4 sections of this entry are open to everyone: the summary, the people, the symbols, the lineage and the sources. The other 9 (Name and epithets, In the ancient sources, The myths, Worship and archaeology, How the god was depicted, What scholars debate, After antiquity, Did you know?, Codex relic) are part of the full Codex: PRO opens the whole study of all 500 deities, and without a subscription you can read one full entry a day, just like in the app.
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.
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At a glance
Kothar-wa-Khasis (in alphabetic Ugaritic: 𐎋𐎘𐎗 𐎆 𐎧𐎒𐎒, vocalized as Kôṯaru-wa-Ḫasīsu; in Greek via Philo of Byblos: Χουσώρ, Chousōr) is the god of craftsmanship, metallurgy, architecture, smithing, and incantations in the Late Bronze Age Canaanite and Ugaritic religious sphere. Documented primarily on the cuneiform clay tablets unearthed at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit on the northern Syrian coast), Kothar personifies technical brilliance, material dexterity, and the magical power inherent in spoken spells. His double theonym joins two complementary virtues: 'Skill' or 'Dexterity' (kṯr) and 'Perceptive Wisdom' or 'Understanding' (ḫss). Within the mythological drama of the Baal Cycle, Kothar plays a decisive role in establishing and safeguarding cosmic order: when Baal-Hadad is threatened by the overbearing demands of Prince Yammu (the sea), Kothar fashions and enchants two magical throw-clubs, Yagrush ('Chaser') and Ayyamur ('Driver'), whose precise strikes shatter Yammu's skull and secure Baal's divine kingship (KTU 1.2 IV). Subsequently, commissioned by El through the mediation of Athirat (Asherah), Kothar designs and erects Baal's grand palace on Mount Saphon (Jebel Aqra), smelting silver, gold, and Lebanon cedar, while engaging in a famous architectural dispute over whether a window or lattice should be installed in the palace roof (KTU 1.4 V–VII). In the Epic of Aqhat (KTU 1.17 V), Kothar visits the pious elder Danel and presents him with a magnificent composite bow of supreme workmanship, an object that promptly ignites the violent envy of the warrior goddess Anat. In Ugaritic mythical geography, Kothar's ancestral abodes are located abroad in Caphtor (Crete, kptr) and Memphis in Egypt (ḥkpt), reflecting Levantine recognition of Aegean metal arts and Egyptian monumental craftsmanship as the premier archetypes of technical mastery.
Ilimilku of Shubanu, chief scribe of King Niqmaddu II of Ugarit, Baal Cycle of Ras Shamra (tablets KTU 1.1–1.6 of the Louvre Museum). translation: Cuneiform transcription and translation by Mark S. Smith in the Mythos Atlas collection. read
College of learned priests of the High Priest's House of Ugarit, Epic of Aqhat: The Delivery of the Prodigious Bow to Danel (cuneiform tablet KTU 1.17 V from Ras Shamra). translation: Academic edition and translation of the Legend of Danel and Aqhat indexed in the Mythos Atlas repository. read
Liturgical scribes of Ugarit, Ritual Texts and Canonical Sacrificial Lists of Ugarit (KTU 1.47, KTU 1.118, KTU 1.148; Polyglot Vocabulary RS 20.24). translation: French epigraphic edition in Mission de Ras Shamra and documentation on Wikipedia. read
Sanchuniathon & Philo of Byblos (preserved by Eusebius of Caesarea), Phoenician History / Praeparatio Evangelica: The Cult of Chousor and the Invention of Iron and Navigation (Book I, Chapter 10). translation: Hellenistic Greek translation and critical edition in the digital library of Wikipedia. read
Scribes of Ras Shamra, Mythological Incantation against Snake and Venomous Reptile Bites (cuneiform tablet KTU 1.100). translation: Critical edition and commentary by Dennis Pardee in 'Ritual and Cult at Ugarit'. read
Studies
Smith, Mark S., The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I. Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.1-1.2. E.J. Brill, 1994. open
Smith, Mark S. & Pitard, Wayne T., The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume II. Introduction with Text, Translation and Commentary of KTU 1.3-1.4. E.J. Brill, 2009. open
Day, John, Yahweh and the Gods and Goddesses of Canaan. Sheffield Academic Press, 2000. open
Albright, William Foxwell, Yahweh and the Gods of Canaan: A Historical Analysis of Two Contrasting Faiths. Doubleday, 1968. open
Pardee, Dennis, Ritual and Cult at Ugarit. Society of Biblical Literature, 2002. open
Lewis, Theodore J., The Origin and Character of God: Ancient Israelite Religion in its Western Semitic Setting. Oxford University Press, 2020. open
Name and epithets
The name Kôṯaru-wa-Ḫasīsu consists of a copulative pairing of two Northwest Semitic adjectives: the first element stems from the triconsonantal root k-ṯ-r, denoting 'to be skilled', 'dexterous', 'able', or 'fit' in phys…
In the ancient sources
The Ugaritic Baal Cycle, c. 1250–1200 BCE (Late Bronze Age). Documents the forging of the enchanted clubs Yagrush and Ayyamur to vanquish Yammu, and the building of Baal's silver-and-gold palace on Saphon.
The myths
The Forging and Enchanting of the Weapons Yagrush and Ayyamur. During the armed confrontation between Baal and the aquatic deity Yammu (KTU 1.2 IV), the divine assembly trembles before the sea god's arrogant envoys.
Worship and archaeology
At Ugarit, Kothar-wa-Khasis was accorded standard royal offerings documented in civic sacrificial lists (KTU 1.47:33, KTU 1.118:32, and KTU 1.148:11), receiving rams and wine libations alongside major gods of the panthe…
How the god was depicted
While few surviving statues can be definitively labeled with Kothar's name, archaeological excavations at Ras Shamra have yielded numerous fine bronze figurines depicting artisan or smiting gods wearing Levantine kilts…
What scholars debate
. Scholarly debate regarding Kothar centers primarily on his geographical provenance and his status as a seemingly 'foreign' deity stationed in Caphtor (Crete) and Ḥikuptaḥ (Memphis, from Egyptian Ḥwt-kꜢ-Ptḥ, 'Mansion o…
After antiquity
In the wider ancient Mediterranean, Kothar provided the archetype for the magical artisan and divinely inspired inventor, leaving indirect echoes in classical traditions of Daedalus, Hephaestus, and Homer's craftsmanshi…
Did you know?
The modern Hebrew dietary and ritual term 'kosher' derives from the exact same Semitic triconsonantal root k-ṯ-r / k-š-r ('fit', 'skilled', 'proper') that forms the name Kothar.
Codex relic
Maces Forged for Baal. The magic weapons that came from his forge, able to defeat even the sea and death.
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