In a series of four lectures, two literary works from the Recent Bronze Age are discussed: the royal epics of Ugarit, which became famous under the names of their respective protagonists, Kirta and Aqhatou. The in-depth understanding I propose of these two works is facilitated by the selection of certain passages that lend themselves more particularly to (re-)interpretation in the contexts of kingship, literature and religion, as well as the archaeology and art of Ugarit.
During excavations on the acropolis of the town of Ras Shamra/Ougarit, archaeologists unearthed a batch of clay tablets in room 7 of the house known as "The High Priest 's " , containing, among others, the epics of Kirta and Aqhatou.
The first of these recounts the fate of King Kirta of Bit Khoubour. It is important to note that Kirta was not a king of Ugarit, although the action of this epic seems to take place in and around Ugarit. What's more, all the deities it mentions are the gods and goddesses of Ugarit, who are well known from the divine lists and ritual texts unearthed in Ugarit.
We learn that King Kirta had lost his wife and seven children. In such a situation of grief, Kirta needed the help of the gods to ensure the survival of his dynasty and to guarantee his own ancestor worship. The supreme god of the Ugaritic pantheon, the god El, promised him in a dream a wife and children, first and foremost an heir son. For this, Kirta had to emerge victorious from a campaign to obtain a wife, Hurriya, from whom he would have several children, including an heir son.
