El

El (Ugaritic: ʾIlu; Phoenician and Biblical Hebrew: ʾĒl) is the supreme patriarch and primeval sovereign of the Canaanite and Ugaritic pantheon during the Late Bronze Age. Revered under the monumental epithets Bull El (ṯr il), Creator of Creatures (bny bnwt), and Father of Humankind (ab adm), El presides over the divine assembly from his remote abode at the sources of the two rivers, amidst the springs of the two primeval deeps (mbk nhrm qrb apq thmtm). In the clay tablets unearthed from the coastal ruins of ancient Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra, Syria), El personifies venerable royal authority, oracular insight, and generative fertility. He is the consort of the mother-goddess Athirat (biblical Asherah) and the progenitor of the divine family, frequently termed the seventy sons of Athirat or the sons of El (bn il). In contrast to dynamic younger warrior divinities such as Baal-Hadad and Anat, who manifest their power in tempestuous rains and fierce battles, El exercises a reflective, judicial, and serene governance. He acts as the ultimate arbiter of cosmic affairs: he validates the royal investiture of Yammu (the Sea), grants authorization for Baal's palace on Mount Saphon, and undergoes deep mourning when Motu (Death) temporarily swallows the rain god. In ancient Levantine art, most notably on the iconic limestone stele in the Louvre Museum, El appears seated upon an ornate high-backed throne with a footstool, wearing a horned conical tiara, and extending his right hand in benediction over the ruler of Ugarit.

8 min read · Reviewed on October 1, 2026 · How we research

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

Primary sources

• Ilimilku of Šubbanu & Virolleaud, Charles (Ed.), Baal Cycle of Ugarit (alphabetic cuneiform tablets KTU 1.1 to 1.6 / Louvre Museum AO 16641–AO 16642). translation: Edition and translation by Mark S. Smith in 'The Ugaritic Baal Cycle' (Brill, 1994/2009), referenced in the Mythos Atlas portal. read
• Philo of Byblos & Eusebius of Caesarea, Phoenician History of Sanchuniathon (Praeparatio Evangelica, Book I, Chapter 10). translation: Translation by E. H. Gifford (Oxford, 1903), preserved at Tertullian.org and documented on Wikipedia. read
• French Archaeological Mission of Ras Shamra, Collection and Inventory of Antiquities of Ugarit (Stela of El AO 15775 and tablets of Ras Shamra). translation: Official catalogue of Near Eastern archaeology of the French Ministry of Culture and the Louvre Museum. read

Studies

• Smith, Mark S., The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts. Oxford University Press, 2001. open
• Cross, Frank Moore, Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel. Harvard University Press, 1973. open
• Pope, Marvin H., El in the Ugaritic Texts. Supplements to Vetus Testamentum, Vol. II, E.J. Brill, 1955. open
• Colaboradores do Verbete Enciclopédico, El (deity). Projeto Enciclopédico Aberto Wikimedia, Edition consulted in October 2026. open