Shapash (Canaanite goddess)

Shapash or Shapsh(u) (Ugaritic/Canaanite) was the Canaanite goddess of the sun, daughter of El and Asherah.Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology FAQ, ver. 1.2 She is known as "torch of the gods"Keil-alphabetische Texte aus Ugarit 1.2.xv and xxii. and is considered an important deity in the Canaanite pantheonEntry at The Obscure Goddess Online Dictionary;for example, "Baal, Anat, Mot, and Shemesh/Shapshu, as well as lesser-known deities" are seen as "upper-level management" in Lowell K. Handy's Among the Host of Heaven: The Syro-Palestinian Pantheon As Bureaucracy (Eisenbrauns, 1994; ISBN 978-0931464843). That is, ranking below the "owners," El and Asherah, "they run day-to-day affairs and are, in practical terms, sovereigns" (the Steve A. Wiggins, book review in ASOR Bulletin, No. 297, (February 1995); p. 94. and among the Phoenicians. The Akkadian sun god, Shamash, was the Mesopotamian male equivalent of the female Canaanite Shapash. She may also be related to a preeminent deity at Ebla named Shipish, and to Shams or Chems, a pre-Muslim Arabic sun deity worshipped at sunrise, noon, and sunset.
==Baal Myth==
In the Epic of Baal, Shapsh plays an important part in the plot, as she interacts with all of the main characters, and in the end she is favourable to Baal's position as king.Smith, Mark S. The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and Ugaritic Texts, Oxford University Press (2001), p. 127; ISBN 019513480X She announces that El supports Yam.KTU. 1.2.III By delivering her verdict in the final struggle of Baal with Mot, she reveals her role as judge among the gods, and by her judgement against Mot, as saviour of humankind, two aspects, Brian B. Schmidt observes,Schmidt, Israel's Beneficent Dead: Ancestor Cult and Necromancy in Ancient Israelite Religion and Tradition (Eisebrauns) 1994,
 pp 85f. that conform with what is known of Shamash's function in Mesopotamia. After Baal is killed, she helps Anat bury and mourn him,KTU. 1.6.I and then stops shining. Following El's dream about the resurrection of Baal,Smith, Mark S. The Ugaritic Baal Cycle: Volume I., Brill Publishers (1994), p.257; ISBN 9004099956 El asks Anat to persuade Shapash to shine again, which she agrees to, but declares that she will continue to search for him.KTU. 1.6.III In the battle between Baal and Mot, she threatens Mot that El will intervene in Baal's favour, a threat which ends the battle.KTU. 1.6.VI
==In the Tanakh==
In the Tanakh, worshiping Shemesh is forbidden and is punishable by stoning. Worshiping Shemesh was said to include bowing to the east, in the direction of the sun, as well as rituals related to horses and chariots, which were associated with her.Deuteronomy. 4-19 and 17-3 King Josiah was also said to have abolished sun worship (among others).Books of Kings. 23-4
==See also==
* Samson
==Notes==
Category:Solar goddesses
Category:Levantine mythology
Category:West Semitic goddesses
Category:Phoenician mythology
Category:Ancient Israel and Judah
Category:Deities in the Hebrew Bible