Introduction THE GOAL OF THIS VOLUME is to place before its readers those texts in the Ugaritic language that deal with the everyday contacts between the Ugaritians and their deities. This practical definition of ritual is not meant to deny that the better-known mythological texts may have had a ritual function. That function is, however, for the most part unknown. The texts dealt with here, on the other hand, all have an explicit or an implicit immediate link with daily religious practice