Baal
Baal West AsiaLiteral meaning: ‘lord’. In Canaan the old title of local fertility gods. Baal did not emerge as a distinct rain god till comparatively late times, when he appears to have assumed the special functions of each. Although there is no equivalent in Canaan of the sterile, scorching summer drought found in Mesopotamia, the cycle of seasons is marked enough to have caused a concentration on the disappearing fertility god, who trailed after him to the nether world the autumn rain clouds.
Having defeated the sea god Yam, built a house on Mount Saphon, and seized possession of numerous cities, Baal announced that he would no longer acknowledge the authority of Mot, ‘death’. Excluded from Baal's hospitality and friendship, Mot was told to visit on earth only the deserts. In response to this challenge, Mot invited Baal to his abode in order to taste his own fare, mud. Terrified and unable to avoid the dreadful summons to the land of the...
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