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>The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. In Laconia, Aphrodite was worshipped as a warrior goddess. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes, an association which led early scholars to propose the concept of "sacred prostitution" in Greco-Roman culture, an idea which is now generally seen as erroneous
>In various cultures Astarte was connected with some combination of the following spheres: war, sexuality, royal power, healing and - especially in Ugarit and Emar - hunting; however, known sources do not indicate she was a fertility goddess, contrary to opinions in early scholarship
>In various cultures Astarte was connected with some combination of the following spheres: war, sexuality, royal power, healing and - especially in Ugarit and Emar - hunting; however, known sources do not indicate she was a fertility goddess, contrary to opinions in early scholarship
