| “ | Bearing a name that means "Lord" or "owner," he was revered as a god of fertility in addition to being known as the god of Canaan and both brother and consort to the goddess Anat. Many demons, such as Bael, Beelzebub, Belphegor and Berith are believed to be derivations of Baal. There were even instances of him being worshiped in the very same temples as Yahweh in times long since passed. | „ |
| ~ Compendium Demonic |
Baal, also known as Ba'al, is the West Semitic god of rain, fertility, agriculture and thunder who is also one of the king of the gods in the Canaanite pantheon.
Overview[]
He was worshipped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon. Baal is a Semitic title that means Master or Lord. But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. He was also king of the gods, and, to achieve that position, he was portrayed as seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god.
Ugaritic texts tell of other fertility aspects of Baal, such as his relations with Anat, his consort and sister, and also his siring a divine bull calf from a heifer. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind. Hadad was equated with the Greek god Zeus; the Roman god Jupiter, as Jupiter Dolichenus; the Norse God Thor; the Indo-European Nasite Hittite storm-god Teshub; the Egyptian god Amun.
Baal Hadad has been connected to the great king Bael and with Beelcezebub the false god of gluttony.
Description[]
As Baal-Hadad he was represented as a bearded deity, often holding a club and thunderbolt and wearing a horned headdress. The bull was the symbolic animal of Hadad, as of the Hittite deity Teshub, who was identical with him.
Thanks to his huge reign of influence, Baal was designated as the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal’s epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens.
Fertility was envisaged in terms of seven-year cycles. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal, the god of life and fertility, locked in mortal combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility. If Baal triumphed, a seven-year cycle of fertility would ensue; but, if he were vanquished by Mot, seven years of drought and famine would ensue.
Baal Cycle[]
The Baal Cycle is a cycle of stories containing The Myth of Baʿal Aliyan and The Death of Baʿal both of which detail the god's struggle against Mot. The stories are written in Ugaritic, a Northwest Semitic language, and written in a cuneiform consonantal alphabet.
The Baʿal Cycle series of stories are summarized thus:
- Yam wants to rule over the other gods and be the most powerful of all
- Baʿal Hadad opposes Yam and slays him
- Baʿal Hadad, with the help of Anath and Athirat, persuades El to allow him a palace
- Baʿal Hadad commissions Kothar-wa-Khasis to build him a palace.
- King of the gods and ruler of the world seeks to subjugate Mot
- Mot kills Baʿal Hadad
- Anat brutally kills Mot, grinds him up and scatters his ashes
- Baʿal Hadad returns to Mount Saphon
- Mot, having recovered from being ground up and scattered, challenges Baʿal Hadad
- Baʿal Hadad refuses; Mot submits
- Baʿal Hadad rules again
