AN UGARITIC TEXT RELATED TO THE

FERTILITY CULT (KTU 1. 23)

Stanislav Segert
At this conference on archaeology the opinion was expressed that
it is possible to separate the objective description of archaeological
finds from their interpretation, which may involve some sUbjective
elements. Such a separation cannot be applied to written texts,
whether found by archaeological excavation or transmitted by
copying. This interdependence of description and interpretation is
evident in ancient non-vocalized Semitic texts. A combination of three
consonant letters can indicate either a noun or a verbal noun -
infinitive or participle - as well as a finite verbal form such as certain
persons of the perfect or imperative. Only interpreting in context can
indicate the category, the morphological characteristics and the
syntactic function of such a word.
This applies to the ancient North Canaanite literary and liturgical
texts excavated at Ras Shamra - ancient U garit - in Northern Syria
on the shore of the Mediterranean. These cuneiform alphabetic tablets
were written mostly in the 14th century B.C., but traditions reaching
several centuries back had been preserved on them.
The alphabetic cuneiform tablet containing a fertility ritual was
found during the second excavation season directed by Claude
Schaeffer in 1930, and published by Charles Virolleaud in 1933. Only
about one half of the 76 lines of this tablet inscribed on both sides is
completely preserved, but at the end probably no more than one line is
missing (ample bibliographies in Caquot et al. 1974: 367-368 and Del
Olmo Lete 1983: 427, n. 1).
The title used in modern literature, "Birth of Gracious Gods", is
taken from the tablet (cf. lines 1-2,23,58). Its first part contains ritual
instructions, the second part presents a mythological epic poem related
to the ritual.
The first, liturgical part (lines 1-29) is divided by eight horizontal
lines into nine sections, while the narrative continues in the second part
(lines 30-76) without interruption. The parallelistic cola and verses of
this epic poem only occasionally coincide with the graphic lines
(previous research discussed by Xella 1973: 12-24; Caquot et al. 1974:

217
357-358, 360-364; Del Olmo Lete 1983: notes to pp. 427-439; various
translations in notes to pp. 440-448).
The first liturgical part begins with an invocation: j'iqra'a 'ilima
na 'imimaj "I will invoke gracious gods" (line 1). A similar
introductory formula opens the eighth liturgical section (line 23).
The liturgical character of the first part is indicated by objects and
agents related to the cult - such as Prince Mot sitting with a scepter
(lines 8-9) - as well as by instructions for ritual actions, such as eating
bread and drinkmg wine (line 6), repeating of liturgical formulas (line
12), boiling of fat milk with herbs (line 19).
The agricultural function of this ritual is indicated by products
and actions: j lal;1m-j "bread", j gamr-j and j yenj "wine" (line 6), care
of vine (lines 9-11) and grapes (line 26), vineyard terraces (line 10),
fields of gods and goddesses (lines 13 and 28).
The poetic narrative (lines 30-76) describes actions bringing
fertility or related to it: The old supreme god I1 overcame his
impotence, the weakness of his member (lines 37-40), by shooting
down a bird and roasting it on charcoal (lines 37 -39). Then he was able
to impregnate two wives of his. No names of wives are given in the
narrative: they may be supplied from the introductory section (lines 13,
28) asa.!rt JVrl}m (y)/ 'a!irat-) and jral)may-j (?). They gave birth to
two gods, Sa1!ar "Dawn" and Salim "Dusk" (lines 42-53).
Afterwards, Il's wives gave birth to gracious gods (lines 58-61).
Their names are not given, their number may be related to the
instruction requiring to recite the story five times (line 57) as five or
rather twice five: ten. These young gods devoured with wide open
mouths birds of heaven and fish of the sea (lines 62-63). Then stones
and woods of the holy desert are mentioned (lines 65-66). After seven
years, poetically equal to eight cycles (lines 66-67), the gods came to the
guardian of cultivated land (line 69) and asked for bread and wine
(lines 71-72). The guardian provided what was requested (lines 73-74).
Two aspects offertility, procreation and provision offood, appear
in this U garitic text. Its use in the cult is indicated in the introductory
sections. But the text itself does not give specific information for what
festival in which agricultural season it had to be used. On the basis of
some hints in the text various interpretations were put forward by
modern scholars: festival at the beginning or at the end of grain
harvest, festival connected with wine and grape gathering, ritual which

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had to provide abundant rain. Both spring and fall terms have been
considered, the last one in connection with the New Year festival (cf.
Caquot et al. 1974: 359; Del Olmo Lete (1983: 436-439).
Among analogies which could help to better understand this
Ugaritic text, hydrophoria and hieros gamos were mentioned. These
terms point to Greece, but both these rites were performed in East
Mediterranean areas as well.
The connection of hydrophoria with the U garitic ritual text seems
to be tenuous, since it is based on two fragmentary and problematic
lines (30-31) where "sea shore" is mentioned. (Cf. Gaster 1966: 427 -428;
Caquot et al. 357. - A new interpretation ofthese lines: Del Olmo Lete
1984: 143-146). The comparison with better preserved similar lines 35-
36 does not support this interpretation.
According to some interpretations two women are lifting / musta-
'alatemaj(?) water - which is not expressly indicated in the preserved
text - to the top / le-ra'si/ of a vessel / 'aggan-/ . This interpretation
of agn supported by Hebrew 'aggan(cf. Caquot et al.1974: 357) is more
appropriate than that proposed by Segert and Zgusta (1953: 274-275),
"fire" with reference to Indo-European agni-( cf. Gordon 1965: 351;
Xella 1973: 55). Insofar as hydrophoria at the Jerusalem temple - as
described in post-biblical traditional literature (Mishnah, Sukkah4, 9-
10) -was supposed to assure abundant rain by imitating it, by
pouring water down, it perhaps can be related to fertility cult. The
other kind of hydrophoria, attested by Lucian (De Syria dea, 13, cf.
48) for Hierapolis in Northern Syria, was connected to the tradition of
the flood, as was the rite performed in Athens (Nilsson 1955' 595-596).
The sacred marriage, hieros gamos, is well known from the
ancient Near East (Jacobsen 1976: 32-47) as well as from ancient
Greece (Nilsson 1955: 121-122). In some of these rites the king and
queen acted. The use of sacred marriage in fertility rites is based on
imitative magic: human fertility may assure fertility of animals and
plants. Some relics of sacred marriage rites survived until recent times
in agricultural rites performed in the Ukraine, Germany (Frazer 1964:
126-127), and Lithuania (Marija Gimbutas in the discussion of this
paper).
The major part of the U garitic epic "Birth of Gracious Gods"
(lines 33-61) describes in detail the intercourse of god n with his two
wives. No connection with a ritual action is indicated. The greetings
/ salamu/ to the King and the Queen in the introductory part (line 7)

219
point to the participation of the royal couple in the ceremony, but do
not give any direct hint to sacred marriage. If the narrative had to serve
as model for a rite, two women and one man were expected to
participate in it.
The sequence of various kinds of foods which were eaten by the
young gracious gods was used as basis for an aetiological
interpretation: The gods were first fed from the breast of the lady (line
61). Then they devoured birds and fish (lines 61-63). Only later, after
seven or eight years, they moved from the desert to cultivated, sown
land jmadra'j (lines 66-69), where they obtained from its guardian
bread and wine (lines 69-76).
This sequence may reflect the progress of the human society, from
living on meat of animals, birds and fish, to organized agriculture that
could provide bread and wine (Caquot et al. 1974: 363-364).
The exact location and function of the U garitic liturgical text
"Birth of Gracious Gods" remains in many aspects uncertain, even
after respectable efforts of two generations of competent scholars. In
fifty years since the editio princeps, consensus on a general
understanding was reached. However, many details, especially in the
first part, are still waiting for their exact interpretation. The
fragmentary state of preservation and lack of close analogies may
explain this situation.
Two features requiring further study may be mentioned: the
meaning of the number of years, seven or eight, and the role of twins.
The words j sab'- sanat-j "seven years" are followed by the
parallel expression j tamani n-qapat-/ "eight cycles" (lines 66-67). In
this parallelistic poetic style the number functionally synonymous with
sacred "7" is "7+ 1", i.e. "8" (cf. Segert 1983: 304). This parallel seems to
weaken the relationship of the U garitic number "7" to other instances
of the number "7", such as sabbatical years of ancient Israelites and 7+7
years in Joseph's story (Genesis, c. 41). In Ugaritic texts the number
"7", especially if it is followed by the poetically functional synonym
"8", indicates a considerable interval of time between two actions,
rather than an exact number.
This interval of7 years appears several times in the epic cycles. In
Baal epics it follows mention offields (1. 12: II: 44-45), in Aqhat epics it
gives the length of drought caused by the murder of young prince
Aqhat (1. 19: I: 42-43). The length of seven or eight years in the poem,
on gracious gods indicates their stay in the desert: the relationship of'

220
this interval to agricultural rites is not mentioned.
Among the details which may help a better understanding of this
U garitic ritual text, the role of two gods deserves attention. Sahar and
Salim - "Dawn" and "Dusk" - we.re not twins, they were sons of
different mothers. But they were fathered by the same god, conceived
and born in the same time. They always appear together and can be
considered functional twins.
To quote James Frazer (1964:71): "There is a widespread belief
that twin children possess magical powers over nature, especially over
rain and the weather". Some North American Indians used to spill
water from baskets to produce rain. Mothers of twins - and even
graves of twins - were considered instrumental for securing rain by
Bantus in Southeastern Africa. The Heavenly Twins, Dioscuri, were
credited by ancient Greeks with the power of allaying storms (Frazer-
Gaster 1964: 71-73, 177).
In the U garitic myth, god Il by impregnating two women at the
same time produced two sons, who were functionally twins. The birth
of twins, important as a symbol in a fertility cult, was more likely iftwo
wives were impregnated, than if the birth of natural twins were left to
chance.
The U garitic tex"( "Birth of Gracious Gods" contains substantial
data about the fertility cult. Further analysis ofthe text itself combined
with sound use of structural analogies may extract more information
from this relatively short and fragmentary document of the ancient
Canaanite beliefs and practices.

221
Summary
A contextual interpretation is applied to a tablet in alphabetic
cuneiform from the 14th cent. B.c., found at Ras Shamra-Ugarit in
Northern Syria, published in 1933. This ancient Canaanite text "Birth
of Gracious Gods" contains a liturgical introduction and an epic poem:
The god 11 fathered sons from two wives. This fertility ritual was
compared to other rites, such as hydrophoria - this connection is
rather tenuous - and sacred marriage. It was also explained as a
reflection of the progress of human society toward agriculture. Even
after successful efforts in general interpretation, further studies of
details are needed. The parallel expressions "seven years" - "eight
cycles" indicate not an exact, but a considerable interval of time. Two
gods "Dawn" and "Dusk" were sons of different mothers, but they
were born from the same father at the same time; thus they may - as
functional twins - be helpful in assuring abundant rains.

Resume
Un texte ugaritique concernant le culte de fertilite (KTU 1. 23).
U ne interpretation en contexte est appliquee it une tablette en
cuneiformes alphabetiques du 14eme sie'cle avant J.-C:, trouvee it Ras
Shamra-Ugarit en Syrie du Nord, publiee en 1933. Cet ancien texte
cananeen "La naissance des dieux gracieux" contient une introduction
liturgique et un poeme epique: Le dieu Il est devenu pere des fils nes de
deux epouses. Ce rituel de fertilite etait compare it d'autres rites,
comme l'hydrophorie - ce rapport est tres tenu - et le mariage sacre.
Il etait aussi explique comme reflexion du progres de la societe
humaine vers l'agriculture. Meme apres des efforts reussis en
interpretation generale, des etudes supplementaires des details sont
necessaires. Les expressions para1H:les "sept annees" - "huit cycles"
denotent un intervalle de temps, non exact, mais considerable. Les
dieux "Aube" et "Crepuscule" etaient fils des meres differentes, mais ils
etaient nes du me me pere au meme temps; ainsi ils pouvaient - comme
jumeaux fonctionaux - aider en assurant des pluies abondantes.

222
Bibliography
Text editions (some with translations and commentaries):
DEL OLMO LETE, G.
1983 - Mitos y Leyendas de Canaan segun la tradicion de Ugarit,
Madrid. [Text, Spanish tr., notes, introd.; pp. 427-448].
DIETRICH, M., LORETZ,O., SANMARTIN, J.
1976 - Die keilalphabetischen Texte aus Ugarit, 1, Kevelaer/
Neukirchen-Vluyn. [Abbr.: KTU.] [Nr. 1. 23].
GIBSON, J.C.L.
1978 - Canaanite Myths and Legends, Edinburgh. [Text, Engl. tr., notes;
pp. 123-127, cf. pp. 28-30].
GORDON, CH.
1965 - Ugaritic Textbook, Rome. [Nr. 52].
HERDNER,A.
1963 - Corpus des tablettes en cuneiformes alphabhiques decouvertes a
Ras Shamra-Ugarit de 1929 a 1939, Paris. [Nr. 23].
RIN, S.
1968 - Acts of the Gods [Hebr.] Jerusalem. [Text, Hebr. tr., notes].
VIROLLEAUD, Ch.
1933 - La naissance des dieux gracieux et beaux, Syria, XIV, pp. 128-
151. [Editio princeps, French tr., notes].
XELLA, P.
1973 - 11 mito di SHR e SLM: Saggio sulla mitologia ugaritica, Roma.
[Text, Ital. ir., commentary].

Translations:
CAQUOT, A., SZNYCER, M., HERDNER, A
1974 - Textes ougaritiques, I: Mythes et U:gendes, Paris. [Paris tr., notes,
introd.; pp. 353-379].
GASTER, Th. H.
1950/1966 - Thespis: Ritual, Myth and Drama in the Ancient Near East,
New York. [Engl. tr., notes; pp. 418-435; cf. pp. 406-417].

223
Other Literature:
DEL OLMO LETE, G.
1984 - Interpretaci6n de la mitologia can an ea, Valencia.
FRAZER, J.G. (GASTER, Th. H., ed.)
1964 - The New Golden Bough, New York.
JACOBSEN, Th.
1976 - The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian
Religion, New Haven.
MACLEOD, M.D., ed.
1980 - Luciani Opera, Ill, Oxford.
NILSSON, M.P.
1955 - Geschichte der griechischen Religion, I, Miinchen.
SEGERT, S.
1983 - Parallelism in Ugaritic Poetry, Journal of the American Oriental
Society, 103, pp. 295-306.
SEGERT, S. - ZGUSTA, L.
1953 - Indogermanisches in den alphabetischen Texten aus Ugarit,
Archiv Orienta/ni, 21, pp. 272-275.

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