Yam
Yam was the sun deity among the peoples of the South Arabian kingdoms of Awsan, Ma'in, Qataban and Hadramawt between the 9th and 4th centuries BC. Yam formed part of a trinity of gods representing the sun, moon and Venus.
↻ synthesized from 12 sources
When
- First attested
- 3000 BCE
- Attested period
- -3000 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Worshipped in South Arabian kingdoms between the 9th and 4th centuries BC as part of a celestial trinity.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Išḫara, Puḫru ‘Ilīma, ‘Uṯḫatu, Adad, Tunnanu, Lītān, Âmûm, ʾil-ʾib, Dagnu, Shachar, Shalim, Raḥmayyu, Sin, Ashtart, Shapash, Yarikh, Dagan, Shahar, Horon, Ẓiẓẓu-wa-Kāmaṯu, Milku, Ptah, Sopdu, Wepwawet, Sia, Weneg, Wadj-wer, Sokar, Tutu, Teka-her, Tenem, Wai, Wenenu, Wenty, ‘Athtart, Athirat, Anat, Kothar-wa-Khasis, Shapshu, Kothar, Pidray, Gupan, Ugar, Tallay, Arsay, Qudšu, Amrur, Têmtum, Asherah, Atarsamain, Nuha, Ruḍāʾ, Resheph, Athtar
- enemy of
- Yahweh, Ennead, Ba'al Hadad, Baal, ʿAṯtar, Mot, Baʿal Hadad, Set, Baʿal, Hadad
- sibling of
- Ba'l Ṣapān, Mot, Baal
- served by
- Lotan
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“A trinity of gods representing the sun, moon and Venus is also found among the peoples of the South Arabian kingdoms of Awsan, Ma'in, Qataban and Hadramawt between the 9th and 4th centuries BC. There...the sun deity was Yam”
#3784 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“He also fathered many gods, most importantly Baal, Yam, and Mot, each sharing similar attributes to the Greco-Roman gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades respectively.”
#11646 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“There, the deity associated with Venus was Astarte, the sun deity was Yam, and moon deity was variously called Wadd, Amm and Sin.”
#16016 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“The first appearance of Shapshu in the Baal Cycle is in KTU 1.2 iii, where she brings Aṯtar the news of Yam's accession to the kingship by the will of El, and may warn him of the possible consequences if he opposes El's decision and attempts to claim the throne for himself.”
#16118 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001
“In another similar text, he follows the sea god Yam and Baal, whose names are written in a single line, and precedes the craftsman god Kothar.”
#19563 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001