Baal.—A sun god, the center of whose worship was Phœnicia, whence it spread to neighboring countries.
Bacchantes (bak-an´tez), or Bacchæ (bak´ē).—Priestesses of Bacchus.
Bacchus (bak´us); called Dionysus (dī-on-ī´sus) by the Greeks. The god of wine; was the son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. Bacchus went on a traveling expedition through Syria and Asia, returning to Europe through Thrace, during which he taught men the cultivation of the vine and the elements of civilization. He married [Ariadne] (q.v.). Feasts in honor of Bacchus were called Bacchanalia, and were of a very noisy and riotous character. The vine, ivy and laurel were sacred to him, as were also the tiger, lynx, panther, ass, serpent and dolphin. Rams were usually sacrificed to his honor.
Banshee.—The domestic spirit of certain Irish or Scottish families, supposed to wail shortly before the death of one of the family. The banshee is allowed only to families of pure stock.
Baldur (bâl´dör,) or Balder (bâl´der).—In old Norse mythology, a son of Odin, and one of the principal gods. Baldur’s characteristics are those of a sun-god. He is the “whitest” of the gods, and so beautiful and bright that a light emanates from him. He is [825] the wisest, most eloquent and mildest of the Ases, His dwelling is Breidablik. His wife is Nanna. He is finally slain, at the instigation of Loki, by a twig of mistletoe in the hands of the blind god Hodur. Baldur is specifically a Northern god; among the other Germanic races there is no existing record of him whatsoever.
Bellerophon (bel-ler´o-fon).—Son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus. He incurred the hatred of Antea, wife of Proetus, king of Argos, who sent him to his father-in-law (Iobates) with a letter requesting the latter to put the young man to death. Iobates selected what seemed to be a sure method of compassing his death, by asking him to go and kill the [Chimæra] (kī-mē´ra) (q.v.). Bellerophon, however, obtained possession of the winged horse [Pegasus] (q.v.), which enabled him to rise in the air. He then slew the monster with his arrows. Iobates then sent him against the Solymi, a warlike race in Lycia, and afterwards against the Amazons; but in these expeditions also he was successful. Finally, he attempted to fly to heaven on Pegasus; but Jupiter sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, which threw its rider on to the earth.
Bellona (bel-lō´na).—The Roman goddess of war, sister of Mars.
Belphegor.—A god of evil, worshiped by the Moabites. An archfiend who had been an archangel.
Belus.—The name of the Chaldean sun-god.
Berg Folk.—Pagan spirits doomed to live on the Scandinavian hills till the day of redemption.