It was only the unmarried goddess, Asherah as she was called by the Canaanites, who had a personality of her own.

And since Asherah came in time to be superseded by Ashtoreth, who was herself of Babylonian origin, it is probable that the idea of separate individuality connected with Asherah.
was due to the influence of Babylonian culture.

Asherah was the goddess of fertility, and though the fertility of the earth depends upon the Sun, it was easy to conceive of it as an independent principle.
The name Baal was merely a title.

It was applied to the supreme deity of each city or tribe, by whatever special name he might otherwise be known.

There were as many Baals or Baalim as there were states or cults.
Wherever a high-place was erected, a Baal was worshipped.