The Canaanite Religion

The Canaanites worshipped several gods, the most important of which were El, Baal, Anat, Astarte and Asherah.

Fertility played an important part in the Canaanite religion. The gods could provide a plentiful harvest, a wealth of cattle and a large number of children. For this reason, it was important to maintain a good relationship with the gods, to increase the chances of the gods being pleased with the worshipper and making sure that things go well for him or her.

Our knowledge of the Canaanite religion stems mainly from the Ras Shamra inscriptions. These are texts from the second millennium before Christ, written in cuneiform. They were found in 1929 in the city of Ras Shamra in North West Syria. In ancient times, this was the location of the city of Ugarit.