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Bêl (; from akk, bēlu) is a title signifying "lord" or "master" applied to various gods in the Mesopotamian religion of Akkad,
Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...
, and Babylonia. The feminine form is ''Bêlit'' ('Lady, Mistress') in
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic ...
. ''Bel'' is represented in Greek as Belos and in Latin as Belus. ''Belit'' appears in Greek form as Beltis (Βελτις). Linguistically, ''Bel'' is an East Semitic form cognate 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 in the Early Bronze Age. It is first attested in proper names identified as Amorite in the Middle Bronze Age ...
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 ...
with the same meaning. ''Bel'' was especially used for the Babylonian god Marduk 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 Mesopotamia. Beginning with the coronation of Nabopolassar as the King of Babylon in 626 BC and being ...
personal names or mentioned in inscriptions in a Mesopotamian context. Similarly, ''Bêlit'' mostly refers to Marduk's spouse
Sarpanit Sarpanit (alternately Sarpanitu, Ṣarpanitu, Zarpanit, Zirpanet, Zerpanitum, Zerbanitu, or Zirbanit) was the consort of Marduk, the main god of Babylon, and a goddess of birth. She was already attested as the wife of Marduk before his ascension t ...
. Marduk's mother, the Sumerian goddess often referred to in the Sumerian language as
Ninhursag , deity_of=Mother goddess, goddess of fertility, mountains, and rulers , image= Mesopotamian - Cylinder Seal - Walters 42564 - Impression.jpg , caption= Akkadian cylinder seal impression depicting a vegetation goddess, possibly Ninhursag, sitt ...
,
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, 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 Malakbel (Arabic: ملاك بعل) was a sun god worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra, frequently associated and worshiped with the moon god Aglibol as a party of a trinity involving the sky god Baalshamin. Etymology Malakbel's ...
of Palmyra is an example, attested as a messenger of Bel but existing as a deity separate to Bel/ Marduk. Similarly, Zeus Belus mentioned by
Sanchuniathon Sanchuniathon (; Ancient Greek: ; probably from Phoenician: , "Sakon has given"), also known as Sanchoniatho the Berytian, was a Phoenician author. His three works, originally written in the Phoenician language, survive only in partial paraphras ...
as born to
Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) an ...
/ El in
Peraea Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from grc, ἡ περαία, ''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" a ...
is unlikely to be Marduk. Early translators of Akkadian believed that the ideogram for the god called '' Enlil'' 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, the name for Jupiter is ''
Bil BIL or Bil may refer to: Mythology * Bil, a Norse goddess * Bil (Mandaeism), the Mandaean name for Jupiter People * Bil Baird (1904–1987), American puppeteer * Bil Dwyer (1907-1987), American cartoonist and humorist * Bil Dwyer (born 1962), ...
'' (), which is derived from the name Bel.


Bel of Palmyra, Syria

A god named Bel was the chief-god of Palmyra, Syria in pre-
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
times, being worshipped alongside the gods
Aglibol Aglibol is a god from Palmyra, originating from a north Syrian immigrant community. He is a moon god who was worshiped in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra as part of a trinity alongside Bel and Yarhibol, and associated with the sun god Malakbe ...
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 Palmyr ...
. Originally, he was known as Bol, after the Northwestern Semitic word
Ba'al 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 ...
(usually used to refer to the god Hadad), until the cult of Bel- Marduk spread to Palmyra and by 213 BC, Bol was renamed to Bel. The Temple of Bel in Palmrya, Syria was dedicated to this god. The temple has since been destroyed by ISIS.


See also

*
Ba‘al 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 to ...
*
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-cent ...
*
Belial Belial ( he, , ''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 ...
*
Belus (disambiguation) Belus (Latin) or Belos ( grc-gre, Βῆλος, ''Bē̂los'') was the indifferent classical rendering of the Semitic words ''bēlu'' and ''baʿal'' ("lord") as a theonym, personal name, and royal title. Belus may refer to: In myth and legend * Be ...
**
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 or Belos ( Ancient Greek: Βῆλος, ''Belos'') in classical Greek or classical Latin texts (and later material based on them) in a Babylonian context refers to the Babylonian god Bel Marduk. Though often identified with Greek Zeus and ...
**
Belus (Egyptian) In Greek mythology, Belus ( Ancient Greek: Βῆλος ''Bē̂los'') 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, or Side (eponym of the Phoenician city of Sidon) ...
* EN (cuneiform) * Marduk * List of Mesopotamian deities


References


External links


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