481 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LIX N° 5-6, september-december 2002
Mettinger’s careful examination of Ugaritic material easily
DYING AND RISING GODS
The concept of “dying and rising gods” in the Ancient Near
East attained a prominent place in the history of religions
thanks to J.G. Frazer’s prodigious work The Golden Bough,
reissued in 1907-15. Frazer’s data on ethnology were second
hand and partly inaccurate, but his theories on religion were
highly stimulating and the topic of “dying and rising gods”
obtained an unexpected boost from the mythological texts
found in Ugarit. Gods’ life and death in the Semitic myths are
presented in M.C.A. Korpel’s work, A Rift in the Clouds, as
follows: “The god Ba‘lu dies, but he does resurrect after ‘seven
years’, even though he is said to have been crushed between
the jaws of Death (Motu). The latter himself rises to confront
Ba‘lu again though ‘Anatu has utterly destroyed him. The mes-
sage would seem to be that eternal life is indeed attainable for
those who enjoy the status of divinity, but that it is an eternal
cycle of dying and reviving”1. An opposite view was defen-
ded a few years ago by M.S. Smith2, who refers to KTU 1.161
(RS 34.126) and argues that the poetical accounts of Baal’s
death and revival just borrow the language used in the cult of
deceased kings and ancestors without referring to a cultual
concept and ritual of “dying and rising gods”.
T.N.D. Mettinger’s study3 presents a survey of the research
(pp. 15-53) and then aims at solving the antinomy by an accu-
rate examination of the Baal-Mot myth (pp. 55-81), of the
Melqart-Heracles case (pp. 83-111), of the Adonis myth (pp.
113-154), and of the available indications on Eshmun-Ascle-
pius (pp. 155-165). The function of these West-Semitic dei-
ties is then compared with the role of Osiris in Egyptian reli-
gion (pp. 167-183) and the role of Dumuzi-Tammuz in
Mesopotamia (pp. 185-215). The Author concludes (pp. 217-
223) that “dying and rising gods” were in fact worshipped in
the Ancient Near East and that they had close ties to the sea-
sonal cycle of plant life, although they belonged to different
divine types. The Hebrew Bible offers no evidence that Yah-
weh was a “dying and rising god”, while the case of Jesus,
in the Author’s opinion, may be “studied with profit against
the background of Jewish resurrection belief” (p. 221). A
large bibliography (pp. 227-257) and five indexes (pp. 261-
272) enhance the value of the work that presents a major
interest to scholars and students of the Bible, of comparative
religions, and of the Ancient Near East in general.
1
) M.C.A. Korpel, A Rift in the Clouds, Münster 1990, p. 320.
2 8
) M.S. Smith, “The Death of ‘Dying and Rising Gods’ in the Biblical
World: An Update, with Special Reference to Baal in the Baal Cycle”, in
Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament 12 (1998), pp. 257-313.
3
) T.N.D. Mettinger, The Riddle of Resurrection: “ Dying and Rising
Gods” in the Ancient Near East. (Coniectanea Biblica. Old Testament
Series 50). Almqvist & Wiksell International, Stockholm, 2001. (23 cm,
275). ISBN 91-22-01945-6.
482
reaches the conclusion that there is a fundamental difference
between celebrations in remembrance of the death of suc-
cessive kings and their access to divine life, and a mytholo-
gical prototype of the eternal cycle of seasons, represented at
Ugarit by Baal’s death and return. In the reviewer’s opinion,
the Author here stresses too much the difference between the
Baal-Mot myth and the Telepinu myth (pp. 78-79). The lin-
guistically oldest version of the Hittite myth mentions seven
doors and seven bars of the Netherworld, in which Telepi-
nu’s wrath should be locked forever4. This version apparently
connects the wrath of the deity with the Netherworld,
implying that Telepinu himself has been there. Besides, the
first manifestations of Telepinu’s disappearance are suffoca-
ting heat, scorched earth, and drought, thus recording a basic
seasonal pattern, despite the secondary use of the myth in
magical rituals which aimed at appeasing the god and win-
ning his favour5. Therefore, no functional difference seems
to distinguish the original myth of the disappearing god from
the myth of the dying god.
The case of Melqart-Heracles is somewhat different, since
this divine character probably derived in the early first mil-
lennium B.C. from the deified eponym of the royal dynasty,
“the king of the city”. Being a city-god, Melqart does not
have characteristics of a vegetation or fertility god and his
connection with a seasonal pattern is probably due to the fact
that he assumed the function of another deity. He appears
nevertheless as a “dying and rising god” in relation with cul-
tic celebrations, but the tradition of his death on a pyre on
Mount Oeta or elsewhere should be re-examined in the light
of new data.
In fact, the B‘l Kr of the Vase from Sidon appears now as
a distinct deity Kura or Kurra, not only in texts from Ebla
dating to the third millennium B.C., but also in documents
from the 7th century B.C., when a god dKur-a or Kur-ra
appears in personal names of northern Mesopotamia6. B‘l Kr
is also mentioned in the Phoenician inscription from Cebeli-
reis Da™ı7, dating to the mid-7th century B.C., and W. Röllig
suggests to isolate this name in the B‘l Krntry· of the Kara-
tepe inscriptions8. Following this suggestion, we would pro-
pose to see there the divine name B‘l Kr with the epithet
Ntry·, which parallels the hieroglyphic Luwian title arha usa-
nuwamis, “highly-blessed” or “munificent”. Ntry· - with the
nominal ending -· - exactly corresponds to the theophorous
element Natr(i)- that appears in Anatolian proper names and
occurs as the equivalent of Apollo in the trilingual inscrip-
tion from Xanthos, in line 4 of the Lycian text9. According
4
) H.A. Hoffner, Hittite Myths, Atlanta 1990, p. 17; cf. M. Popko, Reli-
gions of Asia Minor, Warsaw 1995, p. 87.
5
) M. Popko, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 106.
6
) E. Lipi<ski, Dieux et déesses de l’univers phénicien et punique (Ori-
ent. Lov. An. 64), Leuven 1995, pp. 239-240; W. Röllig, “Phönizisches aus
Nordsyrien und der God Kurra”, in K. Geus - K. Zimmermann (eds.),
Punica-Libyca-Ptolemaica. Festschrift für Werner Huss (Orient. Lov. An.
104), Leuven 2001, pp. 41-52 (see pp. 46-52).
7
) P.G. Mosca - J. Russell, “A Phoenician Inscription from Cebel Ires
Da™ı in Rough Cilicia”, in Epigraphica Anatolica 9 (1987), pp. 1-28 and
Pls. 1-4, line 5B.
) W. Röllig, art. cit. (n. 6), p. 49.
9
) For the divine name Natr(i)-, see G. Neumann, “Namen und Epikle-
sen lykischer Götter”, in Florilegium Anatolicum. Mélanges offerts à
Emmanuel Laroche, Paris 1970, pp. 259-271 (see p. 263); R. Lebrun, “Prob-
lèmes de religion anatolienne”, in Hethitica 8 (1987), pp. 241-262 (see
pp. 244 and 255, n. 6); W. Jenniges, Mystagogus Lycius, Bruxelles 1996,
p. 37; D. Schürr, “Kaunos in lykischen Inschriften”, in Kadmos 37 (1998),
483 DYING AND RISING GODS
to Dio Chrysostom (ca. 40-112 A.D.), Apollo was a local
deity of Tarsus in Cilicia10 and we may assume that this god
was called Ntry·. For sure, “Apollo” was only a Greek sur-
rogate of a local theonym. In the light of these data, Kr does
not seem to be a genitival qualification of B‘l, but the proper
name of a deity, used in apposition to the generic b‘l. The
iconography of the Vase from Sidon seems then to refer to
Kur(r)a, not to Melqart. On the other hand, Heracles’ death
on the pyre records Sanda’s festival at Tarsus, when a great
pyre was erected and burnt. The ceremony is alluded to by
Dio Chrysostom, who identifies Sanda with Heracles11, very
likely knowing the episode of Mount Oeta.
Sanda, probably equated in Persian times with the Baal of
Tarsus (B‘l Trz)12 and identified with Nergal13, was thus
regarded by the Greeks as a Heracles. It would seem there-
fore that the tradition of Heracles’ death in flames has some
connection with this syncretism, which should be further exa-
mined. An additional question should be raised concerning
the worship of Kur(r)a: Was he somehow linked with Sanda,
whose cult can now be traced back to the early second mil-
lennium B.C. and traces of which are found in the first mil-
lennium B.C. in Cilicia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Lydia, and pro-
bably Lycia?14 The Author does not examine the case of
Sanda, but it should be stated here that Sanda’s (or Kurra’s?)
death in flames is not linked with the burial custom of inci-
neration. Coins from Tarsus, dating to the 2nd century B.C.,
represent the god standing on a lion in a pyramidal construc-
tion, interpreted usually as Sanda’s pyre15. Ethnographic
parallels suggest that the idea goes ultimately back to the
ceremonial of burning the last sheaf or stack, usually coni-
cal, at the end of the harvest. From its ashes, fertilizing the
soil, the new crop was expected to come to life16. This
conception is similar to the story of the phoenix whose resur-
rection to life through death in flames also parallels the cycle
of grain buried in the field in order to spring up again each
season. These are different ways of expressing the same basic
theme.
When we now turn to Adonis, it is quite easy to show that
he was a “dying and rising god” with seasonal implications
and a ritual celebration of his death, but Adonis’ resurrection
pp. 143-162 (see pp. 155 ff.). It is doubtful whether natr(i)- is borrowed
from Egyptian ncr, “god”, as suggested by A.G. Keen, Dynastic Lycia, Lei-
den 1998, p. 199-200, and O. Carruba, “Cario Natri ed egizio ntr ‘dio’”, in
M. Fritz - S. Zeilfelder (eds.), Novalis Indogermanica. Festschrift für Gün-
ter Neumann, Graz 2002, pp. 75-84. At Karatepe, in the 8th century B.C.,
the name appears as an epithet, and its later vocalization differs from the
Egyptian one, at least when Greek -nqjr and Coptic (a/e)nter provide
vocalized Egyptian forms with final r.
10
) Dio Chrysostom, Discourses XXXIII, 45. Cf. P. Chuvin, “Apollon
au trident et les dieux de Tarse”, in Journal des Savants 1981, pp. 305-326.
11
) Dio Chrysostom, Discourses XXXIII, 47.
12
) See, for instance, B.V. Head, A Guide to the Principal Coins of the
Greeks, London 1932, Pl. 20:51, where the Aramaic legend B‘l Trz appears
next to the image of the god, seated on a throne and holding a sceptre. How-
ever, the corn-ear and the grapes, represented likewise in the field, suggest
a connection with Tarhunt, especially the one of √vriz.
13
) G.K. Jenkins, “Two New Tarsos Coins”, in Revue Numismatique, 6th
ser., 15 (1973), pp. 30-34 and Pl. I; R. Lebrun, “L’Anatolie et le monde
phénicien du Xe au IVe siècle av. J.-C.”, in E. Lipi<ski (ed.), Phoenicia and
the East Mediterranean in the First Millennium B.C. (Orient. Lov. An. 22),
Leuven 1987, pp. 23-33 (see pp. 31-32).
14
) H.C. Melchert, “The God Sanda in Lycia?”, in P. Taracha (ed.) ,
Silva Anatolica. Anatolian Studies Presented to Maciej Popko, Warsaw
2002, pp. 241-251.
15
) R. Lebrun, art. cit. (n. 13), p. 29 with further references.
16
) M. Eliade, Traité d’histoire des religions, Paris 1959, p. 293.
484
is not referred to in a cultual context before De Dea Syria,
about the 2nd century A.D. True, one might wonder whether
the ritual cry aîa⁄ ’´Adwnin, recorded by Aristophanes,
Lysistrata 393, and Bion I, 28, does not echo a Phoenician
shout Ωay ’Ad¨n¬, “alive is Adonis!”, despite the funerary
Greek context. Although such a formula, parallel to Ωy yhwh,
may have been used in the cult, there is so far no prove that
this was the case. Instead, if one admits that god’s death,
disappearance or absence have the same function in agrarian
myths, it is quite clear that a threefold seasonal pattern17 sup-
ports the Solomonic judgment of Zeus who attributes Ado-
nis for one part of the year to Persephone, the Queen of the
Netherworld, to Aphrodite for another part, leaving a third
season at the disposition of Adonis himself (pp. 118-119).
Adonis’ return from the Netherworld fulfils then the same
function as resurrection to life. This scene seems to be repre-
sented on an Etruscan mirror, which depicts a shepherd sit-
ting in front of a woman clothed and assisted by a winged
Cupid. There is also the chest, in which young Adonis had
been hidden; it is flanked by the Etruscan inscriptions Turan
and Atunis18, which designate the goddess equated with
Aphrodite19 and Adonis himself, called Atunis since Etruscan
alphabet does not possess voiced occlusives.
Mettinger expresses doubts about the possibility of distin-
guishing Adonis in Semitic proper names (pp. 135-136). At
least the name ‘bd’dny should be interpreted in this way. It
is rare, since it does not appear in CIS I, 16b, but A. Caquot
read ‘bd’dny bn ‘bd’lnm in an inscription from Umm el-
‘Amed20 and ‘bd’dny occurs once at Carthage, in CIS I, 332,
3. In these cases, ’dny should be regarded as the proper name
of the deity.
The Author proposes to connect Adonis with Damu, espe-
cially as the latter appears in the Amarna letter from Byblos
EA 84 (pp. 137-146), while Adonis was most likely the Baal
of Byblos (pp. 140-141), as suggested by Hesychius (p. 125).
The connection with Damu thus requires a certain amount of
speculation. The reference to ø‘∫-t3w in the Pyramid Texts
(p. 145) seems to be out of place. The Semitic word for
“living” is Ωy, not ¿, and Egyptian ¿‘∫ should certainly be
understood in the sense “to shine, to appear”, speaking of sun,
gods or kings. It is a descriptive designation of a deity for
which Egyptian language had no name, as was the case of
the Weather-god. The latter was called Haddu at Byblos in
ca. 2000 B.C., as indicated by the name Eb-da-dì /‘Abd-
Haddi/, borne by the ruler of Byblos at the time of Amar-Sin
of Ur21.
A shorter chapter is devoted to Eshmun-Asclepius, since the
question whether he was a “dying and rising god” is difficult
to answer. Mettinger rightly points out that the Lebanese Qabr
∞m‚n in the ‘Alay district should not be overlooked (p. 159).
17
) In Egypt, the year was divided in three seasons: inundation, winter,
summer;
18
) E. Gerhard, Etruskische Spiegel III, Berlin 1868, Pl. CXV; cf. R.
Schilling, La religion romaine de Vénus, Paris 1954, p. 166, n. 2. On
another mirror with Turan and Atunis one can also see a young lyrist (Pul-
tisph) and a young woman (Snenath) holding a perfume vase and a paint
stick: E. Gerhard, op. cit., Pl. CXI.
19
) A.J. Pfiffig, Religio Etrusca, Graz 1975, pp. 260-263.
20
) A. Caquot, “Le dieu Milk‘ashtart et les inscriptions de ’Umm el
‘Amed”, in Semitica 15 (1965), pp. 29-33 (see p. 29, line 2); J.C.L. Gib-
son, TSSI III, 32, 2.
21
) He is mentioned in line 19 of two quasi-duplicate administrative
records from Drehem, published in transliteration by E. Sollberger, “Byb-
los sous les rois d’Ur”, in AfO 19 (1959-60), pp. 120-122.
485 BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS LIX N° 5-6, september-december 2002 486

In the same area, there is another village called B·∂m‚n, of the deity from one place, state, or condition to another and
“House of ∞m‚n”, where some unspecified ruins have been back again. Each passage implies a ritual act which interrupts
recorded. As expected, local tradition in both villages does not the course of events and leads to a new beginning, rejuvena-
connect the place names with a deity, but expresses a nega- ting the plant life.
tive opinion about the character hiding behind these toponyms. Mettinger’s work offers an objective and carefully drawn
At B·∂m‚n people believe that it is a despotic king, while image of “dying and rising gods” in the Ancient Near East
inhabitants of Qabr ∞m‚n speak of a violent criminal. He is and puts the question anew on a good track. The gods in
supposed to have lived at B·∂m‚n but was killed by his bar- question belong to different types of deities, but their speci-
ber and buried at Qabr ∞m‚n22. There is no connection what- fic function as “dying and rising gods” is similar and ulti-
soever with the story of Damascius (pp. 155-156). mately connected with ritual. New information and further
Osiris provides the first opportunity of examining the pro- research will probably give us the opportunity of refining this
blem in a wider comparative perspective. The Author rightly picture and correcting some particular points, but the basic
underlines the similarities and differences, the most impor- pattern is likely to remain unchanged.
tant of which was Osiris’ rising to continue life in the Nether-
world. In the reviewer’s opinion this conclusion should have Brussels, September 2002 Edward LIPINSKI
been complemented by an accurate description of the role of
Horus along the lines of Assmann’s position, mentioned on
p. 172. In fact, the myth of Osiris comprises two generations:
Osiris rose to new life in his son, Horus.
Another question related to Osiris is raised by the myth of
Busiris, omitted by the Author, although Heracles plays there
an important role. Busiris was the capital of the Busirite nome
of Lower Egypt (Abusir), and the main centre of the cult of
Osiris, but this place name became the name of an Egyptian
king in a legend known to Herodotus (II, 45), Euripides, Iso-
crates, Diodorus of Sicily, Plutarch, Lucian, Virgil, Arrian,
and others23. After Egypt had been afflicted for nine years
with famine, Phrasius, a seer of Cyprus, arrived in Egypt and
announced that the end of the famine would not take place
until a foreigner was yearly sacrificed to Zeus. Busiris began
by sacrificing the prophet and continued the custom by offe-
ring a foreigner on the altar of the god. When Heracles had
arrived in Egypt, he was seized and bound ready to be slaugh-
tered on the altar of Zeus at Memphis. However, Heracles
burst his bonds and, seizing his club, slew Busiris with his
son Amphidamas and his herald Chalbes. The exploit is often
represented on vase paintings from the 6th century B.C. and
onward24, indicating that this was a very popular myth.
However, it cannot be Egyptian, while the name of the herald
Chalbes seems to be Semitic Kalba’, “dog”, a name attested
in Phoenician and Punic25. The connection of the myth with
famine and the practice of a yearly sacrifice imply a link with
seasonal cycles and ritual. One wonders whether there was a
cultual background to this unachieved episode of Heracles’
sacrifice and his sudden “awakening”.
An aetiology of the yearly awakening of the plant life is
provided ultimately by the Dumuzi-Tammuz myth, as rightly
stressed by Mettinger (p. 204), who reckons with a possible
influence of the Mesopotamian myth on the West-Semitic
ones. He calls “bilocation” the alternative presence of
Dumuzi in the Netherworld and among “living gods”, using
this term also in relation to other “dying and rising gods” (p.
119). Now, “bilocation” suggests the power of being in two
places at the same time. This is not the case in the myths
concerned, where we in fact see an “alternation”, a passage

22
) E. Wardini, Lebanese Place-Names (Orient. Lov. An. 110), Leuven
2002, pp. 171 and 240.
23
) H. von Gaertringer, “Busiris 5.”, in PW III/1, Stuttgart 1897, col.
1074-1077.
24
) F. Brommer, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage, 2nd ed., Mar-
burg/Lahn 1960, pp. 26-29.
25
) F.L. Benz, Personal Names in the Phoenician and Punic Inscriptions
(Studia Pohl 8), Rome 1972, pp. 131 and 331.