Ba‘alat Gebal, 'Lady of Byblos', was the goddess of the city of Byblos, sometimes known to the Greeks as Baaltis.

She was generally identified with the pan-Semitic goddess ‘Ashtar and so equated with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. However Sanchuniathon equates her with the Greek goddess Dione and presents her as a sister of ‘Ashtart (Aphrodite) and Rhea (who is probably Asherah), all three being wives of El. He says she bore daughters to El and that it was El who gave the city of Byblos to Baaltis who is also called Dione.

Ba‘alat Gebal was distinguished in iconography from ‘Ashtart or other aspects of ‘Ashtart or similar goddesses by two, tall, upright feathers in her headdress.

The temple of Ba‘al Gebal in Byblus was built around 2700 BC. Dedications from Egyptians begin appearing from the 2nd to 6th dynasties. Two of them equate Ba‘alat Gebal with the Egyptian goddess Hathor.

External links

• Roman statue of Ba‘al Gebal
• Temple of Ba‘al Gebal