When a farmer in the Gaza Strip discovered the head of a 4,500-year-old ancient goddess statue, it sparked a new interest in Canaanite history.
Archaeologists dubbed it the “tear goddess” due to a tear-shaped mark under her eye, according to a recent post of archaeologist Theodoros Papakostas.
Ancient sculpture found by farmer in #Gaza
Palestinian farmer found a rare 4,500-year-old stone sculpture while working his land in Khan Yunis. The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said the limestone head is believed to represent the Canaanite goddess 'Anat'. pic.twitter.com/xmKv4nCi4A— Abu Samo (@Abusamo1) April 26, 2022
The discovery that occurred in 2022 was incidental, as the farmer was working on his land in the Qarara area, east of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, according to an NBC report.
The 6.7 inch limestone statue represents the head of Anat, the ancient goddess of love, beauty and war in Canaanite mythology. Archaeologists place the making of the sculpture at around 2500 BC.
The sculpture depicts the goddess wearing a snake for a crown. This resembling was also common among Egyptians. It denoted royalty and divine authority and was also a symbol of strength and invincibility.
According to NBC, the farmer donated the sculpture to Pasha’s Palace Museum in Radwan Castle in Gaza, also known as Qasr al-Basha.
The Canaanites
Canaan is an area which, according to ancient texts, may have included parts of modern-day Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
There are no direct sources about the culture of Canaan and its people from which the statue of the ancient goddess originates. Much of what scholars know about the Canaanites comes from records left behind by people with whom they came into contact.
Detailed records of Canaan come from the archaeological site of Amarna in Egypt, where Canaanites are thought to have lived, and from the Hebrew Bible. They lived in the area from at least the Bronze Age (c. 2000BC – 750BC).
According to scholars, Canaanites were never united into a single kingdom. Archaeological excavations indicate they were made up of different ethnic groups. A variety of burial customs indicate they were people of diverse origins.
A mention of the Canaanites comes from fragments of a letter found at the site of Mari, a city located in today’s Syria, dating back about 3,800 years. The letter is addressed to “Yasmah-Adad,” a king of Mari, and says that “thieves and Canaanites” are in a town called “Rahisum.”
Another early text speaks of the people who lived in Canaan. It dates back about 3,500 years and was written on a statue of Idrimi, a king who ruled a city named “Alalakh” in modern-day Turkey. Idrimi says that, at one point, he was forced to flee to a city in “Canaan” called “Amiya.”
Letters Found in Egypt
Yet another source of information about Canaan is a batch of texts found from excavations at the archaeological site of Amarna in Egypt. Amarna was constructed as the capital of Egypt by the pharaoh Akhenaten (reign ca. 1353-1335 BC), a ruler who tried to focus Egypt’s polytheistic religion around the worship of the “Aten,” the sun disk.
The texts consist of diplomatic correspondence between Akhenaten and his immediate predecessors and successors as well as various rulers in the Middle East. Modern-day scholars often call these texts the “Amarna letters.”
These letters show that Canaan had several kings. A diplomatic passport that was found was written by Tusratta, a king of Mittani, which was a kingdom located in Northern Syria. It tells the “kings of the land of Canaan” to let his messenger “Akiya” pass through safely to Egypt and warns the kings that “no one is to detain him.”
Furthermore, the letters indicate that Egypt held considerable power over these Canaanite kings. One letter written by a king of Babylon named “Burra-Buriyas” complains about the killing of Babylonian merchants in Canaan and reminds Egypt’s pharaoh that “the land of Canaan is your land and its kings are your servants.”
Egyptian texts also show that Egypt’s pharaohs sent military expeditions into Canaan. A stele erected by a pharaoh named Merneptah (reign ca. 1213-1203 BC) claimed that “Canaan has been plundered into every sort of woe.” The same stele also claims that Merneptah “laid waste” to “Israel.”
Canaanite Religion and the Hebrew Bible
Like many ancient local religions, that of the Canaanites was likewise polytheistic with over fifty known deities. The ancient goddess Anat was among them. The head of the gods was El or Elyon, the creator and ruler of all.
There are frequent mentions of Canaan in the Hebrew Bible. According to the stories, God promised Moses he would give the Canaanites’ land to the Israelites after escaping from Egypt.
The stories told in the Hebrew Bible say that, after the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they fought a series of wars against the Canaanites and others. The Israelites eventually took over most of the Canaanites’ land, and those who survived had to do forced labor. Furthermore, according to the stories, the conquered land was also incorporated into a powerful Israelite kingdom that eventually split in two.
Some scholars dispute the accuracy of these stories. They believe there was no exodus from Egypt and that the Israelites lived in Canaan alongside various Canaanite groups during the second millennium BC. Scholars who study ancient languages sometimes describe Hebrew, a language of the Israelis, as a Canaanite language. This is due to certain similarities to Phoenician.
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