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  • From: "Ishinan" <ishinan AT comcast.net>
  • To: "B-Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Cc: berlant AT advanced-studies.org
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] The Phoenician Solar Theology was Helios from El
  • Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:14:06 -0500

Dear Stephen,

Is your question somewhat related to Michael Harriz's following theory as
expressed in "A Story in Stone"?


"...Early during the Greek domination of the Middle East, Helios was
identified with Baal-Hadad as both were already recognized sun gods. Later,
before the end of Hellenistic era (330-146 B.C.), Zeus was supplanted by
Jupiter. And, since both Jupiter and Baal personified a number of similar
forces and attributes (rain, thunder, lightning, fertility, fecundity, etc..)
they were equated, fused and merged under the appellation of Jupiter
Heliopolitanus, meaning: the sun father god."

http://www.goldenageproject.org.uk/322jupiter.html


If so, then might I suggest, that before you delve into any possible
linguistic links, you read a counter point raised earlier by Joseph Azize:
The Phoenician solar theology: An investigation into the Phoenician opinion
(chapter 7 ...p. 130). It is about the sun goddess of Ugarit (shpsh /shmsh,
the Semitic Sun deity who was originally a female).

Best regards

Ishinan Ishibashi


------------------------------------------------------------

Earlier, Stephen wrote :

I happened to come across this thread while I was researching a related
topic, and I was just wondering what people here thought of the possibility
that El could have come into Gk as Helios or de-personified as helios, as
all these words referred to the sun, light, and day', considering especially
the following factors:

(1) The presence of unaspirated variants of Helios, aelios and eelios, in
Doric, Aolic, Arcadian and Epic Greek

(3) The practice of referring to El as "The" God using Heb. "Ha," which could
easily have led to Ha-el, and the subsequent loss of one of the vowels

(4) ) The ability of this etymology to explain the presence of an a-grade
variant of Helios, Halios

(5) The virtually universal tendency to strengthen words beginning with
vowels by aspirating them, especially in the formation of vocatives

(6) The presence of a number of monosyllabic Greek articles beginning with
"*h", which could have led to *Hel or *Hal- through vowel loss and/or
confusion with Heb. Ha-El

(7) The evidence that a number of groups (including the Phoenecians, The
Philistines and the so-called Sea People) were traveling between the Levant
and the Greek islands pre- and proto-historically, as well as historically.

Comments and criticisms would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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  • [b-hebrew] The Phoenician Solar Theology was Helios from El, Ishinan, 09/26/2009

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