Canaanite Mythology

The Gods of Ancient Canaan

BAAL

Canaanite War God

Also known as Ba'al, Baal-Hadad

Picture of the Canaanite War God Baal from our Canaanite mythology image library. Illustration by Chas Saunders.

Storm God of War known as the Cloud Monster

From humble beginnings as the Storm God Hadad, he grew to occupy top position in the Canaanite pantheon, taking charge of War and Heroic Action Adventure.

His consort is Anath (later Astarte), the Goddess of Fertility and Sexuality. She’s also his sister, but Gods don’t worry about that kind of thing.

Baal enjoyed top spot in the Middle-East pantheon and was worshiped far and wide. As the word Ba’al simply means ‘Lord’, there were several other deities knocking around the place with this title, so sometimes it’s not clear from ancient sources which Lord is which.

Whether one deity or a handful, Baal’s reputation was irreversibly damaged when Jewish leaders took exception to a cult of his worshipers sneakily offering sacred prostitution in Palestine. They littered the Bible with anti-Baal messages and took to calling him Beelzebub. In time he became universally hated.

Such is the power of the press. And now you know who to blame for everything from Ice Ages to Global Warming.

Baal Facts and Figures

Name: Baal
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names: Ba'al, Baal-Hadad

Gender: Male
Type: God
Area or people: Canaan
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role:
In charge of: War
Area of expertise: War

Good/Evil Rating: Unknown at present
Popularity index: 25214

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Article last revised on May 19, 2019 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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