The Dictionnaire Infernal illustration of Baal.

Baal is a Christian demon. His name also refers to various gods and goddesses who are not demons. This is a potential source of confusion. In this article the name Baal is used only to refer to the demon Baal, unless stated otherwise. The demon Bael, from Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire infernal (1862) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The demon Bael, from Collin de Plancys Dictionnaire infernal (1862) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. ... St. ... Michelangelos depiction of God in the painting Creation of the Sun and Moon in the Sistine Chapel Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, one of the manifestations of the ultimate reality or God in Hinduism This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. ...

Other spellings: Bael, Baël (French), Baell.

Until archaeological digs at Ras Shamra and Ebla uncovered texts explaining the Syrian pantheon, the demon Ba‘al Zebûb was frequently confused with various Semitic spirits and deities entitled ba‘al, and in some Christian writings it might refer to a high-ranking devil or to Satan himself. Entrance to the Palace of Ugarit Ugarit (modern site Ras Shamra رأس شمرة; in Arabic) 35°35´ N; 35°45´E) was an ancient cosmopolitan port city, sited on the Mediterranean coast of northern Syria a few kilometers north of the modern city of Latakia. ... Ebla is not to be confused with Elba. ... Baal () is a Semitic title and honorific meaning lord that is used for various gods, spirits and demons particularly of the Levant. ...

In the ancient world of the Persian Empire, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, worship of wooden and metal idols was being rejected in favor of the Abrahamic god. In the Levant the idols were called "baals", each of which represented a local spirit-deity or "demon." Worship of all such spirits was rejected as wrong and many were in fact considered malevolent and dangerous. The Persian Empire was a series of historical empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau. ... An idol is a man-made object that is venerated in some way. ... map showing the prevalence of Abrahamic (purple) and Dharmic (yellow) religions in each country. ... The Levant Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ...

Originally, the Semitic god Hadad was worshipped by Arameans who brought his worship to other parts of the Mediterranean. He is also called "The Lord" and ruled over the high gods assembled on holy mount of Heaven. Haddad - בעל הדד - حداد (in Ugaritic Haddu) was a very important northwest Semitic storm god and rain god, cognate in name and origin with the Akkadian god Adad. ... The Aramaeans, or Arameans, were a Semitic, seminomadic and pastoralist people who originated and had lived in upper Mesopotamia and Syria. ...

Early demonologists, unaware of Hadad or that "Baal" in the Bible referred to any number of local spirits, came to regard the term as referring to but one personage. The idea of Baal as one specific demon was created when Christianity regarded ancient gods as demons (mere spirits, whether good or evil) and demonology divided the demonic population of Hell in several hierarchies. Baal () is a Semitic title and honorific meaning lord that is used for various gods, spirits and demons particularly of the Levant. ... Demonology is the systematic study of demons. ... Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) Hell, according to many religious beliefs, is a place or a state of pain and suffering. ... For the various types of hierarchy, see hierarchy (disambiguation) A hierarchy (in Greek: Ιεραρχία, it is derived from ιερός-hieros, sacred, and άρχω-arkho, rule) is a system of ranking and organizing things or people, where each element of the system (except for the top element) is subordinate to a single other element. ...

In this unholy hierarchy, Baal (usually spelt "Bael" in this context; there is a possibility that the two figures aren't connected) was ranked as the first and principal king in Hell, ruling over the East. According to some authors Baal is a Duke, with sixty-six legions of demons under his command.

During the English Puritan period Baal was either compared to Satan or considered his main assistant. According to Francis Barrett he has the power to make those who invoke him invisible, and to some other demonologists his power is stronger in October. According to some sources, he can make people wise, and speaks hoarsely. The Puritans were originally members of a group of English Protestants seeking purity — further reforms or even separation from the established church — during the Protestant Reformation. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Francis Barrett was a 17th Century Englishman who claimed to be a student of chemistry, metaphysics and natural occult philosophy. ...

While his Semitic predecessor was depicted as a human or a bull, the demon Baal was in grimoire tradition said to appear in the forms of a man, cat, toad, or combinations thereof. An illustration in Collin de Plancy's 1818 book Dictionnaire Infernal rather curiously placed the heads of the three creatures onto a set of spider legs. Cow and Cows redirect here. ... This design for an amulet comes from the Black Pullet grimoire. ... Trinomial name Felis silvestris catus (Linnaeus, 1758) The cat, also called the domestic cat or house cat, is a small feline carnivorous mammal of the subspecies Felis silvestris catus. ... The true toads are amphibians in the Bufonidae family. ... Collin de Plancy (1793-1887) was a French occultist, demonologist and writer; he published several works on occultism and demonology. ... The Dictionnaire Infernal is a book on demonology that includes the name and description of the lots of demons the demonology organised in hellish hierarchies. ... Suborders Araneomorphae Mesothelae Mygalomorphae See the taxonomy section for families Spiders are invertebrate animals that produce silk, and have eight legs and no wings. ...

Baal in popular culture

Baal has made a number of appearances in fantasy-themed video games. He is an end-of-game boss in Diablo II: Lord of Destruction; a hidden boss in Shadow Hearts 2, La Pucelle: Tactics and Disgaea: Hour of Darkness; a demon in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne; a general and main enemy for much of the time in Grandia; a boss in the second installment of the Blair Witch video games; a race of familiar spirits resembling spiders with three human-like faces in the GameBoy Color version of Azure Dreams; and a race of monsters in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, in which his name is spelt "Bael" and his appearance is based loosely around the Dictionnaire Infernal's depiction of the demon Buer, who also appears in the game. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... Flag Ship from the video game Gorf In video games, a boss (sometimes called a guardian) is a particularly large or difficult computer-controlled character that must be defeated at the end of a segment of a game, whether it be for a level, an episode, or the very end... Shadow Hearts 2 (or Shadow Hearts: Covenant) is a game developed by Sacnoth and Nautilus, and published by Midway. ... La Pucelle: Tactics Categories: Computer and video game stubs | Tactical role-playing games | Fantasy computer games | PlayStation 2 games ... Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (魔界戦記 ディスガイア; Makai Senki Disgaea, lit. ... Grandia is a role-playing game series created by Game Arts. ... The Blair Witch Project is a low budget 1999 horror film in which three young film students mysteriously disappear from the face of the earth after being stalked through the woods, lost and kept awake by an unseen antagonist. ... The Game Boy Color (also referred to as GBC) was Nintendos successor to the Game Boy. ... Azure Dreams is a PlayStation videogame developed by Konami and released on 30 June 1998. ... Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a game that is a part of the Castlevania video game series. ... In demonology, Buer is a Great President of Hell, having fifty legions of demons under his command. ...

A German-based industrial metal music band, Baal, was named after him. Industrial metal is a musical genre which draws elements from industrial music and heavy metal music. ...

The science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 features a character named Baal. This Baal is a member of the evil Goa'uld, a parasitic alien race who share names with various gods and demons. Stargate SG-1 (sometimes written Stargåte to mimic the title art, and popularly abbreviated as SG-1) is a television series based upon the 1994 science fiction film Stargate. ... The Goauld (pronounced go-a-OOLD [ˈgoʊ˘uːld], commonly GOOLD, and rarely go-OOLD) are a fictional parasitic alien race in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 universe. ...

Entities based on Baal also appear in various role-playing games. In In Nomine, Baal is the Demon Prince of War. In Vampire: The Masquerade, Baal was an ancient demon-worshipping vampire; he is the progenitor of the Baali bloodline. In the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons, Bhaal is the god of murder. Bhaal was an evil mortal who ascended to godhood along with his allies Bane and Myrkul before eventually being slain in the Time of Troubles. Bhaal resurfaces in the Baldur's Gate series of computer role-playing games. A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... Alternate meaning: In Nomine (role-playing game) In Nomine was a title given to a number of English pieces of music in the 16th and 17th centuries based on the plainsong Gloria tibi Trinitas and on a section of John Taverners mass itself based on that theme. ... Vampire: The Masquerade (Revised Edition) cover. ... The Baali are a fictional bloodline of vampires, from White Wolf Game Studios Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Dark Ages books and role-playing games. ... For the computer game, see Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines A bloodline is a fictional category of vampires, from White Wolf Game Studios role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Vampire: The Requiem. ... The Forgotten Realms second edition logo. ... For other uses, see Dungeons & Dragons (disambiguation). ... Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a fictional deity of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, created by Ed Greenwood. ... Bane (also known as the Black Hand and the Black Lord), is the god of hatred, fear, and tyranny in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting, Forgotten Realms. ... Myrkul was the fictional God of the Dead in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting based upon the Dungeons & Dragons universe. ... The Time of Troubles, also known as the Godswar or Avatar Crisis, was a cataclysmic time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. ... Title screen of Baldurs Gate, the first game in the series. ... Computer role-playing games (CRPGs), often shortened to simply (RPGs), are a type of computer and video games that use traditional gameplay elements found in pen-and-paper role-playing games. ...

Baal is also the name of a robot in Hardware, a stark film which depicts the hard life humanity faces while surviving in a post-apocalyptic Earth. "Baal" is the name given to the "MARK 13", a combat droid designed to function as an efficient means of population control. Pieces of the droid are recovered from the "Zone" by a "Zone Tripper", a desolate place inhospitable to life due to the lingering toxic radiation from some previous cataclysmic war. It is apparent that the "Zone", in addition to possibly encompassing one of the war's battlefields, was also utilized as a test range for weapons and associated government projects. The droid pieces eventually find their way to the main character, Jill, through her on/off again boyfriend, Moses. Jill, who is an artist that works in sculpture, incorporates the droid components into a piece she is working on. The droid is capable of self repair and soon begins assimilation of what household materials and power sources it can find. Soon after regaining operational status the droid commences wreaking death and destruction among the denizens of Jill's apartment complex. It is curious that the droid designation also aludes to a passage in the Bible that refers to the end times, the times of tribulation when, ominously, "no flesh shall be spared".

See also

• The Lesser Key of Solomon
• Ars Goetia