More on Anat
Jul. 26th, 2007 07:45 pmAnat's killing of Aqhat is followed by a drought; in Stories from Ancient Canaan, Michael Coogan speculates that the lost conclusion to the myth sees Aqhat's resurrection and the restoration of fertility to the land. If so, I think there's another parallel with Inanna/Ishtar, who decreed Dumuzi's captivity in the Netherworld.
In the Epic of Baal, there's a different variation on the pattern: Anat retrieves Baal's body, and slays his murderer, Death himself, returning Baal to life.
Another parallel: in Enuma Elish, Marduk fights and defeats Tiamat, the sea; in the Epic of Baal, Baal fights and defeats Prince Sea. (Both Baal and Marduk are young up-and-coming gods, who receive a temple as the reward for their victories.)
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Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1978.
In the Epic of Baal, there's a different variation on the pattern: Anat retrieves Baal's body, and slays his murderer, Death himself, returning Baal to life.
Another parallel: in Enuma Elish, Marduk fights and defeats Tiamat, the sea; in the Epic of Baal, Baal fights and defeats Prince Sea. (Both Baal and Marduk are young up-and-coming gods, who receive a temple as the reward for their victories.)
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Coogan, Michael David. Stories from Ancient Canaan. Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1978.