The Origins of the Canaanites – And the Horrific Gods They Worshipped

The Origins of the Canaanites – And the Horrific Gods They Worshipped

Today you will discover who the Canaanites really were. A people with a cursed origin who spread through a land that God had promised to Israel, but that was filled with dark rituals, unthinkable practices, and a religion led by gods who demanded the unimaginable. Behind the names Baal, Ashtarath, and Mollik was a macab spiritual system where even children were sacrificed on demonic altars. And the most shocking part, these horrible gods nearly overtook Israel. What does the Bible really reveal about the origin of these people? And why did God order their total destruction? From the earliest chapters of Genesis, we are led to understand that nothing in the Bible happens by chance. The genealogies often overlooked are like spiritual roots that sustain the great movements of sacred history. In Genesis 10:6, the name of Canaan appears for the first time, and the sons of Ham, Kush, and Misra, and Fot and Canaan. A name that at first seems just another among many post flood descendants, but when analyzed in the full light of scripture, reveals itself as the origin of a people that would profoundly mark Israel’s path, not just politically, but spiritually. The most curious and unsettling part is that Canaan was not cursed for his own actions, but for something his father Ham did. In Genesis 9:22-2, we read the account of Noah drunk and Ham seeing the nakedness of his father commits an act that though shrouded in mystery carries a deep spiritual weight. Then Noah declares, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” Note the detail. The curse does not fall upon Ham, but upon his son. Why? Some scholars speculate that Canaan already displayed the moral and spiritual traits that would later define Canaanite culture. Arrogance, sensuality, idolatry.

Others see here a prophetic judgment, a divine foreshadowing of the path of corruption and paganism that this lineage would follow. The fact is between the lines of this judgment, God is drawing the outlines of a story that will intertwine with Israel’s holiness and divine justice against the nations that dive into idolatry and abominations. This origin is not just a genealogical detail. It’s a theological foreshadowing. The descendants of Canaan would give rise to peoples later known for their depraved culture, for practices like temple prostitution, child sacrifice, and the worship of gods such as Baal, Ashtarth, and Molech. These are echoes of an ancestral curse, signs of a moral corruption that was not punished by mere chance, but because it aligned with the perfect judgment of God. Now consider this. Why was God so concerned with recording the details of this origin? Because Israel’s story in Canaan cannot be understood without first understanding who the Canaanites were and even more why they were under judgment. This is where biblical theology begins to lead us into the next scene. A people cursed not just for their past but for their future, for what they would deliberately choose to become. In Genesis 9:24-25, we read one of the most unsettling pronouncements in biblical history. And Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done unto him. And he said, “Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.” At first glance, this seems like an overreaction. Ham commits the offense, but it is the grandson who suffers the consequences. Here, the spirit of God invites us to look beyond the surface and discern the spiritual backdrop of this sentence. The curse upon Canaan spoken by Noah has been debated by theologians for centuries. But one thing is clear, this declaration was not a mere outburst of human emotion. It was a prophetic act revealing the destiny of an entire lineage. Noah as patriarch and instrument of divine will verbalizes something already spiritually rooted in the life of that generation.

Canaan though only a descendant would be the seed of a civilization marked by rebellion against the creator, unrestrained idolatry and the adoption of pagan religious practices that would be abominable in the eyes of the Lord. The text does not give us all the details as to why Canaan was chosen as the target of the curse. But as we examine the fruit of his descendants, the Canaanite peoples such as the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, and Perizzites, we observe a disturbing pattern. That region, the land of Canaan, became a stronghold of all that the God of Israel detests. temple prostitution, child sacrifices to Molech, rituals with demons, and a perverted spirituality that stood in direct opposition to the holiness required by Yahweh. And there is something even deeper at play here. This curse reveals that God does not judge only isolated acts, but also the paths chosen by entire lineages. This is not injustice, but divine justice that sees the end from the beginning. The Lord who searches hearts knew that from Canaan’s descendants would spring a culture that would not only reject the light, but embrace darkness with enthusiasm. And this, as we will see ahead, would place Israel in constant spiritual danger through mingling with these peoples. This curse, therefore, was not merely a punishment, but a prophetic warning. It was like a bitter seed planted in the soil of history, which would later blossom into idolatry. promiscuity and direct confrontations with God’s holiness. And like every seed, it would grow and spread, dominating a land that, ironically, would be promised to a people called to purity and separation. The Bible is precise in describing the geographical extent of the land of Canaan. In Genesis 10:19, we find the original boundaries of the territory. And the border of the Canaanites was from Siden, as thou comest to Jerah, unto Gaza, as thou goest unto Sodom and Gomorrah, and Admma, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha. This was not a mere political map. It was a spiritual stage where one of the most crucial battles between idolatry and holiness would unfold between the Canaanite gods and the God of Israel. Strategically located between Egypt and Mesopotamia, the land of Canaan became a central point for trade, culture, and unfortunately also for moral corruption. Its fertile valleys and fortified cities housed a variety of peoples. Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, all descendants of Canaan, all involved in spiritual practices that directly opposed biblical truth. It was a land rich in resources, but also saturated with idolatry, child sacrifice, and temple prostitution.

As the descendants of Canaan multiplied, they spread throughout the region from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River and from the Negv desert to the northern regions of Phoenicia. Cities like Jericho, Hebron, Sidon, and Gaza became Canaanite urban centers deeply influenced by the cults of Bal, Ashtarth, and Mollik. Each city, each pagan altar, each profane ritual was a reminder that this land was spiritually occupied by forces contrary to the covenant God had established with Abraham. Now think with me. Isn’t it curious that the land promised by God to Abraham, a land of blessing flowing with milk and honey, was at the time of the promise inhabited by peoples immersed in abominations. This was not coincidence. It was divine providence because in commanding the possession of that land, God was also commanding its purification. He was about to carry out a judgment and Israel would be the instrument of his justice. Thus, the territorial expansion of the Canaanites was not merely geographical progress. It was the proliferation of a spiritually hostile culture. Every city built, every altar raised to a false god, was a direct affront to the living God. And the more the Canaanites grew, the closer came the time of God’s judgment. The territory was defined, the peoples were spread, and the stage was set for the confrontation between heaven and idols. When we study Canaanite culture, it’s impossible not to notice how deeply intertwined it was with their religion. Everything from public rituals to family relationships revolved around their Canaanite gods and the perverse demands of these false idols. The lifestyle of the Canaanite peoples was not neutral or merely cultural. It was a practical and continuous expression of active idolatry. The Canaanites built cities that were advanced for their time with walls, agricultural systems, and wellestablished trade routes. But behind this appearance of prosperity was a moral decay that contaminated everything. Promiscuity was encouraged as a form of spiritual communion with the gods. The so-called temple prostitution involved men and women engaging in sexual rituals at the altars of Asher and Ashtarth in attempts to ensure fertility for the land. Daily life was marked by pagan festivals, drunkenness and rights where sensuality was not only permitted but woripped. Families were also deeply affected by this culture. Children were offered alive in sacrifice to Mollik, thrown into heated bronze furnaces while parents watched unmoved, convinced that such practice would bring blessings. This is the essence of what Leviticus 18 calls abominations.

Practices so perverse that God warned Israel never to imitate them, saying, “After the doings of the land of Canaan, ye shall not do, neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.” Leviticus 18:3. Canaanite culture, therefore, was not merely foreign to Israel. It was spiritually corrosive. Its value system completely inverted the principles of the true God. Where God demanded holiness, the Canaanites celebrated lust. Where God protected life, the Canaanites sacrificed it to demons. Where God established justice, they practiced oppression, witchcraft, and idolatry at every level of society. And yet this culture was seductive. It was rich in symbols, music, festivals, and sensuality. It was an intoxicating lifestyle that spread like a poisoned fragrance through the valleys of the land of Canaan. And that is exactly why the Lord in his sovereignty commanded that it be eradicated not out of cruelty but divine justice to prevent Israel from being consumed by this spiritual corruption. But how exactly did this culture manifest in Canaanite religious worship? Who were these entities that demanded so much blood, pleasure, and perversion? The next step in this journey is to understand the spiritual machinery behind this culture, the Canaanite gods, and the horrors of their worship. The Canaanite religion was a sophisticated yet perverse system, a demonic replica of what true worship to the creator should be. While Israel received direct revelation from God through the law, the Canaanites plunged into a network of false gods, grotesque rituals, and institutionalized idolatry. Their religion was not merely a personal belief. It was the beating heart of society. Everything revolved around their cults, politics, agriculture, family life, warfare, even the weather. At the top of the Canaanite spiritual hierarchy was a true profane trinity. At the head stood Baal, the god of storm and fertility. Beside him Ashtarth, goddess of sexuality, fertility, and war, and Asher, his female counterpart, considered the consort of L, the supposed father god of the pantheon. And at an even darker level, Molech, the devourer of children. Each of these entities represented aspects of a paganism that blurred the spiritual with the sensual, the religious with the carnal, and the sacred with the profane. Canaanite temples were true centers of perversion. Located on high places, the infamous high places mentioned throughout scripture, these sites functioned as arenas for ritual orgies, drunken feasts, and even staged combats. Instead of spiritual sacrifices, they offered human sacrifices, especially of children.

The idols were shaped in provocative, grotesque, and demonic forms, many of them with outstretched arms, to receive the bodies of victims offered into fire. This idolatry was not mere superstition. It was a direct form of worship to demons. In Deuteronomy 32:17, Moses warns the people, saying, “They sacrificed unto devils, not to God, to gods whom they knew not.” Here the truth is revealed clearly. What the Canaanites called religion was in reality spiritual paganism fueled by evil entities demanding blood, sex, and total depravity. It was a religion that distorted everything God had created for good. The body, worship, family, and society. And the most shocking part, this spiritual structure was effective. The crops came, the cities thrived, the people prospered. In human eyes, it seemed to work. This made the seductive power of Canaanite religion even more dangerous because it offered visible promises, immediate pleasures, and social approval. All without repentance, without holiness, and without the weight of truth. That’s why God didn’t see the Canaanites merely as territorial enemies, but as a complete system of organized spiritual rebellion. And to understand the depth of this abyss, we need to take a closer look at the central figures of this religion, beginning with Baal, the chief among the Canaanite gods, whose worship not only rivaled the worship of God, but at many times nearly replaced it among the Israelites themselves. Bal, this name echoes like a dark thunder through the pages of the Old Testament. He was not just one more idol among many. He was the center of the Canaanite pantheon, the principal deity of their religion and the greatest spiritual rival to the God of Israel. In Hebrew, Bal means lord or master. And that reveals much. The Canaanites did not see Baal as a symbolic figure, but as the ruler of fertility, weather, harvest, war, and for many, life itself. Bal was depicted as a young and vigorous warrior, often wielding a lightning bolt, a symbol of his supposed control over the skies and rain. His worship was deeply tied to the land of Canaan, as the Canaanites believed he was the one who opened the heavens to bring rain and fertilize the fields. When the harvest was plentiful, the people praised Bal. When drought struck, they performed rituals to awaken him from his supposed seasonal death.

He was the false god of fertility, and his worship reflected that theme in every detail. And here begins the horror. The rituals of Baal worship involved religious orgies, temple prostitution, and even human sacrifices. Men and women would lie with sacred prostitutes in temples to imitate the union of Baal with Ashtareth, hoping that the god would mirror the act in the heavens and fertilize the soil. It was a perversion of what God had created as sacred turned into public spectacle. The sexual act designed by God to be holy and intimate within marriage was used as a ritual key to unlock agricultural blessings. a ritualized blasphemy. Bow worship was not something isolated or discreet. It was official, promoted by priests and priestesses, upheld by pagan kings, and practiced on a wide scale throughout the region of Canaan. In many instances, Bal’s altars stood side by side with the idols of Asher, symbolizing the profane union between male and female demonic forces, a mystical marriage between demons. The most disturbing part is that Baal worship directly influenced Israel. Kings like Ahab even built temples for him within the sacred territory of the Lord. Prophets like Elijah had to confront hundreds of Baal’s prophets in epic spiritual showdowns such as the one recorded in First Kings 18 on Mount Carmel. And even after countless divine warnings, the people often wavered, torn between the true God and the seductive worship of Bal. Bal was not just a statue. He was the personification of a spiritual system opposed to God. A system that promised quick blessings, immediate pleasure, and social acceptance, but demanded a terrible price, the soul. And if Baal reigned as the chief god, then who was his female counterpart? The next deity leads us even deeper into the shadows of Canaanite idolatry. Ashtarth, the goddess of sex, war, and seduction. If Baal was the lord of fertility and the sky, Ashtorth, also known as Aarte or Ishtar in neighboring cultures, was his consort, the mother goddess of Canaanite religion. But don’t be misled by the title. She did not represent godly motherhood or nurturing love. Ashtarith embodied sensuality, war, and religious promiscuity. Her worship was deeply embedded in Canaanite life, shaping behaviors, customs, and even perceptions of femininity. Her name is mentioned in verses like Judges 2:13.

And they forsook the Lord and served Baal and Ashtoth. This shows that her worship was intertwined with that of Baal, forming a kind of profane divine couple. The image of Ashttoth was often depicted with exaggerated feminine features, prominent breasts, provocative posture reflecting her association with unrestrained sexuality. It was common for her altars to be surrounded by poles called asherim or sacred groves, places where temple prostitution rituals were openly performed. Worship of Ashtarth was a celebration of pleasure without restraint. Women and men would offer themselves sexually as a form of devotion. It was a direct inversion of divine values. The body created to be the temple of the spirit was turned into an instrument of worship to demons disguised as gods. And most disturbingly, this practice was considered spiritually effective. The Canaanite peoples believed that ritualistic sensuality attracted blessings of fertility and prosperity. Furthermore, Ashtarth was not just a goddess of sex. She was also invoked in warfare. Her personality fused lust with violence. It was common for warriors to seek her favor before battles, promising bloody rituals and orastic festivals in her honor if victorious. She represented the fusion of OS and Thanoos, pleasure and death on the same altar. And once again, what was Canaanite began to infiltrate Israel. 1st Samuel 7:3-4 records Samuel urging the people to get rid of strange gods, specifically mentioning Ashtarth, showing her popularity among the Israelites. It is frightening to consider that the people set apart by God were seduced by a religion that mixed perversion and spirituality so seamlessly. This brazen idolatry promoted through the figure of Ashtarth reveals the moral abyss of the Canaanites. And she was not alone. Beside her stood an even darker entity, one who demanded pure innocent blood. Molech, the devourer of children. A step further into religious horror. Of all the abominations committed by the Canaanites, none equals the horror associated with the worship of Moolik. This Canaanite god, also worshiped by other Semitic peoples, symbolized the peak of pagan idolatry and the deepest level of moral decay. Moolik did not require songs, was not satisfied with incense, nor did he accept symbolic offerings. He demanded the most precious of all. Children, the Bible is clear and forceful about this practice.

In Leviticus 18:21, God commands, “And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God. I am the Lord.” Here we see that sacrificing children was not just a barbaric act. It was a direct affront to the name of God. It was pure profanation. Rituals to Moolik were carried out on iron altars shaped like grotesque figures, often with a man’s body and a bull’s head, arms outstretched. Inside the statue was a blazing furnace. Children were placed alive in the glowing arms of the idol, while priests beat drums and played flutes at deafening volumes to drown out the screams. It was a hellish scene justified by a demonic belief that offering the firstborn would bring blessings, victories, and abundant harvests. At this point, Canaanite religion crossed the line of the irreparable. This was no longer simply about idolatry or promiscuity, but a complete surrender to demonic influence. Child sacrifice was not an isolated exception. It was a public event, an official and socially accepted ritual. The death of the innocent was turned into a religious spectacle and tragically this practice infected Israel at various times. In 2 Kings 23:10, King Josiah destroyed the place called Tophet in the valley of the son of Hinnam so that no one would make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Moolik. This shows how deeply Canaanite influence had infiltrated even God’s chosen people, leading them to imitate the abominable religious practices that the Lord so thoroughly despised. The figure of Molech represents more than an ancient idol. He is the image of what happens when humanity completely loses its sense of holiness. When the sin of the Canaanites becomes cultural and the worship of demons is legitimized as faith. He is the ultimate result of a society fully surrendered to spiritual deception. But as terrifying as this worship was, it wasn’t isolated. Moolik was part of an entire spiritual system. And these Canaanite abominations were structured, organized with rituals, temples, and their own doctrine. This leads us directly to the next question. What exactly did God see in these practices that was so severe as to command with such clarity the total destruction of the Canaanites? As we look more closely at the religious life of the Canaanites, we begin to understand why God in his divine justice declared such practices abominations. In Leviticus 18, God lists one by one the perversions practiced by these peoples. incest, bestiality, temple prostitution, human sacrifices, and concludes in verse 27. For all these abominations have the men of the land done which were before you, and the land is defiled. Here is the central point. It wasn’t just the people who were defiled. The land itself was spiritually polluted by the works of darkness. Canaanite religion was a complete package of degradation. Their worship blended orgies, drunkenness, mutilations, enchantments, and possessions. Priests and priestesses acted as mediums possessed by demonic spirits, guiding the people through rituals of transances, self-mutilation, and even ritualized cannibalism. In some cases, it was a deep plunge into the densest paganism, and the darkest shadows of corrupted spirituality. Idolatry in Israel was not just a cultural risk. It was a spiritually devastating threat. Precisely because the Canaanite practices were seductive, sensory, and indulgent. They offered a religion that fed the human ego and carnal instincts, something that the sinful heart of man naturally desires.

That’s why God repeatedly warned, “And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation which I cast out before you.” Leviticus 20:23. Among the most scandalous rights were the fertility festivals held on full moon nights where hundreds of men and women including youths participated in mass orgies at the feet of Bal and Ashttoths altars. Children were sacrificed, blood flowed, music roared, and all was offered as a form of communion with the gods. It was a worship that mixed spirituality with pleasure, fear, and violence. There was no line between the profane and the sacred. Everything was allowed. Everything was justified. It was widespread moral corruption. And it’s important to understand these practices were not fringe. They were institutionalized, endorsed by kings and leaders taught from childhood. The religion of the Canaanites was an organized structure of spiritual perversion with well-defined rights, established traditions, and even internal ethical codes, all of which were in deep opposition to biblical truth and the holy character of God. But what did God do in the face of such iniquity? He did not remain silent. His response was clear and direct, recorded in Deuteronomy 2017:18. But thou shalt utterly destroy them, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods. So should ye sin against the Lord your God. In other words, the destruction of the Canaanites was not arbitrary. It was a moral and spiritual judgment announced in advance and carried out with precision. This judgment leads us directly to the next essential point. The biblical reason behind God’s extreme command to destroy the Canaanites completely. What was the weight of their sin? And what does that reveal to us about the holiness of God? Among the most solemn commandments God gave to Israel before the conquest of the land of Canaan is an order that many modern readers find harsh or even incomprehensible. But in light of divine justice, it becomes clear. In Deuteronomy 2016:18, the Lord declares, “But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, that they teach you not to do after all their abominations.” God was not merely authorizing a military conquest. He was executing a spiritual judgment against a civilization steeped in deliberate and ongoing sin. The Canaanites were not innocent. For centuries since the time of Abraham, their practices had been tolerated with divine longsuffering.

In Genesis 15:16, God states that Abraham’s descendants would inherit the land only after four generations, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full. This shows that judgment did not come impulsively but after centuries of idolatry, child sacrifice, temple prostitution and alliances with demons. When the measure of iniquity was full, the decree came total purification of the land. It’s essential to understand that God as a just judge does not act with partiality. He punished the Canaanites in the same way he would later punish Israel when they followed the same paths. The destruction of the Canaanite peoples was a historical and spiritual lesson to show that the Lord does not tolerate institutionalized sin, especially when it infiltrates the realm of religion. False worship when organized and celebrated becomes a refined form of rebellion and as such it demands judgment. Moreover, the command to destroy had a purpose, to protect Israel. God knew that if the people coexisted with the Canaanites, they would eventually be seduced by their culture, their idols, their rituals. And in fact, that is what happened when they failed to obey completely. Thus, the judgment was not only an end for the Canaanites, it was a beginning for Israel. The cleansing of the land was part of the consecration process for the place where the Lord’s name would dwell, where the temple would be built, where the Messiah would set his feet. This judgment also teaches us that God’s holiness is non-negotiable. He is long-suffering, yes, but he is also just, and when the iniquity of a people reaches levels that corrupt everything, morality, family, worship, government, God raises the acts of judgment. The destruction of the Canaanites is therefore a mirror reflecting how seriously God treats collective sin and cultural idolatry. But the story doesn’t end there. For despite God’s warnings, his chosen people would yield to Canaanite influence. They would allow false gods into their homes, raise asharer poles on their land, and contaminate the worship of the true God. And what happened to Israel for tolerating what should have been destroyed? What God had warned so clearly came to pass with terrifying precision. Israel, by failing to completely eliminate the Canaanite peoples, became entangled in their customs and deeply contaminated by their culture and religion. In Judges 2:2 to3, the Lord rebukes, “And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land, but ye have not obeyed my voice. Why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And that is exactly what happened. Canaanite influence entered the heart of Israel like a silent poison. Altars to Baal began to appear among the Israelites. A sharer groves were restored and the people began to participate in rituals they had once considered abominable. Pagan religious practices ceased to be seen as sin and were gradually integrated into everyday life. Idolatry became normal, then tolerated, then revered. The horror of child sacrifice, something God had clearly forbidden, was eventually practiced by kings of Judah such as Ahaz and Manasseh. And the consequences were devastating, not just spiritually, but also socially and politically.

The nation of Israel deteriorated, became divided, suffered defeats, and eventually fell into exile. The Babylonian captivity was in large part a direct result of the spiritual contamination that began with the tolerance of Canaanite customs. The land that was supposed to be holy became like Canaan and therefore was also judged. The tragedy is that God’s chosen people exchanged the glory of the true God for mute idols, for false gods that could neither hear nor save. They abandoned biblical truth for popular beliefs, for cultural practices that made sense in human eyes, but were an affront to divine holiness. as recorded in Jeremiah 2:13. For my people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters and hewed them out sistns, broken sistns that can hold no water. Israel’s error serves as an eternal warning. When idolatry becomes comfortable, when the culture around us dictates the terms of our faith, the result is always downfall. God commanded the destruction of the Canaanites not out of cruelty but out of mercy to preserve his people from spiritual destruction. But disobedience turned blessing into judgment and inheritance into ruin. Still, in the midst of such corruption, a contrast begins to form ever clearer. the God of Israel, holy, just, long-suffering, faithful, in contrast to the demonic gods of the Canaanites, fickle, cruel, and powerless. When we compare the God of Israel to the Canaanite gods, we immediately realize we are not simply dealing with different religious systems, but with two opposing spiritual kingdoms. In essence, the Lord revealed to Israel is holy, pure, just, unchanging, full of mercy and truth. Bal, Ashtarth, Mollik, and the other Canaanite idols, on the other hand, are manifestations of deception, sensuality, death, manipulation, and human degradation. While the true God creates human beings in his image and demands justice, the Canaanite gods corrupt that image, reducing man to flesh, instinct, and fleeting pleasure. God asks for faith and holiness. Bal demands sex. God requires repentance. Moolik demands innocent blood. The Lord protects the family. Ashtareth sexualizes it. In every aspect, there is a direct confrontation between the creator and the demons disguised as gods operating in the pagan worship of Canaanite religion. The revelation of the God of Israel came accompanied by moral laws, ethical commandments, and a call to justice and mercy. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 proclaims here, “O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might.” This was not just a rule. It was a declaration of exclusivity, fidelity, and absolute worship. In contrast, the Canaanite peoples served multiple gods, worshiping according to their passions in a system that promoted promiscuity and perversion. Moreover, the Canaanite idols were man-made, wood, stone, metal, lifeless, powerless, spiritless. But the God of Israel spoke, acted, judged, forgave, and above all