Английская Википедия:Gupan and Ugar
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Infobox deity Gupan and UgarШаблон:Sfn (Ugaritic: gpn w ‘ugrШаблон:Sfn) were two Ugaritic gods who functioned as the messengers of the weather god Baal. They always appear as a pair in known texts. They are well attested in the Baal Cycle, where they carry messages from their master to other deities, such as Anat, Kothar-wa-Khasis and Mot. However, they are absent from offering lists and other texts dealing with the sphere of cult, which lead to the proposal that they were only literary characters, rather than actively worshiped deities.
Names
The Ugaritic binomial theonym gpn w ‘ugr can be translated as "vine and field" or "vineyard and field,"Шаблон:Sfn gpn being a presumed cognate of Hebrew gepen and Akkadian gapnu,Шаблон:Sfn) while ‘ugr - a cognate of Akkadian ugaru.Шаблон:Sfn The latter word might be a cognate of the name of the city of Ugarit itself, though this proposal continues to be disputed.Шаблон:Sfn The name gpn is vocalized as either GupanШаблон:Sfn (Gupanu)Шаблон:Sfn or Gapn (Gapnu), while ‘ugr is consistently vocalized as Ugar.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
Theonyms structured similarly to gpn w ‘ugr are common in Ugaritic texts, though their origin is not uniform: some represent two closely associated deities (for example Shahar-wa-Shalim), while other might be the main name of a deity and an epithet (for example Nikkal-wa-Ib).Шаблон:Sfn The modern consensus is that in this case two separate deities, Gupan and Ugar, are meant, in contrast with Qudšu-wa-Amrur or Kothar-wa-Khasis, similar double names which nonetheless refer to a single deity.Шаблон:Sfn Their dual number has been established based on grammatical form of the words referring to them.Шаблон:Sfn This interpretation has originally been proposed by Harold Louis Ginsberg in 1944.Шаблон:Sfn Dissenting opinions are not entirely absent from scholarship, one example being Nicolas Wyatt's argument that there are alternative explanations for word forms referring to them usually taken to be grammatically dual (for example presence of an enclitic in all of them),Шаблон:Sfn but interpreting them as a single god remains a minority view.Шаблон:Sfn Sang Youl Cho refers to it as a "misunderstanding."Шаблон:Sfn No attestation of either of the gods alone, without the other half of the pair, are known.Шаблон:Sfn
The metaphorical use of the word gepen to refer to people in the Hebrew Bible (Hosea 10:1, Psalm 80) is agreed to not be an indication that a god whose name was a cognate of Gupan's was ever worshiped by the Israelites.Шаблон:Sfn
Character
The primary role of Gupan and Ugar was to act as the messengers of the Ugaritic weather god Baal.Шаблон:Sfn Messenger deities, such as this pair, as well as Qodesh-wa-Amrur and the analogous servants of Yam (left nameless in known texts) are considered the lowest ranked members of the Ugaritic pantheon by modern researchers.Шаблон:Sfn Manfred Krebernik proposes that the names of both Gupan and Ugar reflect the fact that their master, Baal, was believed to be responsible for vegetation in Ugaritic religion.Шаблон:Sfn
In the Baal Cycle, their role is described with various terms, including ġlm(m), ‘nn ilm, dll and ‘dd.Шаблон:Sfn The word ġlm, conventionally translated as "youth" or "lad," was commonly employed as a designation of lesser deities,Шаблон:Sfn ‘nn ilm means "divine clouds,"Шаблон:Sfn dll was the name of an ordinary profession (based on possible Akkadian cognates presumed to be that of a scout, messenger or mediator),Шаблон:Sfn while ‘dd was a term used in similar contexts as dll, presumed to be a diplomatic term.Шаблон:Sfn
Since no attestations of either Gupan or Ugar are known from ritual texts,Шаблон:Sfn and no theophoric names unambiguously invoking them have been identified,Шаблон:Sfn it has been suggested that they might have only functioned as literary characters, rather than as actively worshiped deities.Шаблон:Sfn
In the Baal Cycle
Gupan and Ugar first appear when Baal instructs them to bring a message to Anat.Шаблон:Sfn They are told to bow down, as required by etiquette.Шаблон:Sfn This indicates their position was inferior to Anat's.Шаблон:Sfn Once they reach their destination, the goddess is initially shocked at their sight, and assumes Baal is in danger, and explains to them that she already vanquished many of his enemies.Шаблон:Sfn The messengers reassure her that Baal is not facing such problems anymore, and tell her to come to Mount Saphon to meet with him.Шаблон:Sfn Only after reaching this location Anat learns that Baal is instead lamenting because he has no palace of his own.Шаблон:Sfn
Later Baal summons Gupan and Ugar again to tell them to go to the dwelling of the craftsman god Kothar-wa-Khasis,Шаблон:Sfn which is called both "Kaphtor" and "Memphis" in the same passage.Шаблон:Sfn The weather god instructs them tell him that he wants him to prepare gifts for Athirat to convince her to mediate with El on his behalf.Шаблон:Sfn They are also ordered to stop by in the dwelling of Qudšu-wa-Amrur on their way, though the purpose of this instruction remains unknown.Шаблон:Sfn It might mean that this messenger god was expected to join them as well, or that they were simply meant to inform him about the mission they were tasked with, but both interpretations remain speculative.Шаблон:Sfn The passage seems to describe them as bn ġlmt, usually translated as "sons of ġlmt."Шаблон:Sfn This word, conventionally translated as "lass," is attested as an epithet of Nikkal and other goddesses elsewhere, and might also refer to a specific deity in this passage.Шаблон:Sfn
Gupan and Ugar are also tasked with carrying Baal's words to Mot, a god residing in the underworld,Шаблон:Sfn apparently in his own city.Шаблон:Sfn It is presumed that Baal's aim in this section of the narrative is to demand submission to his authority from him, though interpretations according to which the scene is not presenting him as optimistic about the situation are also present in scholarship.Шаблон:Sfn He apparently considers his messengers vulnerableШаблон:Sfn and advises them to keep a safe distanceШаблон:Sfn in order to avoid being devoured.Шаблон:Sfn It has been pointed out that this scene is an example of a motif well attested in Mesopotamian literature (for example in Nergal and Ereshkigal or Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld): a person venturing to the underworld is told how to avoid specific dangers they might face.Шаблон:Sfn Additionally, the description of the threat posed by Mot closely parallels his own boast after he kills Baal.Шаблон:Sfn
After relaying Baal's message, Gupan and Ugar are subsequently ordered by Mot to bring his message to the weather god.Шаблон:Sfn As summarized by Mark Smith and Wayne Pitard, Mot invites Baal to a feast where he will be "his guest and the main course at once."Шаблон:Sfn This section is not considered an indication that Gupan and Ugar were also servants of Mot, and Smith and Pitard point out that it was possible for divine messengers to act at the orders of deities other than their usual masters.Шаблон:Sfn After their return, Baal sends them to Mot yet again.Шаблон:Sfn
It has been suggested that the anonymous messengers who later brought the news about Baal's death to El were also Gupan and Ugar.Шаблон:Sfn
References
Bibliography
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