Ba'lu Haddu
Ba'lu Haddu ( Ugaritic : ??? ??? "Lord of Thunder"), also Ba'lu Sapanu ("Lord of Sapanu "), or Aliyanu Ba'lu ("Almighty Lord"), or simply Ba'lu ("Lord" ) is an ancient Ugaritic deity . He was worshiped as the god of fertility and lord of the rapi'uma (spirits of the dead).
Ba'lu was considered the god of fertility, rain, storm, thunderstorm and the seasons in ancient Ugarit . Furthermore, he was considered the patron saint of seafarers, judge and king of the Rapi'uma (spirits of the dead) and later also as the king of the gods. Frequently used epithets are "Cloud Rider" and "Lord of Heaven and Earth".
He is the son of the grain god Dagnu and his wife Tirosch . In some Ugarit texts, however, he also appears as the "son" of the creator god 'Ilu .
Unlike most other gods, Ba'lu did not have a wife. His most loyal companion was ' Anatu , with whom he had no sexual relationship, although it is often portrayed as such. Even if he does not seem to have a sexual relationship with any goddess, in the Ugaritic Baal cycle he is still referred to as the "father" of the goddesses Pidray, Tallay and Arsay.
myth
The longest cycle of myths from Ugarit deals with Ba'lu. The central theme of the six-panel epic is the kingship of the god Ba'lu. The epic can be summarized as follows:
- Jammu wants to rule over the other gods and be the most powerful of all.
- Ba'lu rises against Jammu, kills him and becomes king of the gods.
- Ba'lu persuades 'Ilu, with the help of ' Athiratu , to build him a palace.
- Ba'lu hires Kothar-wa-Khasis to build a palace.
- Motu challenges Ba'lu.
- Motu devours Ba'lu.
- 'Anatu kills Motu in revenge.
- Ba'lu returns from the realm of the dead.
- Ba'lu returns to his former seat, Mount Sapanu.
- Motu, who is also resurrected, challenges Ba'lu.
- Ba'lu and Motu fight for rule over the gods; Motu submits to Ba'lu.
- Ba'lu Haddu takes his reign again.
KTU 1.1–1.2
The epic begins with the battle between Aliyanu Ba'lu and Prince Jammu-Naharu, the god of the sea, for rule over the gods. 'Ilu, the father of humanity, ended the fight a little later and decided in favor of his son. He handed over the kingship to Prince Jammu. Kotharu-wa-Khasisu, the craftsman of the gods, is called to 'Ilu, who currently resides at the source of the rivers and oceans. He is asked by 'Ilu to build a palace for Prince Jammu. He did as he was told. He builds a palace under the sea for the Lord of the Rivers. Kotharu-wa-Khasisu explains to Jammu that his new position has made him arrogant. Judge Naharu turned out to be a cruel king who let the gods and goddesses toil under his rule. Ultimately, in desperation, the gods begged their mother 'Athiratu to confront the tyrant. So 'Athiratu went before Judge Naharu and asked him not to torment her children anymore. She offered him presents, but Jammu declined her request. Finally, the benevolent 'Athiratu, who loves her children, offered her own body to the god of the sea. Jammu-Naharu agreed, and 'Athiratu returned to the source of the two rivers. There she spoke to the gods and told them about her plan. But when Ba'lu found out about this, he became angry and said that he could not allow this. He swore to the gods that he would overthrow Prince Jammu from his throne. Judge Naharu was made aware of these words and immediately sent his two messengers to Mount Lel, 'Ilu's residence, where the gods were meeting. They announced that Ba'lu and his entourage must submit to Jammu. When Ba'lu, who is also present, hears this, he attacks the messengers of the sea god, but is stopped by 'Anatu and ' Attartu . Ba'lu spares the messengers' lives and sends them back to their master with the words that he would not bow to Prince Jammu. He declared again that he would overthrow the tyrant of the gods. Finally, the Lord of Thunder brings the god of the sea out to battle. However, Ba'lu is soon desperate due to the power of Judge Naharu and the wild sea creatures. Kotharu assures Ba'lu that he will be victorious. He gives him magical weapons with which he would defeat Jammu. The god of fertility resumed the fight and ultimately put down his rival.
KTU 1.5-1.6
The last part of the epic deals with Ba'lu's fight against Motu, death itself. By not inviting Motu for a meal of bread and wine, Motu is offended and threatens to wither life and collapse the sky. He says that like a lion in the desert, he is constantly starving for human flesh and blood. Motu will devour all life piece by piece if Ba'lu does not surrender to him. Aliyanu Ba'lu admits his fear and fear of Motu. He eventually urges his servants Gapanu and Ugaru to return to Motu and tell him that if he spares life, he will be his slave forever. A message that Motu is happy about. Ba'lu immediately complains to 'Ilu that his rule is in danger. He sends messengers to Shegeru and Itehmu and asks them to provide animals, bread and wine for a feast that he wants to have with his servants before his death. When the meal was over, Ba'lu made his way to two mountains that mark the entrance to the underworld. He finds a heifer in the fields and creates a calf with it in the form of a bull, which he dresses in shawls and offers Motu as a gift. When Gapanu and Ugaru hear of Ba'lu's death, they set out to deliver the news of their master's death to 'Ilu. 'Ilu then descends from his throne and sits on the floor. He mourns, puts dust on his head, wears burlap clothes, shaves his beard and hits his chest in grief. 'Anatu and Shapshu also mourn this way. Shapshu even darkens the sun. She accompanies 'Anatu to Mount Sapanu, where' Anatu slaughters large numbers of oxen, sheep, goats and donkeys. 'Anatu returns and tells' Athiratu and her family (many of whom were on Motu's side) that they can be happy because Ba'lu is dead. 'Ilu asks' Athiratu who he is now in Ba'lu's place to be appointed king, and she proposes' Athtaru. 'Anatu is now looking for her brother's Rapi'u in the underworld. She demands that Motu bring him back to her. However, he replies that he devoured him at the entrance to his domain. 'Anatu then loses patience and attacks Motu. She cuts him, burns him, crushes him and throws his remains at the birds. Meanwhile, 'Ilu has a dream that tells him that Ba'lu is alive. Shortly thereafter, Shapschu searches for Ba'lus Rapi'u in the underworld and finds it. Together they leave the realm of death. However, Motu soon returns and complains to Ba'lu about the torment he has endured. When Motu returns, Ba'lu sends out his servants Gapanu and Ugaru, who tell him that he will banish him and that if he is hungry he can eat the servants of Ba'lu. Motu does not like this, however, and so the two gods fight on Mount Sapanu until they are exhausted. Shapshu interferes and warns Motu that the fight against Ba'lu is useless and that 'Ilu is now on Ba'lu's side. Motu is frightened. He surrenders and declares that Ba'lu is king. Ba'lu warns that Motu will not have been the last lion to come out of the desert.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mark S. Smith: The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I, Introduction with text, translation and commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2 . BRILL, 1994, ISBN 978-90-04-09995-1 ( google.de [accessed April 28, 2019]).
- ↑ Thomas Staubli: The Baal Myth. In: World and Environment of the Bible. Book 1 Ugarit - City of Myth. Catholic Bible work e. V., 2002, pp. 43-48
- ↑ Katja Geisenhainer, Katharina Lange: Movable Horizons: Festschrift for the 60th birthday of Bernhard Streck . Leipziger Universitätsverlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-86583-078-4 ( google.de [accessed on November 17, 2019]).
- ↑ Philip Wilkinson: Myths and Legends: An Illustrated Guide to Their Origins and Meanings . Dorling Kindersley Limited, 2009, ISBN 978-1-4053-4403-6 ( google.de [accessed November 17, 2019]).
- ^ Bernard McGinn, John J. Collins, John James Collins, Stephen Stein: The Continuum History of Apocalypticism . A&C Black, 2003, ISBN 978-0-8264-1520-2 ( google.de [accessed November 17, 2019]).