Baal with Thunderbolt or the Baal stele is a white

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

from the ancient kingdom of

Ugarit ) , image =Ugarit Corbel.jpg , image_size=300 , alt = , caption = Entrance to the Royal Palace of Ugarit , map_type = Near East#Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 300 , relief=yes , location = Latakia Governorate, Syria , region = ...

in northwestern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. The stele was discovered in 1932, about from the Temple of Baal in the acropolis of Ugarit, during excavations directed by French

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

Claude F. A. Schaeffer Claude may refer to: __NOTOC__ People and fictional characters * Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Claude (surname), a list of people * Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...

. The stele depicts

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied t ...

(or

Hadad Hadad ( uga, ), 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. ...

), the

Aramean The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean ...

god of storm and rain, and is considered the most important of the Ugaritic stelae. The stele is on display at the

Musée du Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

Overview

The stele, carved into the white limestone, is wider at the base and measures . Caquot; Sznycer, 1980, p. 24. It depicts a large standing male figure representing Baal, and a smaller male figure that is thought to be the king of Ugarit. The central figure in the stele, Baal, is shown facing to the right and standing on a large pedestal. The pedestal bears carved representations of Baal's spheres of power, the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...

and the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

.Yon, 2006, p. 110. Baal is shown with a raised right hand brandishing a club or a battle-mace overhead. His left hand is stretched in front of him and holds a

thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

in the shape of a spearhead that extends towards the ground. The shaft is in the form of a plant, likely a cultivated grain that would be nourished by the storm. The bearded god is shown wearing a helmet decorated with bull's horns, from under which his braided hair falls over his back and his right shoulder. Baal is shown clad only in a kilt with striped decorations. The kilt is held by a finely carved wide belt that also holds a curved dagger. Between the spear and the god a smaller figure is depicted standing on a horned altar. The smaller figure, most probably representing the king of Ugarit, is shown with a bare head and wearing ceremonial dress. The king's arms are clasped together in prayer, and are hidden under a robe trimmed with braid.

Interpretation

The stele is interpreted as showing the king receiving divine protection from the god Baal. Additionally, Baal is shown thrusting a spear of vegetation into the ground from the sky, symbolizing the necessity of the storm for a later harvest. Despite the close relationship between the king and the god depicted in the stele, the difference in size between the two figures is interpreted by historian Mark S. Smith as contrasting the power and glory of Baal with the "relative weakness of the king." Baal's fertility attributes are represented by the horned helmet, and the plant-shaped lightning rod he holds in his hand. According to historian Alberto Green, Baal is portrayed as a "vigorous, young, graceful, athletic deity marching forward."Green, 2003, p. 165.

Excavation

The stele was discovered in 1932 during excavations at

directed by French archaeologist,

. While the stele was unearthed about from the Temple of Baal on its southern slope, it was probably originally housed inside the temple. Additionally, eight more stelae were recovered from the area, while another 14 were unearthed in the Temple of Dagon and throughout the city.

References

Citations

Bibliography