Thank you for visiting. This article is the second installment in a series explaining the original texts of Canaanite (Ugaritic) mythology.
Last time (Article 1) was a story of the gods, but this time the protagonist is a human king. I take up the “Epic of Kirta (Keret)” that remains on the Ugaritic clay tablets, and look, following the original text, at how a king who lost his family recovers with a god’s help and in time faces his heir’s rebellion. It is a story asking what a king is and how god and human are bound.
For an overview map of the original texts of Canaanite mythology as a whole, please see this summary article.
What Kind of Original Text Is the “Epic of Kirta”
| Item | Content |
|---|---|
| Original text | The Ugaritic clay tablets (KTU 1.14–1.16, 3 tablets) |
| Protagonist | King Kirta (Keret). Held to be the son of the supreme god El |
| Theme | Kingship, the heir, the relation of god and human |
| State | The end is missing, and the conclusion is unknown |
The “Epic of Kirta” is a story whose protagonist is the Ugaritic king Kirta (Keret). Kirta is called the son of the supreme god El, and though a king blessed by a god, he tastes suffering as a human. Unfortunately the end of the clay tablet is missing, and how the story is finally concluded is still unknown.
Even so, this epic vividly conveys how the people of Canaan thought of the “ideal king.” Let me first put the flow of the story into a diagram.
An Anatomical Illustrated Guide to the Myths That Make StoriesView on Amazon →
The Origins of Religion: Why We Needed a ‘God’View on Amazon →
The King Who Lost All His Family
The story begins with a scene of deep sorrow. King Kirta lost his wife, and his children too died out one after another. By illness, war, and accident — by various calamities, his family was uprooted.
For a king, having no child to succeed him is not a mere personal misfortune. It means the extinction of the royal house itself. Kirta shut himself in his room, lay on his bed, and wept aloud. Having wept until his tears ran dry, Kirta in time fell asleep, exhausted. And in that dream —.
The Dream Oracle of the Supreme God El
To the sleeping Kirta, the supreme god El descended. The aged supreme god, called “father of the gods” and “father of humanity,” gently asked the lamenting king: “Kirta, why do you weep? Why does the noble king shed tears? Do you want silver? Do you want gold?”
Kirta’s answer was without greed, yet earnest. “I want neither silver nor gold. What I want is children. I want descendants to succeed my house.”
Hearing this, El gave Kirta concrete instructions. First, purify yourself and offer sacrifice to El and Baal. Then lead a great army, set out on an expedition to the distant city “Udum,” and take its king Pabil’s daughter Hurriya as your wife. The god gave the king the very path to gaining an heir.
The Expedition to Udum
The awakened Kirta began to move just as the oracle said. The army he gathered was just like a “great swarm of locusts.” The original text strikingly depicts its total mobilization.
Even the one living alone goes out, closing his door. Even the sick is carried along, bed and all. Even the newly-wed bridegroom entrusts his new wife to another man and joins the march.
Everyone in the country, without leaving a single one, followed Kirta. The great army advanced seven days and besieged the target city, Udum.
The besieged king of Udum, Pabil, hurriedly sent a messenger and offered peace. “I will give silver, give gold, present horses and chariots too. Please withdraw your troops.” But Kirta did not even glance at those treasures and demanded just one thing. “I need no treasure. Only give me your daughter Hurriya.” What Kirta sought was not wealth but a consort to bear a child to succeed the royal house.
The Consort Hurriya, and the Gods’ Blessing
Pabil at last gave in, and his daughter Hurriya came to wed Kirta. At the wedding feast, the gods gathered and bestowed a blessing. The supreme god El took up a cup and, blessing Hurriya, prophesied thus.
Hurriya will bear seven sons. No, eight. And the goddess Asherah and the maiden Anat will give them suck.
In particular, the most beloved heir of the children to be born, Yassib, is promised the highest blessing of being raised on the milk of the goddesses. Thus Kirta regained his lost family, and the future of the royal house seemed to open brightly. But the story turns dark here.
The Broken Vow, and the King’s Illness
In fact, on the way to Udum, Kirta had made a vow. When he passed before the sanctuary of the mother goddess Asherah (Athirat), he had promised, “If I can take Hurriya into my house, I will offer you silver and gold.”
But the Kirta who gained his longed-for consort neglected to fulfill this vow. The wrath of the goddess Asherah, whose promise was broken, was fierce, and she sent Kirta a fatal illness. Even a god-chosen king, if he breaks a vow, is punished without mercy — the severity of the Canaanite gods appears here.
And what is important is the point that when the king falls ill, the land itself declines. The rain ceases, and the earth loses its harvest. The king’s health and the country’s fertility being inseparably tied — this was a deep-rooted worldview of Canaan (and the ancient Orient in general), which held the king sacred.
The Ailing King, and the Lamenting Children
The king’s illness cast a deep shadow over the court. The original text carefully depicts the scene in which the children, sensing their father’s death, lament. Especially the youngest child, still young, wept aloud, wanting with all his heart to believe that his father could not possibly die.
Here seeps a keen question: “Why does the king, who should be the son of an undying god, die?” Kirta is a being called “the son of El.” Nevertheless, that king falls ill like any other human and is at the brink of death. The glory of a god-chosen king, and the weakness as a single human. The very being holding both was the Canaanite “king.” At the same time, if the king lies ill, the fields wither; if the king is healed, the earth too revives. The king’s body was, so to speak, one with the very fate of the land.
The Healing by El
The one who could save the Kirta at death’s door was no longer anyone but the gods. The supreme god El asked the gathered gods seven times: “Who among the gods can drive away this illness, this death?” But not a single one stepped forward.
So El moved himself. He kneaded clay and created a woman, “Shataqat,” to drive away illness and death. Her name means “the one who removes (illness).” Shataqat flew over the towns, and, alighting at Kirta, wiped the king’s sweat and drove death (Mot) from his body. Then the dying Kirta rose and commanded, “Bring me food.” The king was splendidly brought back to the world of the living. The supreme god El creating a being to drive away death — it is a scene that well expresses the power of the creator god.
The Heir’s Rebellion
But it did not end happily ever after. What awaited the Kirta who recovered from illness was the rebellion of his own child.
In the heart of the heir Yassib, who had seen his father weakened by illness, an ill ambition sprouted. He came before his father and, to depose the king, pressed him thus: “You are not fulfilling the king’s duty. You do not judge the widow’s plea, do not look after the poor, do not help the oppressed. Step down from the throne. I will become king.”
Hearing this, Kirta was enraged and laid a terrible curse on his own son. “God Horon, crush Yassib’s head. Goddess Athtart, smash his skull.” Father and son cursing each other over the throne — at that tense scene, the clay tablet mercilessly breaks off, and the story’s conclusion remains unknown.
The Kingship the Epic of Kirta Tells
Though lacking its end, the “Epic of Kirta” splendidly depicts the essence of the Canaanite “king.”
King Kirta is called “the son of El,” a being chosen by a god and directly guided in a dream. If the king falls ill, the land too declines; the king’s health directly relates to the earth’s fertility. And the words with which Yassib reproached his father — to “judge the widow, protect the poor and the oppressed” — were the very justice demanded of a king.
Interestingly, this ideal that “protecting the widow and orphan, and the poor, is the king’s duty” closely resembles the justice the later Old Testament demands of kings and rulers. A king specially bound with a god, the king’s justice and the land’s prosperity — Canaanite kingship thought resonates deeply with the world of the Bible too (the relation with the Bible is dealt with in detail in Article 5).
To Learn More
Here are some related books. Reading them alongside this series lets you savor this world even more deeply.
World Mythology for Beginners (illustrated)View on Amazon →
An Illustrated Introduction to the World’s 5 Great MythologiesView on Amazon →
Conclusion
In this article, I explained in detail the Ugaritic “Epic of Kirta,” following the flow of the original text. How was it?
King Kirta, who lost his family, set out on an expedition by El’s dream oracle and gained the consort Hurriya, yet broke his vow to Asherah and fell ill, was healed by El, and at the last faced the rebellion of the heir Yassib. Through the glory and suffering of a god-chosen king, I think you have felt that Canaanite kingship thought is clearly depicted.
In the next Article 3, I will explain another king’s story, the “Tale of Aqhat.” This time, the human destiny of being mortal becomes the theme.
I hope you’ll read the next article too.
📚 Series: The Original Texts of Canaanite (Ugaritic) Mythology (3/6)
