Why Did El Appoint Yam as His Viceroy?
El tells Kothar-wa-Khasis that the latter must build a palace for the god Yam and reminds him to hurry, or Yam will punish him because El had called for an end to violence between the gods and had decided to crown Yam, the god of the chaotic seas, as his viceroy.
Attar hears through Shapshu that El wants to appoint Yam as his deputy and protests, but Shapshu tells him that he was not chosen because he has no wife or children, and we will learn other reasons why he was not appointed.
It seems that all the gods were resentful of the choice of Yam, but they could not refuse or object to El's decision and were forced to submit to El's wishes and the power and tyranny of the god Yam. The struggle of Baal and Yam would soon emerge as a defining conflict, shaping the fate of the gods and the balance of power among them.
Yam began to rule the gods with an iron hand, and all the gods worked hard under his rule without any protest or rebellion, but eventually they complained to their mother Athirat and convinced her to confront Yam in their favor.
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| Baal and El |
How Did Athirat Try to Appease Yam?
Indeed, Athirat went to meet Yam and pleaded with him to loosen his iron grip on her children, but Yam refused her request despite all the temptations she offered him to ease his pressure on her children.
Finally, out of love for her children, she decided to offer her body to the god Yam, and Yam agreed. She returned to the source of the two rivers where El and the other gods resided and told her children what had happened between her and Yam.
Why Did Baal Start His Struggle Against Yam?
Baal was angered by her behavior and declared his rejection of Yam's kingship, not only that, but he promised that he would break Yam's head with the two magical weapons made for him by the god Kothar-wa-Khasis, who was charged with building Yam's palace by El, the chief god of the gods.
Yam sends messengers to El while El is presiding over a meeting of the gods and asks him to abandon Baal's protection and to surrender Baal and all those with him to Yam's authority. When Baal hears these words from the messengers, he decides to kill them, but he refrains from doing so due to the intervention of Anat and other gods who remind him that it is not permissible to kill messengers even if the message they carry offends Baal.
El appears weak in front of Yam's request, as he promises him that all the gods are under his authority and will fulfill his request, including Baal, Baal rejects El's weakness, as well as the weakness of Athirat and the other gods who could not even raise their heads in front of Yam's messengers. This led Baal to blame her for her weakness and declare that he had decided to struggle against Yam’s authority. As events unfold, we will discover more reasons behind this struggle between Baal and Yam.
How Did Baal Prepare for His Battle Against Yam?
Kothar-wa-Khasis, meanwhile, tells Baal that he is on his side. However, the reason why Kothar-wa-Khasis is on Baal's side is not revealed as he pledges to help him with the weapons he is going to make for him. The fight between Baal and Yam begins, but Baal is frustrated by Yam's strength and the support Yam has been receiving from sea creatures.
Baal announces the gods who will stand by his side in his fight with Yam and names several gods who have announced their support for him. But the biggest support Baal receives comes from Kutrokhasis, as we return to Kutrokhasis reassuring Baal that victory will be his and that Yam's defeat is certain thanks to the weapons he made for him, and indeed, after several rounds between Baal and Yam. Baal triumphs over Yam, but the legend doesn't tell us what happened to Yam.
Did Baal Truly Defeat Yam?
For we will find that Yam reappears during the course of this myth, despite Baal's statement here that he managed to kill Yam, as we find Baal shouting that Yam is dead and I have become king, and with Yam's death there is no longer any rival for Baal, as he became king after he eliminated Yam.
This legend, known as Baal's turn, consists of consists of about 1000 lines. Fifty percent of the legend is missing, and this has opened the door for interpretation among scholars. It is composed of three parts, each part written on two disks on both sides with six columns per side.
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| Unknown artist | 14th c. BCE | Clay tablet | Baal Cycle | Ugaritic script | Louvre (AO16641 & AO16642) | Found in Schaeffer excavations (1930-1931) | Sully Wing, Room B | Photo: Mbzt, 2013 | CeCILL & GNU FDL |
This Part of the Myth Explores the Struggle Between Baal and Yam
(Legend text)
About 60 fonts are completely missing
About 60 lines are broken.
With your spear and scepter
Let your feet hurry to me
Your message .....
And a place .....
On the top of
Glories
High above the center
He will surely die
His breath will come out like the wind
Like spit his vitality
Prepare to fall to the ground
For the end of the world will fall
(.............) Then
They put their faces toward the end of the world?
Across a thousand courts
At the feet of Anat.
They bowed and descended.
They pledged allegiance, wept and raised their voices.
Baal's message, the word of the wise.
A war in the land
A collection in the dust
To the center of the earth
Honey from the jar
To the center of the earth
Bring your spear and scepter
Let your feet hurry to me
Let your legs hurry to me
In the center of the sacred mountain
Mount Siphon
(some lines are missing)
They set their faces
Towards Kothar-wa-Khasis
towards God
where his throne and dwelling place is.
Memphis, the land of his inheritance
over a thousand hectares.
Ten thousand miles
At the feet of Kother
He bowed and descended
And declared allegiance
He said to Kothar-wa-Khasis
Skilled craftsman
The message of the bull El your father
The Word of the Wise Father
Kothar the builder of the houses of the gods
You are the one who lays the high stones
when building dwellings.
You are the one who establishes dwellings
on the mountains
With your spear and scepter
Let your feet run to me
Let your legs run to me
In the center of the grail mountain
Toward the throne of the mountain
I want to talk to you
I will repeat my message to you.
Words of trees and whispers of stones
The whispering of the sky to the earth.
The flood to the stars
The words that humans don't know
Come and I will reveal it.
In the center of the holy mountain Zephon
Kothar-wa-Khasis answered
The attendants of the gods go
You don't delay and I'll hurry.
From the farthest gods
Two layers, two beneath the cracks of the earth.
three layers of the lower realms.
Immediately afterward, he presided.
He put his face toward the sage, toward the mountain.
and appeared in the tent of El, the father king, the father of years.
within his one shining interior.
At El's feet he came down and bowed
And declared allegiance
And his father, the bull El, said
You are the building blocks
From the heights of Zephon
They wept so hard that they cried to the near one
to the one who is far away.
The weeping was loud
And El is sitting in his council.
A grieving El does not notice
the shameful behavior of the usurper, the goddess of your master's house.
He can't get around the earth fast enough.
On the ground is a mess of mud.
is given fertile soil to eat.
Mud is given to drink.
He took a cup in his hand.
A goblet in both hands
Like grains of wheat
Gathered like a grave.
El must appoint a deputy.
Bull El must appoint
Yam as his deputy.
The one wise God has spoken.
My son Yam is called a god.
a prince of the gods.
Because you have despised us.
I drive him away
from the seat of his kingship.
He has proclaimed the name Yam.
Mrs. Athert replied.
In fact, you announced
You will put him in charge.
El answered
I, the one God
I declare the name Yam
the name of El's beloved.
I will give you my house of silver
A palace of gold
You may take it from the hand of Baal.
from the hand of Dagan's son
From the throne of his lordship
as a bird flies from its nest.
But if you don't chase him away.
He will hit you
El sacrificed in his house and at the banquet his son announced
Slaughtering bulls and sheep
fat rams and calves
Young sheep
(Some lines are missing)
He put his face
toward El at the source of the rivers
In the middle of springtime
El's tent
And the king, the father of years (El) within it
The shining one
At El's feet he descended, bowed, declared allegiance.
The bull Eel the father said
Listen, Kothar-wa-Khasis.
My son left a house for Prince Yam
A palace for the ruler
Kothar-wa-Khasis left to build a house for Prince Yam.
A palace for the magistrate
On Mount Zephon.
He quickly built the palace.
A thousand yards left for the palace
Ten thousand hectares for the palace.
At that
Royal Attar
Raised his voice and cried
Lamb
landed
.....
Then Shapshu spoke to him
She raised her voice and said
Listen to me, Attar.
Your father, the bull El, is good to Yam.
To the ruler
bull-El will not listen to you.
He will not give you the throne.
He will not give you kingship.
He will break your scepter.
Attar answered
My father, bull-El, has taken my king.
And I have no house like the other gods.
and I have no dwelling place like the holy fathers.
I will go down to the bottom of the earth.
To be washed by the righteous
The ruler of the river in his palace.
Bull El, do me a favor, Yam.
To the ruler of the river, he will rule and I will not.
You don't have a wife like the gods.
Nor do you have a holy wife.
Prince Yam of the River Ruler will be crowned.
Answered royal
..... Parts of the text are missing
I have revolted against him, bold Baal answered
I will deprive you of your
the throne of the king from your palace
.......... Part of the text is missing
I will besiege your lordship
The pursuer will strike you on the shoulder.
He will strike you on the skull, River Ruler.
Horon will smash
Huron will smash your head.
Athirat, will strike your skull.
You will descend to the place of death.
You will fall at the height of your years.
Humiliated and empty-handed.
He loves the father of years (El), take two wives.
Send messengers.
An embassy sent by the ruler of the river
With great rejoicing
Chased by the beard of the sky
............. Part of the text is missing
Their nostrils flare up
The boys left
Then you will preside over the council
On the mountain of the night
Do not fall
At the feet of Elle
You will attend the council meeting.
You will speak and proclaim your message
You will say
to Elle
I declare in unanimous
Council
The message of your master's yam
The River Ruler tells you
Abandon the god of the storm.
Abandon Baal and his entourage.
Son of Dagan, I will seize him.
The messengers are leaving. They are not delayed then.
they set their faces toward the sacred mountain.
The gods were sitting down to eat.
Sitting down to dinner.
Baal next to El.
The gods saw them. They saw the messengers of Yam.
The embassy of the ruler of the river
The gods lowered their heads to their knees.
Baal scolded them
The gods lowered their heads to their knees.
I see the gods did it.
from the messengers of Yam
Embassy of the ruler of the river
Raise your heads, gods, from your knees
from beneath your prince's throne.
and I will answer the messengers of Yam.
Embassy of the River Ruler
The gods raise their heads from their knees
from beneath her prince's throne.
The messengers of Yam have arrived.
Embassy of the River Ruler
On the Council of El, they came.
They did not fall
at the feet of Elle.
Then they spoke, they proclaimed their message.
Their backs were like fire in a furnace.
Their tongue was like a sharp sword.
They spoke to the bull El.
and conveyed to him the message of Yam, the ruler of the river.
Abandon the god
whom you protect
from the god of the storm.
Abandon Baal and his entourage.
Son of Dagan, I will inherit him.
The bull El answered.
Baal is your slave. Dagan's son is your prisoner.
He worships you like all the gods.
He will give you a tax of purple.
like all the other gods.
His Highness listened angrily.
He held an axe in his hand.
In his right hand he placed the axe.
He decided to attack the messengers.
He took Anat in his right hand
and she took his left hand.
How do you kill Prince Yam's messengers?
Embassy of the River Ruler, the messengers are not to be slaughtered.
On the shoulder bones is the word of their prince.
His Highness Baal became angry.
The vine will wither and so will the fields.
Messengers of the Embassy of the River Ruler.
Baal spoke, raised his voice and cried
Turn from your lord to the ruler of the river.
Hear the word of Baal the Avenger. He threatened.
Yam's messengers did not submit.
Several lines are missing.....
I can't be expelled if I see
Scythe of destruction
Yam will be eaten by worms.
To the worm-eaten river
There with the sword I'll smash him
I will drop him
To the underworld
To my power
From his mouth his speech barely rises
From his lips his words
His voice ascends with a groan.
Under the throne of Prince Yam
Kothar-wa-Khasis
Speak
I say to you, Baal.
I say to you, charioteer.
Now your opponent
Now your foe must strike.
You must smash your opponent.
He will take your eternal kingdom.
Your eternal sovereignty
Kother designed an axe.
And he named names for her.
Your name is Jersh.
Jersh will drive out Yam.
Drive Yam from his throne
Besiege the Lordship of the Sea Ruler
You must leap from Baal's hand
Like a hawk from between his fingers
He struck Prince Yam's shoulder
The river lord's chest
The axe leaped from Baal's hand
Like a hawk from between his fingers
Hit Prince Yam's shoulder
The River Ruler's chest.
But Yam was strong. He didn't fall.
His joints did not tremble, his face did not falter.
Kothar-wa-Khasis designed another axe.
And he announced his name.
“Your name is Aimer.
Aimer chases Yam away
From his throne
the ruler of the river from his sovereignty.
You must leap from Baal's hand
like a hawk from his fingers.
Strike the skull of Prince Yam, ruler of the river.
Let Yam collapse. Let him fall to the ground.
The axe leaped from Baal's hand like a hawk from his fingers
Striking the skull of His Highness Prince Yam
River Ruler Yam collapsed and fell to the ground.
His joints trembled and his face was disturbed.
Baal gathered and drank to his heart's content
He annihilated the ruler of the river
And Ashtara scolded the bold Baal.
Leader of the Wheel of Clouds captured Prince Yam.
The ruler of the river is our prisoner.
Then Baal the Most High went out and tore Yam
Kothar-wa-Khasis said
In fact, Yam is dead.
Baal will rule
Blurred lines and then a gap
Study and analysis of the first section of the Baal myth
Charles Virolleaud offers three explanations for the existence of this myth, which we will try to summarize briefly
The first explanation (the cosmological theory) is based on showing the similarity between the battle that talks about the Struggle between Baal and Yam and the Babylonian myth that talks about the conflict between Marduk and Tiamat, as Tiamat represented the ocean and Marduk was able to triumph over Tiamat and then Marduk began to organize the universe. Those who subscribe to this theory consider the conflict between Baal and Yam.
is part of the Ugaritic creation myth, but this claim is not supported by the factors that confirm it, as in the Babylonian myth, which talked about the issue of the universe in detail, and the drawbacks to the view that the myth of Baal is the Ugaritic creation myth lie in the following: In Ugarit Baal did not create anything and the one who did this work and deserved this title is El.
As for the second theory (the geographical theory), the sea launches a daily attack on the land, and the sea sometimes wins, which are the periods when the sea can destroy the rocks, but soon the storm calms down and the sea water returns to its normal limits.
As for the third theory (the historical theory), it says that the inhabitants of Ugarit were invaded by the surrounding peoples, and these peoples impose themselves for a while, but they soon dissolve within the social milieu, as Baal embodied the local community that won in the end, and the demands of the invaders were always the wealth represented by gold, and in return Baal held on to this gold.
Analysis and Reflections on the Struggle of Baal and Yam
- Ugaritic society's knowledge of multiple types of weapons such as the spear, mace, bow and many others.
- The Ugaritic gods do not reside in one place, but rather areas far from each other, as evidenced by the fact that messengers traveled vast distances while transporting messages, which is evidence of the vast geographical area that the Ugaritic Kingdom controlled.
- The goddess Anat had a house before Baal, which is evidence of the important and early position this goddess occupied in the Ugaritic pantheon. Anat's house was far away from the Ugaritic kingdom.
- The inhabitants of the Ugaritic kingdom worshipped multiple gods, some local and some of distant origin, and they showed respect and appreciation for them. Kothar-wa-Khasis, a god from outside Ugarit, was highly respected in Ugaritic society.
- El is the father of all the gods and the just ruler whose main task appears throughout this myth as he divides the work among his children due to his old age and takes on the task of monitoring the conflict between them and intervening when needed. He lived in a place known to all the gods, and anyone who had a complaint or request went to him, despite his old age, as Ugaritic mythology shows us, this did not cancel his role and importance.
- The period in which this legend was recorded witnessed the first attempts to organize the Ugaritic pantheon, as the conflicts between the Ugaritic gods are an inevitable stage until each god gets the status he deserves. The bull is considered a symbol of power by the ancients”, which is the title by which the god El was known.
- The myth shows that Baal was not the favored son of El, at least in this period, and was described as a usurper, but this situation did not last until the end, and we will see a change in El's attitude.
- In this period, the gods described Baal as the son of Dagan, which indicates that Baal was not a member of the Ugaritic family of gods, and this has encouraged some to say that Baal entered the Ugaritic pantheon late.
- This myth and other myths describe Yam as the beloved of his father El, the master and the prince, which is evidence of the important position that Yam reached before the arrival of Baal.
- This myth does not show many of Baal's attributes other than his status as the rider of the clouds; however, as the myth unfolds, we find Baal possessing many attributes that show his characteristics.
- El's disapproval of the appointment of Attar as El's deputy is because he does not have a wife like the rest of El's sons, which means that the lack of a wife makes him a minor god, as the god of irrigation is unable to provide the water needed for agriculture in Ugarit's agricultural society, which depends on rainwater for agriculture.
- The Struggle between Baal, Yam and Attar is a conflict between the god of rain (Baal), the god of seas and rivers (Yam) and the god of springs and wells (Attar) with the aim of obtaining the position of vice-god El, although Attar did not participate in the conflict but only objected to El's decision, and Baal's victory at the end of this conflict represented the fact that rain is the source of water. All the gods in charge of the different regions and various tasks meet on the top of Mount Zephon. The purpose of this meeting is to resolve conflicts that arise between them.
- El agreed to hand Baal over to Yam, not because of El's weakness in front of Yam, but because he seriously wanted to get rid of Baal and found someone to fulfill this goal.