| “Words were originally magic, and the word retains much of its old magical power even to-day, With words one man can make another blessed, or drive him to despair;… Words call forth effects and are the universal means of influencing human beings. Therefore let us not underestimate the use of words in psychotherapy.”— Sigmund Freud - From a series of 28 lectures for laymen, Part One, 'The Psychology of Errors'. Lecture 1, 'Introduction' collected in Sigmund Freud and G. Stanley Hall (trans.), A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1920), 3 Chapter 9: Kill ‘er Giants Ugarit, Daniel & the Aqhat Epic According to Cyrus Gordon, in his book Before the Bible: “Ugarit, a port in northern Syria, (modern Ras Shamra) in the ancient world, was situated between the Hittite Empire and Canaan. There were groups of Assyrians, Hurrians, Hittites, Egyptians, Aegaeans and people from neighboring vicinities. The scribal students learned to translate Ugaritic words into Sumerian, Akkadian and Hurrian. The two main scrips were the Akkadian syllabary and the Ugaritic alphabet: both written in cuneiform with a stylus on clay. The normal language for business, law and diplomacy was Akkadian; the normal language for religion, literature and local administration was Ugaritic.” (1) The Ugaritic texts were discovered in 1929 at Ras Shamra (the ancient Ugarit) by C.F.A. Schaeffer on the north coast of Syria and deciphered by H. Bauer and E. Dhorme. These texts have revealed the origin of both Hebrew and Greek mythology to be derived from a common Middle Eastern source in the 2nd millennium BC. (2) Contained in these texts is the story of Baal-Anat. The clay tablets, written in cuneiform in a Canaanite dialect similar to ancient Hebrew and Phoenician, are thought to date mainly from the 14th century BC. The stories likely go back much further. (3) The Ugarit tablets themselves come from the Amarna and Ramesside Ages (14th -12th century BC), which, according to Gordon, provide the origins of “both the Hebrew Patriarchs and the Trojan War.” (4) In the myth of Daniel and Aqhat, from the Ugarit texts, Daniel has no son and laments about this to his god Baal. We now read directly from the texts, though shortened, for space consideration: [ .. . Straightway Daniel the Raph]a man, (1) Forthwith [Ghazir the Harnamiyy man], Gives oblation to the gods to eat, Gives oblation to drink to the holy ones. A couch of sackcloth he mounts and lies, A couch of [loincloth] and passes the night But lo, on the seventh day, Baal approaches with his plea: "Unhappy is Daniel the Rapha-man, A-sighing is Ghazir the Harnamiyy-man; Who hath no son like his brethren, (20) |
Nor scion hath like his kindred. Surely there's a son for him like his brethren's, And a scion like unto his kindred's! (Daniel has been giving oblations for seven days and does not receive a son, so Baal comes along.) Wilt thou not bless him, O Bull El, my father, (Note: Baal (Lord) is now also called El, the name of the Hebrew god Yahweh) Beatify him, O Creator of Creatures? So shall there be a son in his house, A scion in the midst of his palace: (In the following lines El promises Daniel a son. Many lines are missing here but later Daniel is told of the son he will have, and he is delighted. Then Daniel …) Prepares an ox for the skillful ones, (30) Gives food to the [ski]llful ones and gives drink To the daughters of joy[ful noise], the swallows. (And this continues for seven days. Then seven months pass and he goes to the shrine. Next lines are missing and story returns with the following): I myself will bring the bow, Even I will convey the darts." And behold, on the seventh day— Straightway Daniel the Raphaman, Forthwith Ghazir the Harnam[iyy]man, Is upright, sitting before the gate, Beneath a mighty tree on the threshing floor, (At this point we may understand that a craftsman has prepared for Daniel a nice set of bow and arrows, called “darts.”) The bow he delivers into Daniel's hand; The darts he places upon his knees. (Then more lines are missing and we return to a feast where Anath is coveting Aqhat’s bow and “darts.”) [She lifts up her voice and] cries: (16) "Hearken, I pray thee, [Aqhat the Youth! A]sk for silver, and I'll give it thee; [For gold, and I'll be]stow't on thee; But give thou thy bow [to me; Let] Yabamat – Liimmim take thy darts" But Aqhat the Youth answers: (20) I vow you trees of Lebanon, I vow sinews from wild oxen; I vow horns from mountain goats, Tendons from the hocks of a bull; I vow from a cane forest reeds: Give (these) to Kothar wa Khasis. He'll make a bow for thee, Darts for Yabamat - Liimmim." Then quoth the Maiden Anath: (1) Before the Bible, p. 130 (2) ibid, p. 12 (3) The Cult of the Mother Goddess, p. 69-70 (4) Before the Bible, p. 131 |