Cult of Baal · Baal Cycle

Overview

Baal (Baʿl, “Lord”) / Hadad is the Canaanite/Ugaritic storm, rain, and fertility god. Primary source is the Baal Cycle (KTU 1.1–1.6), clay tablets from the royal library at Ugarit (Ras Shamra, Syria), c. 1400–1200 BCE. The cycle narrates Baal’s battles with Yam (Sea) and Mot (Death), and the building of his palace on Mount Saphon.

Iconography typically shows a bearded warrior with horned helmet, raised mace or thunderbolt, short kilt, sometimes standing on a bull. Key artifacts: the Baal Stele with Thunderbolt (Louvre AO 15775) and bronze figurines from Ugarit.

Baal Cycle Structure

KTU 1.1–1.2 — Baal vs. Yam (Sea). Cosmic battle; Baal wins with clubs forged by Kothar-wa-Khasis.

KTU 1.3–1.4 — Palace building. Anat’s violence, intercession with El and Athirat, construction on Mount Saphon.

KTU 1.5–1.6 — Baal vs. Mot (Death). Descent, death, return; seasonal cycle of rain and drought.

Full scholarly editions: Mark S. Smith & Wayne T. Pitard, The Ugaritic Baal Cycle (Brill). Public translations available via academic sources and Wikipedia.

Baal Cycle overview →

Iconography & Diagrams

Classic profile: menacing pose, brandishing mace, holding plant-tipped spear or thunderbolt, pointed/horned crown, short kilt with dagger. Bull as animal attribute.

Representative images (public domain / museum):

Baal Stele with Thunderbolt, Ugarit — Louvre AO 15775
Bronze figurine of Baal with raised arm, Ras Shamra — Louvre AO 17329
Cylinder seals showing winged or striding Hadad

See Wikimedia Commons category Baal Hadad for photographs of the stele, seals, and related glyptic.

Gods Room (Baal entry) · Primordial Codex · Occult Archive

Cult of Baal / Baal Hadad

Overview

Baal Cycle Structure

Iconography & Diagrams

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