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Fertility cults, generally found within the religions of the ancient Near East, are called such because of the reenactment of myth in order to explain the changing of the seasons. The common symbol for fertility among these cults is the "mother-goddess" and her male consort or son. It is this male companion that with each seasonal cycle, dies like the vegetation and then is reborn.
Participants in such religions ascribed the success of their harvest to the sexual relationship of the female-male pair. Villagers commonly slept with temple prostitutes, both male and female, as a form of worship by replicating the sexual act of the "mother-goddess" with her consort to help insure fertility of the land.
Because fertility was so highly cherished, sacrificial offerings of valued objects such as livestock, produce, or children, depicted giving up to the god what was valued in order to secure fecundity. Without the blessing of the divine pair, no farmer could be assured of a prosperous crop.
Ishtar and Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14) were the "mother-goddess" and consort pair in Mesopotamia, Isis and her son Osiris in Egypt, and Cybele and Attis in Asia Minor. Ugaritic mythology from 2000 BCE portrays Baal, the god of the storm, as the god that dies and is reborn (Zechariah 12:11) with his mother Anath. In even earlier mythology, Ashera was the fertility goddess and companion to the chief god El. Baal eventually replaced El as leader of the pantheon and, so too, his place with Ashera. Even the daughter of Ashera, Ashtoroth, is used as the Hebrew word for fruit of the womb.
In the Bible, Elijah is told to have struggled with the priests of Baal and Ashera on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:17-40). 1 Kings 16:31 tells us that Baalism became the national religion under the leadership of Ahab.
Further investigation reveals that the priests of Baal in 1 Kings 18:28 lacerate themselves just as El slices his arms, chest, and back when he hears of Baal's death. This is a common reenactment at plowing time. The cutting of the skin symbolized the cutting of the earth in plowing and the morning for the death of their god. The resurrection of Baal comes each year with the return of the rains.
Even though the Israelites deity YHWH had no apparent consort, their sacred calendar paralleled that of their neighbors. The barely harvest was equivalent to the Israelites feast of unleavened bread, the wheat harvest happened at the same time as Pentecost, and the fruit harvest occurred in unison with the feast of booths.
Read more about Ashtaroth Read more about Baal Read more about Ancient Near Eastern mythology Other Internet ResourcesAsheraAshera, fertility goddess and mother of Baal, was primarily worshiped in Syria and Canaan and was often represented by a wooden pole. Ancient Near Eastern authorities depict Ashera as the wife of El and mother to some seventy gods with Baal being the most notorious. This "mother-goddess" was often called "Lady Asherah of the Sea." AshtarothAshtaroth, plural for Ashtoreth, was a Canaanite goddess for fertility, love and war. She is the daughter of the goddess Asherah and her consort El. Ashtoreth is the sister of Anath and the wife of Baal. Ancient sources indicate the Anath was also the wife of Baal. Consequently there is some confusion regarding the relationship between Anath and Ashtoreth. Egyptians gave the name "Lady of Heaven" to Astarte, Anath, and the goddess Qudshu. In Moabite mythology, Astarte is the consort of Chemosh. However the Babylonians and Assyrians worshiped this goddess as Ashtar, and during the Hellenistic time period she was called Aphrodite-Venus. The word Ashtoreth seems to be linked with the Hebrew word for "womb" or "that which comes out of the womb" and the idea of fertility. BaalBaal, Lord of the Canaanite pantheon and represented in the thunderstorm, was worshiped as a contributor to fecundity. He was the son of Asherah and wife to Ashtoreth. Baal was a great temptation to the Israelites and was often worshiped on the high places by both the Northern and Southern kingdoms. There are seven tablets that contain the myths of Baal. They are, however, in such poor condition that a sequence for the stories cannot be deciphered nor can it be told if they should even be together as a single narrative. Sources:
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