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Mythos Atlas

Canaanite Pantheon (Ugarit)

Kothar-wa-Khasis

kṯr w ḫss(Kôṯaru-wa-Ḫasīsu)

Also known as Kothar, Kothar-and-Khasis, Chousor (in Philo of Byblos)

Illustration of Kothar-wa-Khasis, a deity of the Canaanite Pantheon (Ugarit)
Illustrative imageIllustration of Kothar-wa-Khasis. Generated with an AI image model; not a historical artifact. About our images
  • craftsmanship
  • metalwork
  • building
  • magic and incantation

The craftsman god, 'Skilful and Wise', who makes Baal's two clubs, builds his palace of cedar and silver, and brings the fateful bow to the house of Danel.

About Kothar-wa-Khasis

Skilful and Wise

Kothar-wa-Khasis has a double name, "Skilful and Wise", and is treated as a single god. He is the divine smith and builder, and he also knows incantations: when he names Baal's clubs he speaks words of power over them. His homes are far away, in Kaphtor (Crete) and Ḥkpt (Memphis, the city of the Egyptian craftsman god Ptah), which reflects Ugarit's position in a trading world that reached from the Aegean to Egypt.

Maker of weapons

In the Baal Cycle he makes two clubs for Baal and names them Yagrush ("Driver") and Ayyamur ("Expeller"); the second fells Yam (KTU 1.2 IV). He also forges the lavish gifts Baal and Anat take to Athirat (KTU 1.4 I), and the silver and gold palace on Zaphon.

The window

While building the palace, Kothar-wa-Khasis twice proposes a window and Baal twice refuses; at last Baal agrees, and the window becomes the rift in the clouds through which his thunder sounds (KTU 1.4 V-VII). The exchange is a small comic scene, with the craftsman patiently saying "you will come back to my words".

The bow of Aqhat

In the Epic of Aqhat he arrives at Danel's house carrying a bow and arrows; Danel's wife serves him food and drink, and the bow passes to Aqhat, setting off the tragedy (KTU 1.17 V).

Across traditions

Parallel figures

Figures who play a role like Kothar-wa-Khasis's in other traditions.

In the atlas

Where Kothar-wa-Khasis appears

Sources and further reading

Source notes

These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.

  • Baal Cycle, KTU 1.4 V-VI

    Catalog date: tablets of the late 13th or early 12th c. BCE

Appears in

Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.

  • The Baal Cycle (KTU 1.1-1.6)Anonymous Ugaritic poet(s); tablets copied by the scribe Ilimilku

    craftsman who makes Baal's clubs and builds his palace (KTU 1.2 IV; 1.4 V-VII)

  • The Epic of Aqhat (KTU 1.17-1.19)Anonymous Ugaritic poet; tablets copied by the scribe Ilimilku

    brings the bow to Danel's house (KTU 1.17 V)

Further reading

  • The Baal Cycle (KTU 1.1-1.6)Anonymous Ugaritic poet(s); tablets copied by the scribe Ilimilku · Tablets of the late 13th or early 12th c. BCE; the poem is older · Ancient text

    The clubs and the palace

    Recommended translations: Mark S. Smith (in Ugaritic Narrative Poetry, ed. S. B. Parker) (1997), Nicolas Wyatt (Religious Texts from Ugarit) (2002)

  • The Epic of Aqhat (KTU 1.17-1.19)Anonymous Ugaritic poet; tablets copied by the scribe Ilimilku · Tablets of the late 13th or early 12th c. BCE · Ancient text

    The gift of the bow

    Recommended translations: Simon B. Parker (in Ugaritic Narrative Poetry) (1997), Nicolas Wyatt (Religious Texts from Ugarit) (2002)

An editorial selection, not a full bibliography. Browse every text on the Sources page.

About this entry

By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. . Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.

Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.

Genealogy

Family tree

Kothar-wa-Khasis's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.

Open the full tree