Zev Radovan, courtesy Ephraim Stern

Naked and holding her breasts, this Astarte figurine is a modern cast made from a seventh-century B.C.E. mold found in excavation area B2 at Dor. It stands 6 inches high and wears a wig similar to that worn by the Egyptian goddess Hathor. Crafted in a Phoenician style, the Astarte figurines from Dor have bodies that are molded in front, with a plain, flat or hollow, back. This technique differs from those produced in Judah and Philistia, which are often handmade rather than made in a mold. The discovery of these figurines at Dor shows the religious influence of the Phoenicians on the Israelites, many of whom worshiped Baal and Astarte during the Divided Monarchy (late tenth to late eighth centuries B.C.E.).