The Student's Mythology / A Compendium of Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Persian, Hindoo, Chinese, Thibetian, Scandinavian, Celtic, Aztec, and Peruvian Mythologies

by Catherine Ann White

BAAL, OR BEL—MOLOCH.

Ques. Who were these divinities?

Ans. The names Baal and Moloch seem to have been, at first, different appellations of the Sun; later they assumed another signification, and were applied to distinct deities.

Ques. Where was the Sun worshipped under the name of Baal or Bel (the Lord)?

Ans. In Babylon. The famous tower of Babel or Belus, was there devoted to his worship, although the highest apartment of the edifice served also as an observatory, and was the repository of the most ancient astronomical observations. Some writers have imagined that the Chaldeans and Babylonians worshipped Nimrod under the name of Belus, but it is generally believed that with these nations, and the ancient Canaanites, this was one of the many appellations of the Sun.

Ques. What proof have we of the popularity of this god among the Phœnicians and Carthaginians?

Ans. In their proper names; as among the former, Ethbaal, Jerubbaal; among the latter, Hannibal, Asdrubal.

Ques. By whom was the worship of Baal introduced among the Israelites?

Ans. By King Achab or Ahab. They offered human sacrifices to Baal in groves, or high places, and on the terraces of their houses. Jeremias reproaches the Jews with building “the high places of Baalim, to burn their children with fire for a holocaust to Baalim.” This text shows the extent to which the apostate Hebrews carried this abominable worship.