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One of the main deities of Phoenician mythology was Baal. His name
literally means "lord" or "master". Baal was mainly associated with
the sky. He was often referred to as Baal Hadad, which means "lord,
the thunderer". At some times he was considered to be a sun god.
There was a text on the cycle of Baal. It was written in Ugaritic, a
Semitic language closely related to Phoenician. The text is in three
parts and each is inscribed on two tablets. There are six columns per
side.
Baal was often associated with rain and storms. His sister was the
goddess Anath. Anath persuaded El (the father of the gods) to have
Kothar-u-Khasis (the craftsman of the gods) build a palace of gold
and silver for Baal. The palace was constructed on Mount Zaphon.
Anath also slew the enemies of Baal.
These are some other deities of Phoenician mythology:
Shapash - A sun goddess
Nikkal - A goddess of fruits and the harvest
Yam Nahar - A river god. He was an enemy of Baal.
Asherah - A sea goddess.
Kothar-u-Khasis - Craftsman of the gods.
Mot - He was a deity who was an enemy of Baal. Mot was the god of the
underworld. His name literally means "death".
El - The father of the gods.
Ashtoreth - The mother of the gods.
As I mentioned, the word baal means "lord" or "master" in Phoenician.
It also has that literal meaning in Hebrew. I studied Hebrew at the
University of Texas at Austin and have found that it and Phoenician
are very similar to each other. They are both Semitic languages.
Other members of that language family includes Arabic, Aramaic,
Amharic, Moabite, Akkadian, etc.
Neal Robbins
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