Baal (demon)
Baal (Hebrew בעל = lord, master, owner, husband, king or God) is a demon in historical Christianity . Baal originally referred to a Canaanite god of weather and fertility who was worshiped in Syria, see Ba'al .
When Christianity turned ancient deities into demons and demonology divided the demonic hell population into several hierarchies , the Semitic god Baal became a separate entity of the Beelzebub .
According to demonology, Baal was the first and supreme king of hell to rule the east. For other writers, he was a duke commanding 66 legions of demons. In the English Puritan Age, Baal was either equated with Satan or considered his main assistant. According to Francis Barrett , he has the power to make those who call him invisible. According to some other demonologists, its strength is greatest in October. According to other sources, he can make people wise and speaks in a hoarse voice.
While its Semitic forerunner has been depicted as a human or a bull, in European demonology he is usually three-headed. The first head is human with a ducal crown, the second is that of a toad, and the third that of a cat. He has a human chest and the rest of a spider's body. Other depictions show him as a man with three heads (cat, toad and human), as a person with a cat or toad head or, rarely, as a man. It should also be able to appear in the shape of a cat or a toad.
Other spellings : Bhaal, Bael, Baël (French), Baell, Ba'al.
