Baal

Divine title given to their chief male gods by the Phoenicians, or Canaanites, of the eastern Mediterranean coast about 1200–332 BC. Their worship as fertility gods, often orgiastic and of a phallic character, was strongly denounced by the Hebrew prophets.

The word ‘Baal’ is found in many Semitic names; for example, Ish-bael ‘man of Baal’, Hannibal, ‘favour of Baal’, and Baalbek. Many devout Yahwists include Baal in their names to indicate Yahweh's superiority; for example, Jerubbaal ‘overthrower of Baal’ and Meribbaal ‘contender of Baal’.

Baal

Opera by Friedrich Cerha (libretto by the composer after Bertolt Brecht), first produced in Salzburg, Austria, on 7 August 1981. It portrays the poet Baal as a victim of society.