Arsu

Arsu
God of the evening star
Relief showing Arsu from Temple of Adonis, Dura-Europos
Planet	Mercury, Venus (as the Evening Star)
Genealogy
Siblings	Azizos
Equivalents
Arabia	Ruda

Arsu was a god worshipped in Palmyra, Syria.

A deity known from Syrian and northern Arabian lands, being represented as either male or female (most often). Arsu was connected with the evening star.

Frequently portrayed as riding a camel and accompanied by his twin brother Azizos; both were regarded as the protectors of caravans. His worship is also confirmed by material evidence found in the Temple of Adonis, Dura-Europos. In the temple complex there was a relief depicting Arsu on a camel. The inscription under the figure reads: "Oga the sculptor has made (this to) 'Arsu the camel-rider, for the life of his son". ^[1] It is likely he was associated with the planet Mercury early on. ^[2]

Elsewhere in pre-Islamic Arabia, he was equated with Ruda (literally benign).

References

1. Finn Ove Hvidberg-Hansen: Arsu and 'Azizu A Study of the West Semitic "Dioscuri" and the Gods of Dawn and Dusk (= Historiske-filosofiske Meddelelser. Band 97), p. 7. Selskab 2007, ISBN   978-87-7304311-0
2. Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo (2001-01-01). "Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae 8: Thespiades-Zodiacus et Supplementum, Abila-Thersites (2 vols.). Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae, Indices (2 vols.)" . American Journal of Archaeology. 105 (1): 105–106. doi:10.2307/507331. ISSN   0002-9114. JSTOR   507331.