Attar (god)
Encyclopedia
Attar, also known as Athtar, Astar, and Ashtar is the god of the morning star in western Semitic
Semitic
In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages...

 mythology. In Canaan
Canaan
Canaan is a historical region roughly corresponding to modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and the western parts of Jordan...

ite legend he attempts to usurp the throne of the dead god Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...

 but proves inadequate. In semi-arid regions of western Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 he was sometimes worshipped as a rain god. His female counterpart is the Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...

. In more southerly regions he is probably known as Dhu-Samani.

Attar appears as the demon Ashtar in Shin Megami Tensei II
Shin Megami Tensei II
is a video game and direct sequel to Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom released on March 18, 1994 in Japan. It was later remade for PlayStation in 2002, and then for Game Boy Advance in 2003. It is a console role-playing game and part of the Megami Tensei series...

.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK