TYPE: Creator God
ORIGIN: Canaanite [Northern Israel; Lebanon and Syrian coastal regions]
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Circa 2000 BCE, and probably earlier, until circa 200 BCE or later.
SYNONYMS: El (Hebrew); Latipan; Tor-'Il
CENTER(S) OF CULT: Ugarit (Ras Samra), but also generally throughout areas of Canaanite influence.
ART REFERENCES: Probably a limited number of seals and stone reliefs
LITERARY SOURCES: Ugaritic texts from Ras Samra.
INFORMATION:
Il is the model on which the northern Israelite god, El, may have been based. The supreme authority, morally and creatively, overseeing the assembly of gods. The god to whom Baal is ultimately answerable. According to legend he lives in royal surroundings in a remote place lying at the confluence of two rivers. A stele found at Ras Samra has a seated god with bull horns which may depict Il or Baal.