An Asherah pole is a sacred tree or pole that stood near Canaanite religious locations to honor the goddess Asherah. The relation of the literary references to an asherah and archaeological finds of Judaean pillar-figurines has engendered a literature of debate.
Asherah is the great goddess in ancient Semitic religion. She also appears in Hittite writings as Ašerdu(s) or Ašertu(s). Her name was Aṯeratum to the Amorites, and Athiratu in Ugarit. Some scholars hold that Yahweh and Asherah were a consort pair in ancient Israel and Judah, although others disagree.
A-sa-sa-ra, the Minoan snake goddess's name, is the only word deciphered of Linear A. DNA from the Southern Levant made it to Crete. The emigres influenced island cream ware. Maybe they influenced the Minoan taste for ambiguity.
Flat lighting and en face presentation can lessen the visual effect of the Judean pillar figure's directly protruding breasts
"The dedicatory inscription on the Lachish ewer [shows] the word Elat positioned immediately over the tree, indicating the... tree as a representation of the goddess Elat."