Archaeologists have found hundreds of terra-cotta figurines in Jerusalem and Judah, mainly in the ruins of private homes. Most were depictions of a nude female with exaggerated breasts. Scholars identify these figurines with the fertility goddesses Ashtoreth and Asherah. The figurines are believed to have been “talismans abetting conception and childbirth.”

[Picture on page 10]

Ashtoreth figurines from ancient Judean homes

[Credit Line]

Photograph © Israel Museum, Jerusalem; courtesy of Israel Antiquities Authority