The astral basis of the South Arabian pantheon emerges from such divine names as Shams (“Sun”) and Rubʿ (“Moon-Quarter”). The epithets “Mother of ʿAthtar,” “Mother of [the] goddesses,” “Daughters of [the god] Il” allude to still-obscure theogonic myths. The name of the Venus god ʿAthtar corresponds to that of the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar (Venus). Hawbas, a goddess, was his consort (but seems to have been locally a masculine deity). As head of the South Arabian pantheon, ʿAthtar had superseded the ancient supreme Semitic god Il or El, whose name survives nearly exclusively in theophoric names. ... (100 of 4,943 words)Pre-Islāmic deities
South Arabia