EL was the father of all gods, known as the God of Mercy, Creator of Creatures, Eternal King and dweller of the Heights. His main qualities were mercy, compassion and kindness. From his throne, he presided over the Assembly of the Gods and acted as supreme judge over them. He resides at "the Source of Two Rivers" in the mountains of Lebanon, his domain extended over all of Canaan.

   When he was young, El went out upon the sea, and there met Lady Kodesh Asheerah of the sea and her companion Rohmaya. He then roasted a bird and asked them if they would be his wives or daughters. They chose to be his wives. El mates with these Goddesses and Shachar and Shalim (Dawn and Dusk) were born. He had 70 children and many wives; among them, the Nymph Anobret This family then builds a sanctuary and lived in the desert for eight years. As he got older his children fought for the throne, and in the end, Baal won. 

 Byblos and Carthage, were mainly worshiping EL. The Greek god Kronos and the Roman god Saturn are identical to EL. He was the god who gave order to the Universe.

On a coin minted in Byblos and Carthage, 100 years before the birth of Christ, El was portrayed wearing a high crown and six wings, two folded and four extended.

    According to Philo of Byblos, EL had four eyes, two on each side of his head. When two where closed the other were open so that he could watch over everything while sleeping. El wears bullhorns upon his helmet, and He is a grey haired and bearded patriarch. This episode may be the closest we have to a Creation story involving El.

References: Dances with the Gods by Wafa Stephan Tarnowski

                     Illustrations Myriam Misk