Ethnic Origin, Language and Literature of the Phoenicians

Origin and Language The Phoenicians were Semitic speakers Phoenician origin of the Celts? Ethnic Origin and Language Literature: Literature and Thought Literature of Phoenicia Ugaritic Narrative Poetry Sanchuniathon, Phoenician writer Philo of Byblos and Porphyry of Tyre The Baal Cycle (actual text included) Literature of the Colonies (Punic Literature) Homer's Illiad and Odyssey

The Phoenicians Semitic speakers from the eastern Mediterranean -- neither Europeans nor Africans Before going into the origin of the Phoenicians, two things musts be made clear. The Phoenicians do not have their origin in Europe or in Africa. They were neither European nor where they black Africans. Their origin is in the eastern Mediterranean, as recent DNA studies prove -- they belong to the ancient Mediterranean sub-starum. Some trace them back to as far away as India about 10,000 BC or suggest that they migrated to Phoenicia from elsewhere; however, none of these stories are proven or provable through archaeology, and genetics spoke the final word. Further, the Phoenician colonies which spread all over the coastline of the Mediterranean and even the Atlantic coasts were inhabited by Phoenician Semitic speaking immigrants. No one can claim that the Phoenicians of North Africa were black or the Phoenicians of Spain, Gibraltar, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta...etc. were European. Statues, bursts, and artwork of the Phoenicians are found all over this website and upon close observation one can clearly see how closely they resemble the inhabitants of the shores of present day Mediterranean. (Note the images of the young Phoenician man and woman below). There are some who use the Bible for genealogical reference and actually believe Biblical characters such as Noah, Shem, Ham...etc. really existed and thereafter the Semites came from Shem and the Hamites from Ham...etc. These claims are categorically rejected and have no basis in purely scientific genealogical studies of ethnic origins of races.

Ethnic Origin and Language

There speculations that the Phoenicians were the ancestors of the Celts who displaced the Picts. According to Irish records, they descend from a Scythian King named Phoeniusa Farsa...according to the Irish this kings' descendents eventually populated the country of Phoenicia and named the country in his honor...Phoeniusa son; other studies trace their origin to a very distant past in India 10,000 B.C. where they were closely associated with the Aryans. There is a controversial study by Rajeswar Gupta is published in full as originally translated from Bengali in 1902. It is based on the ancient Rig Veda and puts forth the following suggestions regarding the origin of the Phoenicians:

1. A great war broke out in the remote old days (maybe 10,000 B.C.) between the Indian Aryans and the Phoenicians in which the latter were defeated and compelled to leave wholly or partially the land of the Aryans.
2. The Phoenicians were the first of the civilized nations of the world. The civilization of Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, Greece and other ancient countries owed its origin to the union of the civilization of the Aryans with that of the Phoenicians.
3. The Phoenicians originally lived in some part of India, whence driven out they migrated gradually westwards. While still residing in the neighborhood of India they colonized and traded with Arabia and the countries bordering on the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
4. The Phoenicians had colonies in many countries from each of which they were driven away by the natives after severe struggles. In this way they were expelled from India, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, or they mixed with the natives when they lost their supremacy in those countries.
5. In ancient time the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were connected together by a strait through which the Phoenician and Aryan trading ships entered the Mediterranean Sea and Indian goods were taken to Europe. As that passage gradually silted up the connection between India and Europe broke off.

It must be noted that historians and archaeologist do theorize about supposed various origins of the Phoenicians with little hard evidence and one is left with nothing more than mere hypotheses.

The Phoenician, as a people, even though they may come from Semitic origin or from India, did not survive the ages as an ethnically pure race. Invading Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonian, Hittites, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, and Romans, in addition to many others, added genetic material and culture to the Phoenicians. They in turn through their trade and frequent contact with cultures and races of the Mediterranean world added new dimensions to their stock from lands as close as Cyprus or as far as Spain or even Britain.

A form of Aramaic was the language of the Phoenicians. It was a Semitic language of the Northern Central, or Northwestern, group that was originally spoken in Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, and neighboring towns and in other areas of the Mediterranean colonized by Phoenician people known as Aramaeans. It was most closely related to Hebrew, Syriac, and Moabite which were written in a script derived from the Phoenician alphabet. The earliest Phoenician inscription deciphered dates probably from the 11th century BC; the latest inscription from Phoenicia proper is from the 1st century BC, when the language was already being superseded by Aramaic proper.

To listen to a sample of what the Phoenician/Aramaic language sounds like, follow the links to the music files provided of the Good Friday Entombment Service of Jesus Christ. The files are in MP3 format. Click to play: Glory (majdlak.mp3) and Bearers of Fragrance (hamilatilteeb.mp3). They are part of the full service in Aramaic which was held in Maalula, Syria (a town which were Aramaic is still spoken today), 1994, for the first time in 300 years. The Melkite Greek Catholic Patriachal Office of the Cathechism holds the copyright and is indebted for providing this rare service.

In addition to being used in Phoenicia, the language spread to many of its colonies. In one, the North African city of Carthage, a later stage of the language, known as Pun which was influenced by the Barber, became the language of the Carthaginian empire. Phoencian survived in use as a vernacular in some of the smaller cities of North Africa at least until the time of St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo (5th century AD) and continued to be used by North African peasants until the 6th century AD.

Phoenician words are found in Greek and Latin classical literature as well as in Egyptian, Akkadian, and Hebrew writings. The language is written with a 22-character alphabet that does not indicate vowels.

The Byblos Syllabic texts is the earliest known example of mixing a Semitic language with modified Egyptian hieroglyphic characters. It appeared as an inscriptions (eighteenth century B.C.), from the city of Byblos on the Phoenician coast. This script is described as a "syllabary [that] is clearly inspired by the Egyptian hieroglyphic system, and in fact is the most important link known between the hieroglyphs and the Canaanite alphabet."

During the period of the Roman Empire the native Phoenician language died out and was replaced by Aramaic as the vernacular. Latin, the language of the soldiers and administrators, in turn fell before Greek, the language of letters of the eastern Mediterranean, by the 5th century AD.

Literature and Thought -- Suggestions

With respect to the extent and range of the Phoenician book literature, the little that can be gathered from the notices remaining to us in the Greek and Roman writers is the following. In Phoenicia Proper there were historical writers at least from the time of Hiram, the contemporary of David, who wrote the annals of their country in a curt dry form somewhat resembling that of Kings and Chronicles.[1] The names of the kings and the length of their reigns were carefully recorded, together with some of the more remarkable events belonging to each reign; but there was no attempt at the philosophy of history, nor at the graces of composition. In some places, especially at Sidon, philosophy and science were to a certain extent cultivated. Mochus, a Sidonian, wrote a work on the atomic theory at a very early date, though scarcely, as Posidonius maintained,[2] one anterior to the Trojan war. Later on, the Sidonian school specially affected astronomy and arithmetic, in which they made so much progress that the Greeks acknowledged themselves their debtors in those branches of knowledge. It is highly probable, though not exactly capable of proof, that the Tyrian navigators from a very remote period embodied in short works the observations which they made in their voyages, on the geography, hydrography, ethology, and natural history of the counties, which were visited by them. Hanno's "Periplus" may have been composed on a model of these earlier treatises, which at a later date furnished materials to Marinus for his great work on geography. It was, however, in the Phoenician colony of Carthage that authorship was taken up with most spirit and success. Hiempsal, Hanno, Mago, Hamilcar, and others, composed works, which the Romans valued highly, on the history, geography, and "origines" of Africa, and also upon practical agriculture. Mago and Hamilcar were regarded as the best authorities on the latter subject both by the Greeks and Romans, and were followed, among the Greeks by Mnaseas and Paxamus,[3,4] among the Romans by Varro and Columella. So highly was the work of Mago, which ran to twenty-eight books, esteemed, that, on the taking of Carthage, it was translated into Latin by order of the Roman Senate. After the fall of Carthage, Tyre and Sidon once more became seats of learning; but the Phoenician language was discarded, and Greek adopted in its place. The Tyrian, Sidonian, Byblian and Berytian authors, of whom we hear, bear Greek names. Philo of Byblus and Marinus of Tyre are the only two authors of this later period who held to Phoenician traditions, and, presumably, conveyed on to later ages Phoenician ideas and accumulations. If neither literature nor science gained much from the work of the former, that of the latter had considerable value, and, as the basis of the great work of Ptolemy, must ever hold an honourable place in the history of geographical progress.[5,6,7,8]

Sources:

[1] See the fragments of Dius and Menander, who followed the Tyrian historians (Joseph. /Contr. Ap./ i. 18).
[2] Ap. Strab. xvii. 2, ß 22.
[3] Ibid.
[4] See Sallust, /Bell. Jugurth./ ß 17; Cic. /De Orat./ i. 58; Amm. Marc. xxii. 15; Solin. /Polyhist./ ß 34.
[5] Columella, xii. 4.
[6] Ibid. i. 1, ß 6.
[7] Plin. /H. N./ xviii. 3.
[8] As Antipater and Apollonius, Stoic philosophers of Tyre (Strab. l.s.c.), BoÎthus and Diodotus, Peripatetics, of Sidon (ibid.), Philo of Byblus, Hermippus of Berytus, and others.

Literature of Phoenicia

Phoenician inscriptions, both from the Phoenician coast and from other areas of the eastern Mediterranean are very limited in genre, and relatively few are more than a few lines long with very minor exceptions.

Uninscribed materials from excavated sites supplement the picture. However, criteria for identifying literary or religious materials have not always been carefully considered. It is often difficult to correlate with confidence written and unwritten materials.

Despite growing knowledge, the resulting picture is still very irregular. While there is an unparalleled variety of sources, covering a century and a half, from the large cosmopolitan city of Ugarit, other written materials give a much more limited picture. For many periods, areas, and topics there are no written remains. Descriptions are extremely limited and superficial. Generalizations about the eastern Mediterranean may well prove to have significant exceptions as some of these gaps are filled by new discoveries. However, some exceptions have surfaced as indicated below.

Ugaritic Narrative Poetry

More than 500 years before the Odyssey and the Iliad, before the biblical books of Genesis or Job, Canaanite Phoenician masters of the epic lived and wrote on the Mediterranean coast.

Following are minor excerpts from some of the Ugaritic Narrative Poetry translated into English and edited by Simon B. Parker.

From The Rapiuma, translated by Theodore J. Lewis

Behold your son, behold...
Your grandson, your shrine;

Behold ... your hand.
The small one will kiss your lips.

There, shoulder to shoulder.
Brothers, attendants of El...

There mortals .. the name of El,
... heroes bless the name of El.

There the shades of Baal ...
Warriors of Baal
Warriors of Anat.

There armed forces encircle
The eternal royal princes

As when Anat hastens to the hunt
Sets to flight the birds of the heavens.

They slaughtered oxen; sheep as well;
They felled bulls, fatlings too,

Also rams and year old calves,
They butchered lambs ad even kids.

Olive oil -- like silver to travelers,
... -- like gold to travelers.

... a table set with fruit,
Laid with fruit fit for kings,

Day long they pour the wine,
... must-wine, fit for rulers.

Wine, sweet and abundant,
Select wine...

The choice wine of Lebanon,
Must nurtured by El.

One day passes, then a second,
The shades eat, the drink;

A third day, then a fourth;
A fifth day, then a sixth;
The shades eat, they drink.

To the banquet house on the summit,
... in the heart of Lebanon.

From The Epic of Kirta, translated by Edward L. Greenstein

"What too me is silver, or even yellow gold,
Together with its land and slaves forever mine?

A Triad of chariot horses
From the stables of a slave woman's son?

What is not in my house you must give me:
You must give me Lady Huraya,
The Fair One, your firstborn child!

Who is as fair as the goddess Anath,
Who is as comely as Astarte;

Whose eyes are lapis lazuli
Eyeballs, gleaming alabaster;

Whom El has given in my dream,
The Father of Man in my vision;

Who will bear a child for Kirta
A lad for the Servant of El."

Sanchuniathon, Phoenician writer

(fl. 14th/13th century BC?), ancient Phoenician writer. All information about him is derived from the works of Herennius Philo of Byblos (flourished AD 100). Excavations at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in Syria in 1929 revealed Phoenician documents supporting much of Sanchuniathon's information on Phoenician mythology and religious beliefs. According to Philo, Sanchuniathon derived the sacred lore from inscriptions on the Ammouneis (i.e., images or pillars of Baal Amon), which stood in Phoenician temples.

Charles Anthon* is said to have written "The history of Phoenicia by Sanconiatho, who was a contemporary with Solomon, would have been entirely lost to us, had it not been for the valuable fragments preserved by Eusebius."

"Sanchoniathon, a Phoenician author, who if the fragments of his works that have reached us be genuine, and if such a person ever existed, must be regarded as the most ancient writer of whom we have any knowledge after Moses. As to the period when be flourished, all is uncertain. He is the author of three principal works, which were written in Phoenician. They were translated into the Greek language by Herennius Philo, who lived in the second century A.D. It is from this translation which we obtain all the fragments of Sanchoniathon that have reached our times. Philo had divided his translation into nine books, of which Porphyry made use in his diatribe against the Christians. It is from the fourth book of this lost work that Eusebius took, for an end directly opposite to this, the passages which have come down to us. And thus we have those documents relating to the mythology and history of the Phoenicians from the fourth hand."

Sanchoniathon makes mention of a history which he once wrote upon the worship of the serpent. The title of this work, according to Eusebius, was Ethothion, or Ethothia. Another treatise upon the same subject was written by Pherecydes Tyrus, which was probably a copy of the former; for he is said to have composed it from some previous accounts of the Phœnicians. The title of his book was the Theology of Ophion, styled Ophioneus, and his worshippers were called Ophionidæ. Thoth and Athoth were certainly titles of the Deity in the Gentile world; and the book of Sanchoniathon might very possibly have been from hence named Ethothion, or more truly, Athothion. But, from the subject upon which it was written, as well as from the treatise of Pherecydes, we have reason to think that Athothion, or Ethothion, was a mistake for Ath-Ophion, a title which more immediately related to that worship of which the writer treated. Ath was a sacred title, as we have shewn, and we imagine that this dissertation did not barely relate to the serpentine Deity, but contained accounts of his votaries, the Ophitæ, the principal of which were the sons of Chus.

*Source: Anthon, Charles. Classical Dictionary, New York, NY:1888.

Philo of Byblos and Porphyry of Tyre

Phoenicia produced a number of important writers in Greek, most notably Philo of Byblos (64-141), and in the 3rd century Porphyry of Tyre. Porphyry played a key role in disseminating the Neoplatonic philosophy of his master Plotinus, which would influenced pagan and Christian thought in the later Roman Empire.

Literary (of mytho-literary) work

The great cycle of narratives about Baal from Ugarit in its present form is clearly a literary work rather than a myth, it is doubtlessly composed of religiously significant mythic material. While there are Greek and Latin sources such as De Dea Syra ("About the Syrian Goddess") from the 2nd century AD, attributed to Lucian of Samosata, and the section of Eusebius of Caesarea's Praeparatio evangelica ("Preparation for the Gospel"; 4th century AD) that cites extracts from a History of Phoenicia by Philo of Byblos (c. AD 100); Philo himself claimed to be translating the work of an early Phoenician priest, Sanchuniathon (referenced earlier). They are mostly works that deal with religious material and not literary per say. Further, there is not enough material that has survived the centuries of Phoenician history to the present for higher literary criticism. The most outstanding or major literary work is The Baal Cycle which is summarized herewith.

The Baal Cycle

Baal (Hadad) is regularly denominated "the son of Dagan," although Dagan (biblical Dagon) does not appear as an actor in the mythological texts. Baal also bears the titles "Rider of the Clouds," "Almighty," and "Lord of the Earth." He is the god of the thunderstorm, the most vigorous and aggressive of the gods, the one on whom mortals most immediately depend. Baal resides on Mount Zaphon, north of Ugarit, and is usually depicted holding a thunderbolt. He is the protagonist of a cycle of myths from Ugarit. These tell of a challenge from Yamm ("Sea"), to which Baal responds. Armed with magical weapons made by the craftsman god, Kothar, Baal manages to overcome Yamm. Another major episode is instigated by Baal's lack of a house. With the assistance of Asherah and Anath, Baal gets El's approval to build a house; Kothar accomplishes the construction; and Baal celebrates by inviting the gods to a feast. The other major story concerns Baal's relations with Mot ("Death"), whom he initially defies, but to whom he eventually succumbs. The attempt to find a god adequate to assume Baal's role fails. Anath disposes of Mot, and then El learns in a dream that Baal is again alive. Mot also reappears, and he and Baal fight until the sun goddess warns Mot of the consequences. There is apparently a final definition of their respective spheres of influence.

After Baal is swallowed up by Mot, his sister Anath, called "the Maiden," longs for him like a mother. She finds Baal and buries him. She then defeats Mot and disposes of his body as if it were grain, grinding him up and scattering him over land and sea. Elsewhere in the text Anath refers to her victories over various monstrous enemies in single combat, and she is depicted in scenes of bloody slaughter. She is the "villain" of the tale of Aqhat, also from Ugarit. In this story the gods grant the childless Danel a son, Aqhat, on whom Danel confers a bow made by the craftsman god, Kothar. Anath offers Aqhat riches and immortality in exchange for the bow, but Aqhat refuses her offers. After bullying El into letting her have her way with Aqhat, she proceeds, with the aid of her henchman Yutpan, to have Aqhat killed. Danel performs various rites to try to remove the consequent blight on the land, until he is informed of his son's murder. He then seeks his remains and buries him, curses the towns closest to the site of the murder, and mourns for seven years, after which he gives his blessing to his daughter's proposed mission to avenge Aqhat's death. She sets out and comes to the camp of Yutpan, where the two of them start drinking--at which point the preserved portion of the tale ends. Anath is often associated with Athtart (later Hebrew Ashtoreth, Greek Astarte). Both are renowned for their beauty, and both are closely associated with Baal.

Another group of gods play important subordinate roles in the myths. The sun goddess, Shapash, "Light of the Gods," helps Anath in her retrieval of the dead Baal and intervenes in the final conflict between Baal and Mot. The craftsman god, known as both Kothar ("Skilled") and Hasis ("Clever"), makes the weapons with which Baal disposes of Yamm and builds the palace for Baal. He is the source of Aqhat's bow, coveted by Anath. The Kathirat are goddesses of marriage and pregnancy, who appear before the conception of Aqhat and in a brief myth about the marriage of Yarikh ("Moon") and his Mesopotamian consort Nikkal. Shahar and Shalim are the gods of dawn and dusk, whose conception and birth are recounted in a liturgical myth.

While the great cycle of narratives about Baal from Ugarit in its present form is clearly a literary work rather than a myth, it is doubtlessly composed of religiously significant mythic material. It depicts the prevailing order of things as the result of struggles among the gods--successive bids for power in which Yamm and Mot are confined to their present bounds and Baal and Anath (associated with fertility and military prowess, respectively) prevail. Having descended into the underworld and survived Death, Baal embodies the assertiveness and continuity of life.

It is the official documents of religious practice--god lists, sacrificial lists, and temple rituals, as well as the inscribed monuments--that disclose most directly the gods favored by the authorities of the time. While virtually all the gods of the myths are Semitic in name, the gods of the cult are much more diverse.

Baal Cycle Text

Now Mighty Baal, son of Dagon, desired the kingship of the Gods. He contended with Prince Yam-Nahar, the Son of El. But Kindly El, Father Shunem, decided the case in favour of His son; He gave the kingship to Prince Yam. He gave the power to Judge Nahar.

Fearsome Yam came to rule the Gods with an iron fist. He caused Them to labor and toil under His reign. They cried unto Their mother, Asherah, Lady of the Sea. They convinced Her to confront Yam, to interceed in Their behalf.

Asherah went into the presence of Prince Yam. She came before Judge Nahar. She begged that He release His grip upon the Gods Her sons. But Mighty Yam declined Her request. She offered favours to the Tyrant. But Powerful Nahar softened not His heart. Finally, Kindly Asherah, who loves Her children, offered Herself to the God of the Sea. She offered Her own body to the Lord of Rivers.

Yam-Nahar agreed to this, and Asherah returned to the Source of the Two Rivers. She went home to the court of El. She came before the Divine Council, and spoke of Her plan to the Gods Her children.

Baal was infuriated by Her speech. He was angered at the Gods who would allow such a plot. He would not consent to surrendering Great Asherah to the Tyrant Yam-Nahar. He swore to the Gods that He would destroy Prince Yam. He would lay to rest the tyranny of Judge Nahar.

Yam-Nahar was made aware of the words of Baal. He sent His two messengers to the court of El:

"Depart Lads!
Do not sit!
Then Ye shall surely set face
Toward the Convocation of the Assembly
In the midst of the mountain of Night.
At the feet of El do not fall,
Do not prostrate Yourselves before the Convocation of the Assembly,
But declare Your information!
And say to The Bull, My father, El,
Declare to the Convocation of the Assembly:
'The message of Yam, Your Lord,
Of Your master Judge River:
Give up, O Gods, Him whom You harbor,
Him whom the multitude harbor!
Give up Baal and His partisans,
Dagon's Son, so that I may inherit His gold!'"

The lads depart
They do not Sit.
Then They set face
Toward the Mountain of Night,
Toward the Convocation of the Assembly.
The Gods had not even sat down,
The Deities to dine,
When Baal stood up by El.

As soon as the Gods saw Them,
Saw the messengers of Yam
The emissaries of Judge Nahar,
The Gods lowered Their heads upon Their knees.
Yea, upon the thrones of Their lordships.

Baal rebukes Them:
"Why, O Gods, have Ye lowered
Your heads on top of Your knees,
Yea, upon the thrones of Your lordships?
Let a pair of Gods read the tablets of the messengers of Yam,
Of the emissaries of Judge Nahar!
O Gods, lift up Your heads
From the top of Your knees
Yea, from the thrones of Your lordships!
And I shall answer
The messengers of Yam
The emissaries of Judge Nahar!"
The Gods lift Their heads
From the top of Their knees
Yea, from the thrones of thier lordships.

After there arrive the messengers of Yam,
The emissaries of JudgeNahar.
At the feet of El They do not fall,
They do not prostrate Themselves before the Convocation of the Assembly.
Arise, for They declare Their information.
A fire, two fires!
He sees a burnished sword!
They say to The Bull, His father, El:
"The message of Yam, Your lord,
Of Your master, Judge Nahar:
'Give up, O Gods, Him whom Ye harbor,
Him whom the multitudes harbor!
Give up Baal and His partisans,
Dagon's Son, so that I may inherit His gold!'"

And The Bull, His father, El, replies:
"Baal is Thy slave, O Yam!
Baal is Thy slave O Yam!
Dagon's Son is Thy captive!
He will bring Thy tribute like the Gods.
Like the Deities, Thy gift!"

But Prince Baal was infuriated.
A knife He takes in the hand
A dagger in the right hand.
To smite the lads He flourishes it.
Anath siezes His right hand,
Astarte seizes His left hand:
"How canst Thou smite the messengers of Yam?
The emissaries of Judge Nahar?
They have merely brought the words of Yam-Nahar.
Word of Their Lord and Master."

But Prince Baal is infuriated. He spares the lives of the messengers; He sends Them back to Their master. He instructs Them to give His information: Baal will not bow to Prince Yam. He will not be the slave of Judge Nahar. He declares once more that He shall slay the Tyrant lord of the Gods.

"To the earth let Our mighty one fall!
Yea, to dust Our strong one!"
From His mouth the word had not yet gone forth,
Nor from His lips, His utterance.
And His voice was given forth
Like a mountain under the throne of Prince Yam.

And Kothar-u-Khasis declared:
"Did I not tell Thee, O Prince Baal,
Nor declare, O Rider of Clouds?
'Lo, Thine enemies, O Baal,
Lo, Thine enemies wilt Thou smite
Lo, Thou wilt van quish Thy foes.
Thou wilt take Thine eternal kingdom;
Thine everlasting sovereignty!'"

Kothar brings down two clubs
And proclaims Their Names.
"Thy Name, even Thine, is Yagrush!
Yagrush, expel Yam
Expel Yam from His throne
Nahar from the seat of His sovereignty!
Thou shalt swoop from the hands of Baal
Like an Eagle from His fingers!
Strike the shoulders of Prince Yam
Twixt the hands of Judge Nahar!"

The club swoops from the hands of Baal
Like an eagle from His fingers.
It strikes the shoulders of Prince Yam,
Twixt the hands of Judge Nahar.
Yam is strong;
He is not vanquished,
His joints do not fail,
Nor His frame collapse.

Kothar brings down a second club,
And proclaims His Name.
"Thy Name, even Thine, is Aymur!
Aymur, drive Yam,
Drive Yam from His throne!
Nahar from His seat of His sovereignty!
Thou shalt swoop from the hands of Baal
Like an Eagle from His fingers!
Strike the head of Prince Yam
Twixt the eyes of Judge Nahar!
Let Yam sink
And fall to the earth!"

And the club swoops from the hands of Baal
Like an eagle from His fingers.
It strikes the head of Prince Yam,
Twixt the eyes of Judge Nahar.

Yam sinks,
Falls to the earth.
His joints fail
His frame collapses.
Baal drags and poises Yam
Destroys Judge Nahar.

By Name, Astarte rebukes:
"Shmae, O Aliyan Baal,
Shame, O Rider of the Clouds!
For Prince Yam was Our captive
For Judge River was Our captive."

And there went out Baal,
Verily ashamed is Aliyan Baal
And Prince Yam is, indeed, dead.
So let Baal reign!

Baal was now King of the Gods. Lord of the Mountain of Saphon. But Baal had no palace like the other Gods. He speaks His word to Kothat-u-Khasis:

"There are the dwelling of El,
The shelter of His sons.
The dwelling of Lady Asherah of the Sea,
The dwelling of the renowned brides.
The dwelling of Pidray, girl of Light,
The shelter of Tallay, girl of rain,
The dwelling of Arsay, girl of Yaabdar.

Also, something else I'll tell Thee.
Go to!
Beseech Lady Asherah of the Sea,
Entreat the Creatress of Gods!"

The Skilled One goes up to the bellows.
In the hands of Khasis are the tongs.
He pours silver,
He casts gold.
He pours silver by thousands of shekels,
Gold He pours by myriads.
A glorious crown studded with silver,
Adorned with red gold.
A glorious throne,
A dais above a glorious footstool,
Which glisters in purity.
Glorious shoes of reception,
Thereover He brings them gold.
A glorious table that is full.
A glorious bowl, fine work of Kamares,
Set like the realm of Yam,
In which there are buffaloes by myriads.

Kothar-u-Kasis goes to the Lady Asherah of the Sea, Mother of the Seventy Gods. He offers these gifts unto Her.

He adorns Her with the covering of Her flesh.
She tears Her clothing.
On the second day
He adorns Her in the two rivers.
She sets a pot on the fire
A vessel on top of the coals.

She propitiates The Bull, God of Mercy,
Entreats the Creator of Creatures.
On lifting Her eyes
She sees.
Asherah sees Baal's going,
Yea the going of the Virgin Anath,
The tread of the Progenitress of Heroes.

After Aliyan Baal came,
And came the Virgin Anath,
They besought Lady Asherah of the Sea.
Yea entreated the Creatress of the Gods.
And Lady Asherah of the Sea replied:
"How can Ye beseech Lady Asherah of the Sea,
Yea entreat the Creatress of the Gods?
Have Ye besought The Bull, God of Mercy,
Or entreated the Creator of Creatures?

And the Virgin Anath replied:
"We do beseech Lady Asherah of the Sea.
We entreat the Creatress of Gods.
The Gods eat and drink,
And those that suck the breast quaff
With a keen knife
A slice of fatling.
They drink wine from a goblet,
From a cup of gold, the blood of vines."

Asherah of the Sea declares:
"Saddle an ass,
Hitch a donkey!
Put on a harness of silver,
Trappings of gold.
Prepare the harness of My jennies!

Qadish-u-Amrar hearkens.
He saddles an ass
Hitches a donkey.
Put on a harness of silver,
Trappings of gold.
Prepares the harness of Her jennies!
Qadish-u-Amrar embraces;
He sets Asherah on the back of the ass,
On the beautiful back of the donkey.
Qadish begins to light the way,
Even Amrar like a star.
Forward goes the Virgin Anath,
And Baal departs for the heights of Saphon.

Then She sets face toward El,
At the sources of the Two Rivers,
In the midst of the streams of the Two Deeps.
She enters the abode of El,
And comes into the domicile of the King, Father Shunem.
At the feet of El She bows and falls,
She prostrates Herself and honors Him.

As soon as El sees Her,
He cracks a smile and laughs.
His feet He sets on the footstool,
And twiddles His fingers.
He lifts His voice
And shouts:
"Why has Lady Asherah of the Sea come?
Why came the Creatress of Gods?
Art Thou hungry?
Then have a morsel!
Or art Thou thirsty?
Then have a drink!
Eat!
Or drink!
Eat bread from the tables!
Drink wine from the goblets!
From a cup of gold, the blood of vines!
If the love of El moves Thee,
Yea the affection of The Bull arouses Thee!"

And Lady Asherah of the Sea replies:
"Thy word, El, is wise;
Thou art wise unto eternity;
Lucky life is Thy word.
Our king is Aliyan Baal,
Out judge, and none is above Him.
Let both of Us drain His chalice;
Both of Us drain His cup!"

Loudly Bull-El, Her father, shouts,
King El who brought Her into being;
There shout Asherah and Her sons,
The Goddess and the band of Her brood:
"Lo there is no house unto Baal like the Gods.
Not a court like the sons of Asherah:
The dwelling of El,
The shelter of His sons.
The dwelling of Lady Asherah of the Sea,
The dwelling of the renowned brides.
The dwelling of Pidray, girl of Light.
The shelter of Tallay, girl of rain.
The dwelling of Arsay, girl of Yaabdar."

And the God of Mercy replied:
"Am I to act as a lackey of Asherah?
Am I to act like the holder of a trowel?
If the handmaid of Asherah will make the bricks
A house shall be built for Baal like the Gods.
Yea a court like the sons of Asherah."

And Lady Asherah of the Sea replied:
"Thou art great, O El,
Thou are verily wise!
The gray of Thy beard hath verily instructed Thee!
Here are pectorals of gold for Thy breast.

Lo, also it is the time of His rain.
Baal sets the season,
And gives forth His voice from the clouds.
He flashes lightning to the earth.
As a house of cedars let Him complete it,
Or a house of bricks let Him erect it!
Let it be told to Aliyan Baal:
'The mountains will bring Thee much silver.
The hills, the choicest of gold;
The mines will bring Thee precious stones,
And build a house of silver and gold.
A house of lapis gems!'"

The Virgin Anath rejoices.
She jumps with the feet
And leaves the earth.
Then She sets face toward the Lord of Saphon's crest
By the thousand acres,
Yea the myriad hectares.
The Virgin Anath laughs.
She lifts Her voice
And shouts:
"Be informed, Baal!
Thy news I bring!
A house shall be built for Thee as for Thy brothers,
Even as a court as for Thy kin!
The mountains will bring Thee much silver.
The hills, the choicest of gold;
The mines will bring Thee precious stones,
And build a house of silver and gold.
A house of lapis gems!"

Aliyan Baal rejoices.
The mountains bring Him much silver,
The mines bring Him precious stones.

Kothar-u-Khasis is sent.
After Kothar-u-Khasis arrived,
He sets an ox in front of Him.
A fatling directly before Him.
A chair is placed,
And He is seated
At the right of Aliyan Baal,
Until They have eaten
And drunk.

And Aliyan Baal declares:
"Hurry, let a house be built.
Hurry, let a palace be erected!
Hurry, let a house be built.
Hurry, let a palace be erected
In the midst of the heights of Saphon!
A thousand acres the house is to comprise,
A myriad hectares, the palace!"

And Kothar-u-Khasis declares:
"Hear, O Aliyan Baal!
Percieve, O Rider of Clouds!
I shall surely put a window in the house,
A casement in the midst of the palace!"

And Aliyan Baal replies:
"Do not put a window in the house,
A casement in the midst of the palace!
Let not Pidray, girl of Light,
Nor Tallay, girl of rain,
Be seen by El's beloved Yam Nahar!"
The Lord reviles and spits.

And Kothar-u-Khasis replies:
"Thou wilt return, Baal, to My word."

Of ceders His house is to be built,
Of bricks is His palace to be erected.
He goes to Lebabob and it's trees,
To Syria and the choicest of it's cedars.
Lo, Lebanon and it's trees,
Syria and it's cedars.
Fire is set on the house,
Flame on the palace.
Behold a day and a second,
The fire eats into the house,
The flame into the palace.
A fifth, a sixth day,
The fire eats into the house,
The flame in the midst of the palace.
Behold, on the seventh day,
The fire departs from the house,
The flame from the palace.
Silver turns from blocks,
Gold is turned from bricks.

Aliyan Baal rejoices.
"My house have I built of silver.
My palace of gold have I made."

His house, Baal prepairs.
Hadad prepares the housewarming of His palace.
He slaughters great and small cattle
He fells oxen and ram-fatlings.
Yearling calves,
Little lambs and kids.
He called His brothers into His house.
His kinsmen into the midst of His palace.
He called the Seventy sons of Asherah.
He caused the shep Gods to drink wine.
He caused the ewe Goddesses to drink wine.
He cause the bull Gods to drink wine.
He caused the cow Goddesses to drink wine.
He caused the throne Gods to drink wine.
He caused the chair Goddesses to drink wine.
He caused the jar Gods to drink wine.
He caused the jug Goddesses to drink wine.
Until the Gods had eaten and drunk,
And the sucklings quaffed
With a keen knife
A slice of fatling.
They drink wine from a goblet,
From a cup of gold, the blood of vines.

Lord Baal went on to take possesion of many earthly cities. Sixty-six, Seventy-Seven towns He took. Eighty, Ninety was the total number of cities that fell to the posession of Mighty Hadad. Thus Baal returned to His home as Lord of all the World.

As Baal went into the midst of the house
Aliyan Baal declared:
"I would install, Kothar, son of the Sea,
Yea Kothar, son of the assembly!
Let a casement be opened in the house;
A window in the midst of the palace,
And let the clouds be opened with rain
On the opening of Kothar-u-Khasis."

Kothar-u-Khasis laughed.
He lifts His voice
And shouts:
"Did I not tell Thee, O Aliyan Baal,
That Thou wouldst return, Baal, to My word?
Let a casement be opened in the house,
A window in the midst of the palace!"

Baal opened the clouds with rain,
His holy voice He gives forth in the heavens.

The enemies of Baal seize the forests,
The foes of Hadad, the fringes of the mountain.
And Aliyan Baal declares:
"Enemies of Hadad, why do Ye invade?
Why do Ye invade the arsenal of Our defense?"
Weeping, Baal returns to His house:
"Whether king
Or commander
Be invested with sovereignty over the land,
Respects I shall not send to Mavet,
Nor greetings to El's beloved, the Hero!"

Mavet calls from His throat,
The Beloved meditates in His inwards:
"I alone am He who will rule over the Gods.
Yea command Gods and men.
Even dominate the multitudes of the earth."

Aloud Baal cries to His lads:
"Look, Gupan and Ugar, sons of Galmat,
Errand lads, sons of Zalmat
The lofty and distinguished!
Then surely set face
Toward the mountain of Tergezz,
Toward the mountain of Shermeg,
Toward the furrow of the thriving of the earth.
Lift the mountain on the hands,
The hill on top of the palms,
And go down into to nether-reaches of the earth
So that You will be counted amoung those who go down into the earth!
Then shall Ye set face
Toward His city, Hemry.
Lo, the throne on which He sits
In the midst of the land of His inheritance
And the guards of the defense of the Gods.
Do not draw near the God Mavet,
Lest He make You like a lamb in His mouth,
Like a kid in His jaws Ye be crushed!
The Torch of the Gods, Shapash, burns;
The heavens halt on account of El's darling, Mavet.
By the thousand acres,
Yea the myriad hectares
At the feet of Mavet bow and fall.
Prostrate Yourselves and honor Him!
And say to the God Mavet,
Declare to El's beloved, the Hero:

And Baal spoke His word to His lads. He sent His message to Mavet. The Lord Hadad refused to pay tribute to the Beloved of El. Mavet was enfuriated, and sent His word back to Baal. He declared that, because Baal had destroyed the Serpent Lotan, He would exact revenge by devouring Baal. The messengers of Baal informed Baal that Mavet would open His mouth wide.

"A lip to earth,
A lip to heaven,
And a tounge to the stars
So that Baal may enter His inwards,
Yea, descend into His mouth
As scorched is the olive,
The produce of the Earth,
And the fruit of the Trees."

Aliyan Baal fears Him,
The Rider of the Clouds dreads Him.
"Depart! Speak to the God Mavet.
Declare to El's Beloved, the Hero:
The message of Aliyan Baal,
The word of Aliy the Warrior:
'Hail, O God Mavet!
Thy slave am I,
Yea Thine forever.'"

The Gods depart and do not sit.
Then They set face toward the God Mavet.
Toward His city, Hemry.
Behold it is the throne of His sitting,
Yea the land of His inheritance!
They lift Their voices
And shout:
"The message of Aliyan Baal
The word of Aliy the Warrior!
"Hail, O God Mavet!
Thy slave am I,
Yea Thine forever!"

The God Mavet is glad. Baal will be delivered unto Him, and the fertility of the land will die with Him. Baal feasts His last meal, and Mavet commands Him:

"I shall put Him in the grave of the Gods of the earth.
And Thou, take Thy clouds,
Thy wind, Thy storm, Thy rains!
With Thee Thy seven lads,
Thine eight swine.
With Thee, Pidray, girl of Light,
With Thee, Tallay, girl of rain.
Then Thy face shalt Thou set toward the mountain of Kenkeny.
Lift the mountain on the hands,
The hill on top of the palms,
And go down to the nether reaches of the earth
So that Thou mayest be counted amoung those who do down into the earth,
And all may know that Thou art dead!"

Aliyan Baal hearkens.
He loves a heifer in Deber,
A young cow in the fields of Shechelmemet.
He lies with Her seventy-seven times,
Yea, eighty-eight times,
So that She conceives
And bears Moshe.

Baal was found dead there in the fields of Shechelmemet, in the land of Deber. The news reaches the ears of El, Father of Shunem:

Thereupon the God of Mercy
Goes down from the throne,
Sits on the footstool,
And from the footstool sits on the earth.
He pours the ashes of grief on His head,
The dust of wallowing on His pate.
For clothing, He is covered with a doubled cloak.
He roams the mountain in mourning,
Yea through the forest in grief.
He cuts cheek and chin,
He lacerates His forearms.
He plows His chest like a garden;
Like a vale He lacerates His back.
He lifts His voice
And shouts:
"Baal is dead!
Woe to the people of Dagon's son!
Woe to the multitudes of Athar-Baal!
I shall go down into the earth."

Also Anath goes
And treads every mountain to the midst of the Earth.
Every hill to the midst of the fields.
She comes to the goodness of the land of Deber,
The beauty of the fields of Shechelmemet.
She comes upon Baal prostrate on the earth.

For clothing She is covered with a doubled cloak.
The mountain in mournig She roams.
In grief, through the forest.
She cuts cheek and chin.
She lacerates Her forearms.
She plows lake a garden Her chest,
Like a vale She lacerates the back.
"Baal is dead!
Woe to the people of Dagon's son!
Woe to the multitudes of Athar-Baal!
Let us go down into the earth."

With Her goes down the Torch of the Gods, Shapash.
Until She is sated with weeping,
She drinks tears like wine.
Aloud She cries to the Torch of the Gods, Shapash:
"Load Aliyan Baal on to Me!"

The Torch of the Gods, Shapash, hearkens.
She lifts Aliyan Baal,
On the shoulders of Anath She places Him,
She raises Him into the heights of Saphon.
She weeps for Him and buries Him.
She puts Him in the grave of the Gods of the earth.

She sacrifices seventy buffaloes
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.
She sacrifices seventy oxen
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.
She sacrifices seventy head of small cattle
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.
She sacrifices seventy deer
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.
She sacrifices seventy wild goats
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.
She sacrifices seventy asses
As an offering for Aliyan Baal.

Then She sets face toward El
At the sources of the Two Rivers,
In the midst of the streams of the Two Deeps.
She enters the abode of El,
Goes into the domicile of the King, Father Shunem.
At the feet of El