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Also spelled:
Baʿalat or Baʿalath
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Baalat

ancient deity, chiefly of Byblos
Also known as: Baʿalat, Baʿalath

Baalat, (from West Semitic baʿalat, “lady”), often used as a synonym for the special goddess of a region; also, the chief deity of Byblos. Very little is known of Baalat, “the Lady [of Byblos],” but, because of the close ties between Byblos and Egypt, she was often represented with a typically Egyptian hairstyle, headdress, and costume, and by the 12th dynasty (1991–1786 bc) she was equated with the Egyptian goddess Hathor. To the Greeks, Baalat was a form of the goddess Astarte.