2015-08-02, 3:11 PM Asherah: Supreme Goddess of the Ancient Levant Page 1 of 4 file:///Users/johanna/Desktop/matrifocus%20complete/Asherah%20Supreme%20Goddess%20of%20the%20Ancient%20Levant.htm Gold pendant. Ugarit-Ras Shamra. 1550-1200/1150 BCE. S. Beaulieu, after Negbi 1976, Plate 53, #1661. Goddess in the Spotlight by Johanna H. Stuckey , University Professor Emerita, York University Home Search Free Subscription Beltane 2004, Vol 3-3 MatriFocus , a Cross-Quarterly Web Magazine for Goddess Women Near & Far Asherah Supreme Goddess of the Ancient Levant As soon as El saw her, he opened his mouth and laughed; … he raised his voice and shouted: "Why has Lady Asherah-of-the-Sea arrived? why has the Mother of the Gods come?" (Coogan 1978:100) Although texts from the ancient Syrian city Ugarit do not explicitly name Asherah as consort of the supreme male deity, she was arguably his female counterpart, for she was Elat, "Goddess," to his El, "God" (Hadley 2000:38). Indeed, Asherah and El function as "supreme couple," and their offspring include "all the other deities in the first generation" (Olmo Lete 1999:47). Like El, Asherah was primarily a figure of authority, but only that authority which a patriarchal culture accords the feminine. Alone of Ugaritic goddesses, Asherah carried a spindle, which marked her as feminine and domestic (Coogan 1978:97; Hadley 2000:39). Occurring near the top of deity and offering lists, Asherah was certainly the most important goddess at Ugarit (Binger 1997:89). Appropriately for the chief goddess of a sea-trading city, her full name, athirat yam, means "She treads on Sea," (Coogan 1978:116; Hadley 2000:49-51). In the myths, while not having a central role, Asherah still plays a critical part. She has "sufficient power for El to be willing to take her advice concerning Baal's successor" (Hadley 2000:39; Coogan 1978:111). Since one of her epithets was "Creatrix, or Progenetrix, of the Gods" (Coogan 1978:97), and her sons numbered seventy, that is, a great many (Coogan 1978:104), Asherah was probably a "mother goddess." Certainly, as "creatrix" and "wet nurse" of the gods, Asherah was "somehow related to birth and fertility" (Hadley 2000:43). However, given her authority and her role as power broker, it is unlikely that she was only a fertility goddess. One of Asherah's functions seems to have been to act as mediator between the other deities and the supreme El. Though the approach of the aggressive deities Anat and Baal terrifies her at first, Asherah calms down after they bestow sumptuous gifts on her, and, clearly higher in rank than they are, she undertakes to approach El on their behalf (Coogan 1978:98, 99-101 Hadley 2000:39).