the encyclopedia of celtic mythology and folklore: ↳ Ba’al
This title, meaning “the lord,” was given to various gods of the Phoenicians, the sea-trading ancient people of the eastern Mediterranean; Ba’al was parallel to, and perhaps consort of, the goddess names Ba’alat, “the lady.” Ba’al is sometimes mistakenly described as the Celtic corollary to a hypothesized seasonal god named Bel, after whom the spring feast of BELTANE, celebrated on May 1, was presumably named. There is no evidence of such a divinity; no inscriptions to or sculptures of Bel have been found, although we do find a god named BELENUS whose name may have been incorporated into the springtime festival. Unlike Ba’al, who was typically a god of the atmosphere (and especially of stormy weater), Belenus was associated with healing spring and, at times, with the sun.
