El

The Father of the Gods

Domain: Creation, Wisdom & Kingship
Alignment: Lawful Good
Element: Light
Relics of Power: Throne of the Mount of Waters

Speak with El

The People

People

Canaanites & Phoenicians

Region

Levant (Syria, Lebanon, Israel)

Period

c. 3000 – 300 BC

The Canaanite gods were worshipped by the peoples of the Levant, including the Phoenicians, great navigators and traders of the Mediterranean. Headed by El and the storm god Baal, they were honored in cities such as Ugarit, Tyre, and Carthage. Their myths, rediscovered on the Ugarit tablets, closely echo the biblical traditions.

Worship followed Baal's agricultural cycle, with autumn festivals calling for the rains and laments for his descent into the world of the dead. The faithful worshipped at the "high places" (bamot) and in city temples, with stone steles, incense, and animal sacrifices.

The Sacred Scrolls

El is the supreme god and creator of the Canaanite and Phoenician pantheon, the 'Father of the Gods' and of mankind. A wise and benevolent elder, he presides over the divine assembly and grants kingship to the other gods. His name simply means 'god' and became one of the most ancient roots for the divine in the Semitic languages. As The Father of the Gods, this deity occupies a position of supreme prestige in the cananeus pantheon. Their domains over Creation, Wisdom & Kingship reflect ancestral cosmic order maintained across millennia. In classical iconography, they are depicted with an aura of unshakeable majesty and sacred attributes that inspired reverence in emperors and peasants alike. Their influence extended beyond earthly boundaries, governing fates and harmony between the visible and invisible worlds. For ancient devotees, contemplating their essence was to understand the very fundamental forces of nature and human existence.

Sacred Symbols

The bull, the royal crown, the tent and the source of the rivers

Divine Lineage

Husband of Asherah; father of the gods, including Baal, Yam and Mot.

The Legendary Myth

In the Ugaritic texts, El dwells in a tent at the source of the two rivers, from which he governs the cosmos with the wisdom of a venerable patriarch, depicted as a bull.

Legends & Deeds

A celebrated secondary legend preserved in the oral traditions of the cananeus recounts the journey when El intervened directly in the lives of mortals.

Cult & Worship

Historically, the cult of El occupied a central place in the religious and architectural calendar of antiquity. Imposing stone temples and open-air sanctuaries were erected in their honor in the major capitals of the can…

Relics of Power

The throne raised at the source of the two rivers, from which the elder of the gods decrees the fate of the cosmos.

Did You Know?

The name El is the root of words such as Elohim in the Hebrew Bible and appears in names like Israel, Daniel and Gabriel, attesting to its antiquity in the Semitic world.