Anat was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume that she originated in the Amorite culture of Bronze Age upper Mesopotamia, and that the goddess Ḫanat, attested in the texts from Mari and worshiped in a city sharing her name located in Suhum, should be considered her forerunner.

In Ugarit, Anat was one of the main goddesses, and regularly received offerings, as attested in texts written both in the local Ugaritic language and in Hurrian. She also frequently appears in myths, including the Baal Cycle and the Epic of Aqhat. In the former, she is portrayed as a staunch ally of the weather god Baal, who assists him in his struggle for kingship, helps him with obtaining the permission to obtain a dwelling of his own, and finally mourns and avenges his death at the hands of the personified death, Mot.

The precise nature of the relation between Anat and Baal is uncertain, and the conventional views that they were lovers, siblings or both remain a matter of dispute among researchers. Another deity who frequently appears alongside her is Ashtart. Interactions between Anat and the sun goddess Shapash and moon god Yarikh are described in myths as well. In Hurrian ritual texts, she appears alongside deities such as Šimige, Aštabi and Nupatik. Elsewhere in the Levant and in nearby regions of inland Syria, Anat's status apparently was not equally high, though she is nonetheless attested in Emar, Hazor and elsewhere.

At some point in time in the Bronze Age, either during the reign of Hyksos or shortly after its end, Anat was introduced to Egypt, and achieved a degree of prominence during the reign of Ramesses II, whose devotion to her is well attested. Evidence for Egyptian worship of Anat is also available from various sites in Palestine which were controlled by the pharaohs in the Bronze Age. She remained a part of the Egyptian pantheon as late as in the Roman period.

In Egypt, she was considered the consort of the chaos god Seth, and her sexual aspects led her to be associated with Min, who is a fertility god. She was especially popular in the New Kingdom, and she was one of Ramses II's patron deities, who watched over him in battle.

Though often called "virgin," Anat also has a strong sexual aspect, much like the war and sex goddess of the Irish the Morrigan, and, though she is not usually considered the consort of Ba'al, was said to have had seventy-seven children by him, after they had copulated in the forms of cow and bull. Given this, calling Anat a "virgin" probably should to be taken to mean "independent young woman."

In the first millennium BCE, she also continued to be worshiped in Suhum in Mesopotamia. She is also attested in a number of Phoenician inscriptions. Most of them come from Cyprus. They indicate that on this island an association developed between her and the Greek goddess Athena based on their similar character. The only references to Anat in the Hebrew Bible are indirect, and are limited to toponyms and theophoric names, which is presumed to indicate that she was not commonly worshiped in the Kingdom of Israel.

All published appearances of Anat from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anat Wikipedia]
*[https://myths-in-media.fandom.com/wiki/Anat Myths in Media Wiki]
*[https://the-demonic-paradise.fandom.com/wiki/Anat Demonic Paradise Wiki]
Category:Mythological Characters
Category:Goddess Characters
Category:Immortal Characters
Category:Middle Eastern Characters
Category:Egyptian Characters
Category:Unknown Creator
Category:TCG Characters
Category:Age of Ishtaria Characters
Category:Deity Wars Characters
Category:Devil Maker Tokyo Characters
Category:Legend of Minerva Characters
Category:Valkyrie Crusade Characters
Category:Granblue Fantasy Characters
Category:Kamihime Project Characters
Category:Kingdom of Heroes Characters
Category:Shin Megami Tensei Characters
Category:Video Game Characters