Anath

Chthonia

This episode looks at the third goddess in our Canaanite trilogy, the warrior goddess Anath, the sister or helpmate of the Canaanite deity Ba'al Hadad. Anath's attributes and role with respect to the Israelites is contested, as is her role as a fertility and hunting goddess. The scholarship has a hard time reconciling this bloodthirsty goddess with a connection to fertility, but the connection is actually very clear. We talk about ancient Earth mother worship, the idea of something that is "anathema" (a term that comes from the name of this goddess), and how her violent nature connects her to the agricultural cycle of life.