Mythology

This myth exists in an older and a later version, and is concerned with the slaying of the dragon, Illuyankas. Like the previous myth it contains many folklore motifs. The introductory note to the older version says that it is the cult legend of the Purulli Festival of the storm-god of heaven, and that this version is no longer told. The festival referred to is probably the New Year Festival, and the myth has affinities with the myth of the slaying of the dragon Tiamat, celebrated in the Babylonian Epic of Creation. [5] In the older version, the storm-god is defeated by the dragon, Illuyankas. He appeals to the assembly of the gods for help, and the goddess Inaras prepares a trap for the dragon. She fills many vessels with wine and various kinds of drink, and invites a man named Hupasiyas to help her. He agrees to do so on condition that she will sleep with him. Accordingly she allows him to sleep with her; then she hides him near the dragon’s lair, beautifies herself, and entices the dragon to come out with his children. They drink all the vessels dry, and are unable to return to their den. Then Hupasiyas comes out of his hiding-place, binds the dragon with a rope, and the storm-god comes with the rest of the gods and kills the dragon Illuyankas. Then comes an episode which seems to have no connexion with the rest of the myth and is pure folklore. Inaras builds herself a house on a cliff in the land of Tarukka, and installs Hupasiyas in it. She warns him not to look out of the window while she is away, because, if he does so, he will see his wife and children. After she has been away for twenty days he looks out of the window and sees his wife and children. When Inaras returns, Hupasiyas begs to be allowed to go back to his wife and children, whereupon the goddess kills him for his disobedience. The rest of this version is obscure, but there seems to be an allusion to the central place of the king in the Purulli Festival. The theme of the love of an immortal for a mortal and the mortal’s desire to return to his own country is one which occurs in the folklore of many countries. The later version of the myth has some features which are not found in the earlier version. When the dragon defeated the storm-god he took away his heart and his eyes, a detail which has an echo in the Egyptian myth of the fight between Horus and Seth in which Horus lost one of his eyes. In order to be revenged on the dragon, the storm-god took the daughter of a poor man to wife and begot a son by her. When this son grew up he married the daughter of the dragon Illuyankas. The storm-god told his son that when he went to the house of his wife he was to ask for his father’s heart and eyes. He did so and they gave him the heart and eyes which he then restored to his father. When the storm-god had recovered his lost members he armed himself and went out to battle with the dragon; as he was on the point of vanquishing him, his own son cried out, ‘Count me with him, spare me not.’ So the storm-god slew the dragon, Illuyankas and his son as well, and thus was revenged upon the dragon. There is a long break here, and when the text is resumed it appears to deal with a ritual in which there is some competition or race, as the result of which the rank and order of the gods is established. In the ritual commentary on the Babylonian New Year Festival there is a mention of a foot-race in which Marduk’s son, Nebo, vanquishes the god Zu, an incident connected with the resurrection of the dead god. Hence both versions suggest that the Babylonian myth of the slaying of the dragon Tiamat which was recited at the New Year Festival has influenced the Hittite ritual myth of Purulli. The Myth Of Telepinus

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collection entitled Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, to which frequent reference has already been made. The Myth Of Ullikummis Underlying this myth is the familiar motive which we have already encountered in Akkadian and Ugaritic myths, the rivalry between older and younger gods. Anus, who is the Akkadian Anu, the sky god, has ousted his father Alalus from the throne, and has in turn been pulled down by his son Kumarbis. Certain things happen in the course of Kumarbis’s struggle with Anus which result in the birth of the storm-god, and the perennial contest between father and son is renewed. The myth begins by representing Kumarbis as plotting means to create a rival to the storm-god. He sends his messenger, Imbaluris, to the Sea to seek her advice. She summons Kumarbis to her house and makes a feast for him. As the result of her advice, Kumarbis sends his vizier, Mukisanus, to the Waters. What follows is not clear; we next hear that Kumarbis has begotten a son, possibly from the earth goddess. He calls him Ullikummis and sends Imbaluris to the Irsirra deities, perhaps gods of the underworld, with orders that they are to take Ullikummis to the dark earth and place him upon the right shoulder of Ubelluris, where he is to grow into a gigantic pillar of diorite. Ubelluris is a god who, like Atlas, sustains the world on his shoulders. The growth of Ullikummis is then described; he rises from the sea like a tower until his height is 9,000 leagues and his girth 9,000 leagues. He reaches up to heaven, to the consternation of the gods. Hebat, the wife of the storm-god, is driven from her temple. She sends a message to her husband, and he goes to seek help from Ea in his house, Apsu. Here the borrowing from the Akkadian Epic of Creation is evident. In the assembly of the gods, Ea asks why they are allowing mankind to be destroyed by this monstrous creature. Enlil does not know what is happening. Ea journeys to Ubelluris, who is also unaware of the extra burden which he is carrying, and turns him round so that he can see the diorite man standing upon his right shoulder. Ea then appeals to the older gods to bring the ancient copper knife which had divided heaven from earth out of the storehouses of the gods. These are the words of Ea: ‘Listen ye, Olden gods, ye who know the olden words! Open ye the ancient storehouses of the fathers and forefathers! Let them bring the olden seals of the fathers and let them seal them up again with them afterwards. Let them bring forth the olden copper knife with which they severed heaven from earth. Let them cut through the feet of Ullikummis, the diorite man, whom Kumarbis has fashioned as a rival to oppose the gods.’ [3] Ea then announces to the assembly of frightened gods that he has crippled Ullikummis, and urges them to go forth and do battle with the giant. The storm-god mounts his chariot and rides out to encounter Ullikummis. Here the tablet is broken, but it would no doubt have described the victory of the storm-god. There seems to be an echo here of the vision in the book of Daniel describing the destruction of Nebuchadnezzar’s great image by the stone cut out of the mountain without hands. There the stone smites the image on its feet of iron and clay and destroys it. [4] The myth also presents another version of the myth of the destruction of mankind and its frustration by the interposition of Ea. The Myth Of Illuyankas

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—- 1. Johnson, A. R., Sacral Kingship in Ancient Israel, p. 81. 2. Langhe, R. de., Myth, Ritual, and Kingship, pp. 122 ff. 3. Engnell, I., Studies in Divine Kingship. 4. Gordon, C. R., Ugaritic Literature, pp. 66-7. 5. Driver, G. R., Canaanite Myths and Legends, p. 4. 6. Isa. 14:9; 24:14. 19; Ps. 88:1o; Pro. 2:18; 9:18; 21 :16; Gen. 14 :5; Deut. 2 :11 et. al. 7. Gray, J., ‘The Rephaim’ (Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 1949). 8. Exod. 23:19. 9. Gaster, T. H., Thespis, pp. 97-8. 10. Driver, G. R., op. Cit., p. 24. 11. Harrison, J. E., Themis, pp. 97-8. 12. Driver, G. R., op. Cit., pp. 24-5. ———————————– Hittite Mythology Chapter 4 Until the middle of the last century all that was known of the Hittites was that they were mentioned in the Old Testament in the lists of peoples inhabiting Canaan before the Israelite settlement. Abraham bought the cave of Machpelah from Hittites in the neighbourhood of Hebron, and the approach of their army caused the Syrians to raise the siege of Samaria during the Omri dynasty. [1] The prophet Ezekiel reproached the inhabitants of Jerusalem with being of Hittite descent. [2] But within the last half-century, Winckler’s excavation of Boghaz-koi, the site of Hattusas, the ancient capital of the Hittite empire, and the labours of many scholars in deciphering and translating the Hittite cuneiform script, has shown that the Hittites (a name which they did not use of themselves), were non-Semitic invaders who settled in Asia Minor about the beginning of the third millennium B.C., and built up an empire which lasted until 1225 B.C. and played a very important role in the politics of the ancient Near East. More than 10,000 tablets were found in the archives of Boghaz-koi, and this important body of literature included interesting mythological material, of which some account must now be given. Hittite studies are still in their infancy, comparatively speaking, and more myths than have so far been discovered may yet come to light; but those already made available to us by skill of Hittite scholars show the influence of the Babylonian religion, although they have a very distinctive character of their own. They contain much more of the folklore element than those we have so far described, and the ancestry of some familiar European folk tales and Marchen can be traced back to these curious myths and legends. Those who may wish to know more of the origins, religion, literature, and art, of the Hittites will find an admirable and authoritative account in Dr O. R. Gurney’s Pelican Book entitled The Hittites. The three myths given here to illustrate the character of Hittite mythology have been translated by Professor Albrecht Goetze, and may be found in full in Pritchard’s indispensable

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it seems difficult to regard them as ghosts or shades, although they are so represented in Driver’s and Gordon’s translations of these obscure texts. The most attractive interpretation is that put forward by Dr John Gray’ who sees in them cultic functionaries associated with the king, who were concerned with the rituals intended to secure the fertility of the fields, and who had a special part to play at the festival of the enthronement of Baal. Hence these three fragments may contain a ritual myth which was recited at some such festival as the tablets describe. There are two more Ugaritic myths which call for mention. The Births Of Dawn And Dusk (Shahar And Shalim) This curious text shows every sign of being a ritual myth. It is divided by lines into episodes which are accompanied by rubrics giving directions for the performance of ritual acts. The poem or hymn begins with an invocation to the gracious gods which is several times repeated. The gracious gods are the twin gods, Shahar and Shalim, whose birth the myth describes. In order to avert evil influences from the birth an apotropaic ritual is performed in which an image of Mot, the god of sterility, is subjected to beating and opprobrious treatment. Then preparatory rituals are described, among which is the cooking of a kid in milk, a ritual which was forbidden in the early Hebrew sacrificial regulations. [8] Then various rituals take place which are intended to increase the potency of El, who proceeds to impregnate the goddesses, Asherah and Rahmaya. They first give birth to the twin gods, Shahar and Shalim, and then to a second pair of gods who appear to be sea-gods. Caster has suggested [9] that we have here the text of a ritual performed at a Canaanite feast of first-fruits in early summer. The Myth Of Nikkal And The Kathirat This poem describes the marriage of Nikkal, the goddess of the fruits of the earth, daughter of Hiribi, the god of summer, to Yarikh, the moon-god. The wise goddesses, the Kathirat, are summoned to provide the things necessary for the wedding, and the announcement is made of the rich gifts which Yarikh will provide as the bride-price.’ Driver has suggested that the Kathirat may correspond to the Graces of Greek mythology. [10] They are mentioned in connexion with the marriage of Danel, and are described as ’swallows’, because swallows are connected with fertility and childbirth. [11] Hiribi appears to act as an intermediary, and suggests other possible brides for Yarikh, but the divine bridegroom declares himself determined to have no other bride but Nikkal. The weighing-out of the bride-price is described, and the poem ends with an invocation to the Kathirat who celebrate the marriage with joyful songs. It has been suggested that the poem is an epithalamium for a mortal bride, and that what has been taken to be the name of the youngest of the Kathirat is the name of the real bride. [12] This is possible; but if so, the occasion would probably be a royal wedding, and the poem celebrating it may be compared with a similar royal epithalamium in Hebrew poetry, Ps. 45. In bringing this account of Ugaritic mythology to an end it must be remarked that the texts from which it is drawn are in a very imperfect condition and without vowel points, so that much remains obscure, and translations are often conjectural. Nevertheless the account here given represents the general agreement of scholars on the main outlines and significance of these interesting myths. They show clear evidence of the influence of both Egyptian and Babylonian mythology, the latter predominating. It has also been established that Canaanite mythology has left marked traces in Hebrew poetry and mythology.

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As he bewails his wretched condition, El appears to him in a dream and orders him to put off his mourning, wash and anoint himself, and ascend a high tower where he is to offer a sacrifice to El. He is then to prepare for an expedition against a city called Udom, which some scholars have identified with the Biblical and historical Edom. The king of Udom, Pabil, will offer to buy him off with vast wealth, but he is to refuse such offers and demand Pabil’s daughter, Huriya, in marriage. Keret carries out El’s instructions, and on the way to Udom he makes a vow to Asherah of Sidon to give her much gold and silver if she will prosper his enterprise. Keret succeeds in forcing Pabil to give him his daughter, and the marriage is celebrated with a great feast. All the gods of Ugarit attend the banquet, and El blesses Keret over a cup of wine, and promises him seven sons and a daughter. One of his sons will be suckled by the goddesses Asherah and Anath, to qualify him to succeed Keret on the throne. These promises are fulfilled, but Keret fails to fulfil his vow to Asherah, and disasters follow, which are to be understood as due to the wrath of Asherah. Keret falls ill and seems to be at the point of death. One of his sons, Elhu, is much distressed; he had believed his father to be of divine descent and immortal. It is also suggested that, as the result of the king’s illness, rain is withheld and crops are threatened, a theme which we have met with in the Baal epic. Keret tells Elhu not to waste time condoling with him, but to send for his sister, Thitmanat, whose name means ‘the eighth one’, [5] and who is full of pity. She is to join with Elhu in preparing a sacrifice to El; Elhu makes an offering of oil to Baal in order to procure a return of fertility to the land. Lutpan, i.e., El, calls seven times upon the assembled gods to discover if any of them can find a cure for Keret’s sickness. When none of them can do so, El announces that he himself will cast a spell to drive out the plague, and pinches off a piece of dung for this purpose. Here there is a break in the tablet; it next appears that El has sent out a goddess of healing, whose name is Shataqat, to fly over a hundred cities and towns to find a release for Keret from his sickness. She is successful, and word goes out that she has been victorious over death. Keret’s appetite returns and he resumes his seat on his throne. Meanwhile the eldest son, Yassib, has been planning to usurp his father’s place, and goes in to Keret’s sick-room and tells him that he is about to descend into the pit. Yassib demands that Keret shall come down from his throne and yield up his authority to himself. Here the poem ends with a tremendous curse invoked upon Yassib by his outraged father. Some substratum of historical tradition may underlie this curious legend, but it is clear that it is mainly mythological, and some parts of it suggest connexion with ritual. The Legend Of Aqhat As much of this legend as has been preserved is contained on three tablets, two of which are in good condition, the third being badly damaged. There is, however, general agreement among the Ugaritic experts about the main outlines of the story. Virolleaud’s editio princeps bore the title ‘The Legend of Danel’, but later study of the text showed that Danel’s son Aqhat was the hero of the poem, and its theme is the death and resurrection of Aqhat. In the opening scene of the poem King Danel, or Daniel, is shown feasting the gods in order to obtain a son. Baal intercedes with El on behalf of Danel, and El promises that he shall have a son. The news is brought to Danel who rejoices and goes in to his wife; she conceives and bears a son who will continue Danel’s line and perform all the necessary filial duties.

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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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There are two other myths connected with Baal which do not form part of the Baal Epic, but which cannot be omitted in an account of Ugaritic mythology. The Myth of Hadad The tablet containing this myth is badly broken and very obscure. Moreover, it is not certain whether the tablet contained the whole of the myth. However, enough of the meaning has been extracted to give us some additional details of the cycle of Baal myths. Hadad is another name for Baal in his character of the god of thunder and lightning. The name is frequently found in the Old Testament, for example, in the theophorous names of the Syrian kings, Ben- hadad and Hadad-ezer. In this myth the handmaidens of the goddess Asherah, the Lady of the Sea, and of Yarikh, the moon-god, are sent to entreat the help of El against the attacks of monstrous creatures sent by Baal which are devouring them like worms. El tells them to go into the wilderness and hide themselves, and there give birth to wild beasts with horns and humps like buffaloes. Baal-Hadad will see them and chase after them. They do so and Baal is seized with desire to hunt the creatures to which they have given birth. But the chase proves disastrous to the god; he is caught by the monsters and disappears for seven years, sunk in a bog and helpless. During his absence things fall into chaos on earth. His brethren go in search of him and find him with joy. The myth is evidently another version of the death of Baal and Anath’s search for him. It also reflects the Sumero-Akkadian myth of the descent of Tammuz into the underworld and Ishtar’s descent thither to deliver him. Anath and the Buffalo This fragment is of interest because it establishes the fact that bestiality, a practice which was punishable by death among the Hebrews, was sanctioned among the Canaanites as having sacral significance. The myth represents Anath as inquiring where Baal is to be found, and being told by his servants that he is away hunting. She follows after him, and when she finds him he is overcome with love for her. He then has intercourse with her in the form of a cow. The fragment ends with the announcement to Baal by Anath that, ‘A wild ox is born to Baal, a buffalo to the Rider of the Clouds.’ Puissant Baal rejoices. The myth also reflects the practice of brother-sister marriage which was the rule in Egypt for the marriage of the Pharaohs. The Greek myth of Zeus and Io may have its roots in this Canaanite myth. The Legend Of Keret This curious story is preserved in three tablets, two of which are in a good state of preservation while the third is imperfect. There are gaps, and it is possible that some further tablets are missing. However, there is general agreement about the main outlines of the story, though scholars differ considerably about its interpretation. Some think that it has an historical basis,’ while others see in it a cult legend with a strongly mythical character. [3] It has been suggested [4] that the poem was composed to glorify King Niqmad of Ugarit by giving him a deified ancestor, the Keret, King of Hubur, who is the subject of this poem. The mythological element is sufficiently prominent to justify its inclusion in an account of Canaanite mythology. According to the legend or myth, Keret, King of Hubur, has suffered the loss of his wife, his children, and his palace.

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instead of the Authorized Version rendering of the last clause of the verse, ‘He will be our guide, even unto death’, some scholars would render, ‘He will lead us against Mot [1]. Baal and Mot The tablets containing the account of Baal’s conflict with Mot are very imperfect and obscure. Further study and the discovery of fresh material may elucidate some of the present obscurity. What is here given rests upon the general agreement of the Ugaritic experts. Baal has apparently sent messengers, Gapn and Ugar, to Mot refusing tribute. They return with a threatening message from Mot which fills Baal with dread, and he sends back a humble reply, ‘Be gracious, O divine Mot; I am thy slave, thy bondman for ever.’ Mot rejoices and declares that Baal is humbled for ever. Then we are told that messengers arrive at the field of El and announce that they have found Baal lying dead, but what caused his death is not told. From what follows it can be inferred that Baal is in the underworld, like Tammuz. At the news El descends from his throne and sits on the ground, pours dust on his head, puts on sackcloth, and gashes his cheeks with a stone. He utters lamentations over Baal. Anath goes wandering in search of her brother, and having found his body, with the help of Shapash she carried it up to Zaphon, buries it, and makes a great funeral feast in his honour. It is to be inferred that Baal’s absence from the earth lasts for seven years, years of drought and famine. Anath then seizes Mot, splits him with her sword, winnows him with her fan, burns him with fire, grinds him in her hand-mill, and sows him in the ground actions which clearly symbolize the various things which are done to the corn. After a break in the text we learn that El dreams that Baal is alive. He laughs for joy, and lifts up his voice and proclaims that Baal lives; he shouts the news to the virgin Anath and to Shapash. But, though it is assumed that Baal lives, no one knows where he is, and the cry goes out, ‘Where is puissant Baal?’ ‘Where is the Prince, the Lord of earth?’ During Baal’s absence in the underworld the question of his successor had been raised, and Asherah puts forward her son Ashtar as a claimant for the vacant throne. Ashtar accordingly ascends the throne, but finds that his feet do not reach the footstool, nor does his head reach its top. So he descends from the throne and declares that he cannot rule in the heights of Zaphon. We then have a description of the parched condition of the soil because of Baal’s absence, and Shapash, the Torch of the gods, goes in search of the missing god. The concluding scene of what may be called the Baal-Mot epic represents Baal re-assuming his throne in Zaphon and renewing the conflict with Mot who appears to have come to life again. There is a terrific struggle; the two gods gore each other like bulls, kick each other like stallions, and both fall to the ground. Shapash separates the combatants and some sort of reconciliation takes place; Baal resumes his throne and rewards his supporters. The poem ends with a colophon giving the name of the scribe, and the name of the king of Ugarit, Niqmad, in whose reign the poem was written down. This enables us to date the writing down of the poem in the Amarna epoch, in the middle of the fourteenth century B.C. But the material of the poem is probably much more ancient. Ugarit lay within the sphere of influence of both Assyrian and Egyptian civilizations, and these north Canaanite myths show clear signs of both Akkadian and Egyptian mythology.

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The second cycle consists of the Epic of Keret, king of Hubur. The poem may have an historical basis, as we have seen to be the case with the Epic of Gilgamesh. But the mythological element in it is hard to distinguish from the legendary, and we can hardly omit it from an account of Canaanite mythology. The third cycle consists of the tale or legend of Aqhat, the son of Danel, another legendary Canaanite king. This story, like the preceding one, has so much mythical material in it that it must be included here. The Myths Of Baal The seven tablets which contain the myth, or myths, of Baal are in such an imperfect condition that it is impossible to determine the original order of the tablets or to discover whether the various episodes which they relate ever formed a connected narrative such as we have in the Babylonian Epic of Creation. Moreover, as the texts are written without vowel points, and the language, although clearly Semitic, is still imperfectly understood, much remains obscure, and scholars differ considerably, both in their translations and in their interpretations of the Ugaritic material. Comparison between the earlier translations of Virolleaud, and the more recent versions of Ginsberg, Gaster, Gordon, and Driver, shows on the one hand how widely translations may differ, arid on the other hand that a considerable amount of agreement has been reached. The episodes selected here to illustrate the character of the Baal myth are those about which general agreement has been reached among scholars. The Myth of Baal and the Waters In this episode the personages who appear are the high god El, often styled the Bull El, the Father of the gods, who dwells in the field of El, at the sources of the rivers; his son, Baal, the god of fertility, often called ‘the rider of the clouds’, and as god of lightning and thunder sometimes called Hadad; then there is the god of the seas and rivers, Yam-Nahar; between him and Baal there is a feud, Yam-Nahar being favoured by El, while Baal is in revolt against his father El. Other figures are the craftsman-god, Kothar-u-Khasis who appears in several of the Baal myths; the sun-goddess Shapash (the Ugaritic form of the Akkadian Shamash), often called the Torch of the gods; Ashtoreth, the wife of El and mother of the gods; Asherah, the Lady of the Sea, who covets the throne of Baal for her son Ashtar; and Anath, the sister of Baal, who plays an important part in many of the Baal myths. In the myth which we are now describing, Yam-Nahar sends envoys to the council of the gods to demand that Baal be delivered up to him. The gods bow their heads in fear, and El promises that Baal shall be handed over to the messengers of Yam-Nahar. Thereupon Baal taunts the gods for their cowardice and attacks the messengers, but is restrained by Anath and Astoreth. Then Kothar-u-Khasis arms Baal with two magic weapons, called ‘Yagrush’ (Chaser) and ‘Aymur’ (Driver). Baal attacks Yam-Nahar with Yagrush and strikes him on the chest, but Yam is not subdued; then he strikes Yam on the forehead with Aymur and fells him to the earth. He then proposes to make an end of Yam, but is restrained by Ashtoreth who reminds him that Yam is now their captive. Baal is ashamed and spares his vanquished enemy. In the symbolism of the myth Yam-Nahar in his arrogance represents the hostile aspect of the sea and the rivers, threatening to overflow and devastate the earth, while Baal represents the beneficent aspect of the waters as rain. Baal rides the clouds, sending lightning and thunder to

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show his power, but also dispensing the kindly rains in their season to make the earth fertile. When we come to deal with Hebrew mythology we shall see how much of the Baal myth was taken over by the Hebrews and transferred to Yahweh when they settled in Canaan. In another form of the myth Baal’s conquest of the forces of disorder and chaos is depicted as the slaying of the seven-headed dragon Lotan (the Hebrew Leviathan), where there seems to be evidence of the influence on Canaanite mythology of the Akkadian myth of the slaying of the dragon Tiamat by Marduk. Anath’s Slaughter of Baal’s Enemies This episode appears to be connected with the myth of Baal’s conquest of Yam-Nahar, and has echoes of the Egyptian myth of the destruction of mankind by Hathor. Baal’s sister, the goddess Anath, orders a great feast to be prepared in celebration of Baal’s victory over. Yam- Nahar. The feast is held in Baal’s palace on Mt Zaphon, the mountain of the gods in ‘the sides of the north’. This site is frequently mentioned in Hebrew poetry as a divine abode (cf. Ps. 48:2). Having adorned herself with rouge and henna for the feast, Anath closes the doors of the palace and proceeds to slay all the enemies of Baal. She girds herself with the heads and hands of the slain, and wades in blood up to her knees. This last detail occurs in the story of Hathor’s slaughter of Re’s enemies. The Building of a House for Baal It will be remembered that after Marduk’s victory over Tiamat, the Epic of Creation gives an account of the building by the gods of the temple Esagila for Marduk. Similarly, after Baal’s victory over Yam-Nahar, the god complains that he has no house like the other gods. He and his sister Anath beg the Lady Asherah of the Sea that she will intercede with El and obtain permission for the building of Baal’s house. Asherah accordingly saddles her ass and journeys northwards to Mt Zaphon, to the pavilion of El. She flatters El and obtains his permission for Baal to have a house built. There is some obscurity here in the text, but it appears that, although Baal already has a house of cedar and brick, he does not consider it worthy of the position among the gods to which he aspires. His sister Anath hastens to inform him of El’s permission, and declares that he must have a house of gold and silver and lapis-lazuli. Messengers are then sent to the craftsman-god Kothar, who comes and is received with great honour and is feasted. A curious debate then ensues between Baal and Kothar on the question whether the new house is to have a window or not. Kothar insists that the house should have a window, but Baal refuses to allow it, on the ground, apparently, that he does not wish Yam to be able to spy out Baal’s concubines. However, Kothar ultimately prevails, and the house is furnished with a window through which Baal is able to send lightning and thunder and rain. The completion of the building is celebrated by a great feast to which Baal invites all his kinsfolk and the seventy children of Asherah. At the feast Baal declares his supremacy and announces that he will not send tribute to El’s new favourite, the god Mot, the god of sterility and the underworld. This introduces a new figure in the Baal mythology, and the next episodes are concerned with the struggle between Baal and Mot. Having overcome the challenge of the waters, personified by Yam, Baal must now defeat the threat to the fertile earth by the encroachment of the barren steppe, personified by Mot. There is a probable connexion between the name Mot and the Hebrew word mot which means ‘death’. It has been suggested that in Ps. 48:14 there is an allusion to Mot;

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