Prayer to Attaret – KTU 1.180
In Ras Ibn Hani, near Latakia, a unique inscription was found representing a sweet prayer written in a refined poetic style and addressed to the Canaanite goddess “Athtaret,” whose name is often translated as “Astarte” in Arabic. Quote from Al-Raqim (KTU 1.180):
Sham. You stumbled.
Say. Yashar. Thamar. Sham. Labiya.
Sham. Takshd. L…
Describe. Qalh. Tajdr.
Ask. Nimr. Huttert.
Stumble. Nimr. Huttert. Dancing.
Bifil
Translation:
The name of Attarat. My voice sings.
I sing the name of the lioness. The name of [the one] sought by [the people],
yearned for by Qalah*, and embraced by El.
Like a ferocious tiger, she stumbled
like a ferocious tiger, dancing
in the setting of [the sun], at night [when] it rains [
in] the dream of the night [when] it rains.**
* From the gods of Ugarit.
** The KTU Encyclopedia includes only five lines of text, which consists of about forty lines, and research and translations have only dealt with the first five lines of it. I have translated two additional lines, with the goal that I will continue translating and publishing the remainder of the distorted number later.
Note: This number does not include breaks between words, and it also includes words that do not appear in other Ugaritic texts. Therefore, there were many readings and translations of the text. My reading and translation may differ from European readings and translations of the text.
Source: websites