READING

The Baal Myth from Ugarit
retold by Paul Brassey

TheBaal Myth of Ugarit, which was written circa 1400–1200 B.C.E., is a creation myth. Like other ancient creation myths of the ancient Near East, the Baal Myth tells how the forces of order (good) battled the forces of chaos (evil). This conflict, which takes place among the gods, has serious consequences for human life. At one point, the hot breath of a furious god scorches the earth and leaves it barren. Order ultimately triumphs over chaos.

The sequence of the tablets of the Baal myth is uncertain and a matter of considerable scholarly debate. The order and the summary that follows is based on the translation of Johannes C. De Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts From Ugarit (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1987) pp. 1-100.

Provenance: Ancient Ugarit, present-day Ras Shamra, on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon, ca. 1400-1200 B.C.E.

Language: Ugaritic, a Semitic cousin of Akkadian, Aramaic, and Hebrew.

Main Characters:

Anat, AKA “The Virgin,” “The Wanton of the Nations:” warrior goddess, sister of Baal.

Astarte: Sister and ally of Anat and Baal.

Athirat: El’s wife, mother of the gods.

Athtar the Rich: son of Athirat, god of irrigation.

Baal, AKA “Rider on the Clouds,” Haddu: the storm-god.

El, AKA Bull-El: The creator god, patriarch of the pantheon, father of the gods.

Kothar-wa-Hasis: a double god, master craftsman, builder of divine palaces and weaponry, friend and ally of Baal.

Shapshu: the sun goddess, ally of Anat and Baal.

Yamm, AKA “Judge River:” Sea; brother and enemy of Baal.

Baal is seated at the Holy Mountain, being served by Tallayu, goddess of the dew. Radmanu, a youthful deity, serves Baal the meat of a fatling and an enourmous goblet holding ten thousand pitchers of foaming wine. He then sings to Baal, accompanying himself with cymbals.

          Meanwhile, Anat, the wife and sister of Baal, goes into battle. Prepared by her seven servant girls, she slaughters the people along the coast, trampling heads underfoot, and attaching heads to her chest. She plunges into the gore of the vanquished warriors. Not sated with the battle, she returns to the divine mansion, transforms the furniture into warriors, and continues her slaughter. Finally she washes herself with the dew of heaven.

          Anat, in the company of her servant-girls, sings a love ballad to Baal. The servants of Baal enter, prostrate themselves before her, and deliver a message from Baal. Baal instructs her to oppose war on earth, and to be an agent of love, peace, and tranquility. Baal summons her to his presence, in order to deliver to her a secret message.

          Anat is struck with fear at the sight of Baal’s messengers. She cries out, wanting to know what enemy has arisen against Baal. Has she not slain all of Baal’s enemies – Yamm (sea), River, Tunnanu the seven-headed sea serpent, and other divine enemies of Baal? Anat swears her allegiance to Baal, and again demands to know what enemy has arisen.

          Baal’s messengers, Gupanu and Ugaru, assure her that no enemy has arisen, reiterate their message of peace and love, and urge her to hasten into Baal’s presence. Anat questions the message, dismisses the messengers, and embarks to Baal’s residence. Baal, watching for her, sees her coming from a great distance. He dismisses the other females from his presence, and prepares a fatling for her. Upon her arrival, Anat again washes herself with the heavenly dew, and makes herself up with murex, a purple dye.

          Baal complains to Anat that he has no proper residence. He has been living in the residence of his father, Bull El, the patriarch of the gods, along with El’s wife Athirat, goddess of the Sea, Pidrayu (honey-dew), Tallayu (mist), and Arsayu (flowering). Anat, enraged, declares that she will confront El, battle against him if necessary, in order to secure his pledge of a proper house for Baal. She then ascends to El’s stronghold at the confluence of the cosmic waters.

          Anat finds El already fearful. He has seen an omen, indicating that Motu, the god of Death, has summoned Baal. Anat threatens to turn El’s grey head to blood and gore. El declares that he knows that Anat is like a man, and that her scorn is to be respected. He asks her what she wants. Anat lauds El for his wisdom and judgement, then declares that all the gods must render tribute to Baal. Bull El groans and cries out, along with the other gods, that Baal has no house like the other gods have, and has been dwelling in the residence of his father, alongside the female deities.

          The next section of text is badly fragmented. Athirat sends her personal attendant to Kothar-wa-Hasis, the divine master craftsman whose throne is in Crete and who reigns over Egypt, with instructions to begin construction of Baal’s residence. The other gods become jealous, and begin harassing Anat, who turns to El for help. El sends word to Anat, reiterating the message of peace and tranquility that she had earlier received from Baal, and requesting that she bring a list of construction materials. When plans for the palace are complete, El sends messengers to summon Kothar-wa-Hasis, who comes and receives the command from El to begin construction.

          As construction gets underway, Athirat betrays Baal by bringing charges against him to El. She says that Baal has turned the earth to mud, so that the gods have only loam and sludge to eat. She urges El to appoint Baal’s enemy and brother Yaww as viceroy in Baal’s place. El does so, changing Yaww’s name to Yamm (sea), and urges Yamm to drive Baal away by force. El warns Yamm that if he fails to drive Baal away, Baal will defeat him.

          In a fragmentary portion of the text, El apparently requests entry to Baal’s chambers in the residence on a pretext. Baal suspects treachery, and accuses El of coveting his territory. The tensions between Baal and Yamm build, each sending envoys to the other with messages threatening destruction and death. Yamm then sends messengers to El in the midst of the divine council, to demand that the gods give up their protection of Baal and deliver him into Yamm’s power.

          The gods, Baal among them, are dining. When they see the messengers of Yamm coming, they cower, lowering their heads to their knees. Baal demands that the gods lift up their heads, and declares that he will answer the messengers of Yamm. The gods lift up their heads. The messengers arrive, neglecting the protocols of deference by refusing to bow before El and the council. Having the appearance of two fires, they declare their message from Yamm, directed to Bull El. El proclaims that Baal is henceforth the slave of Yamm, and that he must pay Yamm tribute. Baal becomes angry, seizes an axe, and slays the messengers. Baal is then seized.

          In the very fragmented text that follows, Yamm apparently ousts Baal from his residence on Mt. Saphon, but for some reason Yamm is unable to take up residence there. So El instructs Kothar-wa-Hasis to construct a new residence for Yamm in the middle of the sea. Astarte, Anat’s sister, threatens Yamm with fever, ruin, fire, and impotence. Shapshu, the sun-goddess, overhears, and warns Astarte that El will surely hear her threats. Astarte brazenly includes El in her address, declaring the injustice of Yamm’s having a palace, whereas she has none.

          Meanwhile, Kothar-wa-Hasis secretly visits his friend Baal. Baal tells him of an earlier confrontation with Yamm, in which they had struggled. Kothar-wa-Hasis warns Baal to destroy his enemies and seize his eternal kingship. He takes hold of a double-headed axe, proclaims that it is Yagrush (“Let him chase away!”), which will chase away Yamm, leaping from the hand of Baal. When Baal takes hold of the axe, it leaps from his hand, striking Yamm between his shoulders. But the blow does not injure Yamm.

          Kothar-wa-Hasis takes another double-headed axe, declares its name Ayyamur (“Expel anyone!”), and instructs it to expel Yamm from his throne. Again the axe leaps from Baal’s hand, this time striking Yamm in the skull between his eyes. Yamm collapses, but before Baal is able to finish him off, Astarte rebukes him, saying that Yamm is now a prisoner of war and must be treated as such. Baal is smitten with shame, although Kothar-wa-Hasis continues in vain to urge Baal to kill Yamm.

          With Yamm in captivity, El once again reluctantly commands Kothar-wa-Hasis to construct a new palace for Baal. This time, however, he adds a request for a special present, a bribe for Athirat. Kothar-wa-Hasis sets to work on a fabulous canopy of gold and silver, a dais overlaid with silver and gold, a cushioned throne, a foot-stool covered with electrum, a couch with gold supports, a table engraved with winged monsters, and a foreign bowl filled with ten-thousand oxen. Baal and Anat provide additional gifts for Athirat.

          Baal and Anat approach Athirat, finding her washing her clothes in preparation for a planned seduction of her husband El. When she sees Baal and Anat coming, she trembles and breaks into a sweat, fearing that they have come to slay her. In a fragmentary text, she apparently throws her lot in with Baal, urging him not to allow Yamm to escape.

          Baal once again appears before the divine assembly, condemning the treachery that has befallen the divine royal family. He and Anat present their gifts to Athirat, and they share a banquet. In the fragmentary text that follows, Baal apparently once again enlists Athirat to entreat El to hurry up the construction of his palace. Athirat sets out for El’s residence on a donkey bedecked with reins of silver and straps of gold. Anat follows her, but Baal returns to Mount Saphon.

          El is delighted to see Athirat, and offers to wine and dine her in preparation for romance. But Athirat repeats her former praise of El’s wisdom, and urges him to accede to Baal’s rulership. Again all the gods cry out that Baal has no house; he must live with the goddesses. Still, El protests: Am I a slave of Athirat, that I should make bricks? Yet he accedes to her request. Athirat praises El for his wisdom and compassion. She also declares that it is time for Baal to fructify the earth with his rains and snow, clouds and lightning. Thus let a house of cedar or of bricks be constructed for Baal, where he can receive the precious metals from the mountains.

          Anat, rejoicing, races to Mt. Saphon to deliver the good news to Baal. Baal celebrates, and calls forth a caravan to bring silver and gold to his palace. He sends messengers to Kothar-wa-Hasis, summons him, and upon his arrival shares a banquet with him. He then implores Kothar-wa-Hasis quickly to construct his palace. Twice Kothar-wa-Hasis asks him whether he should not put a window in the middle of the palace. Twice Baal declines, telling him that Pidrayu (honey-dew) and Tallayu (mist) must not escape. They must still be protected from Yamm.

          Kothar-wa-Hasis builds the mansion, with cedars from Lebanon. During the construction process, the palace burns for six days, until the fire is extinguished on the seventh day, leaving a structure made of gold bricks and silver overlay. Baal celebrates and furnishes his palace. He sacrifices a variety of livestock, and supplies the gods of the livestock and furniture with wine. In preparation for his departure, he also pours drugged wine into Yamm (sea).

          Baal travels to earth, and seizes control of ninety cities. Upon his return, he instructs Kothar-wa-Hasis to install the window in his palace, a rift in the clouds. When Kothar-wa-Hasis installs the window, Baal lets forth his holy voice, making the earth quake.

          But then Baal sees that his foes have invaded the forest. Knowing that the invaders are envoys of Mot (death), he declares that only he himself can reign over the gods, fatten them, and supply the inhabitants of the earth. He cries out to his messengers, Gupanu and Ugaru, that the vultures are circling overhead. He must secure the snow and lightning in the storehouses. He sends his messengers to two mountains that mark the entrance to the Nether World, where they will enter and journey to Mot’s city, Humurayu (pit), warning them that Mot’s throne is a pit, and his land is filth. He also warns them to keep their distance from Mot, lest Mot consume them. They are to prostrate themselves before him and deliver Baal’s message: an invitation to come to Baal’s new palace for a feast. 

          Mot, however, is furious at not having been invited to participate in the victory feast celebrating Baal’s defeat of Yamm. Mot threatens to eat Baal in two cubit chunks. Mot then opens his gaping mouth, one lip on the earth, one in the sky, and his tongue against the stars. Mot’s breath scorches the olives and the fruit of the earth. Baal, in dread, sends his servants to declare his submission to Mot. When they deliver the message, Mot rejoices. Baal receives instruction from an unknown deity, possibly the sun-goddess, about how to make the best of his journey into Mot’s domain, bringing many sacrificial animals. Baal’s advisor admonishes repeatedly, “Be horrified, but go!”

          Meanwhile, Baal’s absence from the feast of the gods is noticed. The scene returns to Baal’s advisor, who suggests a ruse. Baal copulates with a heifer that gives birth to Baal’s twin. Baal sends the twin, dressed in Baal’s royal attire, into the Nether world, along with Baal’s entourage: the clouds, winds, thunderbolts, rains, servants, mist, and dew. Mot kills Baal’s twin. The twin’s body is discovered by two messengers of El. El enters into mourning and raises a lament. Anat also discovers the twin’s body, and she also enters into mourning. Anat, accompanied by Shapshu, enters the Nether World. She lifts up (the twin) Baal’s body, then she buries him in the earth, accompanied by the sacrifices of seventy each of oxen, sheep, harts, mountain-goats, and roebucks.

          Anat ascends to the abode of El, prostrates herself, and proclaims bitterly that Athirat and her sons should rejoice, since Baal is dead. El cries to Athirat to give one of her sons, so that he can make him king. Athirat suggests Athtar the Rich (god of artificial irrigation). When Athtar the Rich sits on Baal’s throne, his feet cannot reach the footstool, nor can his head reach the top of the throne’s back. He declares that he cannot reign on Mount Saphon, so he descends to become king of the earth, in charge of the drawing of water in basins and buckets, thus imposing hard labor on humanity.

          Anat, still seeking Baal, seizes Mot, demanding the return of Baal. Mot replies that he had been hungry, and ate Baal. As months pass, still Anat longs for Baal. Again she seizes Mot. This time she attacks him, splitting him with a knife, scattering him with a sieve, burning him with fire, grinding him with a mill, and sowing him in a field, where the birds eat his flesh. Then she implores El to have a dream. If El dreams of prolonged drought, then she will know that Baal is dead. If El dreams of the heavens raining oil and the wadis flowing with honey, then she will know that Baal is alive. El sees the latter vision, and, rejoicing, declares that Baal is alive. But where is he?

          El sends Anat to Shapshu, to tell her that the fields are cracked; it is time for Baal to return. Where is he? When Anat delivers the message, Shapshu tells her to pour a libation of sparkling wine, and to have her kinsfolk bring wreaths. Shapshu will search for Baal. Anat proclaims a blessing upon Shapshu, and performs the offerings.

          An unknown speaker predicts the triumphant return of Baal. Then Mot relents in the seventh year, recounting the indignities he has suffered at the hand of Anat. He urges Baal to provide one of his brothers as a substitute. Again deceiving Mot, Baal pretends to comply, but instead gives Mot seven of Mot’s own brothers. When Mot discovers this, he and Baal engage in a fearsome battle. But Shapshu warns Mot that surely Bull El will hear him, and take away his judicial scepter. Startled, Mot relents, and allows Baal to return to his throne.

          Reunited with Anat, Shapshu, and Kothar-wa-Hasis, Baal shares a feast. The myth ends with Kothar-wa-Hasis once again assisting Baal in battling sea monsters.

From: The Baal Myth of Ugarit. Retold by Paul Brassey. Originally translated by Johannes C. De Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts From Ugarit. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1987. 1-100