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El depicted with two lions representing the planet Venus on the back of the handle of the Gebel el-Arak Knife
El depicted with two lions representing the planet Venus on the back of the handle of the Gebel el-Arak Knife

Ēli (Hebrew: אל) is the Northwest Semitic word and name either translated into English as 'god' or 'God' or left untranslated as El, depending on the context. The Gebel el-Arak Knife is a 2550 cm long knife dating from circa 3300 - 3200 BC the late pre-dynastic period in Egypt, which when it was purchased in Cairo was The Northwest Semitic languages form a medium-level division of the Semitic language family.

In the Levant as a whole, Eli or Izer was the supreme god, the father of humankind and all creatures and the husband of the Goddess Asherah as attested in the tablets of Ugarit. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel

The word Eli was found at the top of a list of gods as the Ancient of Gods or the Father of all Gods, in the ruins of the Royal Library of the Ebla civilization, in the archaeological site of Tell Mardikh in Syria dated to 2300 BC. Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. He may have been a desert god at some point, as the myths say that he had two wives and built a sanctuary with them and his new children in the desert. El had fathered many gods, but most important were Hadad, Yam and Mot, each of whom has similar attributes to the Greek gods Zeus, Poseidon or Ophion, and Hades or Thanatos respectively. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Yamm, from the Canaanite word Yam, meaning "Sea" is one name of the Ugaritic god of Rivers and Sea In Ugaritic Mot 'Death' (spelled mt) is personified as a god of death Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion (Ὀφίων "serpent" also called Ophioneus (Ὀφιονεύς ruled the world with Eurynome Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient In Greek mythology, Thanatos (in Ancient Greek, θάνατος &ndash " Death " was the Daemon personification Ancient Greek mythographers identified Eli with Cronus (not Chronos). Cronus or Kronos, ( Ancient Greek Κρόνος Krónos) was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants In Greek mythology, Chronos ( Ancient Greek:) in pre-Socratic philosophical works is said to be the personification of Time.

Contents

Linguistic forms and meanings

Cognate forms are found throughout the Semitic languages with the exception of the ancient Ge'ez language of Ethiopia. Cognates in Linguistics are words that have a common origin They may occur within a language such as shirt and skirt as two English words descended from Ge'ez (ግዕዝ, ɡɨʕɨz also transliterated Gi'iz, and referred to as Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic Language NOTE This intro is the result of careful NPOV work Please do not make potentially controversial edits to it without first discussing on the talk page Forms include Ugaritic ’il, pl. The Ugaritic language, discovered by French archaeologists in 1928 is known only in the form of writings found in the lost city of Ugarit, near the modern ’lm; Phoenician ’l pl. Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew, and ’lm, Hebrew ’ēl, pl. ’⁏lîm; Aramaic ’l, Arabic ʾilāh; Akkadian ilu, pl. Aramaic is a Semitic language with Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language (plural ‎ or) is the Arabic for " Deity " or "god" ilāti. The original meaning may have been 'strength, power'. In northwest Semitic usage ’l was both a generic word for any 'god' and the special name or title of a particular god who was distinguished from other gods as being the god, or in the monotheistic sense, God. Ēl is listed at the head of many pantheons. El was the father god among the Canaanites. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. However, because the word sometimes refers to a god other than the great god Ēl, it is frequently ambiguous as to whether Ēl followed by another name means the great god Ēl with a particular epithet applied or refers to another god entirely. For example, in the Ugaritic texts ’il mlk is understood to mean 'Ēl the King' but ’il hd as 'the god Hadad'. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the

In Ugaritic an alternate plural form meaning 'gods' is ’ilhm, equivalent to Hebrew ’elōhîm 'gods'. Elohim ( אֱלוֹהִים, אלהים) is a Hebrew word which expresses concepts of Divinity. But in Hebrew this word is also regularly used for semantically-singular 'God' or 'god' (literally godder).

The stem ’l is found prominently in the earliest strata of east Semitic, northwest Semitic and south Semitic groups. Personal names including the stem ’l are found with similar patterns both in Amorite and South Arabic which indicates that probably already in Proto-Semitic ’l was both a generic term for 'god' and the common name or title of a single particular 'god' or 'God'. Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî Proto-Semitic is the hypothetical Proto-language of the Semitic languages.

Ēl in Proto-Sinaitic, Phoenician, Aramaic, and Hittite texts

Ancient Near Eastern deities
Levantine deities

Adonis | Anat | Asherah | Ashima | Astarte | Atargatis | Ba'al | Berith | Chemosh | Dagon | Derceto | El | Elyon | Eshmun | Hadad | Kothar | Melqart | Mot | Moloch | Qetesh | Resheph | Shalim | Yarikh | Yam | YHWH
Mesopotamian deities

Adad | Amurru | An/Anu | Anshar | Ashur | Abzu/Apsu | Enki/Ea | Enlil | Ereshkigal | Inanna/Ishtar | Kingu | Kishar | Lahmu & Lahamu | Marduk | Mummu | Nabu | Nammu | Nanna/Sin | Nergal | Ningizzida | Ninhursag | Ninlil | Tiamat | Utu/Shamash
Egyptian deities
Amun | Ra | Apis | Bakha | Osiris | Ptah
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Myths of the Fertile Crescent
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Mesopotamian mythology
Ancient Arabian mythology
Ancient Levantine mythology
Pre-Islamic Arabian gods
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A proto-Sinaitic mine inscription from Mount Sinai reads ’ld‘lm understood to be vocalized as ’il dū ‘ôlmi, 'Ēl Eternal' or 'God Eternal'. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the Ancient Semitic religion spans the Polytheistic religions of the Semitic speaking peoples of the Ancient Near East. Adonis (Άδωνης also Άδωνις is a figure of West Semitic origin where he is a central cult figure in various Mystery religions, who enters Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess ‘Anat in Ugarit In the Ugaritic Ba‘al / Hadad cycle ‘Anat Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was In the Hebrew Bible, Ashima is one of several deities protecting the individual cities of Samaria who are mentioned specifically by name in 2 Kings 1730 Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin For the metal band see Atargatis (band. Atargatis, in Aramaic ‘Atar‘atah, was a Syrian deity "the great Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" In his euphemistic account of the Phoenician deities Sanchuniathon says In their time is born a certain Elioun called "the Most High" and a female Chemosh (ˈkimɑʃ (from Hebrew כמש, pronounced /χeˈmoʃ/ was the God of the Moabites (Num Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture For the metal band see Atargatis (band. Atargatis, in Aramaic ‘Atar‘atah, was a Syrian deity "the great The name or epithet or word ‘Elyōn ( Masoretic pronunciation of Hebrew עליון) is traditionally rendered in Samaritan Hebrew as illiyyon Eshmun (or Eshmoun, less accurately Esmun or Esmoun) was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Kothar-wa-Khasis (כושר וחסיס is a Canaanite god whose name means "Skillful-and-Wise" or "Adroit-and-Perceptive" or "Deft-and-Clever" Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth In Ugaritic Mot 'Death' (spelled mt) is personified as a god of death Moloch, Molech, Molekh, or Molek, representing Hebrew מלך mlk, (translated directly into king is either the name of a In Egyptian mythology and Canaanite religion, Qetesh (also Qadesh Quetesh Kadesh Qatesh Qadeshet Qudshu Qodesh) referred to a Goddess or Goddesses Resheph or Reshef (Canaanite/Hebrew sem-Latn ršp he רשף was a Canaanite deity of plague and war. Shalim is the king of dusk in the pantheon of Ugarit. He is the twin brother and counterpart of Shahar the king of dawn Yarikh, in Canaanite mythology Yarkhibol in Phoenician, also written as Jerah, Jarah, or Jorah (Hebrew spelling ירח Yamm, from the Canaanite word Yam, meaning "Sea" is one name of the Ugaritic god of Rivers and Sea See also Yahweh Tetragrammaton (from the Greek, meaning ' of four letters' (tetra "four" + gramma (gen Dingir is the Sumerian for " Deity " It is written as an Ideogram in the Cuneiform script (Borger 2003 nr This article is about the Sumerian god Adad also known as Ishkur. Amurru (or Martu) are names given in Akkadian and Sumerian texts to the god of the Amorite /Amurru people often forming part of personal In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god In Sumerian mythology and later for Assyrians and Babylonians Anu (also An; (from Sumerian *An = sky heaven was a sky-god In Akkadian mythology, Anshar (also spelled Anshur) which means "sky pivot" or "sky axle" is a Sky God. Aššur (also Ashur, Assur; written A-šur, also Aš-šùr, in Neo-Assyrian often shortened to Aš) was the head of the Assyrian Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian In Mesopotamian mythology, Ereshkigal ( D EREŠ. KI. GAL, lit Inanna ( D INANNA B153ellstpng|100x20px|INANNA]]) is the Sumerian goddess of sexual love fertility and warfare Ishtar ( D IŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯 is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to Kingu, also spelled Qingu meaning unskilled laborer was a god in Babylonian mythology and — after the murder of his father — the consort of the goddess Tiamat In the Akkadian epic Enuma Elish, Kishar is the daughter of Lahmu and Lahamu, the first children of Tiamat and Apsu Laḫmu (also romanized Lakhmu) is a deity from Akkadian mythology, first-born son of Apsu and Tiamat. Lahamu was the first-born daughter of Tiamat and Apsu in Akkadian mythology. Marduk ( Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMARUTU 𒀫 𒌓 "solar calf" perhaps from MERI Mummu Vizier of primeval gods Apsu, the fresh water and Tiamat, the salt water Nabu is the Babylonian god of Wisdom and Writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum, In Sumerian mythology, Nammu (more properly Namma) is the Sumerian creation goddess Sin (Akkadian Sîn, Suen; Sumerian Nanna) is a Sumerian God in Mesopotamian mythology. Sin (Akkadian Sîn, Suen; Sumerian Nanna) is a Sumerian God in Mesopotamian mythology. The name Nergal (or Nirgal, Nirgali) refers to a Deity in Babylonia with the main seat Ningishzida ( sum dnin-ǧiš-zi-da) is a Mesopotamian deity of the Underworld. In Sumerian mythology, Ninhursag (NINURSAG was the earth and mother- Goddess, one of the seven great deities of Sumer. In Sumerian mythology, Ninlil (𒀭𒊩𒌆𒆤 D NIN.LÍL"lady of the open field" or "Lady of the Air" first called In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is the sea personified as a Goddess, and a monstrous embodiment of Primordial chaos. This article refers to the Sumerian Deity. For other uses see Utu (disambiguation. For the Canaanite sun godess see Shemesh Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the Sun-god and god of justice in Babylonia Ancient Egyptian religion was Polytheistic and often Zoomorphic. Amun, reconstructed Egyptian Yamānu (also spelled Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imen, Greek Ἄμμων Ra (pronounced Rah and sometimes as Rê, is an Ancient Egyptian sun god. In Egyptian mythology, Bakha (also spelt Bakh, Buchis, and Bukhis) was the Manifestation of the a deification of Ka (power/life-force Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (also spelt Peteh) was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead Cosmogony, which was more literally The Religions of the Ancient Near East were mostly Polytheistic, with some early examples of emerging Henotheism ( Atenism, early Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian Akkadian Assyrian and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris This is a sub-article to Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabian mythology comprises the ancient Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs Prior to the In the Levantine pantheon the Elohim are the sons of El the ancient of days (olam assembled on the divine holy place Mount Zephon ( Jebel This is a sub-article to Pre-Islamic Arabia Arabian mythology comprises the ancient Pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs Prior to the Bel (beɪl from Akkadian bēlu) signifying "lord" or "master" is a Title rather than a genuine name applied to various gods Abgal is a pre-Islamic north Arabian god known from the Palmyrian desert regions as a Tutelary god of Bedouins and camel drivers Aglibôl was a Lunar deity in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Mentioned in the Qur'an ( Sura 53:20 al-Lāt (Arabic اللَّات was a pre- Islamic Arabian Goddess who was one of the three Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin For the metal band see Atargatis (band. Atargatis, in Aramaic ‘Atar‘atah, was a Syrian deity "the great Ishtar ( D IŠTAR 𒀭𒌋𒁯 is the Assyrian and Babylonian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to Bes (also spelt as Bisu) was an Egyptian deity worshipped in the later periods of dynastic history as a protector of households and in particular mothers and children This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Munaf (مناف was a Pre-Islamic deity in Mecca when the residents were still polytheists The name Nergal (or Nirgal, Nirgali) refers to a Deity in Babylonia with the main seat Nabu is the Babylonian god of Wisdom and Writing, worshipped by Babylonians as the son of Marduk and his consort Sarpanitum, Al-Qaum (القوم was the Nabataean god of War and the night and guardian of caravans Large numbers of inscriptions bearing his name have been found Sin (Akkadian Sîn, Suen; Sumerian Nanna) is a Sumerian God in Mesopotamian mythology. For the Canaanite sun godess see Shemesh Shamash was the common Akkadian name of the Sun-god and god of justice in Babylonia Mentioned in the Qur'an ( Sura 53:19 al-‘Uzzá "the Mightiest One" or "the strong" (derived from the root ʕzz) was a pre- Wadd "Love Friendship" known variously as Ilumquh, ʕAmm and Sīn, was the Minaean Moon god. Yaghūth (Arabic "He Helps" يَغُوثَ is an idol referred to in the Qur'an (7123 as a god of the era of the Prophet Noah According to the Qur'an, Ya'uq was a deity worshipped in the days of Noah. Malakbêl was a Sun deity of the city of Palmyra in pre-Islamic Syria.

The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title dū gitti 'Lord of Gath' in a prism from Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (also spelt Peteh) was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead Cosmogony, which was more literally Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions Lachish (לכיש was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia ( Joshua 103 5 1211 Amenhotep II (sometimes read as Amenophis II and meaning Amun is Satisfied) was the seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of 1435–1420 BCE) The title dū gitti is also found in Serābitṭ text 353. Cross (1973, p. 19) points out that Ptah is often called the lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identification of Ēl with Ptah that lead to the epithet ’olam 'eternal' being applied to Ēl so early and so consistently. (However in the Ugaritic texts Ptah is seemingly identified instead with the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis. )

A Phoenician inscribed amulet of the 7th century BCE from Arslan Tash may refer to Ēl. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. Rosenthal (1969, p. 658) translated the text:

An eternal bond has been established for us. Ashshur has established (it) for us, and all the divine beings and the majority of the group of all the holy ones, through the bond of heaven and earth for ever, . . .

However the text is translated by Cross (1973, p. 17):

The Eternal One (‘Olam) has made a covenant oath with us,
Asherah has made (a pact) with us.
And all the sons of El,
And the great council of all the Holy Ones.
With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth.

In some inscriptions the name ’Ēl qōne ’arṣ meaning "'Ēl creator of Earth" appears, even including a late inscription at Leptis Magna in Tripolitania dating to 2nd century (KAI. Tripolitaniajpg|thumb|250px|Tripolitania]] Tripolitania or Tripolitana ( Arabic: طرابلس, Transliterated: Tarābulus) is a historic The 2nd century is the period from 101 to 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. 129). In Hittite texts the expression becomes the single name Ilkunirsa, this Ilkunirsa appearing as the husband of Asherdu (Asherah) and father of 77 or 88 sons.

In an Hurrian hymn to Ēl (published in Ugaritica V, text RS 24. 278) he is called ’il brt and ’il dn which Cross (p. 39) takes as 'Ēl of the covenant' and 'Ēl the judge' respectively.

See Ba‘al Hammon for the possibility that Ēl was identical with Ba‘al Hammon who was worshipped as the supreme god in Carthage. Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers

Ēl among the Amorites

Amorite inscriptions from Zinčirli refer to numerous gods, sometimes by name, sometimes by title, especially by such titles as ilabrat 'god of the people'(?), il abīka 'god of your father', il abīni 'god of our father' and so forth. Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî Various family gods are recorded, divine names listed as belong to a particular family or clan, sometimes by title and sometimes by name, including the name Il 'god'. In Amorite personal names the most common divine elements are Il ('God'), Hadad/Adad, and Dagan. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the This article is about the Sumerian god Adad also known as Ishkur. Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture It is likely that Il is also very often the god called in Akkadian texts Amurru or Il Amurru.

Ēl in Ugarit

For the Canaanites, El or Il was the supreme god, the father of mankind and all creatures. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. He may have been a desert god at some point, as the myths say that he had two wives and built a sanctuary with them and his new children in the desert. El had fathered many gods, but most important were Hadad, Yam and Mot, each share similar attributes to the Roman-Greco gods: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades respectively. Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Yamm, from the Canaanite word Yam, meaning "Sea" is one name of the Ugaritic god of Rivers and Sea Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient

Three pantheon lists found at Ugarit begin with the four gods ’il-’ib (which according to Cross [1973; p. Ugarit ( Ugaritic: ʼugrt; Hebrew:; Arabic:) (modern Ras Shamra رأس شمرة ("top/head/cape of the wild Fennel  14] is the name of a generic kind of deity, perhaps the divine ancestor of the people), Ēl, Dagnu (that is Dagon), and Ba’l Ṣapān (that is the god Haddu or Hadad). Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" Haddad בעל הדד (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Though Ugarit had a large temple dedicated to Dagon and another to Hadad, there was no temple dedicated to Ēl.

Ēl is called again and again Tôru ‘Ēl ("Bull Ēl" or "the bull god"). He is bātnyu binwāti ("Creator of creatures"), ’abū banī ’ili ("father of the gods"), and ‘abū ‘adami ("father of man"). He is qāniyunu ‘ôlam ("creator eternal"), the epithet ‘ôlam appearing in Hebrew form in the Hebrew name of God ’ēl ‘ôlam "God Eternal" in Genesis 21. 23. He is ḥātikuka ("your patriarch"). Ēl is the grey-bearded ancient one, full of wisdom, malku ("king"), ’abū šamīma ("father of years"), ’ēl gibbōr ("Ēl the warrior"). He is also named lṭpn of unknown meaning, variously rendered as Latpan, Latipan, or Lutpani ("shroud-face" by Strong's Hebrew Concordance).

The mysterious Ugaritic text Shachar and Shalim tells how (perhaps near the beginning of all things) Ēl came to shores of the sea and saw two women who bobbed up and down. Ēl was sexually aroused and took the two with him, killed a bird by throwing a staff at it, and roasted it over a fire. He asked the women to tell him when the bird was fully cooked, and to then address him either as husband or as father, for he would thenceforward behave to them as they call him. They saluted him as husband. He then lies with them, and they gave birth to Shachar ("Dawn") and Shalim ("Dusk"). Again Ēl lies with his wives and the wives give birth to "the gracious gods", "cleavers of the sea", "children of the sea". The names of these wives are not explicitly provided, but some confusing rubrics at the beginning of the account mention the goddess Athirat who is otherwise Ēl's chief wife and the goddess Rahmay ("Merciful"), otherwise unknown. Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was

In the Ugaritic Ba‘al cycle Ēl is introduced dwelling on (or in) Mount Lel (Lel possibly meaning 'Night') at the fountains of the two rivers at the spring of the two deeps. He dwells in a tent according to some interpretations of the text which may explain why he had no temple in Ugarit. As to the rivers and the spring of the two deeps, these might refer real streams, or to the mythological sources of the salt water ocean and the fresh water sources under the earth, or to the waters above the heavens and the waters beneath the earth.

In the episode of the "Palace of Ba‘al", the god Ba‘al/Hadad invites the "70 sons of Athirat" to a feast in his new palace. Presumably these sons have been fathered on Athirat by Ēl in following passages they seem be the gods (’ilm) in general or at least a large portion of them. The only sons of Ēl named individually in the Ugaritic texts are Yamm ("Sea"), Mot ("Death"), and Ashtar, who may be the chief and leader of most of the sons of Ēl. Ashtar may refer to People Ashtar-Chemosh, a Moab goddess in Middle East mythology another spelling of Astar, an Ethiopian Ba‘al/Hadad is a few times called Ēl's son rather than the son of Dagan as he is normally called, probably because Ēl is in the position of a clan-father to all the gods.

The fragmentary text RS 24. 258 describes a banquet to which Ēl invites the other gods and then disgraces himself by becoming outrageously drunk and passing out after confronting an otherwise unknown Hubbay, "he with the horns and tail". The text ends with an incantation for the cure of some disease, possibly hangover.

Ēl in the greater Levant

A proto-Sinaitic mine inscription from Mount Sinai reads ’ld‘lm understood to be vocalized as ’il dū ‘ôlmi, 'Ēl Eternal' or 'God Eternal'. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the

The Egyptian god Ptah is given the title dū gitti ("Lord of Gath") in a prism from Lachish which has on its opposite face the name of Amenhotep II (c. In Egyptian mythology, Ptah (also spelt Peteh) was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead Cosmogony, which was more literally Gat or Gath (גת Winepress) was a common place name in ancient Israel and the surrounding regions Lachish (לכיש was a town located in the Shephelah, or maritime plain of Philistia ( Joshua 103 5 1211 Amenhotep II (sometimes read as Amenophis II and meaning Amun is Satisfied) was the seventh Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of 1435–1420 BCE) The title dū gitti is also found in Serābitṭ text 353. Cross (1973, p.  19) points out that Ptah is often called the lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identification of Ēl with Ptah that lead to the epithet ’olam ("eternal") being applied to Ēl so early and so consistently. (However in the Ugaritic texts Ptah is seemingly identified instead with the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis. )

A Phoenician inscribed amulet of the 7th century BCE from Arslan Tash may refer to Ēl. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC. Rosenthal (1969, p.  658) translated the text:

An eternal bond has been established for us. Ashshur has established (it) for us, and all the divine beings and the majority of the group of all the holy ones, through the bond of heaven and earth for ever, . . .

However the text is translated by Cross (1973, p.  17):

The Eternal One (‘Olam) has made a covenant oath with us,
Asherah has made (a pact) with us.
And all the sons of El,
And the great council of all the Holy Ones.
With oaths of Heaven and Ancient Earth.

In some inscriptions the name ’Ēl qōne ’arṣ ("Ēl creator of Earth") appears, even including a late inscription at Leptis Magna in Tripolitania dating to 100s (KAI. Tripolitaniajpg|thumb|250px|Tripolitania]] Tripolitania or Tripolitana ( Arabic: طرابلس, Transliterated: Tarābulus) is a historic 129). In Hittite texts the expression becomes the single name Ilkunirsa, this Ilkunirsa appearing as the husband of Asherdu (Asherah) and father of 77 or 88 sons.

In an Hurrian hymn to Ēl (published in Ugaritica V, text RS 24. 278) he is called ’il brt and ’il dn which Cross (p. 39) takes as 'Ēl of the covenant' and 'Ēl the judge' respectively.

See Ba‘al Hammon for the possibility that Ēl was identical with Ba‘al Hammon who was worshipped as the supreme god in Carthage. Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" Carthage (Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Carthago from the Phoenician קרת חדשת phn-Latn Qart-ḥadašt meaning new town) refers

Ēl in the Tanakh

The Hebrew form (אל) appears in Latin letters in Standard Hebrew transcription as El and in Tiberian Hebrew transcription as ʾĒl. Tiberian Hebrew is an extinct (yet very well documented Oral tradition of pronunciation for ancient Hebrew, especially the Hebrew of the Tanakh, that was

In the Tanakh ’elōhîm is the normal word for a god or the great god (or gods). See also Old testament, Septuagint, Targum, Peshitta The Tanakh (תַּנַ"ךְ (taˈnax or; also Tenakh or Tenak is Elohim ( אֱלוֹהִים, אלהים) is a Hebrew word which expresses concepts of Divinity. But the form ’ēl also appears, mostly in poetic passages and in the patriarchal narratives attributed to the P source according to the documentary hypothesis. The Priestly Source (P is posited as the most recent of the four chief sources of the Torah, as postulated by the long-established "standard" Wellhausen (or Graf-Wellhausen It occurs 217 times in the Masoretic text: 73 times in the Psalms and 55 times in the Book of Job, and otherwise mostly in poetic passages or passages written in elevated prose. The Masoretic Text ( MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible ( Tanakh) Psalms ( Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or "praises" is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) included The Book of Job ( איוב) is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It occasionally appears with the definite article as hā’Ēl 'the God' (for example in 2 Samuel 22. The Books of Samuel ( Hebrew: Sefer Sh'muel ספר שמואל are part of the Tanakh (part of Judaism 's Hebrew Bible) and also of 31,33–48).

There are also places where ’ēl specifically refers to a foreign god as in Psalms 44. Psalms ( Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים, or "praises" is a book of the Hebrew Bible (the Christian Old Testament) included 20;81. 9 (Hebrew 44. 21;81. 10), in Deuteronomy 32. Deuteronomy (Greek deuteronomion, Δευτερονόμιον "second law" is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and of the Old Testament 12 and in Malachi 2. Malachi (or Malachias מַלְאָכִי Malʾaḫi Mál'akhî is a book of the Bible Old Testament and Jewish Tanakh, written by the prophet 11.

The theological position of the Tanakh is that the names Ēl, ’Ĕlōhîm when used in the singular to mean the supreme and active 'God' refers to the same being as does Yahweh. All three refer to the one supreme god who is also the God of Israel, beside whom other supposed gods are either non-existent or insignificant. Whether this was a longstanding belief or a relatively new one has long been the subject of inconclusive scholarly debate about the prehistory of the sources of the Tanakh and about the prehistory of Israelite religion. In the P strand Yahweh claims in Exodus 6. For information about Yahweh see God in Abrahamic religions, which provides useful links Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. 2–3:

I revealed myself to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Ēl Shaddāi, but was not known to them by my name Yahweh.

This affirms the identity of Yahweh with either Ēl in his aspect Shaddāi or with a god called Shaddāi. Also affirmed is that the name Yahweh is a more recent revelation. One scholarly position is that the identification of Yahweh with Ēl is late, that Yahweh was earlier thought of as only one of many gods and not normally identified with Ēl. In some places, especially in Psalm 29, Yahweh is clearly envisioned as a storm god, something not true of Ēl so far as we know. (Noted Parallel: El is derived from Sumerian Enlil, God of Wind) It is Yahweh who fights Leviathan in Isaiah 27. Enlil ( EN = Lord + LIL = Loft "Lord of the Open" or "Lord of the Wind" was the name of a chief deity listed and written about in ancient Sumerian Leviathan ( is a Biblical Sea monster referred to in the Old Testament ( Psalm 74:13-14 Job 41 Isaiah 271 The Book of Isaiah ( Hebrew: Sefer Y'sha'yah ספר ישעיה is a book of the Bible traditionally attributed to the Prophet Isaiah, who lived 1; Psalm 74. 14; Job 3. 8 & 40. 25/41. 1, a deed attributed both to Ba’al/Hadad and ‘Anat in the Ugaritic texts, but not to Ēl. Such mythological motifs are variously seen as late survivals from a period when Yahweh held a place in theology comparable to that of Hadad at Ugarit; or as late henotheistic/monotheistic applications to Yahweh of deeds more commonly attributed to Hadad; or simply as examples of eclectic application of the same motifs and imagery to various different gods. Henotheism ( Greek heis theos "one god" is a term coined by Max Müller, to mean devotion to a Single god while accepting Similarly it is argued inconclusively whether Ēl Shaddāi, Ēl ‘Ôlām, Ēl ‘Elyôn and so forth were originally understood as separate divinities. Albrecht Alt presented his theories on the original differences of such gods in Der Gott der Väter in 1929. Albrecht Alt ( 20 September 1883 in Stübach ( Franconia) – 24 April 1956 in Leipzig) was a leading German Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. But others have argued that from patriarchal times these different names were indeed generally understood to refer to the same single great god Ēl. This is the position of Frank Moore Cross (1973). Frank Moore Cross Jr (born July 13 1921 Ross, California) is a Professor Emeritus of the Harvard Divinity School, notable for both his work in the interpretation What is certain is that the form ’ēl does appear in Israelite names from every period including the name Yiśrā’ēl 'Israel', meaning 'ēl strives' or 'struggled with él'.

According to The Oxford Companion To World Mythology (David Leeming, Oxford University Press, 2005, page 118), "It seems almost certain that the God of the Jews evolved gradually from the Canaanite El, who was in all likelihood the 'God of Abraham'. . . If El was the high god of Abraham - Elohim, the prototype of Yahveh - Asherah was his wife, and there are archeological indications that she was perceived as such before she was in effect 'divorced' in the context of emerging Judaism of the seventh century B. C. E. (See 2 Kings 23:15)"

The more traditional Orthodox Jewish opinion explains the depictions of Yahweh as performing these deeds attributed to other gods in the Ugaritic, etc. traditions as making the theological point that there is but one God and He is responsible for all natural forces and everything divine. This would cast Him in the roles that previously other gods had, as god of the weather and he who conquers deep sea creatures, etc.

The apparent plural form ’Ēlîm or ’Ēlim 'gods' occurs only four times in the Tanakh. Psalm 29, understood as an enthronement psalm, begins:

A Psalm of David.
Ascribe to Yahweh, sons of gods (bênê ’Ēlîm),
Ascribe to Yahweh, glory and strength

Psalm 89:6 (verse 7 in Hebrew) has:

For who in the skies compares to Yahweh,
who can be likened to Yahweh among the sons of gods (bênê ’Ēlîm).

Traditionally bênê ’ēlîm has been interpreted as 'sons of the mighty', 'mighty ones', for, indeed ’ēl can mean 'mighty', though such use may be metaphorical (compare the English expression God-awful). It is possible also that the expression ’ēlîm in both places descends from an archaic stock phrase in which ’lm was a singular form with the m-enclitic and therefore to be translated as 'sons of Ēl'. The m-enclitic appears elsewhere in the Tanakh and in other Semitic languages. Its meaning is unknown, possibly simply emphasis. It appears in similar contexts in Ugaritic texts where the expression bn ’il alternates with bn ’ilm, but both must mean 'sons of Ēl'. That phrase with m-enclictic also appears in Phoenician inscriptions as late as the 5th century BCE. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.

One of the other two occurrences in the Tanakh is in the "Song of Moses", Exodus 15. Exodus ( Greek: έξοδος eksodos = "departure" is the second book of the Jewish Torah and of the Christian Old Testament. 11a:

Who is like you among the gods (’ēlim), Yahweh?

The final occurrence is in Daniel 11. The Book of Daniel (דניאל, originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic, is a Book in both the Hebrew Bible ( Tanakh) and the Christian 35:

And the king will do according to his pleasure; and he will exalt himself and magnify himself over every god (’ēl), and against the God of gods (’ēl ’ēlîm) he will speak outrageous things, and will prosper until the indignation is accomplished: for that which is decided will be done.

There are a few cases in the Tanakh where some think ’ēl referring to the great god Ēl is not equated with Yahweh. One is in Ezekiel 28. The Book of Ezekiel is a book of the Hebrew Bible (of the Books of the Bible) named after the prophet Ezekiel. 2 in the oracle against Tyre:

Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre: "Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because your heart is proud and you have said: "I am ’ēl, in the seat of ’elōhîm (God or gods), I am enthroned in the middle of the seas. Tyre ( Arabic صور Ṣūr, Phoenician Phoenician wawsvg|12px|ו]] Ṣur, Hebrew " Yet you are man and not ’ēl even though you have made your heart like the heart of ’elōhîm ('God' or 'gods'). '"

Here ’ēl might refer to a generic god, not necessarily the high god Ēl and if it does so refer, the King of Tyre is certainly not thinking specifically of Yahweh.

In Judges 9. A judge, or justice, is an Official who presides over a Court of law 46 we find ’Ēl Bêrît 'God of the Covenant', seemingly the same as the Ba‘al Bêrît 'Lord of the Covenant' whose worship has been condemned a few verses earlier. See Baal for a discussion of this passage. Ba'al (pronounced; Hebrew בעל (ordinarily spelled Baal in English is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord"

Psalm 82. 1 says:

’elōhîm ('God') stands in the council of ’ēl
he judges among the gods (elohim).

This could mean that God, that is Yahweh, judges along with many other gods as one of the council of the high god Ēl. However it can also mean that God, that is Yahweh, stands in the divine council (generally known as the Council of Ēl), as Ēl judging among the other members of the Council. The following verses in which God condemns those whom he says were previously named gods (elohim) and sons of the Most High suggest God is here indeed Ēl judging the lesser gods.

An archaic phrase appears in Isaiah 14. 13, kôkkêbê ’ēl 'stars of God', referring to the circumpolar stars that never set, possibly especially to the seven stars of Ursa Major. Ursa Major ( is a Constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere The phrase also occurs in the Pyrgi Inscription as hkkbm ’l (preceded by the definite article h and followed by the m-enclitic). Two other apparent fossilized expressions are arzê-’ēl 'cedars of God' (generally translated something like 'mighty cedars', 'goodly cedars') in Psalm 80. 10 (in Hebrew verse 11) and kêharrê-’ēl 'mountains of God' (generally translated something like 'great mountains', 'mighty mountains') in Psalm 36. 7 (in Hebrew verse 6).

For the reference in some texts of Deuteronomy 32. 8 to 70 sons of God corresponding to the 70 sons of Ēl in the Ugaritic texts see ’Elyôn. The name or epithet or word ‘Elyōn ( Masoretic pronunciation of Hebrew עליון) is traditionally rendered in Samaritan Hebrew as illiyyon

Ēl in Christian theology

Christians accept the Hebrew Tanakh as part of scripture, generally translating El as "god" or "God. " Some Christians take the Tanakh's use of the plural "Elohim" for God as confirming the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

According to church fathers of early Christianity, El was the first Hebrew name of God. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus ( c Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia suggests that the name was the first sound emitted by Adam: While the first utterance of humans after birth is a cry of pain, Dante assumed that Adam could only have made an exclamation of joy, which at the same time was addressing his Creator. De vulgari eloquentia ( On Eloquence in the vernacular) is the title of an essay by Dante Alighieri, written in Latin and initially meant to consist Adam (אָדָם ʼĀḏām, "dust man mankind" آدم; Ge'ez: አዳ and Eve (חַוָּה Ḥawwā, "living In the Divina commedia, however, Dante contradicts this by saying that God was called I in the language of Adam, and only named El in later Hebrew, but before the confusion of tongues (Paradiso, 26. The Divine Comedy The confusion of tongues ( confusio linguarum) is the initial fragmentation of human languages described in the Book of Genesis 111–9 as a result of the construction 134).

Unlike other Christians and unlike Jews, Latter-day Saints identify Elohim as a distinct deity from Yahweh, whom they identify with Jesus Christ. A Latter Elohim is viewed as God the father, while Yahweh, or Jesus Christ, is identified as God the Son.

Ēl according to Sanchuniathon

In the euhemeristic account of Sanchuniathon Ēl (rendered Elus or called by his standard Greek counterpart Cronus) is not the creator god or first god. Euhemerus (Εὐήμερος (working late fourth century BC was a Greek mythographer at the court of Cassander, the king of Macedon. Sanchuniathon is the purported Phoenician author of three lost works originally in the Phoenician language, surviving only in partial paraphrase and summary of a Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Cronus or Kronos, ( Ancient Greek Κρόνος Krónos) was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants Ēl is rather the son of Sky and Earth. Sky and Earth are themselves children of ‘Elyôn 'Most High'. The name or epithet or word ‘Elyōn ( Masoretic pronunciation of Hebrew עליון) is traditionally rendered in Samaritan Hebrew as illiyyon Ēl is brother to the god Bethel, to Dagon, and to an unknown god equated with the Greek Atlas, and to the goddesses Aphrodite/’Ashtart, Rhea (presumably Asherah), and Dione (equated with Ba’alat Gebal). Bethel meaning in Hebrew and Phoenician and Aramaic 'House of El ' or 'House of God' is seemingly the name of a god or an aspect of a god in some Dagon was a major northwest Semitic god reportedly of grain and agriculture In Greek mythology, Atlas (Eng /'æt ləs/ Gk Ἄτλας was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens Astarte (from Greek Ἀστάρτη ( Astártē) is the name of a Goddess as known from Northwestern Semitic regions cognate in name origin Rhea ( ancient Greek) was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky and Gaia, the earth in classical Greek mythology Asherah (from Hebrew אשרה generally taken as identical with the Ugaritic goddess Athirat (more accurately transcribed as ʼAṯirat) was Dione in Greek mythology is a vague goddess presence who has her most concrete form in Book V of Homer 's Iliad as the mother of Aphrodite Ba‘alat Gebal, 'Lady of Byblos ' was the goddess of the city of Byblos sometimes known to the Greeks as Baaltis. Ēl is father of Persephone who dies (presumably an otherwise unknown Semitic goddess of the dead) and of Athene (presumably the goddess ‘Anat). In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. Anat, also ‘Anat is a major northwest Semitic goddess ‘Anat in Ugarit In the Ugaritic Ba‘al / Hadad cycle ‘Anat Sky and Earth have separated from one another in hostility, but Sky insists on continuing to force himself on Earth and attempts to destroy the children born of such unions until at last Ēl, son of Sky and Earth, with the advice of the god Thoth and Ēl's daughter Athene attacks his father Sky with a sickle and spear of iron and drives him off for ever. For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. ATHENA was an Antimatter research project that took place at the AD Ring at CERN. So he and his allies the Eloim gain Sky's kingdom. In a later passage it is explained that Ēl castrated Sky. But one of Sky's concubines who was given to Ēl's brother Dagon was already pregnant by Sky and the son who is born of this union, called by Sanchuniathon Demarûs or Zeus, but once called by him Adodus, is obviously Hadad, the Ba‘al of the Ugaritic texts who now becomes an ally of his grandfather Sky and begins to make war on Ēl.

Ēl has three wives, his sisters or half-sisters Aphrodite/Astarte (‘Ashtart), Rhea (presumably Asherah), and Dione (identified by Sanchuniathon with Ba‘alat Gebal the tutelary goddess of Byblos, a city which Sanchuniathon says that Ēl founded). Byblos ( Βύβλος) is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal (earlier Gubla)

Unfortunately Eusebius of Caesarea, through whom Sanchuniathon is preserved, is not interested in setting the work forth completely or in order. But we are told that Ēl slew his own son Sadidus (a name that some commentators think might be a corruption of Shaddai, one of the epithets of the Biblical Ēl) and that Ēl also beheaded one of his daughters. Later, perhaps referring to this same death of Sadidus we are told:

But on the occurrence of a pestilence and mortality Cronus offers his only begotten son as a whole burnt-offering to his father Sky and circumcises himself, compelling his allies also to do the same.

A fuller account of the sacrifice appears later:

It was a custom of the ancients in great crises of danger for the rulers of a city or nation, in order to avert the common ruin, to give up the most beloved of their children for sacrifice as a ransom to the avenging daemons; and those who were thus given up were sacrificed with mystic rites. Cronus then, whom the Phoenicians call Elus, who was king of the country and subsequently, after his decease, was deified as the star Saturn, had by a nymph of the country named Anobret an only begotten son, whom they on this account called Iedud, the only begotten being still so called among the Phoenicians; and when very great dangers from war had beset the country, he arrayed his son in royal apparel, and prepared an altar, and sacrificed him.

The account also relates that Thoth:

. For other meanings of "Thoth" or of "Djehuti" and similar see Thoth (disambiguation. . . also devised for Cronus as insignia of royalty four eyes in front and behind . . . but two of them quietly closed, and upon his shoulders four wings, two as spread for flying, and two as folded. And the symbol meant that Cronus could see when asleep, and sleep while waking: and similarly in the case of the wings, that he flew while at rest, and was at rest when flying. But to each of the other gods he gave two wings upon the shoulders, as meaning that they accompanied Cronus in his flight. And to Cronus himself again he gave two wings upon his head, one representing the all-ruling mind, and one sensation.

This is the form under which Ēl/Cronus appears on coins from Byblos from the reign of Antiochus IV (175–164 BCE) four spread wings and two folded wings, leaning on a staff. Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius. Events By place Seleucid Empire King Seleucus IV of Syria arranges for the exchange of his brother Antiochus for Such images continued to appear on coins until after the time of Augustus. Augustus ( Latin: IMPERATOR·CAESAR·DIVI·FILIVS·AVGVSTVS September 23 63 BC – August 19 AD 14) born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, was

Ēl and Poseidon

A bilingual inscription from Palmyra (KAI. Palmyra ( Arabic: تدمر Tadmor) was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an Oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus 11, p.  43) dated to the first century equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth with the Greek god Poseidon. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Going back to the eighth century BCE the bilingual inscription at Karatepe in the Taurus Mountains equates Ēl-Creator-of-the-Earth to Luwian hieroglyphs read as da-a-ś, this being the Luwian form of the name of the Babylonian water god Ea, lord of the abyss of water under the earth. Karatepe, ("Black Hill" is a Late Hittite fortress and Open air museum in Osmaniye Province in southern Turkey. For the Taurus Mountains on the moon see Montes Taurus. For Mount Taurus outside Cold Spring New York, see Bull Hill. Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital Enki ( Sumerian: dENKI(G 𒂗𒆠 was a Deity in Sumerian mythology, later known as Ea in Babylonian mythology (This inscription lists Ēl in second place in the local pantheon, following Ba`al Shamîm and preceding the Eternal Sun. Ba‘al Shamîm 'Lord of Heaven' is a northwest Semitic God or a title applied to different gods at different places or times found in various ancient Middle-eastern )

Poseidon is known to have been worshipped in Beirut, his image appearing on coins from that city. Beirut (بيروت Bayrūt) is the Capital and Largest city of Lebanon with a population of over 2 Poseidon of Beirut was also worshipped at Delos where there was an association of merchants, shipmasters and warehousemen called the Poseidoniastae of Berytus founded in 110 or 109 BCE. The island of Delos ( Greek: Δήλος Dhilos) isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos Three of the four chapels at its headquarters on the hill northwest of the Sacred Lake were dedicated to Poseidon, the Tyche of the city equated with Astarte (that is ‘Ashtart), and to Eshmun. In ancient Greek city cults, Tyche (Τύχη meaning "luck" in Greek, Roman equivalent Fortuna) was the presiding Tutelary Eshmun (or Eshmoun, less accurately Esmun or Esmoun) was a Phoenician god of healing and the tutelary god of Sidon.

Also at Delos that association of Tyrians, though mostly devoted to Heracles-Melqart, elected a member to bear a crown every year when sacrifices to Poseidon took place. In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or Melqart, properly Phoenician Milk-Qart "King of the City" less accurately Melkart, Melkarth A banker named Philostratus donated two altars, one to Palaistine Aphrodite Urania (‘Ashtart) and one to Poseidon "of Ascalon".

Though Sanchuniathon distinguishes Poseidon from his Elus/Cronus, this might be a splitting off of a particular aspect of Ēl in a euhemeristic account. Identification of an aspect of Ēl with Poseidon rather than with Cronus might have been felt to better fit with Hellenistic religious practice, if indeed this Phoenician Poseidon really is Ēl who dwells at the source of the two deeps in Ugaritic texts. More information is needed to be certain.

See also

References

External links

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