Kothar-wa-Khasis (), also known as Kothar or Hayyānu, was an Ugaritic god regarded as a divine artisan. He could variously play the roles of an architect, smith, musician or magician. Some scholars believe that this name represents two gods, Kothar and Khasis, combined into one.Charles Russell Coulter, Patricia Turner 2021, Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. p.274
He is well attested in ritual texts, and a number of theophoric names invoking him have been identified. He was believed to reside in Memphis and Caphtor, which might reflect the routes through which crafts and resources traveled in the late Bronze Age. He appears in various Ugaritic myths as well. In the Baal Cycle, he uses his skills on behalf of other deities. In the beginning, El enlists his help with building a temple for Yam. Later he helps Baal in his conflict with the sea god, providing him with weapons with which he ultimately triumphs. The weather god subsequently asks him for help with preparing gifts for Athirat, whose support he needs, and later with the construction of a palace of his own. He is also mentioned in the hymn to Shapash which closes this cycle of myths. In the Epic of Aqhat, he makes the bow belonging to the eponymous hero. There is some evidence that he was also introduced to Egypt, but his popularity there was limited. He was associated with the construction of temples. The name Keserty might have either referred to a god regarded as his counterpart or outright represent an Egyptian variant of his name. A connection between him and Ptah has also been suggested in past scholarship.
It is presumed that a figure known from the writings of Philo of Byblos, Chousor, represents a later, Phoenician form of Kothar-wa-Khasis. While described as a mortal by this author due to his euhemeristic views, he was presumably originally also a craftsman deity. In Phoenician History, he is credited with inventing various arts and crafts. A reference to Chousor is also present in the cosmogony of Mochos, known from a citation in citation in Damascius’ De principiis.
Uncertain attestations of Kothar-wa-Khasis include the reference to a possibly related deity named Baal-Malagê in a Neo-Assyrian treaty with Tyre, and a number of verses in the Hebrew Bible whose emending to include his name did not find universal support.
Names Kothar-wa-Khasis (Kôṯaru-wa-Ḫasisu) is the vocalization of the theonym written in the Ugaritic alphabetic script as kṯr w ḫss. The basic translation of the name is "skilled and wise", though it might also be a hendiadys, "wise craftsman". Similar names are common in the Ugaritic texts, and can be understood either as a combination of the primary name and epithet of a deity and epithet, as in the case of Kothar-wa-Khasis or Nikkal-wa-Ib, or as two closely related deities, for example Gupan and Ugar or Shahar and Shalim. In addition to the binomial name, the short form Kothar is also attested, but the second element never occurs alone. According to Alfonso Archi, the binomial form is restricted to Ugaritic myths, though an example has also been identified in a prayer. In standard syllabic cuneiform, Kothar's name could be represented by the logogram dÉ.A, similarly to how other Mesopotamian theonyms could be used to designate local deities of similar character.
The name Kothar is derived from the root *kšr, "to be skilled" or "to achieve", attested in both West Semitic languages and Akkadian. It has been argued that an early form of this theonym, dKa-ša-lu, is already attested in texts from Ebla, which would indicate he was already worshiped in ancient Syria in the late third millennium BCE. However, according to Alfonso Archi Kothar is absent from Eblaite texts, and the similarly named deity mentioned in them is more likely to correspond to dGa-ša-ru known from later sources from Emar.
Related terms The name of the Kotharat, a group of midwifery goddesses known from Emar, Mari and Ugarit, is a cognate of Kothar's.
In Ugaritic a related term, mkṯr, referred to skilled work, and due to etymological parallels has been compared to later Greek descriptions of works of art as "daedalic". The Akkadian cognate is the verb kašāru, "to repair, to achieve". A connection between the name and Quranic Al-Kawthar (Surah 108) has also been proposed. It has been proposed that the second element of the full name, Khasis, might have been a reflection of an Akkadian epithet of Ea, ḫasīs ("wise") which might have reached Ugarit through Hurrian mediation and after being applied to an analogous local deity came to refer primarily to manual dexterity. A further attested name of Kothar is Hayyānu (hyn), which is interpreted either as a derivative of the Hurrian form of the theonym Ea, or as a cognate of Arabic hayyinun, "easy", possibly to be translated as "skillful" in this context.
The Ugaritic god Illish (Ilish)See List of Ugaritic deities was a carpenter deity. In the past he was sometimes interpreted as an alternate name or attendant of Kothar-wa-Khasis, as originally argued by Jean Nougayrol. Today some scholars regard this translation as incorrect, and assume he was a distinct figure who functioned as a divine herald. Both words were written as ngr in the Ugaritic script.
However, other scholars still regard Ilish as a carpenter deity, being independent although similar to Kothar. Ilish also has wives who are also carpenter deities. In this, there are parallels with Kothar who seems to have kotharat as female attendants.Sarah P. Morris 2022, Daidalos and the Origins of Greek Art. Princeton University Press. , p. 91
Carolina López-Ruiz connects Kythereia, the epithet for Aphrodite which was used since the earliest Greek epics, with Kothar (Kothar-wa-Hasis in Ugaritic). According to her, in the first millennium, Kothar was connected with the love goddess in the Cypro-Phoenician context. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite's name Kythereia traditionally linked her to the island of Kythera.Carolina López-Ruiz 2022, From Kothar to Kythereia: Exploring the Northwest Semitic Past of Aphrodite. in H. H. Hardy II, J. Lam, and E. D. Reymond, eds. Like ʾIlu Are You Wise: Studies in Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures in Honor of Dennis G. Pardee. Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2022, 353-73
As far back as 1965, :de:John Pairman Brown proposed a connection between Kothar and Kinyras (Cinyras) of Cyprus.
Ugaritic texts Kothar-wa-Khasis was a major deity in Ugaritic religion, and he is well attested in ritual texts and theophoric names. He was the main deity of craftsmanship in the Ugaritic pantheon. In the Ugaritic texts, is portrayed as a divine architect responsible for the construction of the temples of other gods. He also plays various other roles, including those of an artisan, musician and diviner. He was additionally associated with magic.
In the standard Ugaritic list of deities Kothar occupies the sixteenth position, after Mount Saphon and before Pidray. In another similar text, he instead precedes Attar. Both of these lists are presumed to document order of sacrifices in rituals. RS 1.001, a text describing a ritual taking place over the course of a full day and the following night, lists Kothar as the recipient of a sacrificial cow. The text RS 24.249, which describes offerings which should be made over the course of two months following the winter equinox, mentions the offering of two rams to him. RS 24.271, a short prayer meant to secure the well-being of the petitioner, uses the binomial form of the name. Thetrilingual edition of the Weidner god list from Ugarit equates Kothar with other gods of similar character: Eyan, a Hurrian derivative of Ea, and Mesopotamian Ea (Enki) himself, though the latter’s presence in the corresponding line was the result of reinterpretation of the name of Aya (dA-a; here read as dE4-a), the wife of the sun god Utu, presumably meant to avoid implying that the Ugaritic sun goddess Shapash also had a wife.
Fifteen individuals bearing theophoric names invoking Kothar have been identified in Ugaritic texts. One of them, kṯrmlk, “Kothar is king”, was a silversmith. Wilfred H. van Soldt notes that Ea, who could be identified with Kothar, appears in a large number of names, but rules out the possibility that his name serves a stand-in for Kothar-wa-Khasis in this context.
Dwellings of Kothar Two separate places are described as Kothar’s dwelling in the Ugaritic texts. The first is Memphis, referred to as ḥqkpt or ḥkpt, from Egyptian ḥwt-kꜣ-ptḥ (Hut-ka-Ptah, “house of the ka of Ptah”). In the Baal Cycle it is characterized as “the land of his family estate” and “all divine”. As Memphis was the cult center of the craftsman god Ptah, it was presumably seen as appropriate dwelling for a deity of similar character. However, it is not certain if the name is used to refer to the real city in the context of Ugaritic mythology, as they describe it as a land instead.
The second toponym, Kaphtor (kptr; analogous to Akkadian Kaptāru and Biblical Hebrew Kaptōr), is presumed to correspond to Crete. As neither toponym refers to an area in the immediate proximity of Ugarit, it has been suggested that placing Kothar’s dwelling in such locations is meant to designate him as a foreigner among the gods. It is also possible that the location of his two homes reflected the routes of trade in metal and crafts. It has also been argued that he might have been believed to possess a workshop located in the underworld. Nicolas Wyatt speculates that perhaps this idea was tied to his residence on Caphtor, and that it might indicate familiarity with the volcanic character of nearby Santorini.
These clear overseas connections are significant, indicating trade and cultural contacts. John Curtis Franklin also brings together a considerable amount of other evidence to show that Kothar had a maritime dimension. This connects him to the sea, and makes him appear as a protector of sailors. Aspects of this are invoked in a poem of the Baal Cycle, for example.Franklin, John Curtis (2016), Kinyras: The Divine Lyre. Hellenic Studies Series 70. Washington, DC: Center for Hellenic Studies. Ch. 18. The Melding of Kinyras and Kothar
Baal Cycle
In the Baal Cycle, Kothar is portrayed using his skills as a divine craftsman on behalf of other deities. In the beginning he is visited by messengers of El. They inform him that said god wishes to meet with him. He travels to the dwelling of El, where he greets him and prostrates himself. The senior god apparently orders him to build a palace, though the passage is fragmentary. It is presumed that it was meant for Yam.
Later on, Kothar is described forging weapons and subsequently naming them. The first receives the name Yagarrish, “may it drive”, while the second is Ayyamarri, a combination of ‘ay, “any”, and mry, “expel”. They are meant to be used by Baal in his battle with Yam. While the first weapon is not enough to defeat the sea god, striking him with the second of them lets Baal emerge victorious.
In the next section of the story, Kothar-wa-Khasis is approached by Baal’s messengers, Gupan and Ugar, who tell him that the weather god wants him to prepare gifts for Athirat in order to secure her help with gaining El’s permission to have a palace built for himself. Kothar immediately starts preparing them at his bellows. The gifts he makes include a dais, a throne with a footstool, a palanquin or couch, a table and a bowl or platter. A later passage indicates that Athirat is pleased with their quality.
After securing El’s permission to have a palace built for himself, Baal once again enlists the help of Kothar-wa-Khasis. He invites him to a feast. He seemingly holds him in high esteem, and it is presumed the passage is meant to highlight the friendship between the two. After the feast, Baal outlines his request for a palace. Kothar suggests putting a window in it, to which Baal initially objects: