The first, or ancient, mythical beings appeared at the beginning of the tree of gods, and since the first contact of heaven with earth, mountain giants, giants of civilization and giants of kingdoms appeared, as well as demons, headed by “Typhon” who fought Melqart in particular.
Then other types of these mythical beings appeared with the appearance of the gods El and Baal, and they had some evil or good divine qualities; but they did not rise to the level of gods, and we can sort these beings into three types:
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| Five Mysterious Mythical Creatures in Canaanite Mythology |
1- The Sons of Elim
Death was in the hands of the sons of Elim, and the death they carried was called the “White Death” and the “Red Death”, and until it reached the earth, it broke the thorn of glory and pride, because the spirit of the living can be the center of some demons where they glorify pride.2- The cherubim
They were natural forces commanded by Baal, called demons, who could conquer foreign countries by “invisible hands” and crush everything under their feet. They were numerous and fought like armies, and their immediate leader was called the “guardian of the dead”, an ambassador of Baal, and some invited him to the table, groveled to him and offered sacrifices to him as if he were a god.His form is cruel, he can change into many forms, and the curse does not affect him, and if he gives advice to anyone, he must do the opposite of his advice, because he is a liar. The guardian of the dead has his own ritual, characterized by cunning leading to sacrilege, and he rejoices in disgrace and laughs at those who flounder to get rid of him.
The cherubim were demons who were said to be the sons of the god El and the goddess Rhea, the goddess of the earth, including the god “Death” who is a god. There are many names for some of them such as “the one who blinds vision”, “the one who makes healing impossible” and “the one who crushes by destroying his appearance.” These demons used to appear naturally in the other world, where their task is to watch over the dead and teach them the customs of life after death.
The act of death performed by the demons was called “purification by destruction.” In other words, mortality is a kind of purification of man or existence from man; man goes to rest near his Great Mother. The epic of the Great King mentions such an act: “Now these are the words of Lucifer, the blind man, the bearer of the cause of death, the tyrant, whom I will fight - it is a declaration from my mouth - to the end, and with purifying destruction I will break him.”
3- The Rephaim
They are good beings representing the race of giants in the era of Gil-El, and their Canaanite name was “Refum” and the Hebrew name was “Rafa'im”. These beings are associated with the healing of diseases, especially infertility, and may refer to the entire population of the underworld. The myth of the Raphaeim, which revolves around a divine royal coronation ceremony, is summarized as follows:El invites the Rephaim to attend a party at the temple; but they are slow to arrive, so he insists, and they saddle their horses and ride until they arrive at El's farm, where Daniel welcomes them and offers them fruit. At the temple, they slaughter a calf and offer a drink. El announces that Baal will be crowned king and sits on the throne. They encounter two gods, Rafa-Baal and Hili, whom El thanks for attending the ceremony of “pouring oil” on Baal's head, which crowns Baal as king.
At the end of the myth, a person (perhaps a god) appears and addresses him, announcing the completion of his house, and that Anah will kiss his lips and lead him to the temple, where he finds those who praise and praise El, after which Anah leaves him and flies to heaven, and we believe that this boy is Baal himself, and that his father El is the one who addressed him. The temple's priests then slaughtered sacrifices and poured wine, and the ceremony lasted for seven days.
But we don't know what happened next. This incomplete legend of the Raphaelites is not consistent with being part of Daniel's story; it is the legend of Baal, the building of his house and his coronation as king; but the Raphaelites have a strong presence, and the text understands that they are like servants of the god El, attending his parties and banquets and working to make these parties successful and regulate them.
Fairy tale creatures
1- The Canaanite Sphinx
The Canaanite Sphinx (a man with the body of a lion) appears to be greatly influenced by the Egyptian Sphinx; we have received from the city of Arwad (around the ninth century BC) a beautiful alabaster inscription decorated from above with a wonderful decorative inscription, showing a winged Sphinx wearing the Egyptian double crown, and at the bottom of the painting is a low altar or table. Another inscription of the Sphinx on a spiral crown of early Ionic columns, found in Cyprus, shows us a symmetrical figure of the Sphinx centered on the Tree of Life.
2- The Phoenix
It is a bird with the body of an animal, which may be a lion, and has a relationship with fire and rebirth from ashes.
3- Jinn
They are generally the winged creatures that appear in Canaanite sculptures and inscriptions, including the Jinn who holds a whip in his left hand and a ball in his right hand, and has a bird's head and a human body and is equipped with wings. Such beings were frequent in the Assyrian and Aramaic traditions and signified semi-divine beings.
They took another form; they have a bird's head, wings and a human body, which are variations of the Sphinx and the Phoenix.