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Arts & Communication Culture as a drive for art and architecture

A B C D

Figure 9. Temple of Baal: Successive analyses: (A) 1988–2005; (B) 1979; (C) 1949; (D) 1933
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Hall (Figure 8A). Consequently, the most sacred area (the the interpretation of the temple’s form and levels. The
North Hall) probably consisted of three main levels: the foundation analysis further supports the interpretation
ground floor level, which includes the intermediate space of the North Hall as a multi-level, tower-like structure.
and the holiest place (altar’s section), the balcony level, The thick foundations of the Hall’s external walls, built
and the roof of the North Hall (Figure 8A). The larger with large cut stones, and the strong reinforcement of the
foundations (in width and depth) under the intermediate four corners (Figures 8C and 8D) are plausible structural
space (Figure 7A: no. 8) support the proposal that the testimonies that would enable a large structure to sit on
temple’s summit was built above this space, where the such a topographic site. Considering the equal importance
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king or priest could draw closer to the god. of the temple and the palace, and the temple’s location at
The religious text discovered in Ugarit (the House the highest point of the city (Figure 4), the tower form of
of the High Priest in particular) and the architectural the temple likely helped the building serve as an urban and
models 15,19-22 found in Emar’s temples and other Euphrates regional beacon for the city and its inhabitants, considering
areas further support Callot’s interpretation of a multi- the importance of Baal for the Canaanite cultures.
level structure over the North Hall. The rituals of the Ugaritic people also influenced the
Two very important texts discovered in the house of design approaches of the city’s main temple. Canaanites
the high priest brought very important clues about the believed that gods existed in sacred places where
form of the building during the Bronze Age period. The humans did not intervene. Therefore, their cults involved
first is “The Legend of Keret,” which describes King Keret’s performing the king’s sacrifice at high places with minimal
sacrificial rites. The text indicates that the king went to human intervention. The religious text “The Legend of
the top of the tower, sacrificed a bird (possibly), and then Keret” supports this claim and narrates the king’s sacrificial
returned downstairs. The text uses the plural form for cult that took place at the temple. The text indicates that the
“steps” or “stair flights,” which Dennis Pardee confirms in king or priest aimed to reach the highest and most sacred
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his studies of the discovered Ugaritic religious texts. The place of the temple, aligning with the religious intention
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second text, “The Palace of Baal,” offers a more detailed of being in a place where they could be immaculate and
description of the temple’s structure at that time. The text close to the god.
presents Baal’s inquiry into the construction of his temple On examining the temple’s architectural structure, it
and provides a description of this temple by Kothar, the becomes evident that the beliefs of the Ugaritic people
god of crafts. In the text, Kothar describes the three types greatly influenced its design principles. In contrast to
of openings in the temple: (hln), (urbt), and (bdqt), which, neighboring cultures, the Ugaritic approach to temple
respectively, mean a window, a barred window, and a gap. construction aimed to align with their beliefs by creating
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It is well known that such texts often contain elements of a structure that allowed them to approach the most sacred
reality, albeit with poetic license; they closely correspond place closer to the god. As a result, a tower structure
to the architectural models found in Emar’s temples and accommodated this particular religious route to the
other Euphrates sites in Syria, 15,19-22 further supporting top, resulting in a distinct form (tower temples) on the

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 8 doi: 10.36922/ac.3132