| MOT:
Mot is the ancient Canaanite god of death and the archenemy of the
benevolent god Baal. The legend of their battle, which dates back more
than four thousand years, describes how Baal banishes Mot from the earth and
confines him to the underworld. Unwilling to admit defeat, Mot dares
Baal to visit him to the dark, foul-smelling land of the dead. Baal
accepts this challenge, with disastrous results.
When Baal arrives, Mot forces him to eat
mud, the "food of the dead." This proves fatal, and Mot gloats that
now Baal is in his kingdom and things are going to change. But Baal's
wife, Anat, refuses to surrender her husband so easily. She lures Mot
out of his murky realm, then murders him and grinds up his body. A
truce is eventually struck, and Baal returns to the heavens while Mot is
restored to the underworld, where he must confine his exploits to torturing
the damned. (o)
Resource List - all entries are taken verbatim from the
original source:
(o) "The Encyclopedia of Hell."
Miriam Van Scott. St. Martin's Press. ©1998
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