Pagan Gods: Astarte

Sargent, John Singer, 1856-1925 · [ca. 1890–1895]

Visible in this eastern portion of the Pagan Gods arch is Astarte, the goddess of sensuality enrobed in swaths of light blue and adorned with jewels rendered in glass and metal relief. Astarte stands upon a thin crescent moon. Above her head, the pincers of a scarab beetle hold an orange orb, behind which lies the inverted face of the goddess Neith. The mother of the Universe, Neith's body forms the length of the ceiling, with her hands touching the eastern horizon, her zodiac neck plate crowning the arch, and her torso and legs extending downward to the west side of the vault.