Baal (Ba'al) is a fertility god and storm deity known by 2330 BCE. As Ba'al Hadad, his exploits form the Baal Cycle of texts. In Syria and the Levant he causes conflict for Yahweh. In grimoires the name Baal is equated with a demon also called Bael.
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The god Baal is conflated with Hadad, the Northwest Semitic form of Adad, and may take both names as Baal Hadad or Ba'al Hadad as in the Baal Cycle. The name Hadad means sharp, quick, vehement; might; force, power, majesty; glory, splendor, joyous, rejoicing.
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Storm god associated with bulls and lightning bolts, Baal / Hadad in Greco-Roman literature is equated with Zeus or Jupiter. He may also take a ram (Baal) or lion (Hadad) as a symbol.
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In the Hebrew Bible, Baal is an important Canaanite god. He's often portrayed as the primary enemy of Hebrew God Yahweh, a storm and weather deity who moves into the Levant region c. 1250 BCE as the Bronze Age begins its meteoric collapse.
The Ba'al or Baal Cycle of c. 1500 - 1300 BCE chronicles the exploits of warrior god Ba'al Hadad. The first part tells of his battles with Yam (Yammu), personification of chaos and the sea. The monster Lotan is among the allies of Yam, who is also identified with Hedammu.
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The stories include The Myth of Baʿal Aliyan and The Death of Baʿal and are written in Ugaritic, a Northwest Semitic language. The text is discovered on a series of clay tablets found in the 1920s in the Tell of Ugarit (today's Ras Shamra).
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The Baal Cycle covers specific themes in two sections. One is the battle of Yam (chaos) and Ba'al Hadad (order); the other is Baal's eternal struggle with death.
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Ba'al Cycle - The Action
Sea God Yam (Yammu) wants to be most powerful of all the gods. Yam is also deity of Syrian inland waters. He tries to establish himself as King of the Gods. He's most associated with Ugarit and considered equivalent to Hurrian sea god Kiashe and the snake monster Hedammu.
In opposition, Storm and Fertility God Baʿal Hadad battles Yam and slays him
Baʿal Hadad, with help of warrior goddess Anat and fertility goddess Athirat (Asherah), convinces his father El to let him build a palace.
Baʿal Hadad commissions divine craftsman Kothar-wa-Khasis to construct the palace.
He tries to subjugate Mot, the Ugaritic personification of death. In the mythology of Canaan, Baal and Mot are constant combatants. If Baal is victorious, seven years of fertility and plenty ensue. If Mot defeats him, seven years of drought and famine follow.
In the Baal Cycle, Mot kills Baʿal Hadad.
Wrathful Anat slays Mot, grinds him up and scatters his body throughout the land.
Baʿal Hadad returns to Mount Zephon, also called Baal-zephon. According to the Hebrew Book of Exodus it's the site where Moses parts the waters of the Yam Suph or Red Sea.
Mot, having healed himself as death is eternal, challenges Baʿal Hadad once more
Baʿal Hadad fights for his place as King of the Gods, and Mot submits
Baʿal Hadad rises to rule again
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In Ugarit Ba'al is a major deity of storms and rain, and a friend to the Sun Shamash in both agriculture and justice. He relates to moon god Sin (Nanna) in matters of fertility and harvest. In this capacity his spouse is weather and grain goddess Shala.
The medieval demon Baal (Bael) comes from sorcery grimoires of the Middle Ages. Bael is ruled by Oriens, demonic god of the cardinal direction east. Possessing powers of invisibility the demon Bael dabbles in the arts of science and love, and commands 250 legions.
The Grand Grimoire of c. 1421 - 1521 CE details demons and demonology, summoning demons and techniques for using them to do one's bidding. Bael (as Baal) is listed as a subordinate of Lucifuge Rofocale, or Lucifer.
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