Myths of Canaan: The Gods of Canaan

El, king of the gods (El means "God" - the plural is Elohim), a fertility god, represented by a bull or by a man wearing a helmet with bull horns. An elderly man with a mustache and goatee. He lives on a place called Har Mo'ed (the apostrophe represents a glottal stop, it used to be represented by "h" in English), "the mount of assembly", or "the mount of the North." The Hebrews called this "the place of the last battle" or Armageddon.

Dagon, fertility god, rain/water god, grain god. He is portayed with a sheaf of grain for hair and the body of a fish from the waist down (a merman). He doesn't appear in Canaanite mythology because he was adopted by the Philistines (in Biblical history, Samson destroyed the Temple of Dagon). Dagon is probably El's brother. His son holds a position which is traditionally that of the king's nephew.

Baal (son of Dagon) is a young, impetuous fertility god. He is portrayed as a man with bull horns on his helmet or as a calf -- sometimes a golden calf. He is also a storm god. His major epithet is "He Who Mounts the Clouds." The clouds are called "the heavenly herd of cows." He is often the butt of jokes. "Baal" = "lord." He is called "Lord Prince" or "Baal Zebul" (-> Beelzebub, Hebrew for "Lord of the Insects" -> "Lord of the Flies").

Kothar, artisan of the gods, smith of the gods (a widespread archetype). He can make anything.

Yamm (also Lotan), the great primeval chaotic ocean. He is male, a very old dragon with seven heads (like the Greeks' Hydra). A dragon with many heads as god of the ocean, with seven heads especially -- this image is perhaps inspired by the giant octopus.

Mot moves freely from the upper world to the Underworld. When in the upper world, he is sterility and usually lives in the desert. In the Underworld he is death. He is not a very popular god, but he is not evil.

Shapash (from Shamash), goddess of the sun. Epithet: "the Torch of the Gods."

Asherah, Anat, Ashtoreth (Archetype: The Triple Goddess):

Asherah is the consort of El and is called "Mother of the 70 Gods" (i.e., all of them). She is El's best friend and loving consort AND his bitterest enemy. She is the goddess of love and hate, the mother goddess. She is shown as standing between two goats up on their hind legs. She holds a sheaf of grain in each hand, feeding them (they are sometimes gazelles). She is eventually shown as the Tree of Life, with goats eating of her fruit.

Anat is Baal's consort and sister. Her real interest is destroying things. She is the goddess of war and slaughter. She is depicted with a sword in each hand with a big smile on her face. Human arms, heads, and legs are flying through the air all around her.

Ashtoreth is unbelievably beautiful (like Inanna). She is not anyone's consort. She is the goddess of love. She likes being single. She is associated with the moon and with the oceans. The crescent moon is her symbol -- she wears it in her hair. The Greeks referred to her as Astarte, a moon goddess. All three are inspired by Inanna/Ishtar. The Greeks had Hera (As[hera]h), Athena (from Anat), Aphrodite (from Ashtoreth). The Egyptians made Isis from Asherah and Hathor from Anat/Ashtoreth.