04 Primarily benificent and non-hostile gods p2 (Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology)
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This article is from the Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ, by Christopher B. Siren cbsiren@hopper.unh.edu with numerous contributions by others.
04 Primarily benificent and non-hostile gods p2 (Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology)
Baal (also called Baal-Saphon(Zephon), Hadad, Pidar and Rapiu (Rapha?) -
'the shade') - son of El, god of fertility, 'rider of the clouds', god of
lightning and thunder. He is 'the Prince, the lord of earth', 'the
mightiest of warriors', 'lord of the sky and the earth' (Alalakh). He
has a palace on Mt. Zephon. He has a feud with Yam. His voice is
thunder, his ship is a snow bearing cloud. He is known as Rapiu during
his summer stay in the underworld.
He upbraids the gods for their cowardice when they intend to hand
him over to Yam's messengers and attacks them but is restrained by
Athtart and Anat. Kothar-u-Khasis gives him the magic weapons Yagrush
(Chaser) and Aymur (Driver). He strikes Yam in chest and in the
forehead, knocking him out. Athtart rebukes Baal and calls on him to
'scatter' his captive, which he does. In a alternate version of this
episode, he slays Lotan (Leviathan), the seven-headed dragon. The battle
may have been representative of rough winter sea-storms which calmed in
the spring and which were preceded and accompanied by autumn rains which
ended summer droughts and enabled crops to grow.
After his victory he holds a feast and remarks on his lack of a
proper palace, instead retaining residence with El and Athirat. He sends
messengers to Anat to ask her to perform a peace-offering that he might
tell her the word which is the power of lightning and seek lightning on
the holy Mt Zephon. She does so and he welcomes her. Hearing his
complaints Anat leaves to petition El for a new palace for Baal.
Rejected, Baal dispatches Qodesh-and-Amrur to Kothar-u-Khasis with a
request to make a silver temple set with which to bribe Athirat. He and
Anat view Athirat with trepidation keeping in mind past insults which he
has suffered at the hands of the other gods. He and Anat ask Athirat to
ask El for permission to build a more extravagant house and Athirat's
request is granted. Gathering cedar, gold, silver, gems, and lapis at
Mt. Zephon, he calls Kothar-u-Khasis, feeding him and instructing him on
how to build the palace. He doesn't want a window, for fear of Yam
breaking through or his daughters escaping, but Kothar-u-Khasis convinces
him to allow its inclusion so that he might lightning, thunder, and rain
through it.
At its completion he holds a feast, takes over scores of towns
and allows the window to be built. He threatens to ask Mot to invite any
of Baal's remaining enemies to come for a visit and at night, binds the
lightning, snow and rains. He sends Gupn and Ugar to Mot to invite him
to acknowledge his sovreignty at his new palace. He sends messengers to
Mot to carry this message to him and they return with a message of such
weight that Baal declares himself Mot's slave. He hopes to ameliorate
Mot by having Sheger and Ithm supply live sheep and cattle for the god to
feast upon. Fearing Mot he seeks Shapash's advice and sires a substitute
on a cow. He (or possibly his substitute) dies and remains in the
underworld for seven years. El dreams that he is alive again but he is
absent. Ashtar atempts to take Baal's place, but can not. Shapash
searches for him. Baal returns and fights Mot's allies, the sons of
Athirat and the yellow ones. After seven years, Mot returns, demanding
one of Baal's brothers lest he consume mankind. Baal rebuffs him and
they fight tooth and nail. Shapash separates the two declaring that Baal
has El's favor and Baal resumes his throne.
As Baal-Hadad, he sends monstrous creatures to attack the
handmaidens of Yarikh, and of Athirat of the Sea. He hunts the horned,
buffalo-humped creatures which were birthed by the handmaidens at the
advice of El. During the hunt he is stuck in a bog for seven years and
things fall to pot. His kin recover him and there is much rejoycing.
Once when he was out hunting, Anat followed him. He spotted her,
fell in love and copulated with her in the form of a cow. She gave birth
to 'a wild ox' or a 'buffalo', telling him of the event on Mt. Zephon.
This is probably not their only affair.
Gapn (vine)- Baal's page and messenger to Anat. Baal's messenger to
Mot.
Radmanu (Pradmanu) - a minor servitor of Baal.
Ugar (cultivated field?) - Baal's other page and messenger to Anat,
possibly the patron city-god of Ugarit. Baal's other messenger to Mot.
Pidray 'daughter of the mist','daughter of light(ning)' - Baal's
daughter. She is sometimes a love interest of Athtar.
Tallay ='she of dew', 'daughter of drizzle' - Baal's daughter.
Arsay = 'she of the earth', 'daugher of [ample flows]' - Baal's daughter.
Ybrdmy - Baal's daughter.
Athtart (Athtart-name-of-Baal, Astarte, Ashtoreth) - consort of Baal, and
lesser goddess of war and the chase. Outside of Ugarit, many nude
goddess statues have been tenuously identified with her as a goddess of
fertility and sex. In Sidon she merited royal priests and priestesses.
There she served as a goddess of fertility, love, war and sexual vitality
and to that end had sacred prostitutes. She was the Phoenecian great
goddess and was identified with Aphrodite by the Greeks.
She restrains Baal when he intends to attack Yam's messengers.
She rerebukes Baal for holding Yam captive and calls on him to 'scatter'
Yam, which he does.
Apparently she, along with Anat, is willing to become Baal's
cupbearer once he achieves a proper palace.
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