Yam (also ''Yamm'';
Semitic: ) is the
god of the sea
A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Ano ...
in the
Canaanite pantheon
The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases ...
.
He takes the role of the adversary of
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 Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
in the
Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologis ...
''
Baal Cycle
The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE.
The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...
''.
The deity's name derives from the
Canaanite word for "Sea", and is one name of the
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 = F ...
ic god of Rivers and Sea.
Also titled ''ṯpṭ nhr'' (" the Judge of the River"), he is also one of the ''
'ilhm'', or sons of
El, the name given to the Levantine
pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
.
Of all the gods, despite being the champion of
El, Yam holds special hostility against
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 Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...
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. ...
, son of
Dagon
Dagon ( he, דָּגוֹן, ''Dāgōn'') or Dagan ( sux, 2= dda-gan, ; phn, 𐤃𐤂𐤍, Dāgān) was a god worshipped in ancient Syria across the middle of the Euphrates, with primary temples located in Tuttul and Terqa, though many attes ...
. He is a deity of the sea and his palace is in the
abyss
Abyss may refer to:
* Abyss (religion), a bottomless pit, or a passage to the underworld
Film and television
* ''The Abyss'' (1910 film), a Danish silent film starring Asta Nielsen
* ''The Abyss'' (1988 film) (''L'Œuvre au noir''), a French- ...
associated with the depths, or Biblical
tehom
Tehom ( he, תְּהוֹם ''ṯəhôm'') is a Biblical Hebrew word meaning "the deep". It is used to describe the primeval ocean and the post-creation waters of the earth. It derives from a Semitic root which denoted the sea as an unpersonified en ...
, of the oceans.
Yam is the deity of the primordial
chaos
Chaos or CHAOS may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements
* Chaos (''Kinnikuman'')
* Chaos (''Sailor Moon'')
* Chaos (''Sesame Park'')
* Chaos (''Warhammer'')
* Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy''
* Cha ...
and represents the power of the sea, untamed and raging; he is seen as ruling storms and the disasters they wreak, and was an important divinity to the maritime
Phoenicians
Phoenicia () was an ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient thalassocracy, thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-st ...
. The gods cast out Yam from the heavenly mountain Sappan (modern
Jebel Aqra
Jebel Aqra ( ar, جبل الأقرع, translit=Jabal al-ʾAqraʿ, ; tr, Kel Dağı) is a limestone mountain located on the Syrian– Turkish border near the mouth of the Orontes River on the Mediterranean Sea. Rising from a narrow coastal plain, ...
; ''Sappan'' is
cognate
In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...
to ''
Tsephon'').
The fight of Baal-Hadad with Yam has long been equated with the ''
Chaoskampf
Chaos ( grc, χάος, kháos) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation ...
'' mytheme in
Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies ...
in which a god fights and destroys a "
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
" or sea monster; the seven-headed
dragon
A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...
Lotan
Lotan (Ugaritic: 𐎍𐎚𐎐''-ltn'', transliterated
''Lôtān'', ''Litan'', or ''Litānu'', meaning "coiled") is a servant of the sea god Yam defeated by the storm god Hadad-Baʿal in the Ugaritic ''Baal Cycle''.
Lotan seems to have b ...
is associated closely with him and Yam is often described as ''the
serpent
Serpent or The Serpent may refer to:
* Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes
Mythology and religion
* Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature
* Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts
* Serp ...
''. Both Mesopotamian
Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
[Albert I. Baumgarten
, ''The Phoenician History of Philo of Byblos: A Commentary'' (1981)]
p. 131
"The concept of a battle between the primordial cosmic sea and a leading god of the pantheon was an innovation in Babylonian religion introduced with ''Enuma elish''. The motif itself was probably inspired from the mythology of Western Asia, where it is represented by the Ugaritic myth of Baal." "Tiamat" in van der Toorn et al., ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
The ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible'' (DDD) is an academic reference work edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst which contains academic articles on the named gods, angels, and demons in the books o ...
'' (1999),
p. 868
and Biblical
Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
are adduced as reflexes of this narrative,
[van der Toorn et al., '']Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible
The ''Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible'' (DDD) is an academic reference work edited by Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking and Pieter W. van der Horst which contains academic articles on the named gods, angels, and demons in the books o ...
'' (1999
s.v. "Dragon"
/ref> as is the fight of Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
with Typhon
Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...
in Greek mythology.[Joseph Eddy Fontenrose, ''Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins'' University of California Press (1959),]
p. 134
/ref>
Baal Cycle
In the Ugaritic
Ugaritic () is an extinct Northwest Semitic language, classified by some as a dialect of the Amorite language and so the only known Amorite dialect preserved in writing. It is known through the Ugaritic texts discovered by French archaeologis ...
''Baal Cycle
The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE.
The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...
'', El, chief of the Gods and father to the second-tier divinities, appoints Yam to fight Hadad-Baal.
In the ''interpretatio graeca
''Interpretatio graeca'' (Latin, "Greek translation") or "interpretation by means of Greek odels is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cultures; a comparative methodology using ancient Gr ...
'' of Philo of Byblos
Philo of Byblos ( grc, Φίλων Βύβλιος, ''Phílōn Býblios''; la, Philo Byblius; – 141), also known as Herennius Philon, was an antiquarian writer of grammatical, lexical and historical works in Greek. He is chiefly known for ...
, El corresponds 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) and ...
, Hadad-Baal to Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D ...
, Yam to Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...
and Mot
Mot or MOT may refer to:
Media
* Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
* ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine
* Mot (Star Trek), a minor character in ''Star Trek: The Next Gene ...
to Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
.
KTU 1.2 iii:
:"From your throne of kingship you shall be driven,
:from the seat of your dominion cast out!
:On your head be Ayamari (Driver) O Yam,
:Between your shoulders Yagarish (Chaser), O Judge Nahar
:May Horon split open, O Yam,
:may Horon smash your head,
:´Athtart-Name-of-the-Lord thy skull!
After a great war in heaven involving many of the gods, Yam is soundly defeated:
:And the weapon springs from the hand of Baal,
:Like a raptor from between his fingers.
:It strikes the skull of Prince Yam,
:between the eyes of Judge Nahar.
:Yahm collapses, he falls to the earth;
:His joints quiver, and his spine shakes.
:Thereupon Baal drags out Yam and would rend him to pieces;
:he would make an end of Judge Nahar.
Hadad holds a great feast, but not long afterwards he battles Mot
Mot or MOT may refer to:
Media
* Ministry of Truth, the propaganda ministry in George Orwell 1949 novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four''
* ''mot'' (magazine), former German car magazine
* Mot (Star Trek), a minor character in ''Star Trek: The Next Gene ...
(death) and through his mouth he descends to the netherworld. Yet like Yam, Death too is defeated and in h. I AB iii the Lord arises from the dead:
:For alive is Mighty Baal,
:Revived is the Prince, Master of Earth."
:'El calls to the Virgin Anat:
:"Hearken, O maiden Anat
Anat (, ), Anatu, classically Anath (; uga, 𐎓𐎐𐎚 ''ʿnt''; he, עֲנָת ''ʿĂnāṯ''; ; el, Αναθ, translit=Anath; Egyptian: '' ꜥntjt'') was a goddess associated with warfare and hunting, best known from the Ugaritic texts. ...
!"
Comparative mythology
The narrative of the conflict of Yam with Baal-Hadad has long been compared to parallels in Mesopotamian mythology
Mesopotamian mythology refers to the myths, religious texts, and other literature that comes from the region of ancient Mesopotamia which is a historical region of Western Asia, situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system that occupies ...
, the battle between Tiamat
In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...
and Enlil
Enlil, , "Lord f theWind" later known as Elil, is an 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 the Akkadians, Bab ...
and Babylonian Marduk
Marduk (Cuneiform: dAMAR.UTU; Sumerian: ''amar utu.k'' "calf of the sun; solar calf"; ) was a god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon. When Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of ...
and, more generically, the ''Chaoskampf
Chaos ( grc, χάος, kháos) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation ...
'' motif in comparative mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used ...
.[
]
See also
* Apep
Apep, also spelled Apepi or Aapep, ( Ancient Egyptian: ; Coptic: Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. ''Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien''. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen Buch ...
* Baal Cycle
The Baal Cycle is an Ugaritic cycle of stories about the Canaanite god Baʿal ( "Owner", "Lord"), a storm god associated with fertility. It is one of the Ugarit texts, dated to c. 1500-1300 BCE.
The text identifies Baal as the god Hadad, t ...
* Chaoskampf
Chaos ( grc, χάος, kháos) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation ...
* Nu (mythology)
Nu ("Watery One") or Nun ("The Inert One") ( Ancient Egyptian: ; Coptic: ), is the personification of the primordial watery abyss which existed at the time of creation and from which the creator sun god Ra arose, in ancient Egyptian religion ...
* Ugaritic mythology
The Canaanite religion was the group of ancient Semitic religions practiced by the Canaanites living in the ancient Levant from at least the early Bronze Age through the first centuries AD. Canaanite religion was polytheistic and, in some cases ...
References
* Coogan, Michael D (1978)., trans. & ed., ''Stories from Ancient Canaan,'' (Philadelphia: Westminster Press), 86-89.
*Day, John, ''God's Conflict with the Dragon and the Sea: Echoes of a Canaanite Myth in the Old Testament'' (1985)
* De Moor, Johannes, ''The Seasonal Pattern in the Myth of Ba' lu according to the version of Ilimilku,'' (1971).
* Driver, G. R., trans., J. C. L. Gibson, ed., ''Canaanite Myths and Legends,'' (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark Ltd., 1977).
* Ginsberg, H. L., trans., in ''The Ancient Near East, An Anthology of Tests and Pictures'', James B. Pritchard, Ed., (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1958), 92-118.
* Smith, Mark S. (1994) ''The Ugaritic Ba'al Cycle; Vol. I: Introduction with Text, Translation & Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2,'' (New York: E. J. Brill).
* Smith, Mark S. (2001) "The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts" (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
*
External links
"Baal Battles Yahm"
(original translation, "Lilinah biti-Anat" 1997, partially based on Smith 1994).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yam (God)
Sea and river gods
Chaos gods
Levantine mythology
Phoenician mythology
Ugaritic deities
Tiamat
Children of El (deity)