Baalat Gebal (, BʿLT GBL; also romanized as Ba’alat Gebal or Baalat Gubal; literally "Lady of Byblos"), also known as Bēltu ša Gubla (Akkadian: dNIN ša uruGub-la) and Baaltis, was the tutelary goddess of the city of Byblos. While in the past it was often assumed her name is only an epithet, presently researchers assume that it is a proper name, meant to highlight her close connection to the corresponding city. She was identified with Hathor and later possibly with Isis by ancient Egyptians, and with Aphrodite by ancient Greeks. Philo of Byblos instead refers to her as "Dione", though the reasons behind this choice remain unknown. She was the main goddess in the local pantheon of Byblos, and a temple dedicated to her, which remained in use from the third millennium BCE to the Roman period, was located in the center of this city. She was venerated by the kings of Byblos, with a large number of references to her found in letters sent by Rib-Addi as a part of the Amarna correspondence. There is also evidence that she was worshiped by Egyptians, both in Byblos and in Egypt. She is mentioned in a number of literary texts, including the so-called Letter of Hori, the writings of Philo of Byblos, and Lucian's De Dea Syria. Name and identity The Phoenician theonym Baalat Gebal (b’lt gbl) can be translated as “Lady of Byblos”. A direct Akkadian translation, dNIN ša uruGub-la, read as Bēltu ša Gubla, occurs in the Amarna letters. Shortened variants dNIN-nu (bēletnu, “our lady”) and dNIN are also attested. The name was meant to highlight her connection to the city. It has been proposed that a male deity with a similar name, the “Lord of Byblos”, also existed, and can be identified with the figure of AN.DA.MU from the Amarna letters, but this proposal is not universally accepted. Nadav Na'aman instead suggests interpreting AN.DA.MU as a “honorific title” of Baalat Gebal herself, “the living goddess”. In the past researchers have often attempted to prove that “Baalat Gebal” should be understood as an epithet rather than a proper name. She has been variously identified as a local form of Asherah, argued to be an appropriate tutelary goddess for a port city due to being addressed as “lady of the sea” in Ugarit, Anat (as suggested by Edward Lipiński) and especially commonly Astarte. Frank Moore Cross argued that Baalat Gebal