Baal, also known as Ba'al, was the god of weather and agriculture among several people of the Canaanite Levant (mordernday Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and parts of Turkey) and parts of Mesopotamia, who were also known as the Canaanites.
Due to the Canaanites being the enemies of the Israelites (the worshippers of Yahweh) has been viewed by the later Jews, Christians and Muslims as a demonic figure, while their God was seen as a heroic champion among his own people.
Mythology[]
At some point Baal replaced the prominent god El within the West Semitic and Canaanite pantheons, and he was notably worshipped in the ancient city of Ugarit around 1400 BCE.
Baal had two potential fathers: he was often called the son of Dagon, the god grain, while sometimes he was also seen as one the many sons of El. His common consorts were either Anat, his sister and goddess of war, the sky and the hunt or Ashtoreth, the goddess of war and sexuality.
Baal is also noted to having three daughters (or brides) called Pidray, Tallay and Arsay, who were considered as goddesses of dew and rain, connecting them closer to Baal, who was also a weather god.
Baal Cycle[]
In the Baal Cycle of the city of the Baal ascends as the head of the pantheon, but has to Yam, the chaotic god of the sea, in order to do so.
Struggle with Yamm[]
The story begins when Yamm, the god of the sea and rivers, is promised kingship of the gods by his father El, the current king of the gods, and Baal being the only god who does to agree to be subjugated (and humiliated) by the sea-god. Baal with the help of his sister-wife Anat, goddess of war, and Kothar-wa-Khasis, the crafts god who gives crafts the magical weapons (Yagrush and Ayamur), is able to defeat Yamm.
Building the Palace[]
After the conflict Baal and Anat ascend to Mount Hazzi (renamed Mount Zaphon), where they, with the help of Kothar-wa-Khasis, built the palace for the new king of the gods. Baal becomes prideful and after having vanquished the god of the sea, thinks he can also defeated Mot, the god of death and the underworld
Facing death[]
Mot challenges Baal to come to the underworld, and although the storm god originally refuses, as king and champion of the gods, he must go down to face him. Baal takes the weather (rain, wind, clouds) with him and faces Mot, seemingly dying in the process. The other gods, especially El and Anat, mourn the loss, and are not able to find a proper replacement to head the pantheon.
El later has a vision, and realizes that Baal is still alive, but in the clutches of Mot in the underworld. He tells this to Anat, who flies into a rage and travels to the land of the dead to rescue Baal. She brutally kills Mot and revives Baal, allowing him to return to the world of the living.
Some speculate that the myth might have a fertility-connection, with Baal traveling to the underworld, being trapped and eventually returning being an example of the ancient Levantine crop-cycle.
Trivia[]
- His ascendency and domination of chaos is similar to other Mediterranean mythologies, such as the Babylonian rise of Marduk against Tiamat, or the Greek Zeus vanquishing Typhon.
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