**4. Figurines**

Small clay figurines which depict naked women were a popular Canaanite cultic item during the Late Bronze Age. These figurines were produced by pressing clay into an open cast (Figure 7). The women were usually depicted holding lotus flowers or their breasts. Their hairstyle resembled that of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor (see Cornelius 2004 for a possible typological grouping of these figurines). Most of these figurines were discovered in domestic contexts (the ones found in tombs should also be understood as 'domestic' and continuing their same function). They were usually found in secondary contexts, recently leading Levavi-Eilat (2014) to the conclusion that they were not ceremoniously disposed of, but may have been intentionally broken during apotropaic rituals.

**Figure 7.** Canaanite Figurine plaque of a naked goddess from Tel Batash (From Mazar 2006: Photo 104; courtesy of Amihai Mazar and the Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem).

These figurines are usually assumed to be representations of one of the Canaanite goddesses of sex and fertility—Asherah, Anat, or Astarte. Within one individual deity, this goddess perhaps combined the powers of mother earth, giving birth to humans and animals, nourishing them and helping them flourish. In any case, it is not only difficult to determine which goddess is depicted, but also the function of the figurines within the local cult practices (Bunimovitz 2019, p. 56). Hess (2007, p. 138) suggested that the female deity terra-cotta forms demonstrate a popularization and privatization of cultic worship. Additional figurines were made of metal. The most popular subjects were the young warrior god, most probably Baal, striding and holding weapons. Other popular figurines include enthroned male gods, identified as El, dressed in a long mantle (See example from Hazor in Figure 8).

The Canaanite goddesses were also portrayed on plaques or triangular gold pendants. Sometimes, the full body of the goddess is shown, while in other cases, only the head and fertility organs are featured. The goddess is usually depicted riding a horse, though there are several representations of a naked goddess standing on a lion. A variation of this figure appears on a large gold sheet found in the Acropolis temple at Lachish (Figure 9). This is an exceptional work of art illustrating the cultural and religious interchange between Canaan and Egypt.

**Figure 8.** Enthroned male god figurine from Hazor (From Ornan 2017: Photo 10.6; courtesy of Amnon Ben-Tor and the Israel Exploration Society).

The figure of the goddess is simply, but rather gracefully, designed. She is shown in profile wearing a huge crown, which seems to be composed of two ostrich feathers flanked by two pairs of cow horns, all set onto a pair of ram's horns. It resembles the feather crown of Lower Egypt called the *anedtj*-crown, which is composed of several elements. The goddess is standing on a horse and holding two lotus flowers. The Lachish goddess, as characterized by nudity, her posture, a Hathor wig, the crown, and with attributes such as lotus flowers, is known from Canaan, as well as from Egypt, where she is identified as Qudshu, and related to the cult of fertility and love. Egyptian elements are evident in other parts of the plaque as well. In any case, the mythological personality of Qudshu, and her equation with Asherah, Astarte, or Anat, is rather elusive in Canaan, due to the lack of literary and epigraphic sources on the Canaanite pantheon and the difficulty in clearly defining the functions and personalities of Canaanite and Egyptian divinities (Clamer 2004, pp. 1314–20).

**Figure 9.** Canaanite Goddess depicted on a gold plaque found in the Lachish Acropolis temple ((From Clamer 2004: Figure 21:21; courtesy of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University).).

Examples of painted vessels with a highly stylized palm tree, flanked by caprids, have been found in many Late Bronze contexts (Bunimovitz 2019, p. 62). In some representations, the tree is replaced by a pubic triangle, reflecting the association of the tree with a goddess and fertility. Similar motifs have been identified on contemporary cultic stands. These stands themselves may be stylized versions of the tree of life, one of the oldest and most widespread motifs in ancient Near East art and iconography.
