HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bêl (; from ) is a
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
signifying '
lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage o ...
' or 'master' applied to various gods in the
Mesopotamian religion Ancient Mesopotamian religion encompasses the Religion, religious beliefs (concerning the gods, Ancient near eastern cosmology, creation and the cosmos, the origin of man, and so forth) and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, ...
of Akkad,
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
, and
Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
. The feminine form is ''Bêlit'' ('Lady, Mistress') in Akkadian. ''Bel'' is represented in
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
as Belos and in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
as Belus. ''Belit'' appears in Greek form as Beltis (Βελτις). Linguistically, ''Bel'' is an
East Semitic The East Semitic languages are one of three divisions of the Semitic languages. The East Semitic group is attested by three distinct languages, Akkadian, Eblaite and possibly Kishite, all of which have been long extinct. They were influenced ...
form
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
with the
Northwest Semitic Northwest Semitic is a division of the Semitic languages comprising the indigenous languages of the Levant. It emerged from Proto-Semitic language, Proto-Semitic in the Early Bronze Age. It is first attested in proper names identified as Amorite l ...
Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...
with the same meaning. ''Bel'' was especially used for the Babylonian god
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
in Assyrian and
neo-Babylonian The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire, historically known as the Chaldean Empire, was the last polity ruled by monarchs native to ancient Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC ...
personal names or mentioned in inscriptions in a Mesopotamian context. Similarly, ''Bêlit'' mostly refers to
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
's spouse
Sarpanit Zarpanitu (also romanized as Ṣarpānītu) was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the spouse of Marduk. Not much is known about her character, though late sources indicate that she was associated with pregnancy and that she could be assigned simi ...
. Marduk's mother, the Sumerian goddess often referred to in the
Sumerian language Sumerian ) was the language of ancient Sumer. It is one of the List of languages by first written account, oldest attested languages, dating back to at least 2900 BC. It is a local language isolate that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, in the a ...
as
Ninhursag Ninḫursaĝ ( ''Ninḫarsang''; ), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She ...
,
Damkina Damgalnuna, also known as Damkina, was a Mesopotamian goddess regarded as the wife of the god Enki. Her character is poorly defined in known sources, though it is known that like her husband she was associated with ritual purification and that she ...
, and
Ninmah Ninḫursaĝ ( ''Ninḫarsang''; ), sometimes transcribed Ninursag, Ninḫarsag, or Ninḫursaĝa, also known as Damgalnuna or Ninmah, was the ancient Sumerian mother goddess of the mountains, and one of the seven great deities of Sumer. She i ...
, was often known as ''Belit-ili'' ('Lady of the Gods') in Akkadian. Other gods called "Lord" were sometimes identified totally or in part with Bel Marduk. The god Malak-bel of
Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
is an example, attested as a messenger of Bel but existing as a deity separate to Bel/
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
. Similarly, Zeus Belus mentioned by
Sanchuniathon Sanchuniathon (; Ancient Greek: ; probably from , " Sakkun has given"), variant ''šknytn'' also known as Sanchoniatho the Berytian, was a Phoenician author. His three works, originally written in the Phoenician language, survive only in partial ...
as born to
Cronus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or ; ) was the leader and youngest of the Titans, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky). He overthrew his father and ruled dur ...
/ El in
Peraea Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from , ''hē peraia'', "land across") in Classical Antiquity referred to "a community's territory lying 'opposite', predominantly (but not exclusively) a mainland possession of an island state" according to Karl-Wilhe ...
is unlikely to be Marduk. Early translators of Akkadian believed that the ideogram for the god called ''
Enlil Enlil, later known as Elil and Ellil, is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms. He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon, but he was later worshipped by t ...
'' in Sumerian was to be read as ''Bel'' in Akkadian. Current scholarship holds this as incorrect, but ''Bel'' is used in referring to Enlil in older translations and discussions. In
Mandaean cosmology Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism. Mandaean cosmology is strongly influenced by ancient near eastern cosmology broadly and Jewish, Babylonian, Persian, Greek, Manichaean and other Near ...
, the name for
Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...
is '' Bil'' (), which is derived from the name Bel.


Bel of Palmyra, Syria

A god named Bel was the chief-god of
Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
in pre-
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
times; the deity was worshipped alongside the gods Aglibol and
Yarhibol Yarhibol or Iarhibol is an Aramean god who was worshiped mainly in ancient Palmyra, a city in central Syria. He was depicted with a solar nimbus and styled "lord of the spring". He normally appears alongside Bel, who was a co-supreme god of Palmy ...
. He was originally known as Bol, after the Northwestern Semitic word
Ba'al Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the t ...
(usually used to refer to the god
Hadad Hadad (), Haddad, Adad ( Akkadian: 𒀭𒅎 '' DIM'', pronounced as ''Adād''), or Iškur ( Sumerian) was the storm- and rain-god in the Canaanite and ancient Mesopotamian religions. He was attested in Ebla as "Hadda" in c. 2500 BCE. From ...
), until the cult of Bel-
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
spread to
Palmyra Palmyra ( ; Palmyrene dialect, Palmyrene: (), romanized: ''Tadmor''; ) is an ancient city in central Syria. It is located in the eastern part of the Levant, and archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first menti ...
; by 213 BC, Bol was renamed to Bel. The
Temple of Bel The Temple of Bel (), sometimes also referred to as the "Temple of Baal", was an ancient temple located in Palmyra, Syria. The temple, consecrated to the Mesopotamian god Bel (mythology), Bel, worshipped at Palmyra in triad with the lunar god Ag ...
in Palmrya,
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
was dedicated to this god. The temple has since been destroyed by ISIS.


See also

*
Ba‘al Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the th ...
*
Bel and the Dragon The narrative of Bel and the Dragon is incorporated as chapter 14 of the extended Book of Daniel. The original Septuagint text in Greek survives in a single manuscript, Codex Chisianus, while the standard text is due to Theodotion, the 2nd-centu ...
*
Belial Belial (; , ''Bəlīyyaʿal'') is a term occurring in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament which later became personified as the devilSee the reference to "Beliar" in ''The Ascension of Isaiah'', at EarlyChristianWritings.com', specifically at 1:8� ...
*
Belus (disambiguation) Belus (Latin) or Belos (, ''Bē̂los'') was the indifferent classical rendering of the Semitic languages, Semitic words ''bēlu'' and ''baʿal'' ("lord") as a theonym, personal name, and royal title. Belus may refer to: In myth and legend * Bel ...
**
Belus (Assyrian) Belus or Belos in classical Greek or classical Latin texts (and later material based on them) in an Assyrian context refers to one or another purportedly ancient and historically mythical Assyrian king, such king in part at least a euhemerization ...
** Belus (Babylonian) **
Belus (Egyptian) In Greek mythology, Belus () was a king of Egypt and father of Aegyptus and Danaus and (usually) brother to Agenor. The wife of Belus has been named as Achiroe Apollodorus2.1.4/ref> or Side (eponym of the Phoenician city of Sidon). Family Belus ...
*
EN (cuneiform) En (Borger 2003 nr. 164 ; Unicode, U+12097 𒂗, see also Ensí) is the Sumer, Sumerian cuneiform for 'lord/lady' or 'priest ss. Originally, it seems to have been used to designate a high priest or priestess of a Sumerian city-state's patron-d ...
*
Marduk Marduk (; cuneiform: Dingir, ᵈAMAR.UTU; Sumerian language, Sumerian: "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) is a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of Babylon who eventually rose to prominence in the 1st millennium BC. In B ...
*
List of Mesopotamian deities Deities in ancient Mesopotamia were almost exclusively Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic. They were thought to possess extraordinary powers and were often envisioned as being of tremendous physical size. The deities typically wore ''melam'', a ...


References


External links


Bartleby: American Heritage Dictionary: Semitic Roots: bcl
(Dead link. ) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bel (Mythology) Titles Deities in the Hebrew Bible Mesopotamian mythology Baal