Lecture Outline The Baal Cycle I Ugaritic Canaanite deities a El 1 el god 2 creator god 3 father of gods 4 wise and eternal old 5 mountain 2 rivers fresh water Lived on a sacred mountain On the bottom of the mountain were two rivers that all the fresh water came from Babylonians believe all the fresh water comes from Apsu b Baal 1 ba al lord 2 storm god Not binatural like Marduk a aka Hadad thunderer b aka Rider on the Clouds c wind god d fertility god rain e farmers f fishermen sailors 3 son of Dagon grain 4 mountain Zaphon c Asherah d Anat 1 wife of El 2 mother of gods 1 sister of Baal 2 cf Apollo and Artemis 3 nubile virgin goddess Especially worshiped him because he is the storm god Like El Baal also has a sacred mountain Controversy Some think that she is a very sexual god 4 goddess of war and hunting bloodthirsty e Kothar wa Hasis 1 craftsman god 2 cf Hephaestus f Shapash II Baal Cycle 1 sun goddess 2 linked to both life and death summer drought We need sun to live but it also brings on heat and drought a group of poems about Baal b tablets found at Ugarit alphabetic script Predecessors of the Phonations c found in library of chief priest of Baal temple Attanu Purlianni d scribe Ilimilku e in reign of Niqmaddu II king of Ugarit c 1375 1345 BCE We still don t know when it was composed or by who f composition of Attanu Purlianni and Ilimilku or just of Ilimilku g poems in Baal Cyle recited in autumn rainy season We do not know when it was perform this is just what we think III Baal Cycle The Poems a Baal vs Yam Sea Binatural b Palace of Baal b Baal vs Mot Death Binatural IV Baal vs Yam a Yam Sea 1 aka Nahar 2 aka river dragon serpent b messengers from Yam sent to El c gods afraid cf Tiamat of the messengers from Yam d Give up the one you are hiding i e Baal Yam wants Baal s powers e El agrees e Kothar makes 2 clubs for Baal g Baal smashes and defeats Yam 1 wind lightning storm at sea 2 order over chaos Baal does not go willingly so he has Kothar makes him clubs Kothar brought down two clubs Judge River between the arms Any opponent to the king of the gods is going to be considered as chaos h Anat goes to battle 1 slaughters warriors 2 helps Baal defeat Yam V Palace of Baal But Baal has just defeated Yam Some scholars think that this passage got misplaced and is in the wrong part of the story a Baal king over earth El king of gods What exactly is Baal the king of El Becomes king for killing Yam b Anat and Asherah to El Baal needs a house c Baal s house 1 palace king 2 temple patron god of Ugarit d Kothar builds Baal s house 1 cedar 2 cf king Solomon s Temple Also made of cedar f Kothar wants to install window Listen Baal the Conquerer 1 Baal disagrees 2 belief Death windows f poem celebrates temple of Baal in Ugarit VI Baal vs Mot Death a Mot s abode underworld swamp muck Where death lives b Baal invites Mot to his new palace c Mot takes offense 1 implication of subservience Perhaps he believes that Baal wants Mot to pay respects to him Or he heard what Baal said at the end of the last poem So Baal was enthroned in his house I alone will satisfy earth s masses 2 Baal must die d Shapash advises Baal 1 create substitute to sacrifice to Mot 2 Baal mates with cow produces son 3 substitute Baal dies in his place 4 real Baal hides out in underworld e absence of Baal from earth summer drought f El and Anat mourn dead Baal g Anat cuts up grinds up sows Mot So angry that he killed her brother She seized El s son Death let flesh cry out to flesh h El dreams Baal is alive 1 tells Anat to ask Shapash 2 Shapash looks for Baal The sun is up in the sky sees all Unsure if she actually knows where he is she advised him to make a clone i Baal emerges from underworld j Baal and Mot battle to draw on Mount Zaphon A draw they both collapse in exhaustion k Shapash warns Mot to relent El s wrath he does In fear of El Mot stops Listen El s son death Death was afraid of her voice l poem celebrates victory of autumn rain Baal over summer drought Mot
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