Baal Worship. Little was known about Baal worship aside from the many Scriptural references to it until excavations at Ugarit (the modern Ras Shamra on the Syrian coast opposite the NE tip of the island of Cyprus) brought to light many religious artifacts and hundreds of clay tablets. Many of these ancient documents, now known as the Ras Shamra texts, are thought to be the liturgies of or words spoken by those participating in the rituals at the religious festivals.

In the Ras Shamra texts, Baal (also called Aliyan [the one who prevails] Baal) is referred to as “Zabul [Prince], Lord of the Earth” and “the Rider of the Clouds.” This harmonizes with a representation of Baal, showing him as holding a club or mace in his right hand and a stylized lightning bolt with a spearhead and a plant sprouting on its top in his left. He is also depicted as wearing a helmet with horns, suggesting an intimate connection with the bull, a symbol of fertility.​—PICTURE, Vol. 1, p. 230.

There are indications that Baal and other gods and goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon were associated in the minds of their worshipers with certain heavenly bodies. For instance, one of the Ras Shamra texts mentions an offering to “Queen Shapash (the Sun) and to the stars,” and another alludes to “the army of the sun and the host of the day.”