Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta

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Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta Author(s): Gary N. Knoppers Source: Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 114, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1994), pp. 572-582

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DISSONANCE AND DISASTER IN THE LEGEND OF KIRTA

GARY N. KNOPPERS

PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

Since its publication in 1936, the Ugaritic legend of Kirta has elicited a great variety of interpre- tations. It is here suggested that the Kirta legend represents an intellectual engagement with sacral

kingship, interrogating the nature, conditions, and effects of the monarchy as a major institution in divine-human affairs. The author exposes the ambiguities inherent within sacral kingship and plays on its problems. Traditional royal ideology emphasizes the ideals of health, prosperity, stability, the establishment of a dynasty, and justice, but the Kirta legend discloses the intersecting and contra-

dictory strands of thought which converge in this ideology by probing two sources of monarchical

prestige: the king's relations to the gods and the king's relations to his dynastic successor. Kirta is the recipient and medium of both blessing and curse. Failure and disease are, ironically, as much facets of Kirta's rule as triumph and health. The work also reveals the ambivalence of a reigning king toward dynastic succession. The king's dependence upon the gods and his heirs evinces both

royal power and royal vulnerability. But for all the gaps and problems the Kirta legend reveals in the ideology of sacral kingship, it ultimately reaffirms the institution it complicates. The pivotal role of the king in society is as evident in the heir apparent's call for Kirta's abdication as it is in Kirta's

expedition to Udm. The Kirta legend is, therefore, a negative exemplar of royalist ideology.

INTRODUCTION

SINCE ITS PUBLICATION IN 1936, the legend of Kirta has occasioned a remarkable number of conflicting interpre- tations.' Some scholars contend that the Kirta legend contains a historical core; others believe that the Kirta

legend defends a certain dynasty. Some see the work as

legitimizing, others as opposing, sacral kingship. Some commentators describe the work as a myth corresponding to a set ritual. Finally, some interpret the work as

serving a decidedly cultic purpose. In my judgment, each of the major hypotheses responds to particular features within the legend but neglects others.2 None seems ade-

quate or wholly convincing.

1 The abbreviations in this article follow the standard form of Ugarit-Forschungen: Internationales Jahrbuch fiir die Al- tertumskunde Syrien-Paldstinas, with the following addition: ABD = D. N. Freedman et al., eds., The Anchor Bible Dictio-

nary, 5 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1992). 2 Because the legend clearly incorporates different points of

view, focusing upon one incident or speech is at best an in-

complete means to engage the significance of the total work. The opinion of one character within a dialogue may not be

synonymous with that of the author. Moreover, since the work

participates in a tradition of royal ideology, one should distin-

In arguing that the Kirta legend contains a historical

kernel, Virolleaud, Dussaud, Albright, Schaeffer, Driver, and Gibson stress the relevance of non-Ugaritic place names and other details in Kirta's expedition to Udm.3 The possibility of a historical substratum to the long de-

scription of Kirta's campaign is intriguing. But scholars

pursuing this line of investigation do not agree among themselves about the origin, nature, and extent of the older tradition. Moreover, one must ask how Kirta's

campaign to Udm functions within the larger narrative.

guish, whenever possible, between the author's own views and his citation of received tradition. In my judgment, the Kirta

legend is deliberately complex. 3 C. Virolleaud, La Legende de Keret, Roi des Sidoniens

(Paris: P. Geuthner, 1936), 2; R. Dussaud, Les Decouvertes de Ras Shamra (Ugarit) et lAncien Testament (Paris: P. Geuth- ner, 1937), 101-8; W. F. Albright, "New Canaanite Historical and Mythological Data," BASOR 70 (1938): 22-24; C. F. A. Schaeffer, The Cuneiform Texts of Ras Shamra-Ugarit, The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy, 1936 (London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1939), 73-76; J. Pedersen, "Die Krt Leg- ende," Berytus 6 (1941): 63-103; G. R. Driver, Canaanite

Myths and Legends (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1956), 5; and J. C. L. Gibson, Canaanite Myths and Legends, 2nd ed. (Edin- burgh: T. & T. Clark, 1978), 23.

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KNOPPERS: Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta

Those commentators who argue that this legend functions as an etiology of a particular dynasty or as propaganda for hereditary monarchy aptly call attention to the name and family of Kirta.4 But this approach, by resort- ing to speculation about the precise fate of Kirta, Yas- sub, and Thitmanat, sidesteps a major issue: why does this major work in the library of Ugarit focus upon the life of a non-Ugaritic king?5

Those scholars who see the Kirta legend as undergird- ing divine kingship point to episodes, such as Kirta's wedding celebration, which associate Kirta with immor- tals.6 But if the point is royal immortality, why does the Kirta legend contain so many speeches and episodes un- derscoring Kirta's mortality? Consistent with his myth and ritual approach, Gray calls attention to the impor-

4 Those who contend that the story justifies a particular dynasty disagree whether this dynastic line is transmitted through Yassub or Thitmanat. See G. del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas de Canaan segun la tradicion de Ugarit, Fuentes de la Ciencia Biblica 1 (Madrid: Christiandad, 1981), 276- 77; and K. Kitchen, "The King List of Ugarit," UF 9 (1977): 142. Those scholars who see the Kirta legend as a justification of dynastic monarchy include A. Caquot, M. Sznycer, and A. Herdner, Textes ougaritiques, vol. 1: Mythes et legendes (Paris: Editions du Cerf, 1974), 497-98; K.-H. Bernhardt, "Anmerkungen zur Interpretation des KRT-Textes aus Ras Schamra-Ugarit," Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Ernst Moritz, Arndt-Universitdt Greifswald 5 (1955-56): 101-21; and A. L. Merrill, "The House of Keret," Svensk Exegetisk Arsbok 33 (1968): 5-17.

5 Associating the name Krt with the beginning of the Ugaritic King List (KTU 1.113) represents an ad hoc approach to resolving this issue (contra Kitchen, "The King List," 141- 42). Moreover, there is no clear evidence in the work that Kirta was the founder of, or connected with, a Ugaritic dynasty (pace Pedersen, "Die Krt Legende," 65; J. Gray, The Legacy of Canaan, 2nd ed. [Leiden: Brill, 1965], 17; H. Gott- lieb, "El und Krt-Jahwe und David: Zum Ursprung des alt- testamentlichen Monotheismus," VT 24 [1974]: 159-67). Finally, as J. Van Seters points out (In Search of History [New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1983], 200-201), there is no evidence that Kirta was venerated at Ugarit.

6 See, for instance, S. Mowinckel, "Immanuelprofetien Jes. 7 streiflys fra Ugarit, I," Norsk teologisk tidsskrift 42 (1941): 129-58; I. Engnell, Studies in Divine Kingship in the Ancient Near East, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1967), 143-73; and T. Kleven, "Kingship in Ugarit (KTU 1.16 I 1-23)," in Ascribe to the Lord: Biblical and Other Essays in Memory of Peter C. Craigie, ed. L. Eslinger and G. Taylor (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1988), 29-53.

tance of setting.7 One wonders, however, whether an accession or royal wedding would be the most appropriate setting for a story of how a king loses his wife and family, experiences a lengthy and debilitating disease, sees his land stricken by famine, and confronts a call for his abdication by his heir apparent.8

Most commentators, including Gray, see the Kirta legend as reinforcing the mythology of kingship, but Parker and De Moor see the story as demythologizing kingship. For Parker, the Kirta epic evinces "a society in which total faith in the king as an extension of the divine sphere is lost."9 Similarly, De Moor sees in Kirta "a tragic sufferer and victim of divine whims."'0 One should ask, along with these commentators, why the Kirta legend spends so much time describing Kirta's losses and human frailties. Yet if the Kirta legend amounts to a complete loss of faith in kingship, as De Moor suggests, why does the author depict deities, such as Ba'l, Athirat, and especially El, devoting individual attention to King Kirta? Kirta enjoys a unique relationship to El, who responds positively not once but twice to Kirta's troubles. Moreover, the epithets applied to Kirta-"the Servant of El," "the Noble One," "the Gra- cious One, the Lad of El," and "the Offspring of the Kind One"-are quite complimentary." This flattery would be surprising if the legend were intended to depict Kirta merely as a victim. Consistent with his claim that the Kirta legend attacks the tradition of sacral kingship, Parker proposes that the work serves a more narrowly construed cultic function: to support the priesthood of El by showing Kirta's dependence upon

7 J. Gray, The KRT Text in the Literature of Ras Shamra: A Social Myth of Ancient Canaan, 2nd ed. (Leiden: Brill, 1964), 4-5.

8 Gray, The KRT Text, 9-10. 9 S. Parker, "The Historical Composition of KRT and the

Cult of El," ZAW 89 (1977): 173. 10 J. C. De Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts from

Ugarit (Leiden: Brill, 1987), 223. See also his remarks on the Kirta legend in "The Crisis of Polytheism in Late Bronze Age Ugarit," OTS 24 (1986): 12-14.

' KTU 1.14.1.40; 14.11.8; 14.11.49, 51; 14.IV.37; 14.V.32; 14.VI.16, 34-35, 40; 15.11.8, 15-16, 20-21; 15.V.22; 16.I.10-11, 20-24; 16.11.43-44, 48-49; 16.VI.15, 41-42, 54. Compare Kirta's epithets with royal titularies in Mesopotamia (W. W. Hallo, Early Mesopotamian Royal Titles: A Philologic and Historical Analysis [New Haven: American Oriental Soci- ety, 1957]; W. W. Hallo, "Royal Titles from the Mesopota- mian Periphery," AnSt 30 [1980]: 189-95); and in Israel (2 Sam. 7:14; Isa. 9:5 [MT]; 11:2; Pss. 2:6; 45:3, 7; 58:2; 89:21- 38; Lam. 4:20).

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Journal of the American Oriental Society 114.4 (1994)

El.12 If this were the case, however, would not one ex- pect to see cultic references in the legend or at least one reference to a priesthood of El?

The emergence of such fundamentally different views points to qualities inherent in the Kirta legend itself. I argue that the author both complicates and affirms the mythology of kingship. Traditional royal ideology emphasizes the ideals of kingship: health, long life, prosperity, vitality, salubrity, and justice.13 A monarch's duties encompassed many dimensions: to protect his state against external and internal threats, to establish justice, and to secure cultic order."4 A king's longevity, indeed a dynasty's longevity, offers society continuity and stability. The author exposes, however, the ambiguities inherent within this ideology and plays on its problems. The work discloses the intersecting, overlapping, and contra- dictory strands of thought which converge in royal ideology by probing two sources of monarchical prestige: the

12 S. Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, SBL Re- sources for Biblical Study 24 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989), 211-15.

13 The literature on kingship in the ancient Near East is voluminous. Two classic studies are: R. Labat, Le Caractere

religieux de la royaute assyro-babylonienne, Etudes d'assyri- ologie 2 (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1939); and H. Frank- fort, Kingship and the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern

Religion as the Integration of Society and Nature (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1948). See also S. H. Hooke, ed., Myth, Ritual, and Kingship: Essays on the Theory and Prac- tice of Kingship in the Ancient Near East (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958); K.-H. Bernhardt, Das Problem der altoriental- ischen Konigsideologie im Alten Testament (Leiden: Brill, 1961), 67-90; J. Gray, "Sacral Kingship in Ugarit," Ugaritica 6 (1969): 289-302; S. N. Kramer, "Kingship in Sumer and Akkad: The Ideal King," in Le Palais et la royaute (archeolo- gie et civilisation), XIX Rencontre Assyriologique Internatio- nale, ed. P. Garelli (Paris: P. Geuthner, 1974), 163-76; M. T. Larsen, "The City and its King: On the Old Assyrian Notion of Kingship," Le Palais et la royaute, 285-300; G. W. Ahl- strom, Royal Administration and National Religion in Ancient Palestine, Studies in the History of the Ancient Near East 1 (Leiden: Brill, 1982), 1-25; and H. Cazelles, "Sacral King- ship," ABD 5:863-66.

14 Note the claims made for the king in the prologue of the Code of Hammurapi, "to promote the welfare of the people ... to cause justice to prevail in the land... the one who makes affluence and plenty abound; who provides in abun- dance all sorts of things for Nippur-Duranki .. ." (T. J. Meek, "The Code of Hammurabi," ANET, 3rd ed. [Princeton: Prince- ton Univ. Press, 1969], 164). K. W. Whitelam provides a con-

king's relations to the gods and the king's relations to his dynastic successor. In the Kirta legend the king's dependence upon the gods and upon his heir evinces both royal power and royal vulnerability. Kirta is the recipient and medium of both blessing and curse. Failure and disease are, ironically, as much facets of Kirta's rule as triumph and health. An heir is initially treasured and diligently pursued by Kirta. Yet the prospect of succession is later feared by an ailing Kirta and his wife Uurriya, since Yassub's accession inevitably involves Kirta's death. Nevertheless, the very tensions the author discerns in the contrast between ideology and experience ultimately re- affirm the pivotal role of the king in divine-human relations. The crises caused by the loss of the king's kin, the appearance of a grave illness, and the insurrection of the heir apparent collectively underscore the importance of the king to human society.

Whatever the origins of the narrative describing Kir- ta's campaign to Udm, the author's incorporation of this material allows him to address complex questions about the nature and practice of human kingship from the perspective of both chronological and geographical distance.15 The pantheon of deities that Kirta engages is clearly no different from that in any other Ugaritic myth. Moreover, Kirta's vow, ablutions, and sacrifice to El bear a striking resemblance to those prescribed for a

Ugaritic king in KTU 1.119.16 Nevertheless, focusing attention upon the reign of a non-Ugaritic king enables the author to treat sensitive issues with a degree of freedom and independence not possible otherwise.

Significant portions of the Kirta legend are missing from tablets II and III, but the general outline of the work seems clear.17 The legend contains two major cy- cles, both of which engage themes of loss and recovery.

cise overview of these royal ideals in ancient Mesopotamia, Canaan, and Israel ("King and Kingship," ABD 4:40-48).

15 The author of the prologue to Job employs a similar approach to engage the problem of suffering: "There was a man in the land of Uz" (Job 1:1). M. Pope observes a number of parallels between the catastrophes which befall Kirta and those which befall Job (Job, Anchor Bible, 15 [Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1973], xxxii-xxxiii).

16 P. D. Miller, "Prayer and Sacrifice in Ugarit and Israel," in Text and Context: Old Testament and Semitic Studies for F. C. Fensham, ed. W. Classen (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1988), 149-51.

17 When referring to tablets I, II, and III, I mean KTU 1.14, KTU 1.15, and KTU 1.16, respectively. H. L. Ginsberg (The Legend of King Keret, BASOR Supplementary Series 2/3 [New Haven: American Schools of Oriental Research, 1946], 4-12) surveys the history of the discovery of the tablets and

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The first depicts the destruction of Kirta's kin and his long and arduous but ultimately successful attempt to replace them. The second depicts the similar loss and recovery of Kirta's health. In each case El intervenes personally to deliver his "servant." This summary of the work's organization is in some respects misleading, however, because it suggests too positive an outcome for Kirta. Each loss leads to recovery, but each recovery, in turn, leads to further tragedy. Significantly, the

surviving part of the story does not resolve this oscilla- tion between misfortune and blessing. 8

I. LOSS AND RECOVERY, PART I

As the story begins, Kirta has done what an effective king should-he has acquired numerous wives and progeny.'9 Kirta's rule represents vitality and continuity. Neither his success nor his status frees him, however, from the vicissitudes of human life.

The clan [of Kirta] is stripped, the [ro]yal house is (destroyed), which had seven brothers, eight sons of a mother.

(KTU 1.14.1.6-9)

If a dynasty is the ideal, the reality can be something less. Inasmuch as heirs attest to royal vitality and success, their absence suggests weakness and failure. The loss of all of Kirta's family due to war and the activi- ties of Reshep and Yamm ruins Kirta's life and imper- ils his future (KTU 1.14.I.16-25). The sense of tragedy is not lost on Kirta.

of their original publication. S. Parker (The Pre-Biblical Nar- rative Tradition, 146-203), provides a detailed list of the la- cunae in these partially preserved tablets and comments on their possible significance for interpretation.

18 Scholars debate whether one or more tablets followed tablet III. Del Olmo Lete (Mitos y Leyendas, 241-42, 273) provides a survey of opinion and analysis. Predicating one's whole interpretation of the legend upon a non-existent ending strikes me as a dubious proposition. Scholarly attention should focus upon the extant text, even if the work is incomplete.

19 I read the lamedh of KTU 1.14.1.12 as an emphatic particle, rather than as a negative. The force of lines 12-15 is that Kirta married a legitimate wife and successfully sired children. This understanding is in accord with KTU 1.14.1.7-9, 16-25, which presumes both that Kirta had a family and that he lost it. There is thus no need to emend KTU 1.14.1.15 by adding a negative (contra J. C. De Moor and K. Spronk, "Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (I)," UF 14 [1982]: 156).

He entered his chamber and wept, When he repeated (his) [cr]ies, he shed tears.20 His tears streamed down, like shekels to the ground, like fifth-pieces onto the bed.

(KTU 1.14.1.26-30)

Kirta's tears evince his vulnerability. But subsequent events alleviate his plight. The aftermath of Kirta's ruin reveals that he has (or acquires) a close relationship to El, who becomes intimately involved in Kirta's quest for a new family; the gods deprived King Kirta of wives and children, but he paradoxically relies upon one of their number to find a new wife and children (KTU 1.14.1.51- II.5).21 Hence, the Kirta legend makes explicit what is

implicit in royal propaganda: kings have unique access to gods and are a channel of divine communication to

people and land, but, as such, they have only subordi- nate and dependent status.22

El's extensive and unusually detailed dream theo-

phany reaffirms Kirta's exalted royal position.23 Kirta, like Gudea24 and Solomon (1 Kings 3:4-14), is privileged to receive a communication from the high god, who calls Kirta "the Gracious One, the Lad of El."25

20 In KTU 1.14.1.27 I analyze btn as an infinitive construct (cf. Hebrew ,;"t, "to repeat") with the preposition. I follow KTU in reading Cgmm rather than pgmm (Caquot, Textes ou-

garitiques, 507). 21 Kirta's actions are often interpreted as an incubation. See

T. H. Gaster, Thespis: Ritual, Myth, and Drama in the An- cient Near East, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper, 1961), 331; J. C. Greenfield, "Some Glosses on the Keret Epic," in The W. F. Albright Volume, ed. A. Malamat, Eretz Israel 9 (Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1969), 62; and C. Seow, "The Syro-Pal- estinian Context of Solomon's Dream," HTR 77 (1984): 141-52.

22 Kirta receives this divine communication when he is ap- proached by El (KTU 1.14.1.36-38).

23 The length of this theophany is extraordinary (KTU 1.14.1.39-42; 14.11:6-111.49).

24 A. Falkenstein provides a thorough analysis in Grammatik der Sprache Gudeas von Lagas (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Insti- tute, 1949, 1950) and in Die Inschriften Gudeas von Lagas (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1966). Ningirsu's dream revelation to Gudea is found on Cylinder A. (I.10-21). See the translations by A. Falkenstein and W. von Soden, Sumerische und akkadische Hymnen und Gebete (Zurich: Artemis, 1953), 137- 82; and T. Jacobsen, The Harps That Once ... : Sumerian Poetry in Translation (New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1987), 386-444.

25 KTU 1.14:I.36-43. On the significance of the expression, ncmn glm 'il, see M. Pope, Song of Songs, Anchor Bible, 7C (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1977), 631-32.

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Even El, however, pointedly observes the distance between human and divine kingship.

What is the matter with you, Kirta, that he weeps,26 the Gracious One, (that) the Lad of El cries? Is it the kingship of [Bu]ll, his father, that he desires, or dominion, like the Father of Humanity?

(KTU 1.14.I.38-43)27

Kirta's kingship is limited in its prerogatives. The kingship of El is primary, that of Kirta secondary. They are related, but only in a hierarchy, and the gap between them cannot be bridged.

Kirta's loss of wife and progeny occurs rapidly, but his recovery does not. The narrative devotes extensive

coverage to El's detailed instructions and Kirta's efforts to implement them (KTU 1.14.III.50-15.I.20). Receiv-

ing a divine revelation is not tantamount to either under-

standing it or correctly implementing its instructions.28 Kirta follows all of El's directives zealously. Kirta also vows a huge sum of silver and gold to the goddess Athirat, should he succeed in taking Hurriya home (KTU 14.I.IV.35-43). Kirta makes extensive preparations, musters an army, journeys to the city of Udm, surrounds

it, and refuses to accept tribute.29 In this campaign Kirta

displays heroic qualities. An attempt at appeasement by Udm's king, Pabil, elicits a firm rebuff from Kirta who, following the explicit prescriptions of El, will not be sa- tisfied with anything less than Pabil's daughter.

Why would I want silver, or gleaming [gold], a share of (his) mines (or) perpetual slaves,30 three horses, a chariot from the stable,

26 The syntax of this line is somewhat awkward. I read m'at (as opposed to mn) as a shortening by apocope of mh'at, the

impersonal interrogative pronoun and the 2 masc. sing. inde-

pendent personal pronoun. See De Moor and Spronk, "Prob- lematical Passages (I)," 158.

27 F. M. Cross calls attention to parallels in the oracles against Babylon (Isa. 14:13-14) and Tyre (Ezek. 28:1-10). The kings of both Tyre and Babylon, like Kirta, are accused of attempting to usurp the kingship of El. See Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1973), 180.

28 Frankfort (Kingship and the Gods, 251-58) relates how Mesopotamian kings sought divine guidance concerning the divine revelations they received, lest they misunderstand or misapply the deity's word and risk incurring divine wrath.

29 The Tukulti-Ninurta Epic also devotes detailed coverage to the preparations for battle and to the battle scenes themselves. See P. Machinist, "Literature as Politics: The Tukulti- Ninurta Epic and the Bible," CBQ 38 (1976): 455-82.

30 I follow C. H. Gordon (Ugaritic Literature [Rome: Pon- tifical Biblical Institute, 1949], 70) in translating yd as "share"

(or) children (by) a female slave?

Rather, give the one not in my house, give me Lady Hurriya, the (most) pleasing progeny of your firstborn.

(KTU 1.14.VI.17-25)

His demand is met; Kirta receives Pabil's daughter, Uurriya, in marriage.3' The king's special status is evident in his invitation to the gods to attend his wedding celebration (KTU 1.15.II.8-9). In the remarkable scene which follows, "the council of the gods" travels to Kir- ta's house for the festivities (KTU 1.15.II.10-11). Fur- ther bolstering Kirta's exalted position, Ba'l summons El to bless "the Lad of El."

[El] took a cup [in] (his) hand, a goblet in (his) right hand. He truly blessed [his servant], El blessed Kirta, [the Noble One], he sh[owed favor] to the Gracious One, the Lady of El. "The wo[man you are] taking, O Kirta,32 the wife you are taking into your house, the lass you are bringing into your court, she shall bear you seven sons, indeed shall produce for you eight."

(KTU 1.15.11.16-24)33

El is not the only deity who provides Kirta with a

marriage blessing. The gods also pronounce blessings before they return to their "tents" (KTU 1.15.II.17-19). At the end of this episode Kirta's dynastic hopes seem secure. Earlier, Kirta experienced a devastating loss at the hands of the gods. Now he receives divine bless-

ings. The legend of Kirta is about to come full circle. The claims of royal ideology seem confirmed. El prom-

(cf. Gen. 47:24; 2 Sam. 19:44; 2 Kings 11:7). I translate mqm as "mine" largely on the basis of context. Cf. Job 28:1: ttl '0

ipr =rn* npm HY1013o. 31 In the fragmentary text of KTU 1.15.1.1-7, regret seems

to be expressed by Pabil, the Udmites, or their envoys at the prospect of losing the cherished Uurriya. See Caquot, Textes ougaritques, 536; and S. Parker, "Some Methodological Prin- ciples in Ugaritic Philology," MAARAV 2.1 (1979-80): 24- 25.

32 Greenfield notes ("Glosses on the Keret Epic," 64) a number of Biblical and ancient Near Eastern legal reflexes of the expression, 'att tqh btk and glmt tscrb hzrk. On the gram- mar of the passage and its interpretation as a marriage blessing, see Parker, "Some Methodological Principles": 20-22, 24-25.

33 On the reconstruction of the text, see del Olmo Lete, Mitos y leyendas, 304.

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ises Kirta not only that Hurriya will bear many children, but also, more specifically, that

She shall bear the lad Yassub, who shall suck the milk of A[th]irat, who shall empty the breasts of the Virgin [Anat], the wet nur[ses of the gods ... ].

(KTU 1.15.11.25-28)

The terminology is, of course, highly significant. In the ancient Near East only two figures nurse at the breasts of goddesses: gods and would-be kings.34 So also, Yas- sub will be suckled by Athirat and Anat. Imbibing divine milk confers privilege, election, and power.35 El's blessing therefore benefits Kirta in at least two comple- mentary ways, securing a future for his house and en- hancing his royal authority.

This benediction, focusing upon spouse and progeny, is, however, also highly ironic. El's blessing involves the very goddess who will be Kirta's undoing: Athirat. Hence, even though "the Noble One" enjoys a personal relationship to El, this does not protect him from the designs of El's consort. Unbeknownst to Kirta, Athirat, a wet nurse of Yassub, will punish Kirta for apparently failing to fulfill his vow. Moreover, the illness caused by Athirat, in turn, becomes an intrinsic part of Yas- sub's claim that his father should abdicate.

The Kirta legend, therefore, affirms Kirta's close relationship to the divine realm in general and to El in particular. But it also complicates the nature of these relationships. The gods themselves do not necessarily act in concert. Nor does the divine assembly speak with one voice. A blessing by one deity may have, due to the actions of another deity, unforeseen negative conse- quences for the blessed. If the royal ideal has the king mediating blessings on behalf of the gods to humanity, the reality is more complex. Whether Kirta's sin was an overenthusiastic vow or the failure to fulfill it, in no way does Kirta's royalty prevent either his error or the retaliation by Athirat.36 Special access to El and partici-

34 Reference to a king or crown prince imbibing divine milk can be found both in the art of Ugarit (A. Caquot and M. Sznycer, Ugaritic Religion [Leiden: Brill, 1980], 18-19, plates XXVIII a, XXVIII b) and in the arts and literatures of Egypt and Mesopotamia (J. C. De Moor and K. Spronk, "Problematical Passages in the Legend of Kirtu (II)," UF 14 [1982]: 175).

35 As Frankfort points out (Kingship and the Gods, 297), the expression, when applied to Mesopotamian royalty, underscores the election of the heir, rather than divine kingship.

36 According to De Moor (An Anthology of Religious Texts, 223), Kirta cannot honor his vow, because Kirta, having spumed

pation in the divine realm do not guarantee benefaction for Kirta.37

II. LOSS AND RECOVERY, PART II

The complete reversal of Kirta's misfortune is more apparent than real. Evident in his loss of wife and progeny, Kirta's humanity and morality are unmistakable in his lengthy illness. The significance of this disease for the larger context of the Kirta legend is, however, disputed. Some have interpreted Kirta's sickness as important only insofar as it leads to a new recovery or to dynastic succession through someone other than Yassub.38 Yet the co- pious attention to the king's illness and to his efforts to find a remedy shows that Kirta's malady functions within the legend as more than a prelude to healing. Others have argued that Kirta's ailment is an important subject in and of itself. Kirta's frailty is "a serious critique of the view that the king really partakes of divinity in any meaningful way."39 Yet the family's reactions to Kirta's illness also show, albeit negatively, that Kirta enjoys a special status. Kirta's exalted titles-"the son of El," "Lad of El," "Father of the Heights," and "Offspring of the Kind One"-suggest that he has a close relationship to the divine.

I would advocate a third line of interpretation. As king, Kirta would seem to be a medium of vitality to his subjects, a nexus between divine and human realms. But from the perspective of his kin, Kirta's epithets do not square with his mortality. The tension driving the plot is between Kirta's dignity as occupant of the throne and his indignity as one who is gravely ill. As with Kirta's earlier search for a legitimate wife, the author devotes extensive coverage to Kirta's quest for survival.40 The first cycle of loss and recovery climaxes with Kirta's acquisition of

El's earlier offer of silver and gold, lacks the means to fulfill it. This strikes me as a rationalization of Kirta's negligence.

37 Similarly, in the Erra myth, Erra is able to devastate Baby- lon despite the status and power of Marduk. See L. Cagni, L'Ep- opea di Erra, Studi Semitici 34 (Rome: Istituto di Studi del Vicino Oriente, 1969); and P. Machinist, "Rest and Violence in the Poem of Erra," in Studies in Literature from the Ancient Near East Dedicated to Samuel Noah Kramer, ed. J. Sasson (New Haven: American Oriental Society, 1984), 221-26.

38 See, for instance, Gray, The KRT Text, 4; and Gibson, Canaanite Myths, 23.

39 "His [Kirta's] participation in the divine realm is not an essential aspect of his royal status." Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, 213.

40 As Parker observes (The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradi- tion, 204), the Kirta legend devotes more than eight columns

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wife and progeny. The very presence of Hurriya, Yassub, and the rest of Kirta's new family confirms his power. Ironically, the second cycle depicts this very family ago- nizing over Kirta's condition and questioning his immortality.41 The succession of banquets hosted by IJurriya on behalf of the ailing Kirta challenges the congruence of various strands within royal ideology.42 Prized as a sign of royal vitality, dynastic succession manifests, ipso facto, a critical difference between human and divine kingship. Kirta's fecundity ensures him a successor and hence continuity and stability. But succession both assumes and embodies death.

Weep [for] Kirta,43 [with] the sound of bulls, Weep [as for] the dead . . (KTU 1.15.V.12-24)44 Kirta shall surely arrive at the setting of the sun,45 our lord at the concealment of the sun,46 And [Ya]ssub shall reign over us.

(KTU 1.15.V.18-21)

In the marriage blessing he bestowed upon Kirta, El twice spoke of Kirta's being "greatly honored among the shades of the underworld, in the gathered assembly of Di- tan."47 Hurriya does not speak of Kirta attaining great honor, however, but of weeping at the prospect of death.

to Kirta's search for a wife and more than eight columns to the struggle to regain his health.

41 The speeches by various members of Kirta's family are numerous and occupy a large portion of the remaining text (KTU 1.15.IV.25-27; 15.V.9-29; 15.VI.3-5; 16.1.2-23, 56- 62; 16.11.18-25, 37-49; 16.VI.27-54).

42 I see no convincing evidence that these sacrifices and feasts are funerary in nature (contra Virolleaud, "Le mariage du roi K6ret (III K): Poeme de Ras Shamra," Syria 23 [1942- 43]: 166; and De Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts, 208). Kirta is still alive and the feasts seem designed to avert his death.

43 Along with most commentators, I read [Cl] krt tbkn in KTU 1.15.V.12.

44 In line 14, I follow the reconstruction of Ginsberg (King Keret, 25), [bk.]mtm.tbkn, rather than the reconstruction of Virolleaud ("Le Mariage," 168), [Cl(?).]mtm.tbkn.

45 The entrance to the underworld (KTU 1.2.III.20; 6.1.7-9). See T. Lewis, Cults of the Dead in Ancient Israel and Ugarit (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1989), 42-46.

46 Along with Gibson (Canaanite Myths, 156) and Caquot (Textes ougaritiques, 546), I associate sb'i'a/sbi'a' with Ara- bic daba'a, "to conceal," rather than with sb'u, "host."

47 KTU 1.15.III.2-4, 13-15. El is referring to Kirta's mem- bership in the company of ancestral royal spirits. Virtually

The legend plays on the contrast between ideology and experience. The ideal emphasizes continuity and stability; the reality discloses disruption and death. The ideal upholds dynastic succession, but does not detail precisely how or when. Ironically, Lurriya's feasts are deliberately intended to avert, at least temporarily, the event for which Kirta labored so assiduously. The Kirta legend is therefore an unlikely candidate for justifying hereditary monarchy.48 Rather, assuming hereditary monarchy, the work reveals gaps within its theory and tensions within its practice. From the perspective of Kirta and Hurriya, Yassub's imminent accession is more a cause for alarm and mourning than a reason for encouragement and assurance.

Kirta's illness leads Hurriya to host a series of sacrifi- cial feasts. The same affliction leads Kirta's children to despair and confusion. But there is more to the speeches of Ilhu and Thitmanat than expressions of condolence. Kirta's children measure their father against the ideal of deity and find him wanting.49 The declaration by Ilhu, repeated by Thitmanat, that they pass like dogs through Kirta's house (KTU 1.16.1.2-3; II.38-39) evokes an at- mosphere of avoidance and death. Kirta's long illness does not comport with royal propaganda. The distance between divine and human spheres is all too apparent in his mortality. Kirta may enjoy the company of deities,

identical expressions (rp'i ars, phr qbs ddn) occur in KTU 1.161.3-4, 9-10. See T. Lewis, Cults of the Dead, 5-17; and K. Spronk, Beatific Afterlife in Ancient Israel and in the Ancient Near East (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag, 1986), 189-96. I cannot agree, however, with Spronk that El is making no allusion to the afterlife of Kirta. Kirta's member- ship in this select group presumes his eventual death.

48 Pace Bernhardt, "Anmerkungen," 119-21; Merrill, "The House of Keret," 5-17; and A. Caquot, "La Litt6rature ugari- tique," in Supplement au dictionnaire de la Bible, vol. 9, ed. H. Cazelles and A. Fueillet (Paris: Letouzey & An6, 1979), col. 1397.

49 According to Kleven ("Kingship at Ugarit," 35, 51-52), Ilhu is claiming that Kirta's mortality renders him unfit to be king. Kleven astutely calls attention to the important shifts in nuance in the speeches given by Kirta's children. But his view that immortality is foundational to sacral kingship has two shortcomings. First, Ilhu does not assert that Kirta is no longer king, even though he laments that Kirta is mortal. On the contrary, Ilhu and Thitmanat signify their continuing allegiance to their father by obeying him. Second, when Yassub rebels against his father he does so in the name of kingship (see below). The charges he levels against his father do not include mortality.

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but he is no match for them. He seems largely helpless to alleviate or arrest his suffering. Ilhu responds to Kir- ta's illness by pointedly asking his father, "Shall even you, O father, alas, die as men?"50

To contend that the Kirta legend upholds royal immortality in spite of the speeches by Ilhu and Thitmanat misconstrues the issue. Such a dichotomy between sickness and death is, in the ancient Near East, artificial. Dis- ease is an obvious manifestation of mortality.51 Hence, Thitmanat can compare health with disease, immortality with mortality, while Kirta is still alive.

We rejoiced in [your] life, our father, we exulted in your immortality. (But now) like a dog we pass into your house, like a hound even (through) your court. Shall you also die, O father, as mortals, or (shall) your court pass over to mourning, to the control of women, O Father of the Heights? Or, shall gods die, shall the offspring of the Kind One not live?

(KTU 1.16.II.38-44)52

Kirta's disease proves him all too human. Kirta, as king, partakes of two realms but does not fit neatly into either. The king is a "son of El" who enjoys the fellow- ship of the gods, but he is not divine. Royal ideology establishes connections between monarchs and their gods, but the Kirta legend also establishes links between Kirta and humanity. Kirta's disease demonstrates that kingship neither removes nor reduces the imbecil- ity and fragility of the human condition.53 Kirta's humanity remains, despite his association with El.

50 KTU 1.16.1.3-4. I follow M. Dietrich and O. Loretz in

reading 'ap 'ab 'i k (not 'ik) mtm tmtn. See "Die Wehklage iiber Keret in KTU 1.16 I 2-23 (/ II 35-50)," UF 12 (1980): 189-90.

51 H. Ringgren, Israelite Religion (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1966), 181.

52 On the problems in translating Ctq, see D. Pardee, "A Note on the Root ctq in CTA 16 I 2,5 (UT 125, KRT II)," UF 5 (1973): 229-34, esp. pp. 233-34. The translation of 'inr as "hound" is conjectural. See Dietrich and Loretz ("Die Weh-

klage," 189-90), who argue for "whelp" and De Moor and

Spronk ("Problematical Passages (II)," 180-81), who opt for "puppy."

53 Compare this perspective with the Egyptian view of the monarch as a god; see J. A. Wilson, "The Function of the State," in The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man, ed. H. Frankfort (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1946), 64-92; R. Moftah, Studien zum agyptischen Konigsdogma im neuen Reich, Sonderschriften Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts,

In ancient Near Eastern royal ideology the weal and woe, not only of subjects, but of the land itself, could be associated with the fate of monarchs.54 Especially significant in this regard is the assertion by Kirta's son, Ilhu, that Kirta's illness wins him sympathy from nature.

The mountain of Ba'l weeps for you, O father, Zaphon, the holy stronghold.55 The mighty stronghold groans (for you), the stronghold, broad of span.

(KTU 1.16.1.6-9)56

That creation itself mourns Kirta's demise corroborates his special status. The associations between Kirta's actions and events in the narrative-Kirta's apparent infraction and his loss of health, his loss of health and the various reactions to this loss of vitality-both attest to and complicate sacral kingship.

There also seems to be a connection between Kirta's decline and the drought in the land.57 Kirta's infirmity, like Aqhat's death (KTU 1.19.1.17-19, II.12-25) and Ba'l's death (KTU 1.5.VI.23-24; 1.6.IV.1-4), coincides with havoc in nature. Hence, the very occurrence of this drought suggests, albeit negatively, that the king is pivotal to the fate of society.58 So also the return of fertility (KTU 1.16.111:1-11) seems to foreshadow a "favourable development in the world of the gods."59 The royal ideal

Abteilung Kairo, 20 (Mainz am Rhein: Philipp von Zabern, 1985), 198-228; and D. P. Silverman, "Divinity and Divini- ties in Ancient Egypt," in Religion in Ancient Egypt: Gods, Myths, and Personal Practice, ed. B. E. Shafer (Ithaca: Cor- nell Univ. Press, 1991), 58-87. The view espoused in the Kirta legend also contrasts sharply with the medieval English view that the body politic reduces or removes human imper- fections from the reigning king. See E. H. Kontorowicz, The

King's Two Bodies (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1957), 9-23.

54 Gray, The KRT Text, 6-7. 55

Construing hlm as hl + enclictic mem. On the translation of hl as "stronghold," compare Biblical Hebrew 5n, "rampart" (Caquot, Textes ougaritiques, 550-51).

56 Gray (The KRT Text, 65) notes the analogous use of ;T D-'' mnni 57'l Dni in Ps. 104:25 to hi rhb mknpt in line 9.

57 On the famine, see KTU 1.16.III.13-16 and below. 58

Compare the treatment Ahab receives in the Elijah cycle. The three-year drought reflects negatively upon Ahab, even though Elijah institutes the drought (1 Kings 17:1-18:45). The effects of David's sin are also catastrophic (2 Sam. 24:10-17). The reason for the divine decision to end the famine in the Kirta legend is, however, unclear (KTU 1.16.III.1-11).

59 De Moor, An Anthology of Religious Texts, 217. So also in the Ba'l cycle, El's dream features the return of fertility to

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presents the king channeling divine blessing to his land. But the Kirta legend discloses that the king may also channel curse.

Previously, El intervened on Kirta's behalf to grant him a wife and to promise him an heir. Now El intervenes again. Though summoned by El seven times, the gods and goddesses are either unable or unwilling to dispel Kirta's disease. Given their lack of response, El deals with the crisis himself (KTU 1.16.V.23-28). El creates a female exorcist, Shactiqat, who journeys, as instructed by El, to the ailing monarch. Touching Kir- ta's head with her staff, she heals him. Kirta's second disaster leads to a second deliverance. Yet, why does the story highlight El's intervention? This incident ob- viously underscores the benefit Kirta derives from his personal relationship to El. But, as the final extant lines of the legend show, El's repeated benevolence toward Kirta fails to secure his long-term well-being.60

than a reproach of Kirta for having become bed-ridden (KTU 1.16.VI.50-52). Yassub strikes at the heart of royal ideology. If a king fails to uphold justice, he is not being kingly.61 For Yassub the institution of kingship must be honored, even if this means deposing his father.

Listen, please, O Kirta, the Noble One, Be alert and pay attention! Like the most ruthless of raiders, you rule, and (like) invaders you govern.62 You have caused your hand to fall down in

slackness,63 you do not judge the cause of the widow, nor try the case of the oppressed. You do not banish those who plunder the poor, you do not feed the orphan before you, (nor) the widow behind your back. Like a sister is a sickbed,

III. RESTORATION AND REVOLT

Unmitigated blessing is not the result, even when El intervenes on behalf of his servant. After being washed and fed by Shactiqat and his wife Hurriya, Kirta pre- pares to resume normal life. But no sooner has he re- taken his place upon the throne than he has to confront a revolt by his heir apparent, Yassub. Decisive action by "the Father of the Gods" does not eliminate dissonance among men.

Kirta's furious reaction to his son is certainly ironic. The pursuit of one goal within royal ideology has worked at cross-purposes to the pursuit of another. An heir was thought critical to the viability of his dynasty and the stability of his kingdom. Yet this divinely elected heir is now a threat. Hence, this attempted coup d'etat reveals further tensions within royal ideology. Even among those who share a common set of beliefs in the goals of kingship, there are competing notions of how these goals are to be fulfilled. From the perspective of Kirta, Yassub is a usurper, a menace to properly constituted authority.

Yassub's speech reveals, however, another perspective on Kirta's reign. His complaints amount to more

nature. El takes "the heavens rained oil, the wadis flowed with mead" to mean that Ba'l is alive (KTU 1.6.3.10-21).

60 Parker contends (The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, 199) that the final lines of the legend are a later addition. He be- lieves that Yassub's claims are obsolete, since Kirta's health has been restored. Yet Yassub's claims presuppose that he knows that Kirta is back on the throne (KTU 1.16.VI.52-54) and go far beyond the issue of illness (KTU 1.16.VI.41-52). On the gram- mar and interpretation of Yassub's speech, see below.

61 The maintenance of justice is, of course, a royal obliga- tion throughout the ancient Near East. See E. A. Speiser, "Au- thority and Law in Mesopotamia," in Authority and Law in the Ancient Orient (Baltimore: American Oriental Society, 1954), 8-15; F. C. Fensham, "Widow, Orphan, and the Poor in An- cient Near Eastern Legal and Wisdom Literature," JNES 21 (1962): 129-39; A. L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, rev. ed. (Chicago: Univ. of

Chicago Press, 1977), 102-4; K. W. Whitelam, The Just King: Monarchical Judicial Authority in Ancient Israel (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1979), 17-38; H. J. Boecker, Law and the Administration of Justice in the Old Testament and An- cient East (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1980), 21-52; and L. Epzstein, Social Justice in the Ancient Near East and the People of the Bible (London: SCM, 1986), 19-42, 68-103. Conversely, injustice can warrant the removal of either human or divine leadership (e.g., 1 Sam. 8:3; Psalm 82).

62 A number of terms in KTU 1.16.VI.43-45 have few cog- nates in other Semitic languages. In line 43, I understand gz as related to Old South Arabic gzy, "to carry out raids," and to Arabic gdzi(n), "raider"; gazw, "raiding." Cf. De Moor and Spronk, "Problematical Passages (II)," 190, who link gz to Arabic guzzdz, "philanthropists." Similarly, I see gr as related to Old South Arabic gwr "to raid, attack" and to Ara- bic gwr "raider," garat, "raid." Along with A. H. Mustafa, I understand grm in line 44 as elliptical for kgrm: "Einige Bermerkungen zu lexikalischen Problemen in den epischen Texten des Ugarit," Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 29 (1975): 103.

63 In KTU 1.16.VI.45, I understand glt as related to gly, "to lower" (KTU 1.2.1.23-24).

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(like) a female companion is a bed of disease.64 Descend from (the throne of your) kingdom, that I may

be king, from (the seat of) your dominion that I myself may sit

(on it). (KTU 1.16.VI.41-54)

Yassub's distinction between crown and king provides him with sufficient cause to oust his father. Hence, Yas- sub's very rebellion against his father the king is con- ducted in the name of kingship.65 Given the diametrically opposed views of Kirta and Yassub on the means, timing, and terms of succession, it comes as no surprise that the third tablet ends with Kirta rebuking and cursing his would-be replacement.

O my son, may Horon smash,

may Horon smash your head!

may Athirat, Name of Ba'l, (break) your skull!

May you fall down at the peak of your years, in your prime, and you be humbled!66

(KTU 1.16.VI.54-58)

The Kirta legend features tremendous variation in the fortunes of its main character-from the loss and

recovery of wife, family, and health to a final confron- tation with the heir apparent. Significantly, the extant evidence does not present a resolution to this conflict of personalities and perspectives.67

64 Most explanations of the difficulties in KTU 1.16.VI.5-52 are inadequate. km normally means "like," "as," or, less often, "when," but not "sith" (contra Ginsberg, King Keret, 32). In-

terpreting 'aht ("you have become a brother") and 3anst ("you were familiar with" or "you made someone a companion") as 2 masc. sing. verbs (Gibson, Canaanite Myths, 102, 141) is un-

satisfactory, because the use of 'h and 'ns as verbs with these

meanings is otherwise unattested. Finally, there are syntactical difficulties with this line of interpretation. Yassub berates his father for becoming ill after his father has recovered. It seems more grammatically and syntactically sound, then, to read km as a preposition and 'aht and 'anst as fem. sing. nouns.

65 Compare the slogan of the sixteenth-century English

Puritans, "fighting the king to defend the King" (E. Kirby, William Prynne: A Study in Puritanism [Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1931], 60).

66 The meaning of hpn is unclear. The term may be related to Hebrew TlDn ("cupped-hand, fist"), D'3Dn ("hollow of one's hands"). I follow De Moor and Spronk ("Problematical Pas-

sages (II)," 190) in seeing hpn as a metaphor for strength, par- alleling bgbl sntk in the previous lines.

67 Both Gray (The KRT Legend, 4, 60) and De Moor and Spronk ("Problematical Passages (II)," 176) reconstruct a suc-

CONCLUSIONS

The succession of disasters that befall Kirta suggests that the Kirta legend is an unlikely candidate for royal propaganda. The work shows little interest either in priestly rituals or in the proper functioning and support of the cultus. Myth and ritual approaches therefore seem ill-suited to explain this tale of Kirta's troubles.

Indeed, if the work were a libretto, it would be difficult to imagine the purpose or function of the corresponding rite. Finally, if the author drew on older traditions- historical or otherwise-to compose this work, they have been sublimated to a larger purpose.68

Rather than focusing upon history, ritual, or the pro- motion of a particular dynasty, the Kirta legend represents an intellectual engagement with sacral kingship. The setting for this penetrating exploration of the nature, conditions, and effects of kingship is most likely to be found among temple scribes.69 A Sitz im Leben among royal scribes admittedly cannot also be ruled out, since the focal point of the legend-the tumultuous life of a non-Ugaritic king-partially absolves the authors (if more than one) from the charge that they are criticizing their own royalty.70 Nevertheless, the freedom with

cession through Thitmanat, but there are problems with this view. First, it is by no means clear that Yassub's coup will ul-

timately fail, Kirta's curse notwithstanding. Second, it is unclear whether the blessing on Thitmanat (KTU 1.15.III.16) confers upon her the exclusive right of the firstborn as De Moor and Spronk claim (cf. Gibson, Canaanite Myths, 92). Third, even if the blessing on Thitmanat bestows such an exclusive right, this does not ensure that Thitmanat, any more than Yassub, will succeed in establishing Kirta's dynasty.

68 A point Gibson concedes, Canaanite Myths, 23. 69 In this I agree with Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative

Tradition, 215. A Sitz im Leben among temple scribes does not entail, however, that the work was designed to serve a cultic or ritual function. Nor is there any compelling reason to

suppose that this work was designed to bolster the priesthood of El (contra Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, 215). Evidence for a priesthood of El at Ugarit is lacking.

70 On the social structure of Ugarit, see M. Liverani, "La

Royaut6 syrienne de l'age du Bronze Recent," in Le Palais et la royaute, 329-56; M. Heltzer, The Internal Organization of the Kingdom of Ugarit (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1982); E. Lipiriski, "The Socio-Economic Condition of the Clergy in the Kingdom of Ugarit," in Society and Economy in the East- ern Mediterranean (c. 1500-1000 B.C.): Proceedings of the International Symposium Held at the University of Haifa from the 28th of April to the 2nd of May 1985, Orientalia Lovanien- sia Analecta 23, eds. M. Heltzer and E. Lipiriski (Leuven:

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which the legend subjects human kingship to searching scrutiny suggests that its authors have some familiarity with, as well as some distance from, the royal court. In- deed, issues of dynastic succession and familial strife are documented in the royal history of Ugarit.71 Drawing from their experience of society, cult, and politics in Ugarit, the authors composed a work of considerable lit- erary sophistication and power.

The Kirta legend demonstrates that even for those who, with the best of intentions, strive to achieve the goals of royal ideology-vitality, continuity, stability, health, and justice-the reality can be the antithesis of the ideal. Moreover, even among those who accept kingship as the normative polity for both divine and human societies, there can be profound disagreement about the terms of kingship and the separation of crown and king.

Kingship in the Kirta legend embodies the divine- human dichotomy and resists all efforts to grasp its es- sence in unambiguous terms. Divine and human affairs are distinct, but related, spheres-each exhibits its own set of complex problems. The institution that traverses both spheres cannot be equated with either, because kingship affects and is affected by both realms. The monarch represents humanity and is critical to the prosperity or decline of the state. Inasmuch as the fate of Kirta's land and people is inextricably tied to his fate, Kirta manifests divine attributes. Yet those very

Peeters, 1988), 125-50; and P. Vargyas, "Stratification sociale a Ugarit," in Society and Economy in the Eastern Mediterra- nean, 111-23.

71 N. Wyatt ("A Suggested Historical Context for the Keret

Story," UF 15 [1983]: 316-18) proposes a specific historical

setting of the Kirta legend, seeing events in the reigns of Ari- balbu and CAmmittamru as informing the composition of the first two tablets (KTU 1.14 and 15). I would agree with Wyatt that Aribalbu's childlessness in the Akkadian text, Ras Shamra 16.144 (J. Nougayrol, Le Palais royal d'Ugarit 3, Mission de Ras Shamra 6 [Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1955], pl. L; p. 76) bears some resemblance to Kirta's plight and thus testifies to the

reality of the dynastic issues engaged by the Kirta legend. Simi-

larly, the tensions evident at the Ugaritic royal court in Ras Shamra 16.270 (J. Nougayrol, Le Palais royal d'Ugarit, 41) and in Ras Shamra 17.159, 17.396, 17.372A + 360A, 17.318A + 349A, 18.72 (J. Nougayrol, Le Palais royal d'Ugarit 4, Mission de Ras Shamra 9 [Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1956], 126ff.), point to the importance of marital stability for the reigning king. Yet positing these particular events as the contexts for the composition of the Kirta legend creates insoluble chronological problems (cf. S. Parker, The Pre-Biblical Narrative Tradition, 216), which render such direct linkages untenable.

qualities which manifest divinity on a human plane are themselves dependent upon divine cooperation and mercy. However privileged Kirta may be in his relationship to El and however powerful his kingship may be, his kingship remains derivative and secondary to a divine sphere, which is itself an arena of conflicting wills. Nor do Kirta's divine attributes override or cir- cumvent his humanity. Kingship may be divinely or- dained, but Kirta is mortal and expendable.

The Kirta legend exposes the ambiguities in royal ideology and the contrast between ideology and experience, but it does not repudiate human kingship. On the contrary, kingship as the appropriate form of govern- ment for both gods and humanity is a given. Unlike the Sumerian King List and the myth of Etana, both of which recall a time when human kingship did not exist, the legend of Kirta neither considers nor shows an awareness of other polities.72 The Kirta legend does strikingly redefine, however, the institution it assumes is normative. Sacral kingship is problematic because of its unique nature. As the nexus between divine and human realms it depends upon both. Kirta's pivotal status is as evident in his illness as it is in his campaign to Udm. It is precisely because the monarch plays such an important role in society that Yassub can call for Kirta's abdication when Kirta fails to fulfill his duties. Kirta's very failings exemplify, albeit negatively, royalist ideology. For all the problems, gaps, and contradic- tions the Kirta legend discloses within the mythology of human kingship, it ultimately reaffirms the institution it complicates.73

72 T. Jacobsen, The Sumerian King List, Assyriological Studies 11 (Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, 1939), 58, 70-71; J. V. Kinnier Wilson, The Legend of Etana: A New Edition (Warminster: Aris & Phil-

lips, 1985), 30-31, 82-85. Note as well the resistance to the rise of kingship in ancient Israel (1 Sam. 8:4-18; 12:1-25). In the deuteronomic configuration of societal institutions (Deut. 16:18-18:22), kingship is conceded but not mandated (Deut. 17:14-20).

73 I would like to thank the Research and Graduate Office of the Liberal Arts College at the Pennsylvania State University for a travel to collections grant, which supported the research for this article. Finally, I am indebted to B. M. Levinson and R. Di Vito for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

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Dissonance and Disaster in the Legend of Kirta

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