A Return to the World
I have not been sleeping well, my friend. I do believe I'm catching some sort of a bug. As I draft this email, my temperature is a few degrees higher than I would like. Not a fever or anything of that serious nature, but just enough to be uncomfortable. Either way, I couldn't keep away from the tablet; I had to know what happened next! As it turns out, in this tablet the narrative returns to our world. It begins with recounting that Anat went to the Pit but doesn't acknowledge her descent to that place beyond the underworld. The grammar is reminiscent of Enuma Elish's opening line "When the skies above were not yet named" or even that of Genesis 1:1 "When God began to create the heavens and the earth." It reads:
{Now,} when Anat descended into the Pit
I added the "Now" in for a bit of cultural context.
It goes on to introduce Yatpan, a familiar figure in Canaanite myth. Known as "the Lady's Warrior", Yatpan is most famous for being Aqhat's murderer. Though here, he takes on a much less vile role. He appears to play the role of Papsukkal from the Descent of Ishtar: the official under the goddess who mourns her death and seeks her return from the underworld. Yatpan searches for Anat on the day of her departure and after the day is nearly done and he cannot find her, he heads to Mount Zaphon to speak with Astarte, who is the female counterpart to Baal who sometimes fills the same role as Anat as the goddess of war and hunting.
He speaks with Astarte regarding Anat and she answers that Anat's been ordered to go to hell, for lack of a better word. It seems Yatpan was not made privy to the goddess' plight and in a strange way, I find that quite funny, Rodgers. Here is their exchange, partially filled by secondary tablets:
Yatpan inquires of her,
"Astarte, the day is almost over and Maiden Anat has not returned to Inbubu.
Shalim is near and the Mistress of the Peoples cannot be found."
Astarte answers,
"Wise El has decreed that Maiden Anat traverse through the Pit
Through Death itself unto the [place beyond] the spheres."
Yatpan pleads,
"Lady Astarte, call her forth!
Call upon the Mistress of the Peoples to
Come up out of the Pit!"
Yatpan seems distraught at learning his mistress' fate and demands, or rather pleads, with his superior to call her out. Now, while this whole tablet takes place in a more familiar environment, that doesn't mean allusions to just how remote Anat's current location is are missing. Astarte's response isn't what I would expect from a goddess such as her:
Astarte replies,
"Is Death my domain that I may decide
Who may come and who may go?
Is the power mine to call forth a being from the grave?
None but El may do this thing.
None but the Bull [of Heaven],
For it is his decree that sent her.
Go, Yatpan, and retire.
Maiden Anat may return in the morning."
Now, this alone isn't worrisome, but her rather carefree response in contrast to Yatpan's pleading as well as what we know to be happening catches me off guard. That said, she is partly correct that if El declared something then only he would be able to undo it. Astarte's response is simply to go to sleep and wait for Anat's return, which Astarte seems confident will come.
The first day passes and the second day begins much like the first. Again, the repetition of themes in this poem is on par with other contemporary poems and epics of its day. Yatpan again goes out in search of his mistress and searches all over the earth. With the way that he is searching, it's worth noting that the earth seems to be flat as Yatpan never crosses oceans or circumnavigates any sort of globe. This lines up with the Canaanites' concept of the world. But if they thought the earth was flat, what on earth are the spheres? I'm drifting again. I'm sorry.
Yatpan cannot find Anat, so he goes to seek out another god. He heads to Egypt to meet with the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Hasis. This is a good strategy, if you ask me, as Kothar was technically the last god - aside from the underworld gods - to see her. He brings up his worry to Kothar:
"Skillful One, the day is almost over and Maiden Anat has not returned to Inbubu.
Shalim is near and the Mistress of the Peoples cannot be found."
Kothar unfortunately doesn't provide any more help to Yatpan than Astarte did. However, his answers to where Anat has gone is a bit more telling:
Kothar answers,
"King El has decreed that Maiden Anat should go down to Mot
Through Death itself unto {the} place beyond the spheres."
Based on Kothar's response, it would seem the spheres are indeed supposed to be some place beyond death. Perhaps that is hell or heaven? But that would make no sense to me, Rodgers. Heaven, or rather "the heavens" already exists in the Canaanite structure of the world. That is where the gods live and where they convene. If it was to be hell, that would not make sense. The underworld already has a location and a name; it even has a god: Mot. So what is this place that is beyond death? Again, I have a theory, but...
Kothar gives Yatpan the same advice that Astarte gave him. This is expected, again, considering this story's genre. It's quite poetic, its structure, and I find it rather beautiful; though that shouldn't come as too much of a surprise considering my past studies. I have been reading this type of thing since I was a child! But enough about the yesteryears, it's time for the final stanza of Yatpan's search.
The third day comes and Yatpan resumes his search. I would like to take this moment to discuss just what is going on here. Similar to the Descent of Ishtar, or even the much later Gospels, three days pass before a solution is presented or the hero of the story is otherwise restored to "life". It is with this metaknowledge I entered the third day of the text. However, on Anat's end of things, the writer has been explicit that many thousands of days have passed, if not years, to the point that time lost meaning and is no longer defined. So does time not pass equally between this Neth'Kol and earth? Is that what we are to believe?
Yatpan, the proactive henchman that he is, again, searches for Anat and when he again cannot find her, he heads to the source of his troubles: El. He presents humbly before El his problem and worry for his mistress and this conversation carries with it some more answers that trouble me. Firstly, Baal's enemy, the Usurper, returns as a character. But more than just a reminder that Baal is off fighting with some unnamed enemy, we also finally get the first name for this enemy and the name stresses me so.
Baal's enemy's first name is Yah and the second name, if you remember, Rodgers, is Wah. Rodgers... I think this is the earliest attestation of the Israelite god on record. And now the titles make sense: Usurper and Jealous. It is well known in academic circles that a lot of Yahweh's titles were co-opted from both Baal and El, Canaanite gods; and need I remind you that the Bible describes Yahweh as "jealous"? The Lord himself says his name is "Jealous" in Exodus 34:14. Rodgers... if I'm reading this right, then Baal's enemy is likely Yahweh, and in the background of Anat's Descent is likely Yahweh's attempted takeover of Baal's divine mount Zaphon. A mountain which the Psalms attribute to Yahweh.
I need to move on, but I can't help but continually think about this. Despite this massive revelation, I have to move on because there is more to El's answer that is worrisome. The second worrying thing is that El seems to pin the blame for this predicament on Anat. He completely denies all responsibility. Despite this callous response, Yatpan tries to appeal to El's better nature with the title "Kind {and} Holy" as he pleads for his mistress to be returned. And here is the most worrying bit of El's response:
El laughs,
"Can those beyond the reach of Death be brought back against their will?
Is the power mine to (reach?) beyond this sphere?
None can summon her from the place of eternal-war.
None but the brave can return Anat,
For they would have to reach that place itself.
Go, Yatpan, and retire. Maiden Anat will return when she is satisfied."
While I could again talk about El and his flippant care for where one of his children has gone, I think more worrying is that even if he wanted to do something about it, he apparently cannot. His reach doesn't extend to wherever Anat is. Almost like... she is outside of his jurisdiction. I've never heard of such a thing in my life, Rodgers. As head of the Canaanite pantheon, El is supreme, often second only to Baal. Similar to how Marduk eventually surpasses Enki, so too did Baal surpass El in popularity. That being said, the father of the pantheon was still supreme in many stories. That there is a story where he is depicted as supreme and yet still powerless over the events is strange.
Further, the power to solve the problem is given to Anat. Just as she's taken ownership of her status in that place beyond the spheres, so too is ownership of her situation given to her. When she is satisfied is when she will return and if she is to be retrieved, she will have to be reached by one brave enough to fetch her.
I have to shake my head at this point as there is something else here that fills me with wonder. The fourth line has a curious term that roughly translates to eternal-war. A single word to describe the state of that place. I suppose it is apt. I would also like to take this time to comment on how much El and the gods know. Astarte seems to think El sent Anat to the underworld itself, and while Kothar knows a bit more – that Anat is somewhere beyond death – both he and Astarte believe that El has the power to bring her back. This means that not all gods know the same thing. Some gods know more than others. It seems that this place, this "Neth'Kol" is a place unknown to even most gods. Seems the gods also work on a "need to know" basis, eh, Rodgers?
Continuing on, El gives Yatpan the same advice: get some sleep and if she wants to come back, she'll be back tomorrow. However, Yatpan has given it his all; he's worked his way up the chain of gods to the head of the pantheon and he's not getting the answer he desires. He holds El up and brings up a very interesting point:
"Wise El, you know all and you know
Maiden Anat's lust for battle,
You know the violent goddess' thirst for war.
Can there truly be a place that can satisfy her craving?
Is there truly a battlefield that can quench her thirst?
If she is well and truly in a place of eternal-war,
Then she has found a home more fitting than Mount Inbubu.
She has found a place and forgotten Mount Zaphon."
Yatpan highlights that, as the violent goddess, Anat has a lust for battle that is often unquenched. We see this in Baal where she has two blood-drenched battles one after another and she accosts the head gods more than once, threatening them with violence if they do not bend to her whims. We see this in Aqhat where instead of doing what would make more sense and having Kothar craft her a bow like Aqhat's, she instead has Aqhat killed for the bow. She is, and I cannot stress this enough, a violent goddess. So with all that in mind, Yatpan points out that she's been sent to the one place where she could actually feel at home, and they expect her to return? To quote Tony Stark, "Not a good plan."
El asks what Yatpan wants him to do, as El has already told him that Anat is beyond his reach. Yatpan asks that El head to Anat and remind her of home. El is the Most High of their pantheon, so who else to head down than he? It makes sense, but again recall other myths where the younger storm god overcomes the older father god and you'll know where this is going. El declines:
"This I cannot do for to fight there is to fight the <...>
And to fall there is to fall forever.
Who could (fight?) the swarms in the place beyond Mot?
Who would descend and retrieve Maiden Anat from [Neth'kol]?"
In a rather foreboding tone, we learn that what Anat is fighting is likely more than the gods are supposed to fight and that if she were to fall in battle, her death could be permanent. This Neth'Kol is definitely some sort of external place where the gods seem to have less... potency.
Finally, at the end, and definitely in narrative answer to El's questions and Yatpan's prayers, we get an entrance worthy of the American fighting soap opera WWE. Complete with lights and sounds, Baal returns victorious:
In the planes, thunder sounds,
Over the fields, clouds soar to Mount Lalu.
One thousand fields, ten thousand acres at each step,
The Rider on the Clouds approaches.
Victorious and mighty, the Thunderer returns.
Quite the narrative flair, eh, Rodgers? Yes, indeed this is the end of Tablet IV, and what a magnificent end it is. Baal approaches with the power expected of the god. His steps are described in the same fashion as in the Baal Cycle in ways that hint to either his speed or the size of his stride. And his return makes sense... in a strange sort of way. Yahweh is not attested to so early, so if we were to take this as an attempt by Yahweh to overthrow Baal (and eventually the entire Canaanite pantheon), then it would make sense it would not be successful this time; but I would expect a similar event with a different ending to happen closer to the end of the Bronze Age, when Yahweh worship begins to spread.
I'm sorry, Rodgers. Reading these ramblings of mine as if this were actual history or some sort of... divine event and not simply a story written up by superstitious and creative Bronze Age humans. You must think I'm crazy. Just... think of it similar to those comics my son rots his mind with. A sort of canon of events that led from Baal worship to Yahweh worship. The Usurper was jealous and continually attacked from... somewhere else. And then one day, he won.
Your crazy friend,
Woodrow Collins
Sigla
<...> : Indicates damage to the tablet
Italics : Indicates a most literal translation for a phrase for apparent nonce words
[word or phrase] : Indicates short gaps or missing words in the parent text due to damage. The text inside is restored by either the more fragmentary parallel version or by context clues.
(word?) : Indicates damaged text that is still mostly readable but I am not 100% certain in the reading.
{words} : Indicates words inserted to give a better rendering in english or explanatory insertions
(italics) : Indicates apparent loanwords from other cultures
Tablet IV
Now, when Anat descended into the Pit
The morning the Mistress of the Peoples
Went down to the throat of Mot
[Yatpan], the Lady's Warrior, searched for Maiden Anat.
He searched the plains and he searched the hills.
He searched the valleys and he searched the mountains.
And when he could not find the Mistress of the Peoples,
Yatpan went up to Mount Zaphon to speak with Astarte.
Yatpan inquires of her,
"Astarte, the day is almost over
And Maiden Anat has not returned to Inbubu.
Shalim is near and the Mistress of the Peoples cannot be found."
Astarte answers,
"Wise El has decreed that Maiden Anat traverse through the Pit
Through Death itself unto the [place beyond] the spheres."
Yatpan pleads,
"Lady Astarte, call her forth!
Call upon the Mistress of the Peoples to come up out of the Pit!"
Astarte replies,
"Is Death my domain that I may decide who may come and who may go?
Is the power mine to call forth a being from the grave?
None but El may do this thing.
None but the Bull [of Heaven], for it is his decree that sent her.
Go, Yatpan, and retire. Maiden Anat may return in the morning."
So Dusk came and Dusk went and Dawn took its place.
The first day had passed, then [the second.]
On the morning of the second day, Anat had [not returned to] Mount Inbubu.
Yatpan, the Lady's Warrior, searched for Maiden Anat.
He searched the plains and he searched the hills.
He searched the valleys and he searched the mountains.
And when he could not find the Mistress of the peoples,
Yatpan went up to Caphtor to speak with Kothar-wa-Hasis.
Yatpan inquires of him,
"Skillful One, the day is almost over and Maiden Anat has not returned to Inbubu.
Shalim is near and the Mistress of the Peoples cannot be found."
Kothar answers,
"King El has decreed that Maiden Anat should go down to Mot
Through Death itself unto {the} place beyond the spheres."
Yatpan pleads,
"Lord of Egypt, call her forth!
Call upon the Mistress of the Peoples to come up out of the Pit!"
[Kothar replies,]
"Can a builder bring back a fighter to his family?
Is the power mine to call forth a goddess against her will?
None but El may do this thing.
None but the Most High, for it is his decree that sent her.
Go, Yatpan, and retire. Maiden Anat may return in the morning."
So Dusk came and Dusk went and Dawn took its place.
The second day had passed, then the third.
On the morning of the third day, Anat had not returned to Mount Inbubu.
Yatpan, the Lady's Warrior, searched for Maiden Anat.
He searched the plains and he searched the hills.
He searched the valleys and he searched the mountains.
And when he could not find the Mistress of the peoples,
Yatpan went up to the source of the two rivers to speak with El.
Yatpan inquires of him,
"El, the day is almost over and Maiden Anat has not returned to Inbubu.
Shalim is near and the Mistress of the Peoples cannot be found."
El answers,
"Is it my responsibility that Anat has descended down beyond the pit?
Did she not demand to be made strong to contend with Yah?
To do battle with Baal against [Wah]?"
Yatpan pleads,
"Kind {and} Holy One, call her forth!
Call upon the Mistress of the Peoples to come up out of Death!"
El laughs,
"Can those beyond the reach of Death be brought back against their will?
Is the power mine to (reach?) beyond this sphere?
None can summon her from the place of eternal-war.
None but the brave can return Anat, for they would have to reach that place itself.
Go, Yatpan, and retire. Maiden Anat will return when she is satisfied."
But Yatpan, the Lady's Warrior, did not leave El's sight.
He was not satisfied with El's response.
He replies,
"Wise El, you know all and you know Maiden Anat's lust for battle,
You know the violent goddess' thirst for war.
Can there truly be a place that can satisfy her craving?
Is there truly a battlefield that can quench her thirst?
If she is well and truly in a place of eternal-war,
Then she has found a home more fitting than Mount Inbubu.
She has found a place and forgotten Mount Zaphon."
El answers,
"What {then} would you have me do?"
He pleads,
"Travel down and return her to Mount Inbubu,
Even remind her of her home on Mount Zaphon."
El responds,
"This I cannot do for to fight there is to fight the <...>
And to fall there is to fall forever.
Who could (fight?) the swarms in the place beyond Mot?
Who would descend and retrieve the Mistress of the Peoples from [Neth'kol]?"
In the planes, thunder sounds,
Over the fields, clouds soar to Mount Lalu.
One thousand fields, ten thousand acres at each step,
The Rider on the Clouds approaches.
Victorious and mighty, the Thunderer returns.