The Epic of Aqhat
c. 1400–1200 BCE · Late Bronze Age · Ugarit (Ras Shamra), Syria
The Epic of Aqhat concerns a young hunter whose extraordinary divine bow attracts the fatal desire of the goddess Anat. The craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis presents the righteous man Daniel with a magnificent composite bow, a weapon of unsurpassed quality. Anat sees it and offers silver, gold, and immortality for it. Aqhat refuses with contemptuous words, suggesting she have Kothar make her own bow and adding that bows are for men. Enraged, Anat hires the mercenary Yatpan, who transforms into a vulture and kills Aqhat while he eats. With his death the land withers: grain fails, orchards dry, the seasons break. Aqhat's sister Pughat — one of the earliest female avenger-heroes in literature — sets out to find Yatpan, disguising herself as Anat. The text breaks off at this point; the ending is lost.
notes
Significant as one of the earliest narratives featuring a woman as avenger-hero. The broken ending has frustrated scholars; Pughat's mission may have restored Aqhat in the lost conclusion. Daniel is mentioned in the biblical Book of Ezekiel.
currently held: National Museum of Damascus
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