ʼĒl is a Northwest Semitic word meaning 'god' or 'deity', or referring to any one of multiple major ancient Near Eastern deities. A rarer form, 'ila, represents the predicate form in the Old Akkadian and Amorite languages. The word is derived from the Proto-Semitic *ʔil-, meaning "god".
Dagon or Dagan was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attestations of his cult come from cities such as Mari and Emar as well. In settlements situated in the upper Euphrates area he was regarded as the "father of gods" similar to Mesopotamian Enlil or Hurrian Kumarbi, as well as a lord of the land, a god of prosperity, and a source of royal legitimacy. A large number of theophoric names, both masculine and feminine, attests that he was a popular deity. He was also worshiped further east, in Mesopotamia, where many rulers regarded him as the god capable of granting them kingship over the western areas.
Ugarit was an ancient port city in northern Syria about 10 kilometers north of modern Latakia. At its height it ruled an area roughly equivalent to the modern Latakia Governorate. It was discovered by accident in 1928 with the Ugaritic texts. Its ruins are often called Ras Shamra after the headland where they lie.
Ugaritic is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologists in 1929 at Ugarit, including several major literary texts, notably the Baal cycle. It has been used by scholars of the Hebrew Bible to clarify Biblical Hebrew texts and has revealed ways in which the cultures of ancient Israel and Judah found parallels in the neighboring cultures.
Anat, Anatu, classically Anath was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. Most researchers assume that she originated in the Amorite culture of Bronze Age upper Mesopotamia, and that the goddess Ḫanat, attested in the texts from Mari and worshiped in a city sharing her name located in Suhum, should be considered her forerunner.
Mot was the Canaanite god of death and the Underworld. He was also known to the people of Ugarit and in Phoenicia, where Canaanite religion was widespread. The main source of information about Mot in Canaanite mythology comes from the texts discovered at Ugarit, but he is also mentioned in the surviving fragments of Philo of Byblos's Greek translation of the writings of the Phoenician Sanchuniathon.
Yam was a god representing the sea and other sources of water worshiped in various locations on the eastern Mediterranean coast, as well as further inland in modern Syria. He is best known from the Ugaritic texts. While he was a minor deity in Ugaritic religion, he is nonetheless attested as a recipient of offerings, and a number of theophoric names invoking him have been identified. He also played a role in Ugaritic mythology. In the Baal Cycle he is portrayed as an enemy of the weather god, Baal. Their struggle revolves around attaining the rank of the king of the gods. The narrative portrays Yam as the candidate favored by the senior god El, though ultimately it is Baal who emerges victorious. Yam nonetheless continues to be referenced through the story after his defeat. In texts from other archaeological sites in Syria, attestations of Yam are largely limited to theophoric names. In Emar he was among the many deities venerated during a local festival, zukru, which took place once every seven years.
Kothar-wa-Khasis, also known as Kothar or Hayyānu, was an Ugaritic god regarded as a divine artisan. He could variously play the roles of an architect, smith, musician or magician. Some scholars believe that this name represents two gods, Kothar and Khasis, combined into one.
Arsay was a goddess worshiped in the city of Ugarit in the late Bronze Age. Her standing in the Ugaritic pantheon and her role in Ugaritic religion remain uncertain. It has been proposed that she was associated with the underworld or with groundwater, though neither theory found universal support. She was most likely regarded as a daughter of the weather god Baal, though neither of the goddesses most often associated with him, Anat and Ashtart, was ever described as her mother. In a single passage from the Baal Cycle she appears alongside Pidray and Tallay, and as a result these three goddesses are often grouped in scholarship, but there is no evidence that they were associated with her in other contexts.
Danel, father of Aqhat, was a culture hero who appears in an incomplete Ugaritic text of the fourteenth century BCE at Ugarit, Syria.
Shapshu or Shapsh, and also Shamshu, was a Canaanite sun goddess. She also served as the royal messenger of the high god El, her probable father. Her most common epithets in the Ugaritic corpus are nrt ỉlm špš, rbt špš, and špš ʿlm. In the pantheon lists KTU 1.118 and 1.148, Shapshu is equated with the Akkadian dšamaš.
Pidar was a god worshiped in Ugarit in the late Bronze Age. He was associated with the weather god Baal, and it is often assumed his name is related to that of the goddess Pidray, but his character remains largely unknown.
The Ugaritic texts are a corpus of ancient cuneiform texts discovered since 1928 in Ugarit and Ras Ibn Hani in Syria, and written in Ugaritic, an otherwise unknown Northwest Semitic language. Approximately 1,500 texts and fragments have been found to date. The texts were written in the 13th and 12th centuries BC.
Dadmiš or Tadmiš (dta-ad-mi-iš) was a goddess worshipped in Ugarit. She is attested in texts written both in Ugaritic and in Hurrian. Her origin and functions remain unknown.
Pidray was an Ugaritic goddess of uncertain character. She is first attested as an Amorite deity in a bilingual Mesopotamian lexical list, but she is otherwise almost exclusively from Ugaritic texts. While she is well attested in this text corpus, her role in Ugaritic religion remains uncertain. It has been proposed that she was one of the tutelary deities of the kings of Ugarit. Another proposal connects her with the weather, though this assumption is not universally accepted. The meaning of her name also continues to be disputed. In Ugaritic myths, she is described as a daughter of the weather god Baal. In the Baal Cycle, she appears alongside the goddess Tallay, regarded as her sister. In a single passage they are also joined by Arsay. Pidray alone is also mentioned in the myth Marriage of Nikkal and Yarikh.
Gupan and Ugar were two Ugaritic gods who functioned as the messengers of the weather god Baal. They always appear as a pair in known texts. They are well attested in the Baal Cycle, where they carry messages from their master to other deities, such as Anat, Kothar-wa-Khasis and Mot. However, they are absent from offering lists and other texts dealing with the sphere of cult, which lead to the proposal that they were only literary characters, rather than actively worshiped deities.
Qudšu-wa-Amrur was a minor Ugaritic god regarded as the fisherman and messenger of Athirat. He is attested in a single prayer found in Ugarit, as well as in the Baal Cycle, where he appears in his traditional role as the servant of his mistress.
Ilib was an Ugaritic god most likely regarded as a primordial deity. As a generic term, the word ilib seemingly also referred to spirits of ancestors. The god and the concept were most likely connected with each other. Ilib's role has been compared to that played by deities such as Alalu in Hurrian religion or ancestors of Enlil, for example Enmesharra, in Mesopotamian religion. Offerings to him are mentioned in a number of Ugaritic texts.
Shatiqatu, also vocalized as Shaʿtiqatu or Shataqat, was a figure in Ugaritic mythology, most commonly interpreted as a minor goddess by modern researchers. She is only attested in the Epic of Kirta. In this literary text, she is described as a creation of El tasked with healing the eponymous king, Kirta.
Puġat or Pughat is a character in the Ugaritic poem of the Tale of Aqhat from Canaanite myth. Her name is the common noun for 'girl'. She is described as follows: "She who carries water / she who collects dew on her hair / she who knows the course of the stars."
