomenon . It is conjectured that changes in climate in this region c. 2000 BC }}, and the ensuing ecological, economic, and political changes, triggered a rapid and massive migration westward into northeast Europe, eastward into China, and southward into Vietnam and Thailand across a frontier of some 4,000 mi (6,000 km). This migration took place in just five to six generations and led to peoples from Finland in
16983-478: The practice of making Christianity relevant to a culture: Contextualisation does not address the doctrine but affects a change in the styles or expression of worship. Although Christians often took their European music and building styles into churches in other parts of the world, in a contextualization approach, they would build churches, sing songs, and pray in a local ethnic style. Some Jesuit missionaries adapted local systems and images to teach Christianity, as did
17136-587: The prefix of Shaikh alone distinguishing the convert to Islam ." In the Sundarbans (spread across Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh ), it is noted that Bonbibi , a guardian spirit of the forests is venerated by Hindus and Muslim residents alike. In most of the shrines of Banbibi in the Sundarbans, Banbibi is most commonly worshipped along with her brother Shah Jangali and Dakkhin Rai. Bauls are
17289-531: The region laid the foundations for astronomy , mathematics, and astrology . The following dates are approximate. The Bronze Age in the Near East can be divided into Early, Middle and Late periods. The dates and phases below apply solely to the Near East, not universally. However, some archaeologists propose a "high chronology", which extends periods such as the Intermediate Bronze Age by 300 to 500–600 years, based on material analysis of
17442-473: The regional Bronze Age is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egyptian civilisation attained its first continuous peak of complexity and achievement—the first of three "Kingdom" periods which marked the high points of civilisation in the lower Nile Valley (the others being the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom ). The First Intermediate Period of Egypt , often described as
17595-654: The rise of the Mesopotamian civilisation of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. Cultures in the ancient Near East practised intensive year-round agriculture; developed writing systems ; invented the potter's wheel , created centralised governments (usually in the form of hereditary monarchies ), formulated written law codes, developed city-states , nation-states and empires; embarked on advanced architectural projects; and introduced social stratification , economic and civil administration, slavery , and practised organised warfare, medicine, and religion. Societies in
17748-539: The rise of the Shang and Zhou civilizations." According to Jan Romgard, "bronze and iron tools seem to have traveled from west to east as well as the use of wheeled wagons and the domestication of the horse." There are also possible links to Seima-Turbino culture , "a transcultural complex across northern Eurasia", the Eurasian steppe, and the Urals. However, the oldest bronze objects found in China so far were discovered at
17901-572: The same race seems sufficiently clear, not only from comparisons to physical characteristics, but from the similarity of their language, manners and customs. The Bengali Musalman is still in many respects a Hindu . Caste distinction, one of the main objects of which would seem to be to prescribe the limits of the jus connubii, are to a certain extent as prevalent and as fully recognised among the Mohammedans of Bengal, as among Hindus. As Buchanan pointed out sixty years ago, they not unfrequently meet at
18054-476: The same shrine, both invoking the same object of worship though perhaps under different names. Instead of commending a letter "In the name of God" (which is the orthodox fashion), the Bengali Musalman will superscribe the name of some Hindu deity. He speaks the same language, and uses precisely the same nomenclature and the same expressions of thought as his Hindu neighbor. Their very names are identical,
18207-654: The same time. Many of the pagodas in China are dedicated to both Buddhist and Taoist deities. Likewise, in Southeast Asia, the local variants of Buddhism have been adapted to accommodate folk beliefs, such as the veneration of nats in Myanmar and phi in Thailand. Tibetan Buddhism is also syncretic in adopting practices from the earlier Bön religion. The various Indianised cultures of Southeast Asia also incorporated Hinduism with local beliefs and folklore, such as
18360-603: The sea ' ), suggesting that this incantation alluded to three distinct water bodies. ʿAṯtartu's emblem was the lion, and she was explicitly called a lioness and a panther in the hymn RIH 98/02 , which reads: 𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎖𐎍𐎟𐎊𐎌𐎗𐎟 𐎛𐎏𐎎𐎗𐎟𐎍𐎁𐎛𐎟𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎍𐎁𐎛𐎟𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎚𐎋𐎌𐎄𐎟𐎍 𐎚𐎕𐎔𐎖𐎟𐎍𐎈𐎚𐎟𐎄𐎟𐎂𐎗𐎟𐎛𐎍 𐎐𐎎𐎗𐎟𐎈𐎘𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚 𐎐𐎎𐎗𐎟𐎈𐎘𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎚𐎗𐎖𐎕 šuma ʿAṯtarti qāla yašir ʾiḏmara šuma labʾi šuma takaššidu lê taṣpiq laḥata dā gūri ʾIli namiru ḥaṯiratu ʿAṯtartu namiru ḥaṯiratu tarquṣu The name of ʿAṯtartu may my voice sing, May I praise
18513-706: The socket, which could be associated with the Seima-Turbino visual vocabulary of southern Siberia. The metallurgical centres of northwestern China, especially the Qijia culture in Gansu and Longshan culture in Shaanxi , played an intermediary role in this process. Iron use in China dates as early as the Zhou dynasty ( c. 1046 – 256 BC), but remained minimal. Chinese literature authored during
18666-517: The southern Korean Peninsula gradually adopted bronze production ( c. 700–600 BC ) after a period when Liaoning-style bronze daggers and other bronze artefacts were exchanged as far as the interior part of the Southern Peninsula ( c. 900–700 BC ). The bronze daggers lent prestige and authority to the personages who wielded and were buried with them in high-status megalithic burials at south-coastal centres such as
18819-495: The story of Aqhat, in which she addresses him with the intimate term "my brother" and tells him that she will instruct him in hunting, thus being able to bond with the addressee and be present and active in him development into an accomplished hunter. The episode of ʿAṯtartu performing filial duties by "shutting down the jaws" of the enemies of El was another case of gender inversion where the goddess successfully performed actions which among mortals were reserved for men only. One of
18972-413: The surviving body of early Chinese writing and have helped historians and archaeologists piece together the history of China, especially during the Zhou dynasty. The bronzes of the Western Zhou document large portions of history not found in the extant texts that were often composed by persons of varying rank and possibly even social class. Further, the medium of cast bronze lends the record they preserve
19125-438: The tablet on which the inscription was written. In this incantation, the first instance of ʿAṯtartu was that of ʿAṯtartu of Ugarit, while the second one was ʿAṯtartu of Mari. In a second incantation against snakebites, from the text KTU 1.107 , ʿAṯtartu was mentioned after Anat in a pairing of the two goddesses as part of a list also including pairings of Baal and Dagon , and Resheph and Yarikh . A third incantation, from
19278-708: The teachings. Mevaizhi preaches the Oneness of essence message of all the previous major scriptures – particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Christianity – allowing membership regardless of creed. Meivazhi's disciples are thousands of people belonging once to 69 different castes of different religions being united as one family of Meivazhi religion. In China, most of the population follows syncretistic religions combining Mahayana Buddhism , Taoism , and elements of Confucianism . Out of all Chinese believers, approximately 85% adhere to Chinese traditional religion , as many profess to be both Mahayana Buddhist and Taoist at
19431-447: The text KTU 1.114 did refer to Baal as sexually desiring ʿAṯtartu, with possible mention of a bed in line 32 of the text perhaps alluding to these two deities engaging in sexual intercourse. Although the once widespread view that Anat was also a consort of Baal has recently fallen out of favour due to lack of evidence from Ugarit, indirect evidence, such as Egyptian adaptations of West Semitic myths in which both ʿAṯtartu and Anat were
19584-503: The text KTU 4.219 , and in the text KTU 1.91 's mentioning that the Rašpūma ( lit. ' plural Rašpu s ' ). Moreover, the attribute animal of Resheph was the lion, which was analogous to the lioness being the symbol of the warrior goddess ʿAṯtartu. In the text KTU 1.114 , ʿAṯtartu and Anat also went to hunt for ingredients to cure the drunkenness of El, to whose household they belonged, and they are later mentioned in
19737-484: The text KTU 92.2016 , either against fever or for good childbirth, mentioned 𐎁𐎓𐎍𐎟𐎖𐎄𐎌𐎎𐎟𐎁𐎐𐎅𐎗 ( Baʿli qadišūma bi-nahri , lit. ' Baal and the holy ones in the river ' ), followed by 𐎐𐎃𐎍𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎁𐎟𐎗𐎈𐎁𐎐 ( naḫla ʿAṯtarti bi-Raḥbāni , lit. ' the torrent of ʿAṯtartu, in the Raḥbānu ' ), itself in turn followed by 𐎁𐎊𐎎 ( bi-Yammi , lit. ' in
19890-435: The text, and line 5 mentions that the deeps surge with water, which might either refer to a celestial sign or to a possible damp terrain where ʿAṯtartu was hunting. The lines 6-13 described ʿAṯtartu taking cover in the low ground and holding her weapons while hunting, and she finally slew an animal whose name is lost in line 14. Following this, ʿAṯtartu fed the animal she had slain to the gods El and Yarikh . Thus, present in
20043-404: The titular hero Aqhat is instructed to 𐎉𐎁𐎖𐎟𐎍𐎈𐎚𐎟𐎐𐎛𐎕𐎅 ( ṭābiqu laḥatê nāʾiṣihu , lit. ' shut the jaw of his (father's) detractors ' ), thus signaling ʿAṯtartu as performing filial duties by protecting El, the patriarch of whose household she was a member of. Although there is little to no evidence of ʿAṯtartu being explicitly considered the consort of Baal at Ugarit,
20196-466: The unexpected occurrence of the shift in this position), or, with an assumption of an early form * ʿAštārit , as a conventional occurrence of the shift -ā(r)i- to -ō(r)ē- . In various cultures Astarte was connected with some combination of the following spheres: war , sexuality , royal power, beauty, healing and - especially in Ugarit and Emar - hunting; however, known sources do not indicate she
20349-570: The upper Amu Darya (Oxus River). Its sites were discovered and named by the Soviet archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi (1976). Bactria was the Greek name for the area of Bactra (modern Balkh ), in what is now northern Afghanistan, and Margiana was the Greek name for the Persian satrapy of Marguš , the capital of which was Merv in present-day Turkmenistan. A wealth of information indicates that
20502-569: The veneration of Dewi Sri in Java. At least hundreds of thousands of people follow religions that syncretize Chinese folk religion and Christianity , while others follow similar belief structures that incorporate Islamic theology instead and have precedent in some 19th and 20th century Muslim populations in China. The traditional Mun faith of the Lepcha people predates their seventh century conversion to Lamaistic Buddhism . Since that time,
20655-592: The well gear, with the beat of tom-toms, and large crowds gather to witness the show, The race is called Baisakhi and is a favourite pastime in the well-irrigated tracts. Then the processions of Tazias , in Muharram , with the accompaniment of tom-toms, fencing parties and bands playing on flutes and other musical instruments (which is disapproved by the orthodox Muhammadans) and the establishment of Sabils (shelters where water and sharbat are served out) are clearly influenced by similar practices at Hindu festivals, while
20808-403: The west to Thailand in the east employing the same metalworking technology and, in some areas, horse breeding and riding. However, recent genetic testings of sites in south Siberia and Kazakhstan ( Andronovo horizon) would rather support spreading of the bronze technology via Indo-European migrations eastwards, as this technology had been well known for quite a while in western regions. It
20961-608: The western forms of the name and the eastern form "Ishtar" were fully interchangeable. In later times Astarte was worshipped in Syria and Canaan . Her worship spread to Cyprus , where she may have been merged with an ancient Cypriot goddess. This merged Cypriot goddess may have been adopted into the Greek pantheon in Mycenaean and Dark Age times to form Aphrodite . An outdated argument, however, postulates that Astarte's character
21114-535: The written East Semitic Akkadian language for official use and as a spoken language. By that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use in Assyria and Babylonia, and would remain so until the 1st century AD. The Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in later Assyrian and Babylonian culture. Despite this, Babylonia, unlike the more militarily powerful Assyria,
21267-543: Was Mari , where early texts from her temple pre-dating the city's destruction by the Akkadian Empire record her name as 𒀭𒀸𒁯𒊏𒀜 ( ᴰ ʿAṯtarat ), who appears to have been distinguished from ʿAṯtart's East Semitic equivalent, the Mesopotamian goddess Ištar , at Mari. One text from Mari records that offerings were made to both ʿAṯtarat and the river-god Nārum together. The main cult centre of ʿAṯtart
21420-455: Was "very good". Simon Magus has been identified as one of the early proponents of Gnosticism. In the first few centuries after the death of Jesus , there were various competing "Jesus movements". The Roman emperors used syncretism to help unite the expanding empire. Social conversion to Christianity happened all over Europe. It became even more effective when missionaries concurred with established cultural traditions and interlaced them into
21573-581: Was Egypt's most prosperous time and marked the peak of Egypt's power. The later New Kingdom, comprising the Nineteenth and Twentieth dynasties (1292–1069 BC), is also known as the Ramesside period , after the eleven pharaohs who took the name of Ramesses. Elam was a pre-Iranian ancient civilisation located east of Mesopotamia. In the Middle Bronze Age, Elam consisted of kingdoms on
21726-417: Was a fertility goddess , contrary to opinions in early scholarship. Her symbol was the lion and she was also often associated with the horse and by extension chariots. The dove might be a symbol of her as well, as evidenced by some Bronze Age cylinder seals. The only images identified with absolute certainty as Astarte are these depicting her as a combatant on horseback or in a chariot. While many authors in
21879-535: Was a general trend, and Nobibongšo by Syed Sultan is an example of it. The book tells the lineage of the prophets of Islam. Apart from Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ, the poet also describes Dharmic figures such as Brahma, Vishnu, Rama and Krishna. The Barghawata kingdom of Morocco followed a syncretic religion inspired by Islam (perhaps influenced by Judaism) with elements of Sunni , Shi'ite and Kharijite Islam, mixed with astrological and heathen traditions. Supposedly, they had their own Qur'an in
22032-522: Was associated with the goddess Anat , with Anat usually preceding ʿAṯtartu, and the two goddesses were often connected to each other through poetic parallelism. Both goddesses shared common traits such as perfect beauty, which characterised young goddesses, with the human Ḥuraya being compared to them in the text KTU 1.13 III using the terms 𐎄𐎋𐎟𐎐𐎓𐎎𐎟𐎓𐎐𐎚𐎟𐎐𐎓𐎎𐎅𐎟𐎋𐎎𐎟𐎚𐎒𐎎𐎟𐎓𐎘𐎚𐎗𐎚𐎟𐎚𐎒𐎎𐎅 ( dāka nuʿmi ʿAnati nuʿmuha kama têsimi ʿAṯtarti têsimuha . lit. ' whose loveliness
22185-617: Was developed into the Hellenized Zeus Ammon after Alexander the Great went into the desert to seek out his oracle at the Siwa Oasis . The Romans , identifying themselves as joint heirs to a very similar civilization, identified Greek gods with similar figures in the Etruscan-Roman tradition , though usually without copying cult practices . (For details, see interpretatio graeca .) Syncretic gods of
22338-466: Was founded by non-native Amorites and often ruled by other non-indigenous peoples such as the Kassites , Aramaeans and Chaldeans , as well as by its Assyrian neighbours. For many decades, scholars made superficial reference to Central Asia as the "pastoral realm" or alternatively, the "nomadic world", in what researchers call the "Central Asian void": a 5,000-year span that was neglected in studies of
22491-414: Was introduced by Phoenician sailors and colonists were Cythera , Malta , and Eryx in Sicily from which she became known to the Romans as Venus Erycina . Three inscriptions from the Pyrgi Tablets dating to about 500 BC found near Caere in Etruria mentions the construction of a shrine to Astarte in the temple of the local goddess Uni -Astre ( 𐌔𐌄𐌓𐌕𐌔𐌀𐌋𐌀𐌉𐌍𐌖 ). At Carthage Astarte
22644-829: Was less erotic and more warlike than Ishtar originally was, perhaps because she was influenced by the Canaanite goddess Anat , and that therefore Ishtar, not Astarte, was the direct forerunner of the Cypriot goddess. However, evidence from Iron Age Phoenicia show that Astarte became a more erotic goddess as opposed to her early Bronze Age worship in Ugarit and Syria, and that early attestations of Aphrodite, were more war-like. Greeks in classical, Hellenistic, and Roman times occasionally equated Aphrodite with Astarte and many other Near Eastern goddesses, in keeping with their frequent practice of syncretizing other deities with their own. In addition, certain aspects of other Greek gods, such as Artemis Astrateia are hypothesized to be heavily influenced by Astarte. Major centers of Astarte's worship in
22797-467: Was perhaps a better match with Zeus than the rural huntress Diana was for the feared Artemis . Ares was not homologous to Mars . The Romans physically imported the (statue of) Anatolian goddess Cybele into Rome from her cult center in Anatolian Pessinos in the form of her original aniconic archaic stone idol; they identified her as Magna Mater and gave her a matronly, explicitly iconic image developed in Hellenistic Pergamum . Likewise, when
22950-437: Was politically and socially active for a while. In the Philippines Folk Catholicism blends religious and magical elements from the precolonial Philippine nations which were practicing either Buddhism , Hinduism , Animism , Islam or other religions; together with Hispano-American Roman Catholicism. An example of this is the Our Lady of Guidance of the Philippines, which was an icon of a Native Hindu - Buddhist Diwata but
23103-475: Was still the city of Mari during the Amorite period, when her name is attested as a theophoric element in personal names such as 𒀭𒀸𒁯𒋫𒍣 ( ᴰ Aštart-azi , lit. ' ʿAṯtart is my strength ' ). However, her name was otherwise written in cuneiform using ideograms and without the feminine suffix -t , in the forms 𒀭𒀸𒁯 ( ᴰ AŠ-DAR ) and 𒀭𒈹 ( ᴰ INANNA ). A contemporary incantation against snakebites from Ugarit recorded
23256-474: Was the western neighbour of the Middle and New Hittite Kingdoms , at times a rival and, at other times, a vassal. The Assuwa league was a confederation of states in western Anatolia defeated by the Hittites under the earlier Tudhaliya I c. 1400 BC . Arzawa has been associated with the more obscure Assuwa generally located to its north. It probably bordered it, and may have been an alternative term for it during some periods. In Ancient Egypt ,
23409-487: Was worshipped alongside the goddess Tanit , and frequently appeared as a theophoric element in personal names. Iconographic portrayal of Astarte, very similar to that of Tanit , often depicts her naked and in presence of lions , identified respectively with symbols of sexuality and war. She is also depicted as winged, carrying the solar disk and the crescent moon as a headdress, and with her lions either lying prostrate to her feet or directly under those. Aside from
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