Baal Cycle - Baal and Mot

Baal and Mot

The final part of the Baal cycle is concerned with Baal's battle against Mot, or death personified. Continuing from the preceding section, Mot concludes his reply to Baal. His reply is that he, like a lion in the desert, hungers constantly for human flesh and blood. By inviting Mot to a meal of bread and wine, Mot is offended, and threatens to cause the heavens to wilt and collapse, breaking Baal into pieces. Mot then will eat him piece by piece. When the text continues, Baal, or a speaker on his behalf admits his fear and dread of Mot. The speaker then tells Gupn and Ugar to go back to Mot and tell him that Baal will be eternally his slave, news to which Mot rejoices. When the text continues Baal complains to El that his dominion is in danger of passing to Mot. He then sends messengers to Sheger and Ithm, who are responsible for Cattle and Sheep, and asks them to provide animals for a feast, to which he will invite Mot. When the texts continue, a messenger from Mot arrives in the divine assembly, demanding to know where Baal is. They both go up to El's house where El asks what has been happening. When the text continues, a speaker who is probably Shapash the sun-goddess addresses Baal. She is advising him to find a substitute in his image, which will be sought out and slain by Mot. She then promises to bury his body, and advises him to go to the two mountains which mark the entrance of the underworld, and to move them aside. Then he is to go down into the earth and hide. He finds a heifer in the fields, and with it has a child, who he dresses in his robes and offers as a gift to Mot.

When the text continues, two deities, presumably Gupn and Ugar arrive at El's abode, and they announce to him that they have been searching for Baal, but found him dead by the bank of the river of the dead. El then descends from his throne and sits on the ground, and mourns, strewing dust on his head, wears clothes of sackcloth, shaves of his beard and beats his chest in grief. Anat too wears sackcloth when she finds the fake dead body. Shapash aids Anat in burying Baal upon Mount Zephon, and Anat slaughters large numbers of oxen, sheep, goats and asses as a memorial. Anat returns to El, and tells Athirat and her family (many of whom were on the side of Mot) that they can rejoice since Baal was dead. El asks Athirat who can he appoint in Baal's place, and she suggests Athtar. Athtar seats himself on Baal's throne, but is not tall enough, confirming El's suspicion that he is too weak for the position.

When the text recontinues, Anat is searching in the netherworld for the shade of her brother. She demands that Mot restores him to her. However, Mot answers that he had searched for him over the earth, wher he found him at the entrance of his domain, and then he simply ate him. Anat continues her search, until she loses patience, and she seizes Mot, and attacks him, attacking him with a sword, shaking him, burning him, crushing him, then throwing his remains to the birds. When the text recontinues Anat returns to El and announces that Mot is dead. El then has a dream which tells him that Baal lives. Shortly after Baal returns. However, soon Mot resurrects, and complains to Baal of the treatment he has received. He demands that Baal surrenders one of his brothers over to him. When Mot has returned, Baal sends messengers telling him that he will banish him, and if he is hungry, he may eat the servants of Baal. However, this fails to please Mot, and so the two gods fight on Mount Zephon until exhausted. Shapash arrives and warns Mot that fighting Baal is useless, and El is now on Baal's side and will overturn Mot's throne. Mot is afraid, and so declares that Baal is king.