Goddess Baalat

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.