Canaanite Mythology
If you enough English to be reading this, you probably know at least a little bit about the Abrahamic religions. It's common knowledge that Judiasm was the first one, Christianity branched out from it, and Islam was influenced by both of them. There are a few other, more obscure ones as well, that are heavily influenced by one or more of these three. But if all of these religions originated from Judiasm, where did Judiasm originate from?
Canaan was an ancient civilization in the middle east that worshipped a pantheon of gods. The original Isrealites were a type of Canaanite, but unlike the other Canaanites they were henotheists, which meant that they believed in multiple gods but only worshipped one of them. Eventually, the Isrealites decided that there was only one god, and that the other ones never actually existed.
I was raised Catholic, and as a child the Bible stories that I read often mentioned the Canaanites and their gods. However, said Bible stories didn't go into very much detail about what they were like, other than that they were 'evil idol worshippers' that the Isrealites conquered. I think learning about Canannite mythology and culture has given me a fresh perspective on my religion and the stories that I grew up with.
Deities:
El
El was the king of the gods; his name literally translates to 'god'. He was associated with creation, wisdom, authority, and the earth.
Ashera
Ashera was El's wife and the queen of the gods. She was associated with fertility, motherhood, and nature, as well as love, beauty, and sex. El and Ashers had 70 children together, each of which became a patron deity for one of the 70 nations of the world.
Her symbols were the lion and the 'Ashera poles' (sacred poles near temples where she was worshipped).
Hadad
Baal Hadad was a god of life, fertility, weather, and the seasons. In the Baal Cycle, he defeated Yam and became the new king of the gods. Hadad's symbols were the bull and the lightning bolt.
Baal Hadad was often called 'Baal' for short. This can get a little confusing, because the word 'baal' literally translates to 'lord', and a lot of deities were called 'Baal [deity name]'. However, the deity in the Old Testament called 'Baal' is Hadad. Also, the demon 'Beelzebub' is a pun on his other name 'Baal Saphon'.
Anat
Anat was the goddess of war and hunting, but also a goddes of love and sexual desire. She was associated with war, peace, and animals. She was Hadad's sister and/or lover.
Her symbols were lions, cows, and the color purple. She was often conflated with Ashera and Astarte.
Astarte
Astarte was a goddess of sex, life, war, and law and order. She was associated with the heavens. Her symbols were lions, horses, and Venus.
She was often conflated with Ashera and Anat, and was often portrayed as El's mistress, or Baal's mistress.
Mot
Mot was the god of death and the underworld, and he was associated with drought and sterility. He was regarded as an evil deity with an insatiable appetite, and his jaws are said to encompass the earth.
Shapash
Shapash was the goddess of the sun, the messenger of El, and the judge of the gods. Every night, she helped souls on their journey to the underworld.
Kothar-wa-Khasis
Kothar-wa-Khasis was the god of craftsmen and engineers, as well as of magicians. He created many things for the other gods, and was said to be from Egypt.
Dagon
Dagon is a god that historians don't know a lot about. He was associated with fertility and wealth, and he was Baal's father, although sometimes Baal is described as El's son.
Medieval rabbis thought that Dagon was related to fish, and had a mermaid tail. Modern historians think this probably isn't true, but fish gods called "Dagon" still show up sometimes in popular culture.
Yam
Yam was a minor god of the sea. In the Baal Cycle, he is defeated by Baal.
Myths:
The Baal Cycle
The sea god Yam wants to be king of the gods, and he is El's favorite, but the other gods think Yam is an asshole. Yam and Baal fight. At first, Yam is winning, because of his power over sea creatures. However, Baal is given two magical clubs from Kothar-wa-Khasis, which he uses to kill Yam and scatter his ashes.
There is a big banquet for Baal, but he is still miserable because he has to live with El. Ashera and Anat eventually convince El to let Baal have his own palace, which Kothar-wa-Khasis builds. At first, Baal doesn't want any windows in his palace, but then he changes his mind. In his new palace, Baal brags that he is more powerful than all the other gods. He invites Mot to his palace for a feast with bread and wine.
Mot is offended by Baal's invitation, because he would rather eat flesh and blood. He threatens to kill Baal. However, Shapash tells Baal to make a decoy version of himself for Mot to eat, and hide. When El and Anat find the fake dead body, they mourn. Anat goes to the underworld to search for Baal, finds Mot, kills Mot, and scatters his ashes. Baal returns, but then Mot comes back to life, and he is angry. They fight each other, but it's a stalemate, until Shapash shows up. Shapash warns Mot that Baal is El's favorite. Mot is scared of El, so he accepts that Baal is now the king of the gods.
This myth is interpreted as an explanantion for the seasons, and/or as an explanation for drought.
