Legend of Keret
Krt
A king's house can be destroyed and restored only through the favor of the gods, but a vow broken to a goddess brings punishment even on a king whom El himself has blessed.
- kingship legitimized and threatened by divine favor
- the unfulfilled vow as the epic's turning point
- dream revelation as the mechanism of divine instruction
- succession conflict framed as a justice failure
An Ugaritic epic surviving on three fragmentary tablets copied in the reign of Ugarit's King Niqmaddu in the mid 14th century BC. King Keret, who has lost his entire household to death and disaster, weeps until the god El appears to him in a dream and instructs him to march on the kingdom of Udum and win its princess Hurriya as his bride, restoring his line. During the campaign Keret vows a gift to the goddess Athirat but fails to deliver it after his marriage succeeds, and Athirat afflicts him with a wasting illness. As Keret lies dying, his son Yassib tries to seize the throne, accusing his father of neglecting justice. The text breaks off before the resolution.
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