Mythology

Danel is then shown dispensing justice to widows and orphans in the threshing-floor; the craftsman-god Kothar-u-Khasis is seen approaching, bringing with him a bow and arrows. The king orders his wife to prepare a feast for Kothar and his companions, and in the course of the feast he persuades his divine visitor to give him the bow and arrows which he then lays on the knees of his son. It next appears that the goddess Anath, having seen Aqhat’s skill with the bow, wishes to possess it, and offers Aqhat much gold and silver for it. Aqhat refuses to part with it, and advises her to get one like it made for herself. The goddess persists and promises to give Aqhat immortality like Baal if he will yield up the bow to her. Aqhat rejects her offer with contumely, saying that she cannot confer immortality upon man whose destiny is to die, and adding that the bow is a man’s weapon not to be wielded by a woman. Anath then flies to El and, with threats which sound oddly as addressed to the king of the gods, obtains permission to carry out her plans for gaining possession of Aqhat’s bow. She then goes to Yatpan, who seems to be some kind of minor deity of a war-like nature, and proposes to change him into a vulture (or eagle), so that he may fly over Aqhat while he is eating and strike him down and get possession of the bow. It appears, however, that the goddess does not intend Aqhat to be killed, but only rendered unconscious. Yatpan, in carrying out Anath’s plan, kills Aqhat, but although he carries off the bow it is broken and lost, or perhaps falls into the water, and Anath is frustrated of her desire. She weeps over the death of Aqhat and says that she will restore him to life, so that he may give her the bow and arrows, and that fertility may be restored to the earth, for it appears that the death of Aqhat, like the death of Baal, has caused drought and failure of the crops. Here a new figure appears on the stage, Pughat, or Paghat, the sister of Aqhat. She has seen the vultures over the threshing-floor and the signs of sterility in the land, and entreats Danel to do something about it. All his measures fail, and there is drought and famine for seven years, just as there was in the Baal epic. Messengers arrive bringing the news that Aqhat is dead, slain by Anath; Danel vows vengeance on the murderer of his son. He prays to Baal to enable him to find out which of the vultures has devoured Aqhat’s remains, that he may recover them and give them decent burial. Baal brings down the vultures one by one, until Danel finds his son’s remains in Sumul, the mother of the vultures. He curses the three cities which lie in the neighbourhood of Aqhat’s murder, and then returns to his palace and mourns for Aqhat for seven years. Meanwhile Pughat endeavours to carry out her plan of vengeance, and proposes to employ Yatpan as her agent, being unaware of his part in the slaying of Aqhat. The legend should end with the resurrection of Aqhat, but it is clear that some tablets are missing. One of the titles frequently applied to Danel is ‘man of Rapha’. There are three fragmentary tablets, one of which contains a reference to Danel, the man of Rapha, and which are concerned with the activities of some beings called Repum. The tablets also contain a reference to the coronation of Baal; thus linking up Danel the man of Rapha, the Repum, and Baal; but they do not seem to belong to the legend of Aqhat. They are mentioned here because they have some connexion with Hebrew mythology. There are several references in the Old Testament to the Rephaim, [6] (a) as the dead or shades, and (b) as a race or tribe inhabiting Canaan before Hebrew settlement there. In the fragments referred to, the Repum are invited, apparently by El, to a feast and a sacrifice, which seem to be connected with the return of Baal from the underworld and his coronation. The Repum seem to be eight in number, under the leadership of a figure who has the title of Repu-Baal. They come to the feast in chariots, or riding on horses and asses. Hence

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