Bel (mythology)

Title applied to various gods of ancient Mesopotamian religions

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Part of a series on

Religion in Mesopotamia
Chaos Monster and Sun God

* Ancient Mesopotamian religion

*     * Babylonian
* Sumerian

* Deities
* Mythology

Primordial beings

* Tiamat and Abzu

* Lahamu and Lahmu

* Kishar and Anshar

* Mummu

Seven gods who decree

* Four primary

*     * Anu
* Enlil
* Enki
* Ninhursag

* Three sky gods

*     * Inanna/Ishtar
* Nanna/Sin
* Utu/Shamash

Other major deities

* Adad
* Ashur
* Dumuzid
* Enkimdu
* Enmesharra
* Ereshkigal
* Ki
* Kingu
* Geshtinanna
* Lahar
* Marduk
* Nergal
* Ninurta
* Šulpae

Minor deities

* Agasaya
* Anunnaki
* Asaruludu
* Ashnan
* Ashgi
* Bel
* Dumuzi-abzu
* Enbilulu
* Erra
* Erragal
* Gibil
* Hendursaga
* Igigi
* Isimud
* Išum
* Kajamanu
* Lahar
* Laṣ
* Lisin
* Lugala'abba
* Mami/Nintu
* Mamitu
* Maštabba
* Nabu
* Namtar
* Nanshe
* Nindara
* Ninmarki
* Nisaba
* Ninazu
* Ningal
* Ningirida
* Ningirima
* Ninkasi
* Ninkilim
* Ninlil
* Ninmug
* Ninšar
* Ninsikila
* Ninšubur
* Ninsun
* Nuska
* Paniĝinĝarra
* Sarpanit
* Shul-utula
* Šubula
* Šulpae
* Tišpak
* Uttu

Demigods and heroes

* Adapa
* Enkidu
* Enmerkar
* Gilgamesh
* Lugalbanda
* Shamhat
* Siduri
* Atra-Hasis
* Ziusudra
* Apkallu (seven sages)

Spirits and monsters

* Udug
* Lamassu/Shedu
* Asag
* Edimmu
* Siris
* Anzû
* Ušum/Dragon
* Kuli-ana/Mermaid
* Bašmu
* Mušmaḫḫū
* Ušumgallu
* Seven-headed serpent
* Humbaba
* Hanbi
* Kur
* Lamashtu
* Lilu
* Pazuzu
* Rabisu

Tales

* An = Anum
* Atra-Hasis
* Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
* Enūma Eliš
* Epic of Gilgamesh

Terms

* Dingir
* Sukkal

Genealogy

* Babylonian
* Sumerian

* Other religions of the ancient Near East:

* Anatolia
* Egypt
* Hurrian
* Iranian
* Semitic
* Arabia
* Canaan

* v
* t
* e

Part of the myth series on
Religions of the ancient Near East

Pre-Islamic Arabian deities

* 'Amm
* A'ra
* Abgal
* Al-Lat
* Al-Qaum
* Almaqah
* Anbay
* ʿAṯtar
* Basamum
* Dhu l-Khalasa
* Dhu Samawi
* Dushara
* Haukim
* Hubal
* Isāf and Nā'ila
* Kahl
* Manaf
* Manāt
* Nasr
* Nuha
* Quzah
* Rahmanan
* Ruda
* Sa'd
* Shams, Samas
* Syn
* Suwa'
* Ta'lab
* Theandrios
* al-‘Uzzá
* Wadd
* Ya'uq
* Yaghūth
* Yatha

Arabian deities of other Semitic origins

* Aglibol (Palmyrene)
* Astarte
* Atargatis (Syrian)
* Baalshamin (Canaanite and Palmyrene)
* Bēl (Palmyrene)
* Bes (Egypt)
* Ēl / Ilah (NW Semitic)
* Inanna/Ishtar
* Malakbel (Palmyrene)
* Nabū, Nebo
* Nergal
* Yarhibol (Palmyrene)

* v
* t
* e

Bêl (/ˈbeɪl/; from Akkadian: bēlu) is a title signifying 'lord' or 'master' applied to various gods in the Mesopotamian religion of Akkad, Assyria, and Babylonia. The feminine form is Bêlit ('Lady, Mistress') in Akkadian. 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 Baal with the same meaning.

Bel was especially used for the Babylonian god Marduk in Assyrian and neo-Babylonian personal names or mentioned in inscriptions in a Mesopotamian context. Similarly, Bêlit mostly refers to Marduk's spouse Sarpanit. Marduk's mother, the Sumerian goddess often referred to in the Sumerian language as Ninhursag, Damkina, 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 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 as born to Cronus/El in Peraea 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.[1]

In Mandaean cosmology, the name for Jupiter is Bil (ࡁࡉࡋ), which is derived from the name Bel.[2]

## Bel of Palmyra, Syria

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A god named Bel was the chief-god of Palmyra, Syria in pre-Hellenistic times; the deity was worshipped alongside the gods Aglibol and Yarhibol.[3] He was originally known as Bol,[4] after the Northwestern Semitic word Ba'al[5] (usually used to refer to the god Hadad), until the cult of Bel-Marduk spread to Palmyra; by 213 BC, Bol was renamed to Bel.[4] The Temple of Bel in Palmrya, Syria was dedicated to this god. The temple has since been destroyed by ISIS.[6]

* Bel of Palmyra, Syria, depicted on the far left alongside Ba'alshamin, Yarhibol and Aglibol on a relief from Palmyra

* Fortified gate of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria

## See also

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* Ba‘al
* Bel and the Dragon
* Belial
* Belus (disambiguation)
* Belus (Assyrian)
* Belus (Babylonian)
* Belus (Egyptian)
* EN (cuneiform)
* Marduk
* List of Mesopotamian deities

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Orr, James (1915). The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Howard-Severance Company. pp. 349–. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
2. ^ Bhayro, Siam (10 February 2020). "Cosmology in Mandaean Texts". Hellenistic Astronomy. Brill. pp. 572–579\. doi:10.1163/9789004400566_046. ISBN 9789004243361. S2CID 213438712. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
3. ^ Rostovtzeff, M. I. (1932). "The Caravan-Gods of Palmyra". The Journal of Roman Studies. 22. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies: 107–116\. doi:10.2307/297093. JSTOR 297093. S2CID 163542083.
4. ^ a b Teixidor, Javier (1979). The Pantheon of Palmyra. Brill Archive. ISBN 9004059873.
5. ^ Drijvers, H. J. W. (1980). Cults and Beliefs at Edessa. Brill Archive. ISBN 9004060502.
6. ^ Romey, Kristin (26 August 2015). "How Ancient Palmyra, Now in ISIS's Grip, Grew Rich and Powerful". National Geographic News. National Geographic Society. National Geographic Partners, LLC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baal.

* Bartleby: American Heritage Dictionary: Semitic Roots: bcl (Dead link. Archived 15 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine)

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