Baalat Gebal

Baalat Gebal (Phoenician: 𐤁𐤏𐤋𐤕 𐤂𐤁𐤋,^[5] BʿLT GBL; also romanized as Ba’alat Gebal^[6] or Baalat Gubal;^[7] literally "Lady of Byblos"), also known as Bēltu ša Gubla (Akkadian: ^dNIN ša ^uruGub-la)^[8] and Baaltis,^[4] was the tutelary goddess of the city of Byblos. While in the past it was often assumed her name is only an epithet, presently researchers assume that it is a proper name, meant to highlight her close connection to the corresponding city. She was identified with Hathor and later possibly with Isis by ancient Egyptians, and with Aphrodite by ancient Greeks. Philo of Byblos instead refers to her as "Dione", though the reasons behind this choice remain unknown. She was the main goddess in the local pantheon of Byblos, and a temple dedicated to her, which remained in use from the third millennium BCE to the Roman period, was located in the center of this city. She was venerated by the kings of Byblos, with a large number of references to her found in letters sent by Rib-Addi as a part of the Amarna correspondence. There is also evidence that she was worshiped by Egyptians, both in Byblos and in Egypt. She is mentioned in a number of literary texts, including the so-called Letter of Hori, the writings of Philo of Byblos, and Lucian's De Dea Syria.