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Bêl (/ˈbeɪl/; fromAkkadian:bēlu) is atitle signifying 'lord' or 'master' applied to various gods in theMesopotamian religion ofAkkad,Assyria, andBabylonia. The feminine form isBêlit ('Lady, Mistress') inAkkadian.Bel is represented inGreek asBelos and inLatin asBelus.Belit appears in Greek form asBeltis (Βελτις). Linguistically,Bel is anEast Semitic formcognate with theNorthwest SemiticBaal with the same meaning.
Bel was especially used for the Babylonian godMarduk in Assyrian andneo-Babylonian personal names or mentioned in inscriptions in a Mesopotamian context. Similarly,Bêlit mostly refers toMarduk's spouseSarpanit. Marduk's mother, theSumerian goddess often referred to in theSumerian language asNinhursag,Damkina, andNinmah, was often known asBelit-ili ('Lady of the Gods') in Akkadian.
Other gods called "Lord" were sometimes identified totally or in part with Bel Marduk. The godMalak-bel ofPalmyra is an example, attested as a messenger of Bel but existing as a deity separate to Bel/Marduk. Similarly, Zeus Belus mentioned bySanchuniathon as born toCronus/El inPeraea is unlikely to be Marduk. Early translators of Akkadian believed that the ideogram for the god calledEnlil inSumerian was to be read asBel in Akkadian. Current scholarship holds this as incorrect, butBel is used in referring to Enlil in older translations and discussions.[1]
InMandaean cosmology, the name forJupiter isBil (ࡁࡉࡋ), which is derived from the name Bel.[2]
A god named Bel was the chief-god ofPalmyra,Syria in pre-Hellenistic times; the deity was worshipped alongside the godsAglibol andYarhibol.[3] He was originally known as Bol,[4] after the Northwestern Semitic wordBa'al[5] (usually used to refer to the godHadad), until the cult of Bel-Marduk spread toPalmyra; by 213 BC, Bol was renamed to Bel.[4] TheTemple of Bel inPalmrya,Syria was dedicated to this god. The temple hassince been destroyed by ISIS.[6]
