Baalat Gebal
Phoenician · deity · phoenician archaic · Recorded classification
Baalat Gebal is the goddess of the city that gave its name to the book. Byblos ran the papyrus trade into the Greek world — biblion, the book, is named for the port — and it ran cedar into Egypt for a thousand years before that, which is why its chief goddess is drawn wearing an Egyptian wig and a Hathor headdress and is treated by Egyptians as Hathor herself. Her name is simply her office: the Lady, of Byblos. The city's kings call themselves her servants in inscriptions that are among the earliest alphabetic writing anyone has.
Domains
- tutelary protection
- fertility
Relations
- counterpart of: HathorEquated with Hathor, and drawn as her: Byblos sold cedar and papyrus to Egypt for two thousand years and its goddess is dressed accordingly.Reference treatment of Baalat Gebal, equated with the Egyptian goddess Hathor by the 12th dynasty and represented in Egyptian dress. (secondary)
Sources
- Baalat Gebal, 'Lady of Byblos', is the chief deity of Byblos, a goddess of earth and fertility and protector of its kings, equated with the Egyptian Hathor and represented in Egyptian dress.: Reference treatments of Baalat Gebal, her temple and her equation with Hathor. (secondary)