The Goddes “ἀνακοιρανέουσαν ἐν πόντῳ καὶ ἐπὶ χθονὶ”. The role of the coastal Sanctuaries of the Mediterranean in the development of the land and sea landscapes: the case of Ras il-Wardija at Gozo (Malta)

The sanctuaries of Astarte disseminated along the coasts of the Mediterranean in ancient times attest the wide diffusion of the cult of the deity, with specific and shared features. According to the ancient sources, they played a pivotal role in maritime dynamics, since they signaled, whit their light, the existence of a “εὐλιμήν”, literary a “shelter from the waves” (Ant. Pal. XIII: 3-4; Ant. Pal. XII: 9-10; Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae VII: 106). But the importance of these sacred places was far from over: the coastal sanctuaries of As- tarte extended the control and protection of the Goddess also in the surrounding territory. The importance of these structures is thus twofold: towards the sea, they highlight the presence of a harbor or a shelter place, and towards the land, they influence the economic and social development of the surrounding region and the human landscape. The case- study of the Sanctuary of Ras il-Wardija at Gozo is emblematic of this double function of this cult place, as a guide for the maritime trades and a medium of social integration and economic development of the surrounding territory.