The headgear of the statue has a decoration in high relief, the interpretation of which suggests a possible identiication of the god represented by the statue as Baʿal, the Levantine storm god (For the epithet Baʿal (“Lord”) used for Haddu in the Levant during the Late Bronze Age, and particularly in the Ugaritic texts, see Daniel Schwemer, Die Wettergottgestalten Mesopotamiens und Nordsyriens im Zeitalter der Keilschriftkulturen: Materialien und Studien nach den schriftlichen Quellen (Wiesbaden, 2001), 502–32).
The importance assigned to the seat of Baʿal is expressed through comparison with natural phenomena, as clearly manifested in such texts as KTU 1.101, where his throne is compared with a mountain, a metaphor echoed in relation to Yahweh in Isa. 66.1 (Dietrich and Loretz, “Sieges”; Jonas C. Greenield, “Baʿal’s Throne and Isa. 6:1,” in Mélanges bibliques et orientaux en l’honneur de M. Mathias Delcor, ed. André Caquot, Simon Légasse, and Michel Tardieu, AOAT 215 (Kevelaer, 1985), 193–98; Smith and Pitard, Baal II, 65–66. For this text, see recently Katie M. Hefelinger, “Like the Sitting of a Mountain: The Signiicance of Metaphor in KTU 1.101’s (recto) Description of Baʿal,” UF 39 (2007): 381–97).
The throne, in association with Baʿal or with other male protagonists of the myth, appears in seven episodes. (1) It is irst encountered in KTU 1.1 iv, 24–25, where Yamm threatens Baʿal with expulsion from his throne (gršnn lksʾi mlkh lnḫt lkḥṯ drkth),114 a phrase that foreshadows what will follow in the last triumphant episode when Mot, after capitulating, declares the enthronement of Baʿal, visualized as the actual sitting on the chair.
(2) The throne is then mentioned in negative association with the claim of ʿAštar for kingship (KTU 1.2 iii, 17–18). The anticipated turning upside down of the throne serves here as a warning to ʿAštar that he is not it for rule: lyhpk ksʾa mmlk (‘surely he will overturn the seat of your kingship’).116 This episode, too, is to be considered a literary device that foretells the incapability of ʿAštar to rule over the gods. (3) The divine royal seat is included in the description of the weapons, Ayyamari and Yagarrish, made for Baʿal by Kothar-wa-Hasis (KTU 1.2 iv, 12–13, 19–20).
These weapons are to assist the god in overthrowing Yamm from his seat: mr ym lksʾih nhr lkḥṯ drkth ( ‘expel Yamm from his throne, Nahar from the seat of his dominion’),117 a declaration that stresses the role of the throne as a symbol of political power. (4) The throne as a symbol f the rule of Baʿal vividly recurs in Anat’s anxious response upon meeting the messengers (KTU 1.3 iv, 2–3): gršh lksʾi mlkh lnḫt lkḥṯ drkth? ( ‘driven him from this royal throne, from the resting place, the throne of his dominion?’).118 (5) The ifth occurrence of the throne once again deals with ʿAštar and his inability to physically replace Baʿal, thereby revealing the enormous physical dimensions of the chair and consequently hinting at the huge stature of Baʿal, its real owner (KTU 1.6 I, 59–61): yṯb lkḥṯ aliyn/bʿl pʿnh ltmǵ yn/hdm rišh lymǵ y/apsh (‘Sits on the throne of Mightiest Baʿal. His feet do not reach its footstool. His head does not reach its top’).119 (6) The throne scene reappears in the culmination episode describing Baʿal’s return to power, which ends with the god’s seating himself on the throne (KTU 1.6 v, 5–6): pyṯb bʿl lksʾi mlkh lnḫt lkḥṯ drkth (‘then Baʿal is enthroned on his royal throne, on the resting place, the throne of his dominion scene’). (7) The same wording, but in a diferent tense, is repeated to highlight the climactic moment of victory by Mot’s announcement (KTU 1.6 vi, 33–35): bʿl yṯṯbn lksʾi mlkh lnḫt lkḥṯ drkth (‘let Baʿal be enthroned on his royal throne, on the resting place, the throne of his dominion’).120 The repeated occurrences of the throne scene in various episodes from beginning to end, in crucial or culmination episodes, can be included among the literary devices that contribute to the coherence and unity of the composition.121 At the same time, these occurrences emphasize the role and importance of Baʿal’s sitting on the throne—his actual enthronement—an epitomizing scene demonstrating his rule over the gods.