The Closing Hymn of the Ugaritic Baal Cycle (KTU 1.6 VI 42–54): A Mesopotamian Background?

Abstract

The closing hymn of the Ugaritic Baal Cycle, which praises the Sun goddess – a minor char- acter in the Cycle – has raised literary questions since its publication, due to its exceptional content. While some have suggested resolving these questions by interpreting the hymn as devoted to Baal despite Baal’s absence therein, others have correctly focused on its independ- ent origin, leaving the question of its relation to the preceding myth unanswered. Following a close examination of the hymn, its addressee, and its origin, this paper suggests looking at the hymn from a wider perspective by studying the literary structure of the common Mes- opotamian Belle-lettres compositions, with a special focus on the Sumerian and Akkadian disputation poems. The conclusions illustrate the formal role of the closing hymns in the ancient West Asian texts in general and in the Baal Cycle in particular