Hello One and All!
In Canaanite theogony the gods had different spheres of influence. For instance, Yam ruled the oceans, Mot the underworld and El was the chief male deity. Baʿal, the hero of the myth that will be discussed, presided over storms and the rains, and because of this role he was important and highly revered in ancient Syro-Palestine. If gods didn't overstep their prescribed roles the universe ran smoothly, but Baʿal's Battle Against Mot is an illustration of what could happen if these rules weren't honoured.
Baʿal's Battle Against Mot
The god Ba'al revels in his new palace that shines like a star. In some crevice, far away from the storm god's realm, Mot sits upon his low throne, surrounded by thick muck and darkness.
A messenger from Ba'al arrived at Mot's abode and repeated the message of the god:
"Hail, Mot! I have built my palace from the finest silver, gold and Lebanese cedars. It would please me if you would be able to come to my new home and break bread with me."
The death god gripped the sides of his cool throne. Through clenched teeth he was just able to say,
"My appetite it too great to be sated by mere bread and you, young god, would do well to not address me so flippantly. If it is a banquet you seek, then hold it here, for I am surely of greater importance. Do not forget that I can tear you apart and cause the heavens themselves to collapse."
The messenger returned to the storm god, who wilted when he heard Mot's words. With great haste he composed a message that pledged his fealty to the embodiment of death.
Ba'al began to fear that Mot would unseat him and take the very domain that he had boasted about. These fears were founded though; one dark evening Mot crept up behind him and slew him on the spot. The news of his passing was reported to El; he strew ash on his head and continued to wallow in dust for days. A replacement was sought for the dead god, and Athtar was suggested, but his feet dis not reach the ground when seated on the storm god's throne, so the place remained vacant.
The figure that was slain on the riverbank that night was not in fact the true Ba'al, but rather a clone that he had constructed. Afterwards he proceeded to the crevice, which was the opening to the underworld, and hid under the earth whilst all of this transpired. He became trapped though and his absence caused a great drought on earth. Anat, the sister of the storm god, and Shapash, the sun goddess, climbed down into the underworld, to search for him. The two goddesses found Ba'al in the kingdom of the dead and hoisted him onto their shoulders; they carried him to Saphon, the mountain of the gods. There they held a great funerary service for Ba'al.
Anat, who was the goddess of hunting and war, used her area of expertise to track down Mot and confront him. An argument broke out and she split him open with a knife, broke his body into pieces with a winnowing fork and then set all of the piece ablaze, until there was only dust left, which she sowed into the fields. Her brother became reborn after this act of destruction and heavy rains pounded the parched earth again.
Mot was reborn again as well though. He travelled to the assembly of gods and complained of his treatment at the hands of Anat. A great struggle broke out between Ba'al and Mot, wherein the storm god slowly gained the upper hand , and then forced the embodiment of death to accept him as king.
Thank you for reading!
In Canaanite theogony the gods had different spheres of influence. For instance, Yam ruled the oceans, Mot the underworld and El was the chief male deity. Baʿal, the hero of the myth that will be discussed, presided over storms and the rains, and because of this role he was important and highly revered in ancient Syro-Palestine. If gods didn't overstep their prescribed roles the universe ran smoothly, but Baʿal's Battle Against Mot is an illustration of what could happen if these rules weren't honoured.
Baʿal's Battle Against Mot
The god Ba'al revels in his new palace that shines like a star. In some crevice, far away from the storm god's realm, Mot sits upon his low throne, surrounded by thick muck and darkness.
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| Limestone stele of Baal with vegetation spear (Louvre Museum). |
A messenger from Ba'al arrived at Mot's abode and repeated the message of the god:
"Hail, Mot! I have built my palace from the finest silver, gold and Lebanese cedars. It would please me if you would be able to come to my new home and break bread with me."
The death god gripped the sides of his cool throne. Through clenched teeth he was just able to say,
"My appetite it too great to be sated by mere bread and you, young god, would do well to not address me so flippantly. If it is a banquet you seek, then hold it here, for I am surely of greater importance. Do not forget that I can tear you apart and cause the heavens themselves to collapse."
The messenger returned to the storm god, who wilted when he heard Mot's words. With great haste he composed a message that pledged his fealty to the embodiment of death.
Ba'al began to fear that Mot would unseat him and take the very domain that he had boasted about. These fears were founded though; one dark evening Mot crept up behind him and slew him on the spot. The news of his passing was reported to El; he strew ash on his head and continued to wallow in dust for days. A replacement was sought for the dead god, and Athtar was suggested, but his feet dis not reach the ground when seated on the storm god's throne, so the place remained vacant.
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| Canaanite prisoner on a faience tile, from the eastern Egyptian Delta. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Canaanite-prisoner-on-a-faience-tile-from-the-eastern-Egyptian-Delta-Keel-Song-of_fig15_259709390 |
The figure that was slain on the riverbank that night was not in fact the true Ba'al, but rather a clone that he had constructed. Afterwards he proceeded to the crevice, which was the opening to the underworld, and hid under the earth whilst all of this transpired. He became trapped though and his absence caused a great drought on earth. Anat, the sister of the storm god, and Shapash, the sun goddess, climbed down into the underworld, to search for him. The two goddesses found Ba'al in the kingdom of the dead and hoisted him onto their shoulders; they carried him to Saphon, the mountain of the gods. There they held a great funerary service for Ba'al.
Anat, who was the goddess of hunting and war, used her area of expertise to track down Mot and confront him. An argument broke out and she split him open with a knife, broke his body into pieces with a winnowing fork and then set all of the piece ablaze, until there was only dust left, which she sowed into the fields. Her brother became reborn after this act of destruction and heavy rains pounded the parched earth again.
Mot was reborn again as well though. He travelled to the assembly of gods and complained of his treatment at the hands of Anat. A great struggle broke out between Ba'al and Mot, wherein the storm god slowly gained the upper hand , and then forced the embodiment of death to accept him as king.
Thank you for reading!
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