El (Ilu)
Also known as: Ilu, Bull El (ṯr il), Father of Years (ab šnm), Creator of Creatures (bny bnwt)
Mythological Narrative
The aged king and father of the gods at Ugarit, 'Bull El', 'Father of Years', who presides over the divine assembly from his dwelling at the source of the two rivers and whose permission every younger god seeks.
Scholarly Commentary & Evolution
## The father of the gods
El's name is simply the common Semitic word for "god". At Ugarit he is the head of the pantheon, the "Father of Years" and "Creator of Creatures", with a grey beard that other gods praise for its wisdom. He dwells far from the other gods "at the source of the two rivers, in the midst of the springs of the two deeps", in a tent or pavilion, and the assembly of the gods meets on his mountain. His consort is Athirat, and the gods are collectively "the sons of El".
## The king who grants permission
In the Baal Cycle El rarely acts; he decides. He proclaims Yamm's name and kingship, gives in to Yamm's demand for Baal, grants Baal's palace after Anat's threats and Athirat's persuasion, mourns Baal's death by gashing himself and pouring dust on his head, proposes a replacement king, and at last dreams that Baal is alive. His authority is real but can be pressured, and scholars debate how far the Baal Cycle reflects a real rise of Baal at El's expense.
## Kindly El
In the epics of Kirta and Aqhat, El is the compassionate "Kindly El, the Benevolent" (lṭpn il d pid), who appears to the grieving Kirta in a dream, blesses Danel with a son, and creates a healing figure to cure Kirta when no other god will act. This benevolent father is a different emphasis from the pressured king of the Baal Cycle, and both belong to the same god.
## Beyond Ugarit
Ugaritic god-lists equate El with the Hurrian Kumarbi, and the Phoenician History attributed to Philo of Byblos equates him with the Greek Kronos. The name and several of El's titles appear in the Hebrew Bible, a connection much discussed by historians of religion.
Cross-Pantheon Parallels & Archetypes
Academic Discussion & Critique
Exchange peer-reviewed hypotheses, comparative Indo-European etymologies, and archaeological field interpretations regarding El (Ilu).
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Cronus
Youngest of the twelve Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia. Cronus castrated his father to seize the sky's rule, presided over the mythical Golden Age, and was in turn overthrown by his own son Zeus after swallowing his children to avoid the same fate.
Kumarbi
Hurrian father of the gods who seizes kingship in heaven by biting off the sky-god Anu's loins, unwittingly conceives the storm-god Teššub, and spends the rest of the Kumarbi cycle fathering monsters to overthrow him.
Anat
The young warrior goddess of Ugarit, Baal's sister and fiercest ally, who wades through battle, bullies El into granting Baal a palace, finds Baal's body, and destroys Mot.
Athirat (Asherah)
El's consort, 'Lady Athirat of the Sea' and 'Creatress of the Gods', mother of the seventy sons of El, who can persuade El when no one else can.