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 have a similar style, with cherubim heads on winged lion bodies 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]
| 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 baetylus 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 KAI 17 | 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 baetylus [3] | |
 | Hellenistic | Region of Tyre | National Museum of Beirut | none | Seat contains a stele or baetylus [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 |
Astarte is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar.
The sarcophagus ofEshmunazar II is a 6th-century BC sarcophagus unearthed in 1855 in the grounds of an ancient necropolis southeast of the city of Sidon, in modern-day Lebanon, that contained the body of Eshmunazar II, Phoenician King of Sidon. One of only three Ancient Egyptian sarcophagi found outside Egypt, with the other two belonging to Eshmunazar's parents King Tabnit and Queen Amoashtart, it was likely carved in Egypt from local amphibolite, and captured as booty by the Sidonians during their participation in Cambyses II's conquest of Egypt in 525 BC. The sarcophagus has two sets of Phoenician inscriptions, one on its lid and a partial copy of it on the sarcophagus trough, around the curvature of the head. The lid inscription was of great significance upon its discovery as it was the first Phoenician language inscription to be discovered in Phoenicia proper and the most detailed Phoenician text ever found anywhere up to that point, and is today the second longest extant Phoenician inscription, after the Karatepe bilingual.
The National Museum of Beirut is the principal museum of archaeology in Lebanon. The collection begun after World War I, and the museum was officially opened in 1942. The museum has collections totaling about 100,000 objects, most of which are antiquities and medieval finds from excavations undertaken by the Directorate General of Antiquities.
The Ahiram sarcophagus was the sarcophagus of a Phoenician King of Byblos, discovered in 1923 by the French excavator Pierre Montet in tomb V of the royal necropolis of Byblos.
René Dussaud was a French Orientalist, archaeologist, and epigrapher. Among his major works are studies on the religion of the Hittites, the Hurrians, the Phoenicians and the Syriacs. He became curator of the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Louvre Museum and a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. One notable student was pioneering Jewish archaeologist Judith Marquet-Krause.
The Temple of Eshmun is an ancient place of worship dedicated to Eshmun, the Phoenician god of healing. It is located near the Awali river, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) northeast of Sidon in southwestern Lebanon. The site was occupied from the 7th century BC to the 8th century AD, suggesting an integrated relationship with the nearby city of Sidon. Although originally constructed by Sidonian king Eshmunazar II in the Achaemenid era to celebrate the city's recovered wealth and stature, the temple complex was greatly expanded by Bodashtart, Yatonmilk and later monarchs. Because the continued expansion spanned many centuries of alternating independence and foreign hegemony, the sanctuary features a wealth of different architectural and decorative styles and influences.
Eshmunazar II was the Phoenician king of Sidon. He was the grandson of Eshmunazar I, and a vassal king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Eshmunazar II succeeded his father Tabnit I who ruled for a short time and died before the birth of his son. Tabnit I was succeeded by his sister-wife Amoashtart who ruled alone until Eshmunazar II's birth, and then acted as his regent until the time he would have reached majority. Eshmunazar II died prematurely at the age of 14. He was succeeded by his cousin Bodashtart.
Bodashtart was a Phoenician ruler, who reigned as King of Sidon, the grandson of King Eshmunazar I, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He succeeded his cousin Eshmunazar II to the throne of Sidon, and scholars believe that he was succeeded by his son and proclaimed heir Yatonmilk.
The Byblian royal inscriptions are five inscriptions from Byblos written in an early type of Phoenician script, all of which were discovered in the early 20th century.
Emir Maurice Hafez Chehab was a Lebanese archaeologist and museum curator. He was the head of the Antiquities Service in Lebanon and curator of the National Museum of Beirut from 1942 to 1982. He was recognised as the "father of modern Lebanese archaeology"
Umm Al Amad, or Umm el 'Amed or al Auamid or el-Awamid, is an Hellenistic period archaeological site near the town of Naqoura in Lebanon. It was discovered by Europeans in the 1770s, and was excavated in 1861. It is one of the most excavated archaeological sites in the Phoenician heartland.
Yatonmilk was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal to the Achaemenid king of kings Darius I.
The royal necropolis of Byblos is a group of nine Bronze Age underground shaft and chamber tombs housing the sarcophagi of several kings of the city. Byblos is a coastal city in Lebanon, and one of the oldest continuously populated cities in the world. The city established major trade links with Egypt during the Bronze Age, resulting in a heavy Egyptian influence on local culture and funerary practices. The location of ancient Byblos was lost to history, but was rediscovered in the late 19th century by the French biblical scholar and Orientalist Ernest Renan. The remains of the ancient city sat on top of a hill in the immediate vicinity of the modern city of Jbeil. Exploratory trenches and minor digs were undertaken by the French mandate authorities, during which reliefs inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs were excavated. The discovery stirred the interest of western scholars, leading to systematic surveys of the site.
Eshmunazar I was a priest of Astarte and the Phoenician King of Sidon. He was the founder of his namesake dynasty, and a vassal king of the Achaemenid Empire. Eshmunazar participated in the Neo-Babylonian campaigns against Egypt under the command of either Nebuchadnezzar II or Nabonidus. The Sidonian king is mentioned in the funerary inscriptions engraved on the royal sarcophagi of his son Tabnit I and his grandson Eshmunazar II. The monarch's name is also attested in the dedicatory temple inscriptions of his other grandson, King Bodashtart.
Baalshillem I was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He was succeeded by his son Abdamon to the throne of Sidon.
Baalshillem II was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and the great-grandson of Baalshillem I who founded the namesake dynasty. He succeeded Baana to the throne of Sidon, and was succeeded by his son Abdashtart I. The name Baalshillem means "recompense of Baal" in Phoenician.
The Phoenician papyrus letters are the only two known papyrus letters written in Phoenician. The first was discovered in Cairo in 1939, and the second in Saqqara in 1940. Both letters were first published by Noël Aimé-Giron.
The Phoenician Adoration steles are a number of Phoenician and Punic steles depicting the adoration gesture (orans).
The Banobal stele is a Horus on the Crocodiles stele with a Phoenician graffiti inscription on a block of marble which served as a base for an Egyptian stele, found near the Pyramid of Unas in Memphis, Egypt in 1900. The inscription is known as KAI 48 or RES 1.
Abdamon (also transliterated Abdamun ; Phoenician: 𐤏𐤁𐤃𐤀𐤌𐤍, was a Phoenician King of Sidon, and a vassal of the Achaemenid Empire. He was succeeded by his son Baana to the throne of Sidon.
Media related to Thrones of Astarte at Wikimedia Commons
