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| Goddess Baalat name |
Goddess Baalat was a Canaanite goddess connected plausibly via her obligation for products valued by the Egyptians with
Hathor. Her name means schoolmarm and she is clearly the light counterpart to
God Baal. In her role as Baalat Gebal schoolma'am of Byblos she protects the cedar-wood trade between Lebanon and Egypt which goes back to the reign of King Sneferu (
4th Dynasty). Her significance parallels that of
Hathor of Dendera who is described as dwelling at Byblos. In the Sinai peninsula the peacock blue mines at Serabit el-Khadim were protected by Hathor. In the temple of Goddess Hathor, there is a small sandstone sphinx written by the dedicator both with the name of the Egyptian deity, in hieroglyphics, and with the name of Baalat, in an early alphabetised script.
