Keret Epic

…fragment, the Ugaritic epic of Keret, has been interpreted as a Phoenician version of the Indo-European theme of the siege of an enemy city for the recovery of an abducted woman. This theme is also the subject of the Greek legend of the Trojan War and of the Indian epic…

King Keret, whose epic was found at Ugarit, claimed to be the son of El, the head of the pantheon, and of Asherah, El’s wife. Every Egyptian pharaoh was hailed as “the son of Re” (the sun god). This does not, however, imply the absence of…

…Ugarit, including the “Legend of Keret,” the “Aqhat Epic” (or “Legend of Danel”), the “Myth of Baal-Aliyan,” and the “Death of Baal,” reveal an Old Canaanite mythology. A tablet names the Ugaritic pantheon with Babylonian equivalents; El, Asherah of the Sea, and Baal were the main deities. These texts not…

…myth, while that of King Keret (or Kret) takes place in a saga world somewhat reminiscent of the Greek Homeric tradition.

In the legend of King Keret, El is the sole benefactor of Keret in that king’s various sufferings: he responds to Keret’s misery at his lack of a family by appearing to him in a dream and giving him detailed directions for making a certain princess his wife. When Keret…